I found Kong on the street near a dumpster right after I moved into my new apartment.

I was cleaning up my new place and throwing things away. Before I got my own place, I had to crash at my sister Liz’s for about two months. Looking for a place to live in New York is a nightmare! So I pretty much knew what it was like to be stranded out in the streets. For a puppy that’s going to be a tough ordeal. It was the beginning of winter and he wouldn’t have survived the cold if I didn’t find him.

First thing I did was take him to the vet and get him checked. The vet said the puppy was a mixed breed. I asked the vet if it was ok to take him home. There was no room in the shelter, and if no one comes to pick him up, he was going to be put down the following week.

I told Steve to meet me at my place with his camera, we took pictures of Kong and made flyers. We started sticking the flyers around where I found him first then in the streets and subways around my neighborhood. No one called. They still haven’t, and we’ve adopted each other. That night Steve and I were watching old classic King Kong movies and the puppy started barking as if he wanted to have a fight with the monsters on TV. Steve and I couldn’t stop laughing, he suggested that we name him Kong. The name stuck every since.

The next day, I had a talk with my landlord. When I moved in he explicitly said that no pets were allowed. I called my landlord (Jim) over to explain to him about Kong. At first Jim shook his head, “No, no, no, pets–NEVER,” he said. I pleaded with him to have a heart, the shelter was going to put him down. Then Kong woke up and came to where we were standing by the door. Since Jim was new, Kong was excited to meet him. He ran to greet Jim but he wasn’t used to the floor, so he slid and stopped only when he hit Jim’s feet. Once he stopped he was a bit confused as to how he got there so quickly. He sat up in his puppy confusion, then started putting his paws up on Jim’s feet. He was so tiny, he could only reach the ankles. Jim looked down and picked up Kong. He started smiling, “Oh, alright, I’ll stop being an old hag. You can stay alright?” he told Kong.

“So, you got a name for him yet?” said Jim, I can see he was taking a liking to Kong already. “Um, well, his name is Kong,” I told him. “Kong? Who names his dog Kong?” Jim asked in confusion. “Well, we were watching King Kong last night and the pup wanted to pick a fight with him. He kept barking at the TV and we couldn’t watch the rest of the movie.” Jim started laughing. “He wanted to pick a fight! Ha ha ha,” Jim handed over Kong to me, turned and laughed in the hallway, then went downstairs. All this time laughing and saying to himself, “Pick a fight!” I guess Kong won Jim’s heart over, pets were allowed in the building after that.

Favorites

• Favorite Accessory: Frisbee.
• Favorite Drink: Water from the toilet bowl. Freshly flushed.
• Life Ambition: Get a belly rub whenever possible.
• Favorite Quote: “Woof. Woof.”