Poodles in China / August 15 2007
I have just been asked by Mary, my elderly next-door-neighbour to help her fix a problem she was having with her plumbing. ‘No problem,’ I said, happy to oblige.
I was amazed, however – no, shocked is a better word – when I saw for the first time her collection of porcelain dogs. She has got thousands! Alsatians, Labradors, Westies, Cairn Terriers, Collies and the ubiquitous Poodles – the list is endless. Mary didn’t mention them and neither did I. I was simply taken aback by their sheer number.
I have never understood the appeal of such things, and to be honest, I find the fact that someone could amass such a vast collection somehow sad and tragic. But who am I to specify what objects a lonely old lady should have in her house. Who appointed me Judge Judy and executioner?
Although she did not allude to them at all, Mary does seem to be very proud of her legion of canine ornaments. This was obvious by the way she had them all proudly displayed on every surface around her house. They must be like friends to her.
While she seems to be very well acquainted with many of my other neighbours, I have never actually seen any close friends or family visit Mary on a regular basis. When I first moved here, she told me that her husband – an American solder whom she had met in the war – died nearly twenty years ago from some pernicious illness, and, although she seems to have adjusted well to it by now, I do think that she finds it difficult being so alone.
As far as I am aware, Mary never had any children. Nor does she actually own a real dog. She has a cat called Jake who Audrey loves to bark at whenever she gets the chance. I shall have to be very vigilant to never allow Audrey to enter Mary’s house if I am ever invited again – especially with her red beach ball in tow. That would be catastrophic. It would just be wrong. Spectacular, yes; but completely, death-defyingly, ocean-goingly wrong. Funny though.
Filed under Audrey / Dogs / Family / Growing Old / Loneliness / Neighbours
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