FURTHERMORE
By Gerry Moran
I love looking at dogs looking out car windows. Lowered car windows. They look so happy, so delighted to be looking out at the world go by with the wind in their hair and a plethora of odours wafting past their ultra-sensitive nostrils – new mown hay, silage, diesel fumes, whatever.
And then I get to wondering – what are these mutts thinking about as the world passes them by, or as they pass the world by, whichever, at maybe 10 or 20 miles an hour or so. And mentioning miles, the other day I am passing a parked car on High St with the rear window down and the cutest little dog looking curiously out.
“Hello, little dog,” I say (I’m quite sociable when it comes to dogs and most creatures except rats, alligators, boa constrictors, and jungle critters). Not something to worry about here in Kilkenny. But I’ve digressed. Back to the cute little dog in the window of the car in High St. “What’s your name, little dog?” I continue and boy was I taken aback when I hear: “Little Elvis.”
Jesus! A talking dog! Not really until I looked in the car and saw, at the steering wheel, its owner, the one, and only Miles ‘Elvis’ Kavanagh. ‘Little Elvis’, not a hound-dog, is a cross between a Yorkshire and Maltese terrier – and the cutest little terrier you could meet, would win a prize at Crufts though I’m not so sure Crufts entertain crossbreeds.
And then I got to thinking what ‘Little Elvis’ might be thinking as he peers out that window and studies form on High St. Wow, that’s one cute looking poodle, wouldn’t mind getting her number (dog license number, that is). Ah, that poor Daschound has seen better days, sure she’s practically sweeping the path with her belly.
Oh, oh, there’s one rough looking Rottweiler, wouldn’t like to meet him in a dark alley-way. Or would I? And then there’s Noodles. I met Noodles in the Castle Park a while back with it owners whom I know quite well. I took a shine to Noodles, a cute little something or other (I forget the breed) and was quickly introduced. Noodles has an interesting background coming to Ireland from South Africa via the UK. And Noodles sleeps in the marriage bed! And snores! And fancies a fry for breakfast and is particularly partial to a sausage. Talk about a dog’s life!
In the meantime, dogs are big in Japan. Oh, not anatomically but fashionably. Dogs are the in-thing. Because young Japanese couples are in no hurry to procreate they are, instead, treating their pet dogs like babies, or infants even. They dress them up as you would a toddler in the fanciest of clothes and walk them around in buggies (top of the range) just as you would a baby infant. Imagine the scenario – the local park, couples pushing their buggies, stop, engage, peer into each other’s prams, baby rollers whatever, and say: “He, she (they?) is so cute, what do you call it?” “Little Elvis?! Never!” But you never know. I mean Elvis is big everywhere. Even in Japan.
Whatever about dogs having their day they most certainly have their say when it comes to the English language. Consider the following well-known sayings: In the dog house * Top dog * Like a dog in a manger * Old dog for the hard road * Not fit for a dog * Like a dog with a bone * Can’t teach an old dog new tricks * It’s the fight in the dog, not the dog in the fight * Man’s best friend * It’s a dog-eat-dog world * A dog’s dinner * Let sleeping dogs lie * Dog’s abuse * The tail wagging the dog * Sick as a dog * Gone to the dogs * Hair of the dog * See a man about a dog * Dog-eared * Call off the dogs * Under-dog * Doggy bags * Work like a dog * To be in the dog-house * Gone to the dogs * Dogged determination * Raining cats and dogs and, of course, every dog has its day *
