MY PETSKOUKLA, IRMA & TIGER

Peter Spyros Goudas, Sofia Papadimitritranscribed by Bernadette Scott

ITALIANOESPANOLFRANCAISΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ

Ladies and gentlemen, kids! To understand the story I’m about to

tell you, you have to visualize in your imagination that KOUKLA is a nice French Poodle, all white, with very beauti-ful sharp eyes.

IRMA on the other hand is the most gentle dog in the whole world; she al-ways has shy, sad eyes, looking you right in the eye, she is black with white paws from the ankle down and the portion of her tail at the end is white.

TIGER is a magnificent cat; he always comes to everybody, always pushing his-self up to say “Hello, I’m here!”

Hello, my name is

KOUKLA

For those of you that don’t know what Koukla means, it is the Greek word for ‘beautiful’. Eh, these Greek people always call the girls ‘Kouk-la’! Needless to say, I really deserve this name, because I am a real doll!

However, my birth name was Lucky, given to me from my first owner. I am approximately 8 years old now, and I’m still in great shape. My fur is bet-ter than ever before; it’s like silk. I became a mother twice, all before the age of two.

My previous owner gave me away after my second labor, because I was too old for him. I get along with my present owner, although he is mis-erable, fussy, rough, and yells at me every once in a while, but deep down I think he loves me. In fact, I

can say he loves animals very much. No wonder why his co-workers call him “The Dog-Man”! I like to stay close to him, almost 24 hours a day; he keeps me all day long in the office, in the chair next to his, he gives me a bath 2-3 times a week, combs my hair, fixes my eyebrows, takes care of my nails, decorates my neck.

Because I have very curly hair, he has to take care of it when combing it. He also puts some liquid underneath my eyes; this is because I sometimes cry when he yells at me after I bark at somebody. But I really like to bark at people, especially people with a uni-form, men with shorts, and whoever is showing their legs to me!

Sometimes he yells at me because I bark too much; I like to bark all day long, non-stop!

My owner is like an old gramo-phone with the needle stuck in the same spot; he keeps saying the same thing to me over and over again: “Stop Koukla, Stop Koukla!” But I still bark at people, I bark at people that I know, and people that I don’t know; this is my way of saying “hel-lo” and telling them “I’m here, look how beautiful I am!”.

My barking has become very fa-mous since I was on TV, in the Ven-ture program of CBC (Mar of 2001), where you can see me walking beside my owner and barking at the camera. I was also in one of the biggest news-papers of Canada, the Toronto Star (Feb5th, 2001), with a picture of me in my owner’s arms, covering more than half of the page. You can easily say that I am a very popular dog and see how photogenic I am!

I remember once, I was walking along with my owner on the street, where he saw a large monster of a dog and human companion coming toward us. My owner quickly scooped me up and held me tight in his arms.

My owner could sense my teeth clench-ing harder and harder, and started wor-rying whether I was going to bite him to release me. When the large dog’s master approached, he softly said to my master, “Do not worry kind sir, my dog is very calm and is not vio-lent.” My owner slowly looked back with a small crack of a smile and said, “I was not worried about my dog, I was more worried about your dog if I let Koukla go.” I guess my owner knows me too well, where if I were let go, I would waste little time tearing that Goliath to pieces. I may look like a flea on a camels’ back to some, but my biting power sometimes grow to epic proportions.

My owner works more than 16 hours per day in the office and I am always with him, sitting in the chair next to him or on his lap.

After work, he always keeps me with him, even if he goes to bed. Most of the times I sleep with one eye open to make sure that he will not leave me alone in this life! If I am very tired, I sleep on his legs, so if he wakes up or tries to move, I also wake up so that he can’t leave me!

I remember one time my owner went to the doctor to complain about

feeling something heavy on his chest while he was sleeping. Well, at least that’s what he told the doctor. Since that day, I don’t sleep on his chest anymore, but he will never know that I was the one who caused this trouble, because I was sleeping on his chest. He sleeps very deep and for very few hours.

I deserve to sleep deep and com-fortably too, because I work so hard all day long! The thing is though, that I don’t get any vacat ion,or benefits for

my work. This is really a dog life!

A couple of years ago I got very de-pressed when I heard from someone talking to my boss, that my ex-hus-band, (Chippy), got his head crushed by black wheels underneath a big and heavy car.

