When I was around 10 years old, my family and I decided to go through the process of adopting a dog at a rescue shelter. We went to the shelter, picked out the dog, and bought everything we needed for her. Two days before we went to pick her up my Mom backed out. Emotional trauma.
My experience with dogs before living at my current apartment complex was little to none. I never grew up with any pets so I had no idea of the emotional bond that you could have outside of humans and the characteristics that you could inherit from one another — or even the aesthetic choices that could come with having a pet.
The aim of this project was to develop our unique project brief and guidelines, while independently conducting comprehensive research to uncover findings.
For my independent study, I decided to interview my friend Keziah (Key-sha) Bejo (Beh-ho).
Meet Keziah — she is pre-PA, 23 years old, Filipino, loves to shop, and has an obsession with mono-chromatics and neutral colors. She recently adopted a dog of her own about a year ago, Malaya.
Malaya is an interesting dog — her name means “free” in Tagalog and she’s the craziest dog I’ve ever met. I’ve had the privilege of being her auntie for the past year and have taken care of her countless times when Keziah wasn't able to. My relationship with Keziah has grown exponentially over the course of a year and it is very obvious to me that Malaya has been a big contributing factor to this.
Keziah got her dog, Malaya, January of 2023 through a Facebook pet adoption page. She was just 3 months old at the time and had not been taken well care of.
When inquiring Keziah about Malaya and how she is as her dog, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I began to know more about Keziah and Malaya in a different way than before, Keziah and.. “other Keziah.” Two of the same! I asked her what her thoughts were on the saying, “Dogs look like their owners.” She immediately said she doesn’t think they look alike in the slightest but they both have similar anxiety traits, both luxurious and bougie in their ways, and.. “both the same aesthetic.”
I had known how comically similar Keziah and Malaya were:
- They both exhibit the same anxiety traits
- gets very startled easily
- gets overwhelmed and cannot focus on anyone trying to get their attention
- dramatic expressions of anxiety (Malaya will shit everywhere and Keziah will shop till she is literally in debt) (I have loaned her money before)
2. They both live a luxurious lifestyle
- Keziah is exceptionally luxurious, everything needs to be sleek, heavyweight, and expensive.
- Malaya will not lay or sit on a hard surface, or even a normal soft one.. she needs a sherpa, fluffy, blanket or she will not let her body touch the ground.
- Malaya eats $80 dog food and she will turn her nose to anything else.
I pondered whether the notion of owners and pets growing alike was merely a humorous saying or a genuine phenomenon. Curious, I prompted Keziah to delve deeper into their shared traits. What she revealed was intriguing — Malaya hadn’t always exhibited these traits; her journey before being welcomed by Keziah’s care was neglect. She was malnourished, never ate high-quality food, had tummy parasites, had no records of vaccines and/or any medication, and slept on the streets in Austin. Her life was never near pampered or luxurious in any means.
It seemed to me that there was a connection between this relationship with an inevitable adoption of traits that slowly created similarity to one another. This seemed like an easy identification for me, as I could see how this mutual transformation could extend to owners and their pets, as they share their lives and experiences together.
But having the same “aesthetic” was interesting news to me. The concept seemed impossible at first — a dog possessing a distinct aesthetic or a preference for specific things seemed hard to believe.
When inquiring Keziah about what she meant about aesthetics, she mentioned that her aesthetic is extremely important to her — she showed me around her room explaining her design choices of sleek modern pieces paired with more organic staples but all coherently under the umbrella of neutral colors.
“Everything. Must. Be. Neutral.”
She explained that one of the biggest reasons for choosing Malaya was that she “fit her aesthetic.” Malaya is a black and white Pitbull-hound mix.
Eager to explore the correlation between Malaya’s persona and Keziah’s carefully curated “aesthetic,” I delved into research within Keziah’s living spaces. An examination of her bedroom and living room décor unveiled crazy parallels that resonated with Malaya’s demeanor and belongings:
- Keziah's bedroom and living room is all neutrals; Malaya is a neutral-colored dog (we already knew this)
2. Keziah enjoys luxurious feeling fabrics; Malaya’s dog bed is fluffy and luxurious
3. Keziah keeps a minimalistic decorum; Malaya’s chew toys are minimalistic and uncolored.
4. Keziah hates anything looking plastic and cheap; Malaya’s food bowl is heavy-weighted ceramic
As I was taking pictures of both Malaya and Keziah’s environment, I saw that they were also both exhibiting similar behavior, snuggled up in a cozy, fluffy blanket in a luxurious stance.
Keziah and Malaya’s posh lifestyle, shaped by their shared “aesthetic,” isn’t just seen in their living spaces but also stands out in their appearance — especially in how Malaya presents herself to the world.
Malaya outwardly showed her wealth and luxury with her high-end real leather dog collar, Apple AirTag, and weighty metal name tag. Apparently Keziah says this dog collar was the only viable collar she could stand wearing or else she would somehow claw her way out of it.
And her array of dog accessories for fashionable walks down West Campus — in neutral colors, of course.
This research uncovered something I already suspected — Keziah’s crazy. But beyond that, it shed light on the significance of personal style and flair extending to one’s pet. It became evident how aesthetic preferences can influence shared characteristics, a connection Malaya shows very apparently.
In my conversation with Keziah and observing Malaya, it’s clear that Malaya embodies these shared traits, even in her relaxed and luxurious posture!!!!
Although Malaya’s often deemed a bit snotty and picky, especially when it concerns anything less than top-notch quality, it’s crystal clear to me that she receives exceptional care and attention. Keziah’s commitment to ensuring Malaya’s well-being and comfort is truly commendable and I respect her so much for taking care of Malaya so well from the beginning.
Keziah’s my greatest friend and I am so grateful for the person she is — she is luxurious and wants the same for everyone she loves around her. Her and Malaya have my entire heart.
