Saturday, May 05, 2007

PICCOLINO

The Italians, I have found, are not all that original when it comes to naming their dogs, who are always referred to collectively as Fido in the press in stories such as the "Prozac for Dogs" one so brilliantly lampooned by As a Dodo recently. When I was down in the little house in Modica Bassa, the old gentlemen who would sit on the wall to chat to each other were quite convinced that all British dogs are called Bobby and nothing would change their minds, even though I told them that Simone is a Simone and a "she"! "'Elo, Bobby, 'ow are you?" they would ask each morning, proudly showing off their English. There was a delightful little puppy with his elderly owner in the petshop down there this morning. Now, you have to understand, reader , that I go soppy over dogs in the way that other women do over babies, so after I had "Ahed" , cooed to and petted this newcomer, I asked his owner, "E come si chiama questo piccolino?" ["What's this little one's name?"] I should have guessed it: "Piccolino", he replied, looking at me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Children usually make a fuss of Simone - "Guarda il bel cagnolino!" ["Look at the beautiful doggie!"] they cry - and she is incredibly gentle and good around them. But this morning, as we were on our walk, a brat in a buggy pointed and shouted , "Un cane - brutto!" ["A dog - it's ugly!"] I quickly covered Simi's ears [her Italian being quite good now] and smiled indulgently whilst forcing myself not to risk a lynching by retorting, "Well, actually, I think you're a horrible, ugly child with no aesthetic judgement" . How can his parents allow him to speak ill of a dog? If the creature wants to go through life insulting his peers, so be it. But dogs?!!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

You got me laughing pretty hard at the finger pointing, ugly kid. Chortle.

elleeseymour said...

We had a family dog called Monty, a collie of some kind, he was so lovely. Do you think it is true that Italians look like their owners, btw?

Fyi, our stray cat is named Jack Morley and our rabbit is called Reg.

Ballpoint Wren said...

I would be telling that rude little thing he was horrible and ugly, too. And I am one of those women who go soppy over babies.

jmb said...

You had me laughing there welshcakes. I wonder where they got the Bobby idea from. Some film, perhaps? Let's hope that child gets better manners soon, although if he's still in a buggy there's a chance.
All the Italians I meet seem to be cat people.
regards
jmb

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Glad it amused you, Steve! Ellee, I think you mean "dogs" look like their owners? - They certainly take on the characteristics - if I am stressed, Simi senses it and can get stressed too. And once I got a hairdresser to colour my hair exactly the same shade as her fur! Lovely to know what your pets are called - why Jack Morley? Bonnie, I've never had a baby so they scare me ! Jmb, yes, maybe it's some WW2 film that I don't know about! They do sem to be more cat orientated, don't they? Auguri

Lee said...

You should have told Simi to bare not only her teeth at that rude child and then told her to tell the kid to go home, look the mirror...and then see if he's willing to come back and throw such nasty comments around about other "people"!

Cheeky little beggar! ;)

Eurodog said...

Hello,
I have just read your blog, love it and have added it to the blogs I read. I have just written something on dogs you might be interested in.

elleeseymour said...

During a visit to the south of France, though this may be typical of other parts too, I was amazed by how many men walked their dogs, and little ones too, not big butch dogs. They would take them to the bakery and out shopping, carrying their "handbags". They seemed very fond of their little pooches.

Yes, I did make a typo with my last comment, my brain and fingers were not coordinated.

Sally said...

What a revolting child! I passed on the tale of this insult to Mr Bowser (black labrador aged 9) and he sends his Respect and Commiseration to the Lady Simi - should he hotfoot it to Modica to defend her.....?

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, Lee. Simi likes your comment! Nice to meet you, eurodog, and I'm coming over to your blog now. Glad you like mine. Hi, Ellee. That's true here, too ; you don't see the men about with "macho" dogs. Sally, Simi sends lots of wags to Mr Bowser and thinks him very gallant!

Maria said...

Children can be so rude! How awful, Simi is just beautiful! Now I mus add that having two, not one dogs that I named Bella of course...lol... I am now ashamed! lol

All the best,
To You and SIMI the beautiful,
M

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, M. Simi says thank you and wags! x

Liz Hinds said...

It's very upsetting to see children who cower away from all dogs. It's usually because of the parents' influence and it's so wrong. Of course, you have to be cautious initially of dogs you don't know but to be scared of them all ...!

The worst Harvey does is to slobber over them!

Simi is big enough to rise above such absurd comments.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, Liz. I agree - the parents convey their own fear to the child and it's so silly. That's all Simi will do, too. Yes, she thinks kids like that are not worth even her contempt.

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