Bienvenue à Paris

by Chris Brill-Packard, Ohio
This story first appeared in theWinter 1998 issue of Blue Notes.

Keith and I spent two weeks in France, with 4 1/2 days in Paris. As dog lovers, you will find that the French people take their dogs everywhere. Yes, everywhere-restaurants, bars, shops, parks, grocery stores, hotels, and to work. They ride in cars, subways, in baskets on bicycles, or just walk with their owners. Keith and I were surprised at the number of dogs off-leash. Most dogs are either leading or trailing their owners on the familiar path to work or shopping.

On our first Monday in Paris, at the "Les Deux Magots" restaurant eating a breakfast of croissants and cafe au lait, we saw a smartly dressed man with a Kerry Blue Terrier. They walked into the restaurant, and sat down for the usual. Keith walked over and introduced himself (in French) and told the man that he had two Kerries back in the U.S. that he missed very much. The man realized that Keith was English-speaking, and explained in English that this Kerry was a female, eight years old, and that Keith could pet her. Keith stated she was all Kerry-very loving. So Keith got his Kerry fix that day.

One thing that I noticed during our visit was a man training a new puppy. As they walked down the busy market street overflowing with people, vegetables, and fruits, the puppy was off leash and trailing the owner. The owner was constantly walking forward while looking back at the puppy. If he noticed that the puppy was getting distracted by having too many feet to follow, he would stamp his feet three times. The puppy noticed this immediately and would pick up its pace to hurry in that direction. As the puppy continued moving toward him, he would continue walking. This puppy was approximately 10 weeks old by his size.

During our visit, I heard only one dog bark. These dogs are so calm with all of the noise and movement going on around them. I am sure it is due to the fact that from very small puppies, they are going everywhere.

The dogs are taught to use the curb for toiletting. Paris has the largest number of city cleaners in the world. The city cleaners open up water facets built into the sidewalk areas and wash the sidewalks and gutters. They do this every day. Paris is a very clean city.

The French people do love their dogs. We often were sitting next to people at restaurants with dogs next to us. They calmly look at you, let you pet them, and wait for their owners to move on. No dog every begged for food at any restaurant, and I did not see a single owner give his dog any food while in a restaurant.

One day in Avignon, France, we spotted a mixed breed of miniature poodle type. He was sitting in a cafe looking out into the crowd. A woman walked by with a small mixed breed (which looked part Westie to me). She released the dog from the leash, and the little dog went running into the cafe to greet its pal, the poodle. Those two dogs played with each other, rolling over, jumping on each other, just having a good time while people walked around them. About 10 minutes later, the woman came back, called her dog to her, and off they went to places unknown. The poodle stayed in his cafe and watched his friend go. It made me think that this was a daily routine for these dogs. It made our trip fun, seeing all these creatures enjoying their day with their owners.

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