I always used to tell him to never play with a ball in the middle of the street, but he never listened to me! Since that day, I am officially a widow and I don’t plan to marry again…

I never had another boyfriend, but I have a very good friend; her name is IRMA and she is a black Irish set-ter, or some kind of a funny name people sometimes give to dogs. IRMA was with my boss for years before I came in the picture. She is quiet, and doesn’t bark at people, welcomes visi-tors showing very good manners, and keeps herself clean, but has the only

fault of snoring loudly when sleeping. Her fur is black. She looks very silky after a bath.

We have two things in com-mon: we both love our owner very much, and

we both go to the washroom at the same time, first IRMA then me.

My owner also has a cat by the name of TIGER, who has a beauti-ful soft and delicate golden fur coat. Apparently, because of his color and his appearance, he probably is the great-grand-grand-grand son of the cat that Audrey Hepburn owned in the famous movie “Breakfast at Tif-fany’s”.

Tiger spends most of his time on the top of computers and printers, because they are warm and cozy.

He also, sometimes, tries to catch birds outside the office, in which he usually succeeds.

Both TIGER and I, sleep together with all of our legs stretching up in the same sofa, however IRMA sleeps on an area rug in front of the sofa.

Our owner takes us with him in the car whenever he drives some-where. Tiger never wants to travel, so he stays behind and waits for us.

Although we are supposed to sit in the back of the car, I always sneak slowly, and almost invisibly to the front, and sit on my owner’s lap. I make sure to choose the right time

to do that, when he is distracted with traffic, and can’t deal with me. To avoid any further conversation with me he says: “Come on KOUKLA, sit down over here and be quiet!” This reminds me of the time, when I was on my owners lap sitting comfortably, when the police stopped us for a spot check. I didn’t realize what was hap-pening, but when my boss opened the window, and the police officer spoke,

suddenly, I gave the loudest BARK, which took the policeman by surprise and he is probably still running from that day, without his hat and with his pants wet and smelly.

Our owner takes us everywhere, even to his important meetings. If he can’t take us to the meeting, he leaves us in the car for a little while. IRMA sits very comfortably in the car wait-ing with patience and understanding, but I get very frustrated because peo-ple come up close to the car window, and look at me as if they have never seen a such a beautiful dog before.

To show my frustration to my own-er, I chew on the dashboard of the car, leaving my beautiful set of teeth marks.

The big difference between my-self and IRMA is that she eats anything, and never stops eating. She even eats grass from the garden! She just doesn’t know when to stop eating!

I remember one time our owner took us to a Greek picnic, where they did funny things like roasting lambs;

IRMA was going from table to table and she gave people a sad look like she hadn’t eaten for days. So, every-body gave her food, feeding the “poor

hungry dog, that no-one takes care of”. At the end of the day, my boss had to carry her to the car because she couldn’t even walk from eating too much! What a day that was!!

Once a month our owner takes us to the beauty salon for combing, trim-ming, bathing, nail cutting and all that. I don’t know how much paper, (meaning paper money, specifically that I call French Francs), my owner gives the stylist, but I know that we deserve it!

These are good days because, ev-erybody tells us how beautiful we look after we come back to the office, but they don’t really know how rough of a day we had at the beauty salon!

People can’t understand how hard it is for a dog to sit down there and have someone trying to cut your nails short, and how painful sometimes it is if they make a mistake.

One day my owner took me to a big fancy place called a restaurant where people sat beside tables and ate from various plates, eating almost like there is no tomorrow.

He took me inside without any-body’s notice of my presence, by hid-ing me in his coat, and then I had to sit quietly on his lap underneath the tablecloth.

I had to be quiet because my owner warned me that any noise would dis-turb the other patrons.

So, I sat there, not making a sound, watching some boys in white clothes wearing a “Noeud papillion” (which

is French for bow-tie) around their neck. These people are called ‘gar-con’ (French for waiter).

Now how do I know these words? Well, it’s very simple; I am a French Poodle after all, and French is my native language.

At the end of that night, I was get-ting very bored and I started to slowly growl under the table. At some point, one of the garcons was approaching the table with a couple of trays of coffee in both his hands.

He was getting close to my owner and I thought he was going to attack my owner, so I forgot that I should sit quietly and invisible under that tablecloth, and suddenly barked very loudly at him and scared him. Then, everybody had a nice shower with that brown liquid he was carry-ing. I was only doing my job, which is to protect my owner! I cannot be blamed!

