It is said that dogs are man’s best friend and for 14-year-old Abigail Fick, this seems to be a fact.
From the time she was two, her affection for dogs has grown immensely and today she is a dog trainer.
She loves dogs so much that she has read books of various dog breeds and can easily differentiate them even when strolling on the streets.
TRAINING DOGS
Speaking during an interview with the Nation at their Nyali home in Mombasa County, she said her interest in dogs began a long time ago and in 2015, when her family moved to Kenya, she managed to get one.
“We have two dogs, Oreo and Sky, but Oreo is my favourite. I didn’t have a dog until 2015, but even before that I had an interest in them. I wanted a dog but had to wait until we moved here,” she says.
“Oreo has basic skills and can sit down, stay, heel, wave, spin, shake hands, go between someone’s legs, march, jump and touch objects,” she said.
She says Sky does not know much as she is still young, about a year old since she got her. “She can sit down, stay, shake hands and go between my legs,” she adds.
Training dogs is not easy, but she says the trick lies in giving them treats that are not part of their usual meals every time they do something new.
Other than training the dogs, she trains cats too. They have two cats, Shadow and Rocky.
“I also train Rocky the cat, which proves a bit hard to train. Shadow is always hiding,” she says.
Unlike many teenagers her age, Ms Fick is unique in many ways as she is able to draw, write books and plays the piano. She started drawing when she was a little girl and this was inspired by her love for dogs.
“Basically, my love for dogs drove me into drawing them and I found out that I was also good at it. Most of my drawings are dogs, cats, horses, objects, humans and at times comic books,” Ms Fick says.
EAR FOR MUSIC
She adds: “I started drawing horses in 2016. It has become my latest interest after dogs. I have drawn other things occasionally, I look at still objects and draw them.”
She says she has entered a few competitions online and still hopes to be successful. She has so far written at least seven books about dogs, mysteries, adventures, comics and comedy with the hope of publishing them someday.
She hopes in future to be a vet or a dog trainer, adding that she draws and writes for fun.
She also has a good ear for music, and is a good pianist. As her mother, Ms Divya Fick says: “At a tender age she had a toy keyboard and that is where she also got interested in music. As a family we are proud of her. We at times get surprised at the variety of interests she has.”
Her mother says Abigail reads odd books, many of which people would not normally read.
The teenager is so committed to her training that she has created time in her daily schedule for dog training.