Gou's reference is the Year of the Dog of Lunar New Year The Dog (狗) is the eleventh of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dog is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 戌. The character 狗, also refers to the actual animal while 戌, also refers to the zodiac animal. Dogs are naturally endowed with many talents. They draw well, have a good ear for music and aesthetic taste. They love to read and dedicate most of their free time to this activity. Since childhood, they were interested in religion, the mysteries of the universe and philosophy. Often join secret church movements. The desire to be in the thick of things and help people lead them to volunteer organizations. According to one legend, there is a reason for the order of the animals in the cycle. The story goes that a race was held to cross a great river, and the order of the animals in the cycle was based upon their order in finishing the race. The dog, of course, should have come earlier - after all, she knows how to swim better than other animals. But after a long run, she decided to splash in the river and did not notice how time had passed. Thus, Dog became eleventh.