By SKIP BANDELE features@algarveresident.com
Skip Bandele moved to the Algarve 10 years ago and has been with the Algarve Resident since 2003. His writing reflects views and opinions formed while living in Africa, Germany and England as well as Portugal.
I read something about Battersea Dogs Home celebrating its 150th anniversary the other day.
It strikes me as absurd that in this relatively enlightened day and age of passionate dog lovers we still have the need for such an institution; that animals are often not only abandoned, nay, discarded like an unwanted piece of furniture, but are all too frequently mistreated or even deliberately tortured.
Before you start thinking that this will be yet another tirade berating the injustices inflicted upon our four legged friends, stop reading and turn the page, let me assure you that my intentions from here on are quite the opposite – I want to make you laugh and warm your heart by way of a number of furry stories and observations.
An elderly couple brought their lively nine-year-old Border Terrier cross to the above mentioned world-famous rescue centre because they could no longer cope with her.
Tia needs plenty of exercise and her upkeep is not cheap. Following tearful goodbyes, Tia formally became one of the three million dogs and cats that have been taken into the home since its foundation in 1860, given a water bowl and food and assigned a kennel and blanket.
A week after her arrival, Tia is allowed into the yard primarily to assess her ability to socialise and interact with people, dogs and other animals in a potential future family. Understanding what makes a particular dog an individual and what its defining characteristics are can be vital in the re-homing process.
Tia turns out to be a bouncy and obedient dog, perfectly at ease with children and is transferred to the visiting area where she is spotted within hours by Sam O’Connor, who instantly falls in love with her.
“Her previous owners clearly treated Tia well and apart from her predilection for chasing squirrels, she is perfect,” Sam said after the formal ‘adoption’. “She is so cute but what really clinched it for me was the fact that we bonded immediately. It feels as if we’ve always been together.” Awwwwww…….!
I have had dogs around me for as long as I can remember and soon learnt that they are as different as people – each one has its own personality, each one is in one way or another unforgettable.
Some are more unforgettable than others of course. Now and then one can be very fortunate to find exactly the right dog at precisely the right moment to form a deep relationship because one has by chance arrived at a point in one’s life which perfectly complements the personality of that dog.
When I was young our friends and relatives had varying dogs, big ones, small ones, hunters and those ones who saw their role in life to simply be loved.
The most astonishing among these was Solo, an elderly German Alsatian, to date the only dog I’ve ever met who could burp on purpose – not unlike some humans, he regarded this ability as a really great joke.
When my grandmother had a few of her friends over for bridge, Solo would stealthily enter the house and join the ladies. Putting on his most innocent face, he would then proceed to emit a deafening burp.
He obviously misinterpreted the subsequent screams of outrage as a form of applause as he proudly remained seated preparing for an encore.
Dogs are funny creatures and my mother is another person who cannot resist their charms – audible or otherwise. The latest additions to the family are Lisa, who walked in straight from the street, and Pooby, the one survivor of two brothers found stuffed in a bin liner inside a Monchique rubbish container.
Between them they manage to keep my parents’ lives eventful and entertaining. More often than not visitors are left standing in the living room as chairs have canine occupants relaxing to the calming strains of Beethoven.
In fact, almost all of the daily household routine at Casa São Cristovão is dictated by its four-legged inhabitants. Breakfast has to be on time – thereafter my mother is left freezing in the bathroom as the heater is monopolised elsewhere.
Should the post-siesta play hour be forgotten, Pooby disappears for a while only to confront the negligent party with a chewed up piece of clothing upon his return.
Bed time is 10pm sharp – Lisa abandons the television for her basket underneath the stairs while Pooby leads the way up the very same, en-route to ‘his’ place at the foot end of the four poster. Creatures of habit!
I agreed to have a greyhound boxer cross in an apartment some years ago – with the firm understanding that walking duties would be shared equally among his owners, the most enthusiastic of which was the 14-year-old daughter of my then girlfriend.
Four years and many miles later involving thrice daily outings which grew longer and longer as the dog grew bigger and bigger, I filed for divorce and swore to stick to cats in future.
I have two of these tyrants at home now but changes in my sister’s personal circumstances have once more brought me back to the activity I started earning my pocket money with many moons ago – dog walking.
Every weekday I head over to Christiane’s house where Cookie awaits me eagerly for her lunchtime stroll. We go shopping followed by beer and papers at the local café, usually in the company of her other ‘uncle’ Val. Again this has become a fixed routine involving pleasure given and returned, a way of life enriched by sharing.
We own animals by choice. We make a commitment to another creature we are bound to honour in return for a lifetime’s loyalty and companionship.
All our dogs and cats, or pets of any kind, become by definition an integral part of our lives. They are not ‘consumables’, toys or momentary flights of fancy.
Be it Tia, Solo, Lisa, Pooby or Cookie, each and every one is an individual being deserving of our love and care, not something to be dumped at the slightest inconvenience.
Please remember that next time a birthday or Christmas comes around.
Skip Bandele can be contacted by emailing features@algarveresident.com
