Dino

I’ve had two incredible dogs in my life, both cleverer than half the humans wandering around this planet and this story is about one of them.

Dino was actually my boss’s dog. I did eight seasons in Corfu, Greece as an entertainer, musician, stand-up comic and general trouble-shooter when the electric generator gave up.  This was April to Oct.. 1989 -1995. so it was for four years in total that I had the privilege of his company

Dino kinda adopted me cos I was feeding him better than the boss and he swiftly moved into my apartment. Before I knew it we were a locally acknowledged item. Where Sal goes, there goes Dino, they would say. And he was the kind of animal that you could take anywhere, such was his character.

Dino was in fact an American thoroughbred poodle brought back from the states by my boss, though through being totally un-primped, his black coat was more Bob Marley than dog show.

I remember removing all these barbs and shit from his coat and bathing him in my tub, and though he hated all of it, I sensed he just knew it was all for the best, and he would always brave it out.

No matter where I went, shops, work, disco, there he was as happy as could be.

Mind you he would not suffer fools. Once, this really aggressive dog was giving it large around him as we were out on a nice walk. He looked at me as if to say,

“Won’t be a second, Sal” and went and tore the mf apart.

He ran back to and looked up at me with his twinkling eyes..

“OK, shall we continue with our perambulations now” he seemed to say, tail wagging again.

I always got the impression that, regulations permitting, you could pop him in a back-pack with his little head sticking out of the top and take him anywhere in the world and he would have had more manners than most.

Also, check this..other animals loved him too…birds, rats, whoever..he was completely approachable, like a canine guru..and the cats loved him. They used to rub up against him all the time…and one day (I knew what was going through his mind by then) he decided to give this cat one, seeing as she was being so friendly. He mounted her..and got a bite and a scratch for his trouble..OK ..lesson learned..I was cracking up laughing.

During my 6^th season there, Dino disappeared for the longest time. He eventually limped back to me in a complete mess. Word was he’d gone crazy over a bitch and had lost it completely and gotten hit by a car in the process. I patched him up and fed him about twice his body weight in dog food. He slept so deep. Then at midnight my mate burst into my apartment, drunk, I’m going..”Drew, shut the fuckin door”, but Dino was gone again….can’t hold a good man down…

We decided to re-home him at my bosses other gig, way out in the country and especially away from this madness that would surely kill him.

Last time I saw Dino was when I arrived for my last season there. I was told he had gone virtually blind over the winter. I sought him out and crept up. I was ten yards from him. 

“Dino” I whispered..

He sniffed a bit.

Then he ran like mad and took a blind leap of faith and up into my arms.