Stories Of London

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PAGE TWENTY-SIX

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One thing I do need to say before I continue with this tale is that Casanova/Puppy was unlike many other dog that I had known in that he was a tidy eater. This meant that he never attacked his food as if he had been starved for days. However he did eat with a certain precision. None of his meal was ever spilled over onto the floor. Like all dogs, he did eat fast, but not too fast, and when finished, he did not lick his bowl with such ferocity that it would be sent traveling about the room!

I have a friend who once had three huge dogs that were fed at 5 p.m. They literally inhaled their food. Once eaten their tongues cleaned their bowls in an attempt to clean them thoroughly in order to ensure every trace of food had been found and eaten! This caused their bowls to be flung around the room! Thankfully, this most certainly was not Casanova/Puppy’s style! Rather, he would gently lick his bowl methodically until he was completely satisfied that all remnants of his food had been ingested. Once finished, he would next retire to the sitting room to repose for a while still licking his lips as he went! Definitely a gentleman among dogs!

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I have to admit that I was always embarrassed by Casanova/Puppy’s name especially when we went to the Vet and they would call out CASANOVA JENKINS when it was our turn! I always made it clear to everyone within listening distance that I wasn’t the one that named him! As a result, I wanted to change Casanova/Puppy’s name, but to what?

A Canasta Hand of Eleven Cards

Before the Covid-19 Pandemic wrecked havoc across the world, each Friday I was in the habit of playing Canasta at my home with two friends that I have known since coming to live at my current address. Although Casanova/Puppy liked both parties, he was especially attentive to the lady. She was a nice person who was notoriously inquisitive, but without being malicious. This quality was shared by Casanova/Puppy!  I enjoyed teasing her about her nosiness which she always took with good humour and laughed along.  However this quality would drive her husband nuts at times on occasion!

I had chosen the name Victor, which is the masculine form of my lady Canasta companion’s name, Victoria.  I thought this would be a good choice since they shared a quality of inquisitiveness both without any hint of shame!

Victor-Victoria & Vittorio
Upper Left: Queen Victoria (1819-1901); Centre: Victor Hugo (1802-1885);
Right: Vittorio De Sica (1901-1974)
Lower Left: Julie Andrews (1935) as Victor & Right, as Victoria

Much to my CHAGRIN, and try as I might, neither Victor nor any other name stuck.  He simply ignored my efforts to have him respond to another name. Eventually I had to forgo all attempts and stick with the name Puppy and live with the perpetual embarrassment.

A Friend in Need (1903) by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (1844-1934)

Casanova/Puppy’s inquisitiveness was well-developed. Whenever anything was delivered to the house or whenever I brought home shopping, he would insist on inspecting each box and each bag and then looking inside to confirm if there was anything to eat or for him.

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Victoria’s husband, Thomas, was a great dog lover and had owned dogs all his life. He always claimed that Casanova/Puppy had been starved in the past and then with me. We always stopped for lunch during our Canasta Days and he attempted to feed him human food. This only happened a couple of times since I made it clear that I preferred that he did not to eat human food.

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Casanova/Puppy had been raised not to come to the dining table when a meal was in progress, so he never learned to beg. However, he was in the habit of sitting at the opening between the sitting room and my dining area where he would STARE at me. This would always fill me with guilt!

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Thomas’ complaint caused me to think about Casanova/Puppy’s diet, which I soon realised was somewhat harsh and spartan and so I took to giving him a few treats at lunchtime on days when we played Canasta.  He enjoyed this and was quick to let me know which treats he enjoyed most. These were quickly consumed while those less to his taste were still eaten, but without the same gusto!

Eventually, and with much guilt, I began serving him a light luncheon daily! Since I did not wish for him to gain weight, his lunch consisted of very small helpings of vegetables. Most vegetables he enjoyed for a short time and then refused them. He wanted meat!!!

Following this, I gave him an occasional bone which I purchased from Chewy.com or else a Blue Buffalo Health Bar and a Paul Newman stick. Naturally, he preferred these and always hoped for more than what I was willing to give him. Later, at 4 p.m., when I enjoyed a cup of tea, he enjoyed a Vanilla Wafer.

Treats

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When it was time for bed, he would sit patiently on the floor at the foot of my bed and wait for me to give me four tiny Bits. He evidently loved these very small treats and chewed them with glee, as if they were a bone!

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One final note on Casanova/Puppy’s nutritional likes and dislikes. He resembled one of his earlier owners in that he was fickle, to some extent, in his tastes. One food that he once loved and ate with gusto was Peanut Butter.  I had been encouraged to feed him a small spoonful of this food daily since I was told that it helped keep his coat shiny. Towards the end of his days, he began to refuse it. Fortunately, his coat remained glossy ……. as I liked to say, it glistened like freshly mined coal!

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