Because my owner is a boss of a food factory, I thought after he ad-opted me, I would never worry about food.

But I was wrong; my owner always tries his new products before they are released to the supermarkets, and sometimes he asks me to try them

along with him. In the lifetime that I have spent with him, he has given me terrible stuff to try such as spinach & rice, leeks and rice, lentils soup, cabbage soup, even raw chickpeas (because he tried to see if the product is good for canning)!

Especially lately, with his new canned rice, ready to eat, with all these flavours my owner has been very excited. But I don’t know about this flavoured rice... the chicken and beef it was not too bad when I tried it, but some other flavours are not ex-actly to my taste, like the vegetable with all the celery and all carrots… What does he think; I am a rabbit or

something? I don’t really understand why the human beings always buy his products from the supermarket shelves.

It looks so weird to me because they really like them! I don’t understand humans and their taste! Personally, I have never seen a dog buying any Mr. Goudas products. Nevertheless, IRMA eats all of his products, even his raw rice. IRMA considers our owner’s products to be the best in the whole world.

Yours truly,

Lucky KOUKLA Goudas

I wrote this article at 3 a.m.

on August 20, 2003

with the help of my owner.

Sofia’s Note:

Dear Read-ers: I would like to say a few words, re-garding the writing of this article, and what condi-tions it was

completed under…

One night, around 3am (just like previously mentioned), Mr. Goudas was struck by a feverish inspiration to write Koukla’s story. A few minutes later, my phone rang, and while half asleep, I heard my boss’s voice, who unable to hold his excitement, was

talking about some idea mentioning Koukla’s name, and kept saying re-peatedly “Come right away, before the busy morning comes and I lose my inspiration”.

The next thing I remember is driv-ing to his office and realizing that I was still wearing my pajamas under my sweater.

Arriving at the factory, I found Mr. Goudas going back and forth outside the main entrance, with an obvious state of eagerness. As soon as he saw me, he once again began talking rap-idly about an article regarding Kouk-la, etc., etc.

So we began to write, until the morn-ing found us still writing and making corrections, filling pages and narrat-ing exciting excerpts from Koukla’s story, who sat with us sleepless all night, and gave us her contribution through barking, or rubbing against her owners legs now and then.

When his secretary arrived in the early morning hours, Mr. Goudas told her briskly to cancel all his ap-pointments, making no exceptions, because he did not want any inter-ruptions from anyone. Imagine this, considering that his appointments go one after the other for the whole day, every day, and many businessmen need to book the meeting date quite some time in advance!

Long story short, the writing and completion of this article lasted for 3 days and 3 nights, a marathon that became more and more exciting ev-ery time we were engaged in a new

adventure of Koukla, while the writ-ing would become faster and faster, trying to document all the ideas of the moment. We would literally live on coffee and sandwiches.

This gave me the chance to realize that it is really difficult for someone to express all the exciting adventures of such a vibrant and smart dog, like she does, in a human language, since us humans are not capable of un-derstanding the point of view of an animal’s life.

I did, however, get to experience the ‘dog life’, those three days and nights since I truly worked like a dog (according to the expression)!

It looks like Mr. Goudas already knew the meaning of this saying, since he didn’t even seem tired, nor did it look like it was the first time he worked this hard and non-stop for days.

I believe this experience was ben-eficial for me, since I was able to deliver, together with Mr. Goudas, a successful biography for Koukla.

Today, almost five years later, Koukla’s article remains a loved one, among animal-lovers that visit the www.goudasfoods.com website. Almost daily we receive congratu-latory letters from various fans of Koukla, and each time our hearts are touched.

It looks like there are a lot of peo-ple that share my boss’s, as well as my love, for animals (I myself have an adorable cat named Charlie), but that also understand the value of in-spired work, like the above article.

Mr. Goudas is an avid lover of all types of animals. His love extends even towards creatures that are feared, or that people have a phobia for, like snakes.

He also has birds that visit the front of the company’s building daily. On their daily visits, Mr. Goudas has seen an enormous variety of birds, including blue birds, and canaries.

They are acquainted with the traffic the visitors create where it no longer distracts them.

We recall that the only thing that bothered them was Tiger the cat, whom we tried to prevent from get-ting outside during the daytime. In fact, Tiger viewed so many birds, that he tried to plan an attack only to be foiled by the glass window in Mr. Goudas’ office. Tiger sometimes suf-fered minor concussions, but never-theless, a few minutes later, he would repeat the same thing.

