Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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One-of-a-kind puppy personalities
Each one of the Waynes dogs has a different personality.
There’s sweet Apollo, with a gentle nature but never-ending motor and desire to play fetch all hours of the day.
“He loves swimming and playing with the ball,” Trae said. “He’s also really emotional. If Kyra’s upset or Layla’s upset, he’s upset. He’s a really good support dog.”
Ares, the most-muscular of the three with a handsome white coat dotted by almost-transparent spots, is the “daddy’s boy” in the house.
Sharing Trae’s mellow demeanor, Ares is the one who “really doesn’t do much” outside of wrestling with his “siblings,” which is difficult to turn down.
Asked for a story that stands out about him, Trae laughed and recalled a summer day on the lake when Ares unexpectedly jumped into the water.
“We’d expect it from Apollo, but Ares is not a swimmer,” Trae said. “I … had to go in there and pick him up – we both did – because he’s so heavy. We had to fish him out.”
While Ares mirrors Trae’s disposition, we asked the cornerback to compare current Vikings teammates to his other two pups.
He first matched Apollo to linebacker Eric Kendricks.
“Eric just loves the game of football, and that’s how Apollo is when you play fetch with him,” Trae said. “He’s just nonstop. Always energetic, always on the go.”
And as for Roma, the little sister?
Trae pondered for a moment before cracking a smile.
“I’d have to say Kris Boyd,” he laughed, poking fun at his rookie teammate. “Just because hearing from Everson [Griffen] and Anthony Barr, I always hear them jokingly say, ‘You’re so annoying. You’re the most annoying human I know.’ So, I would say that. They’re both pretty loud.”
International pooch
While Kyra and Trae always said they wouldn’t go through a breeder for a dog, they broke their rule for Roma, whom they selected in Barcelona, Spain, on their honeymoon.
Trae always has had his eye on a purebred Cane Corso and for a long time had followed the Spanish breeder.
“When we were in Spain, we were looking for stuff to do, and I was like, ‘Hey, let’s go to an animal shelter and check out the puppies,’ ” explained Trae, who said they didn’t have any luck there. “For some reason it dawned on me, ‘Wait. This breeder that I followed, he’s somewhere in Spain.’ ”
Interjected Kyra with a playful eye-roll: “ ‘By chance,’ he says.”
Kyra initially said “no” to the third dog, but the couple eventually reached an agreement, and Roma became part of the family this summer.
As little ones sometimes do, though, she’s already put her parents through some scares.
Roma has a tendency to chew on and try eating things – from drywall to door frames to Xbox controllers – and at just 4 months old, she swallowed an 8-inch piece of tree branch, puncturing her esophagus and stomach.
The veterinarian gave Roma a 50-50 chance at survival, but after multiple surgeries and recovery time, she is back to her spunky self.
“That was eventful and expensive. But she’s finally good,” Trae said, reaching over to pat her head. “We have to monitor her sometimes when she goes outside, just to make sure she doesn’t eat any more sticks. And we started feeding her more to hopefully fill her appetite so she doesn’t feel like she has to eat everything she sees.”
And although Kyra initially didn’t vote in favor of bringing Roma home, the newest addition connected with Apollo and Ares and has rapidly become a part of the Waynes family.
“She became a momma’s girl really quick,” Kyra said with a smile. “Now Trae says she’s my favorite.”