Stories Of London

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Not long ago, one of my neighbours decided to move house.  She came to this decision reluctantly since she had now reached an age where it was necessary to seek help from others with the performance of some of the activities required to continue to live alone.  After discussing her situation with her eldest son and his wife, she decided that it made sense to move to an apartment complex in the state where they lived and so be closer to them should she need their help.

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Several years earlier, my neighbour’s eldest son had retired from a career in the U.S Armed Forces and came to live with her while he considered his options for his future life.  During this time, he obtained a beautiful puppy, a black Labrador mix, that he named Casanova!  However my neighbour soon took to calling him Puppy!

Casanova/Puppy proved to be highly intelligent and was easily trained to behave well and was soon able to follow simple commands.  He had a gentle disposition and proved friendly without leaping up at visitors and overwhelming them and only barked when he felt his domain being threatened.  All in all, he proved to be a delightful companion.

Black Labrador Puppies

Once my neighbour’s son decided what he was going to do during his retirement years, it became necessary for him to move to an adjacent state where he hoped to farm.  He realised that the now larger Puppy was happy where he was and had become protective of his mother.  As a result, when the son moved, he Puppy remained behind with his mother.

Casanova/Puppy now settled into a routine, which proved to be congenial to both my neighbour and him.

Casanova aka Puppy

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Now that my neighbour planned to move, she was faced with a dilemma.  She had found a very nice apartment to live that was close to shops and to her son’s home.  However, as ideal as the apartment was, it now brought a major problem to the forefront.  It seemed that the Board of the Apartment Complex did not allow dogs!

My neighbour now had to make a choice: either

• not to move house,
• find another apartment complex where dogs were allowed or
• move and find a new home for her dog!

After some searching, my neighbour was unable to find an apartment complex near to her son’s home where dogs were welcomed!  She either had to remain in her house or find Casanova/Puppy a new home.

Although my neighbour was keen to move, making the decision to leave Casanova/Puppy and find him a new home did not come easy to her.  She made it clear to her son that unless she found the perfect new home for her dog, she would not move!

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I have to admit that I have always liked Casanova.  Whenever I visited her, once I opened the gate to her driveway, the dog would begin to announce my imminent presence by barking.

Casanova – no longer a Puppy

The dog had commandeered the couch that had been placed before the large window that looked out onto her front garden and driveway.  From his couch, Casanova/Puppy was able to announce the coming of all visitors and also make note of passers-by.  When seated on this throne, he was able to divide visitors and passers-by into favourites and dislikes.  The Post Woman was definitely in the very-much-disliked group!

When I got to the walkway in front of the large window of her living room, Casanova/Puppy jumped down and came and waited at the door until it was opened.  Once opened, and after some initial barking to let me know that he was in charge, the dog always greeted me in a friendly manner.  I learned from the time that he was a puppy that he was not overly fond of being petted.  A few pats on the back were enough greeting for him.  After this, and a few licks of my hand, he usually left and went about his business elsewhere.

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Casanova/Puppy had a delightful personality and was very friendly to guests except when it came to squirrels and cats who dared to enter his domain.  He saw it as his duty to maintain the front and back garden as a cat-and-squirrel-free zone.

Casanova/Puppy also proved very protective of my neighbour, as he remained close to her whenever someone came to call and always guarded the space between her and any visitor including me!

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I remember my neighbour telephoning me early one Saturday morning.  She told me that she planned to move and be closer to her son and his wife.  She added that she only had one concern and that was that she would be unable to take Casanova/Puppy with her and that she was now forced to find him a new home.  She quickly added that unless she found the perfect home then she would not move.

I have to admit that over the years of living here in my house, I had become fond of my neighbour and her dog and I was certainly going to miss them once they moved.

While I was thinking about what she had told me, and trying to get used to the idea, my neighbour’s eldest son telephoned me and asked me if I would like to give Casanova/Puppy a home?

Before I could think about it, and before he had finished his request, I heard myself answering with a very loud YES!!!  And suddenly, I heard myself agreeing to come over to her house to discuss the dog’s move!

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After the telephone call came to an end, I sat back in my chair and thought about what I had agreed to!  Wasn’t I the one who did not want to have a dog?  Wasn’t I the one who believed that no dog would choose me?

I began to think of things against taking the dog and things in favour of offering him a home.  To be honest, my home was not set-up for either children or animals and that was exactly how I liked it!  After all, I had many mats, carpets, little treasures etc. etc. etc. about the place that I did not want damaged by a dog running through the house!

However, despite the many reservations that I found easy to list, I suddenly realised that I actually didn’t care about these possessions and mats and things and that what I really wanted was for the dog to come and share my house!

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Later that day, I went over to my neighbour’s house.  I was greeted by the dog and, once we sat down, I noticed that something quite extraordinary had happened ……… the dog began to treat me differently!

Firstly, he came and sat on my feet.  This was something that he had not done before.

Secondly, when I got up, he began to follow me!

I said to my neighbour that it felt as if the dog knew that something was up!  Although Casanova/Puppy had always been pleasant to me, from that time on, he was attentive.

I suggested to my neighbour that since the dog was not a puppy and was used to his home with her, I wanted his move to be as easy and as non-traumatic as possible.  As a result, I requested that his couch be moved with him.

The Couch

And so, two weeks later, early on a Saturday morning, Casanova/Puppy’s couch was moved into my living room.  At the same time, two steel water bowls and a plastic food bowl together with a bag of his favourite dog food and a bag of his treats, moved as well.

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Later that day, I went to my neighbour’s house and attached a leash to his collar and we walked to my home.  He put up no argument when I attached his leash to his collar.  Once he had said good-bye to my neighbour, he calmly walked with me along the street without tugging at the leash.  He looked back at my neighbour who was standing on her front porch a couple of times during the walk, but, fortunately for me, he came along without difficulty.  Of course, he stopped multiple times to mark what he now considered to be his territory!

Mr. & Mrs. William Hallett (aka The Morning Walk by Thomas Gainsborough (1717-1788)

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Once we arrived at my house, I removed the leash and allowed the Casanova/Puppy to explore my house.  He quietly wandered from room to room, examining and sniffing at everything and anything.  I opened clothes and kitchen cupboards for him to peer into whereupon he sniffed at all he found.  After he had inspected every room and discovered when his food and water bowls were, he went to his couch and promptly fell asleep!

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