A year and a half ago, I casually chatted with a friend who owned a (real) zoo in Dubai. Curious, I asked what dog breed is adapted to the Dubai summer heat. I had no plans to get a dog.


Later that evening, my doorbell rang, and a young Belgian Malinois showed up, with his own passport, courtesy of the zoo friend.

I wanted a name that starts with B and has some green in it, so I named him Broccoli. It also has a blocky sound, as in blockiichain. Can't get away from crypto, haha.

Broccoli's passport says he was 3 months old, but a vet said he was more like 11 months old, given how his teeth have grown.

Regardless of age, Broccoli bonded with me quickly.

Broccoli (like me) was not properly socialized. He doesn't socialize with other dogs much. (Like me) Broccoli is scared of everything.
If you throw a ball at him, instead of chasing it, he runs away like a plague. On top of that, (unlike me) Broccoli was not toilet trained, so there was dog piss and poo all over the place.

Broccoli has lots of energy. Walking doesn't drain enough of his energy, so I bought a $200 bicycle from Amazon to “walk” him. He jogged for an hour (15km) on the first run without stopping. His stamina is impressive.

These hour-long bike rides provided a good break for me from the intense negotiations with the DOJ back then.

After being away for almost a year, Broccoli remembers me well and always wanted me to pat his head.

Broccoli is a strong and confident dog now