WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN ITALIAN GREYHOUND
As conveyed to Harry Bennett & S. D. Rowan Jr. by CH. Merola’s Mandolino Napolitano, affectionately known as “Taterbug.”
T o be an Italian Greyhound means that I can be proud of these facts: I am small and smooth and streamlined. A quick swipe with a silk hanky will make me shine. I am truly a compact dog, as I can fold up to fit almost anywhere. It’s nice to be so collapsible, as I am one that seldom gets left at home! I have been told that my face is beautiful, becausemy large, dark eyes are so expressive. Call it vanity, if you will, but I do agree with my humans that I ambeautiful.When I feel like it, I can move with the grace of a well-mannered cloud, and most of the time I do feel like it. I think I am far more intelligent than I am given credit for, as I can understand humans in a way that would frighten them if they did but realize it. I am very proud of my family his- tory! Very few canines can, when they dream, remember floating down the
Blue Nile in the Pharaoh’s Barge and being treasured by Aton Re, the Sun God himself, for courage, beauty, and love. I can dream of being taken from the saddlebags of the Great Alexan- der when it was time to camp at night, and being brought into the tent to be sure that any creeping enemy was not there to harm him. I can remem- ber the many gilded Halls of Royal Courts of Europe, where I was loved and cherished. There was, of course, that rather shady time when the Bor- gia femalemademe do her dirty work, and even though it is history, I will try to forget it. Personally, I think she was just too jealous for her own good. (But who has ever been able to fully under- stand women anyway?) I contribute a great deal to the lives of my humans. I have a high-stepping and free gait, which is a pleasure in the light for human eyes to see; and
the rhythmic sound of my breed-spe- cific footsteps is a pleasure in the dark for human ears to hear. Just imagine if they didn’t have me to convey my thoughts and keep themon their toes!
60 • T op N otch T oys , J uly 2021
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