Life in the old dog yet

Exploits of an ageing Portuguese Waterdog

You have my attention

It’s rare to walk Pogo in Notting Hill, where I live, without getting stopped by someone who wants to stroke him. I get my fair share of other dog owners who ask what happened but more likely it will be a woman, often on her own, who finds him irresistible. I need to be careful what I say, but evidence would suggest that Pogo has become an impressive ‘babe magnet’ in his senior years.

It’s uncanny how often they stop to fuss over him. I sometimes get a chance to briefly explain what happened usually as they realise the time and need to go. Some stroke him, ignore me and finish with a short statement of fact as they up and leave. “Your dog is too cute, so lovely, adorable,” the extolled virtues vary depending on where they’re from.

He’s made them late and I know my place. I’m the sidekick, the straight guy. I answer any questions when asked, but only if there’s time.

We’ve been in London for a couple of years now. Before that, Wokingham, which is when Pogo came to us as a 2 months old puppy. He’s a Portuguese Waterdog and regularly gets mistaken for a Labradoodle. The cheek of it!

You’d expect a water dog to love water. After all, they once lived along the coast of Portugal helping fishermen to drive fish into their nets. Despite…