Alert. Alert. Alert. There is something very wrong with my dog. Very wrong indeed. Firstly, he spends most of his time staring at imaginary shadows in his house (yes, he considers my house, his house). Secondly, he is infatuated with ravens and chases butterflies like a drug addict chases the dragon. Last but not least, he eats worms.
Even though Winston, who I named after the great English wartime leader Winston Churchill, is slightly disturbed (inside the mind), I love him with all my heart. Part of my love stems from his loopiness. (Wait a minute, Leon, don't owners pick dogs that are like themselves. Indeed they do...)
I remember very clearly the first time I laid eyes on his little munchkin face. It was definitely love at first sight. I immediately knew that this young chap was coming home with me. He has been my constant companion ever since.
Now that you have a little insight into 'The life of Winston' you can be privy to a dark little secret. There are many things he feels slightly aggrieved by: figs, his sister Nani and purple balloons are high on the hit list. Yes, balloons! But, the most distressing thing is when his dad (me) goes off gallivanting around the globe.
Whenever my trusty suitcase comes out of the closet he seems to plunge into a deep, dark depression. I have found him staring at walls in my bathroom, sometimes he even climbs into my suitcase and mopes around. I once found him dragging the clothes off my bed and back into the closet! So, since I travel extensively I make it an important aspect of our life together to take a trip with him whenever I can.
Winston has been fortunate enough to experience a few exotic places: Santa Fe, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and his most favorite place in the whole wide world, Santa Barbara. Recently he asked me to take him to India...
As I touched upon earlier, Winston is slightly odd and unfortunately doesn't know a good thing when he sees it. He is also über spoiled (my fault I know!). Traveling with him is not always the easiest experience either. It takes patience and dedication to detail! He stubbornly refuses to get into the car unless I have his special blanket laid out for him. When we get to our hotel he whines at the foot of the bed and simply will not go to sleep unless I pick him up and tuck him in. Yes, I tuck my dog in at night!
I guess some of you are asking why I would even bring him with me if he is so high maintenance. Well, Winston loves me, and I love Winston. So we like spending as much time together as possible. His nuttiness only makes our travels all the more interesting...
Leon Logothetis