When Dechen began living in Ritoma in 2007, a village of nomads where people’s view of animals was predominantly utilitarian, pets were limited to cats who made themselves useful, catching rats and mice.  Dogs were mastiffs whose job it was to guard. They were large, fierce, and had to be chained. Apsos and anything cute were labeled ‘silly dogs’ and ridiculed.

Dechen and Yidam started with a mastiff, a gift from Yidam’s brother. Thopdan, as they named him, was the age of their eldest daughter Norzin. Dechen didn’t want to tie him up, and he ran around free until the village complained after he became too ‘friendly’ with the workshop workers. Nomads fear dogs, and since most are trained to ward off intruders, rightly so. Thopdan led a sad existence tied next to the house, barking at strangers and scaring people. He loved his family and let other animals eat his food; Rago, the neighbor’s pet sheep, and a neighboring fox would help themselves to his bowl. Dechen was sad about Thopdan and didn’t want to hear of having another dog, especially a silly one.

In 2016, nearly ten years after moving to Ritoma, Norzin and Deyang began clamoring for a small, ‘silly’ dog. They had been seen everywhere for the last few years, and chihuahuas, promenading in wooly coats, were now a common sight in nearby Tso. In the village, little white fluffy dogs began appearing, and within a few years, the village was full of ‘semi silly’ dogs, that formed little packs of their own. Yidam started talking of a small dog, and Dechen softened. Messages like “What do you think of poodles? A Pomeranian, or a pug? Photos of various fluffy puppies began to drop into my phone, announcing the imminent arrival of a new dog. I was in Beijing on my way to Ritoma, and Yidam was in Lanzhou pet shop, choosing a dog. Suddenly, the deal was done; a scraggy, sad-looking, full-grown brown poodle in a tiny cage appeared on my screen. Called ‘Chokoli’ he was taken to Ritoma and renamed Norbu, meaning Jewel.

Dechen and her family were away when I arrived a few days later, due an hour after me. Dechen told me Norbu was in a box on the porch, warning that he was not friendly and would surely nip at me. I found him retreated into his cardboard refuge, barking wildly. I approached him, and he nipped at my hands for a full five minutes before letting me touch him. By the time Dechen and Yidam arrived, we were nearly friends.

Yidam said he had chosen him, the least likely to be taken home. He had looked at all the cute pugs, chihuahuas, toy poodles, and Pomeranians and noticed a fully grown poodle who acted like the boss to the other younger dogs when taken out. The pet shop owners explained that no one wanted him, as he had a slight defect to his back leg and was now one year old. Yidam made up his mind and sent us his photo as he readied to put him into his car.

At first, Dechen didn’t know what to do with Norbu, leaving him on the porch when she went to work at Norlha, situated at the bottom of the small hill where her house is perched. I told her she should try taking him with her, though she didn’t look too convinced. When she returned to work after lunch, I saw him launching behind her, a tiny dot following her down the hill. From that moment, they became inseparable; he followed her everywhere, sitting under her chair or warming her back, sleeping in her bed.

A few days later, we took him to Norden Camp. Suddenly, he dashed off, soon becoming a disappearing speck on the plain. We asked the nomad family who had a store tent on the road if they had seen him, and they said he had rushed by at top speed. The camp Manager set off on his bike, soon found him several kilometers away on the empty plain, and brought him back. He never did this again.

Poodles are said to be intelligent, love children, and are playful and loyal; he was all that. When Yiga, the youngest of Dechen and Yidam’s three girls, arrived in Ritoma at the age of one month in the summer of 2017, he stood guard by her. He loved balls and would help himself to one from a shelf if in a toy store. When Dechen of Yidam returned from a few days away, he peed for joy, the highest mark of his affection. He even did that for me a few times after a long absence.

During COVID-19, he was separated from his family for over two years, looked after by the housekeeper, a former employee of Norlha, who loves dogs. Then, his family returned, and he shifted his attention to

During COVID-19, he was separated from his family for over two years, looked after by the housekeeper, a former employee of Norlha, who loves dogs. Then, his family returned, and he shifted his attention to Yiga, whom he followed everywhere. There was a little over a year of happy moments. A dog’s life is short, and our closeness to them can be intense, creating a painful vacuum when they leave us. He departed a month ago, losing his strength in stages; our dear, chocolate-colored Poodle on the Plateau is no more.