In Canada, Mr. Goudas got his first dog, in the spring of 1968. A wonder-ful German Shepherd named Doukie who was his companion for nineteen years but later died at an old age.

The following are recollections of how his other wonderful pets entered his life They are all very touching and beautiful stories about truly obe-dient and loving animals.

Written by Bernadette.

On the evening of March 15, 1992, Mr. G o u d a s was parked near Tren-ton, On-tario, for a

little while, leaving his car windows open. When he returned to his car and started driving, he eventually realized he had a guest sitting com-fortably on the back seat. It was too late to return to Trenton as he was almost home. A few days later he returned with his guest to the same area and asked neighbours and lo-cal shopkeepers if they knew her; it seemed like no one knew anything. Additionally, he let her roam free for a few hours in case she found some-one familiar. By the end of the day, he had exhausted all the possibilities of finding her owner. He then realized the dog was homeless, and thought of adopting her.

He named her Irma, in memory of his childhood dog in Greece.

The full breed of Irma is unknown, she seemed to be mixed with some kind of an Irish setter, and she was very polite and well mannered. She welcomed all visitors and up until her accident, she had always been in good health. Irma loved to jump into Mr. Goudas’ car straight through the window every time he left it open.

In September of 2003, Irma had a serious car accident. Even though

she survived the accident, and under-went an obvious improvement in the following 2 years, she never recov-ered from the damage on her hips, so she was never able to jump in her boss’s car again.

On February 9 of 2006, at 11:55 p.m. Irma left us, after a continuous battle with death, which her aged body could no longer withstand.

She finally surrendered, after fight-ing for over 2 years.

Her strength and determination, has been an inspiration to all of us.

The whole staff in the factory gath-ered to say their farewell to lovely Irma. The sadness of her death is reflected on the faces of those in at-tendance at her burial. On that same day, we wrote a special article on her memory, in the Mr. Goudas website.

Irma’s Last Moments

Irma will be missed from all of us, but mostly from her loving boss, and her best friends Koukla and Tiger. We will always remember her kind presence, her calm and friendly na-ture, and most of all, her amazing sense of smell. Irma had a fantastic sense of smell; she could smell food a mile away and would follow her nose directly to the source.

She would always pretend like she was so sad and hungry, giving the impression that Mr. Goudas is starv-ing her to death.

No-one could resist the sad look in her eyes, so we would always feed her thinking she was starving, until a few minutes later we would find her laying on the floor, looking stuffed, where she would remain for the next few hours, unable to move and trying to digest.

To this day we still remember that Sunday afternoon a few days before

her passing when Irma summoned up the strength, while we sat speechless, watching her walk around the square in front of the factory 3 or 4 times.

It was as if she was trying to have us remember her the way she was, lively and vibrant, before the accident.

(It was an amazing sight because IRMA was unable to walk on all four paws. We will treasure that memory of her forever.)

She was truly adorable and will be greatly missed.

The next article relates to KOUKLA and the circumstances which brought her into Mr.Goudas’ life.

We refer to her as his little “body-guard” because she is always one step behind him.

For some time now I have wanted to ask Mr. Goudas how he acquired his little bodyguard, Koukla, the French Poodle, who is always at his side. She sits on his lap when he is driving; she lies on the sofa in his office while he is working. And best of all, once she sits up and begins to bark loudly, it means that someone is entering the establishment. And yes, she lets you know in her own way when she needs to go “potty”.

A special note must be made here. Mr. Goudas never, and I mean never goes away. However, a few months ago, for the first time in Koukla’s life, he went away for a few days to give a speech in Costa Rica at the Cacia organization. Koukla did not eat or bark. She was very sad and lonely, and sat constantly looking out, and always in one position waiting for her master to appear.

Finally, one Sunday afternoon (yes Sunday), one of his quieter days, I asked him and the following was his response:

Nine or ten years ago Mr. Goudas went to a friend’s house for dinner, when another neighbour arrived and engaged in the discussion that he had a dog named Lucky, approximately two years old, who had been a mother twice and whom the owner no longer wanted, because he had four puppies exactly like her and because, in his opinion, she was too old for him.

Mr. Goudas told him that he was in-terested in the dog since he already had another one, Irma. Yet, he need-ed some time to make up his mind

because he had to mentally prepare himself before he took the respon-sibility of the possession of another animal.

The neighbour then brought the dog over for Mr. Goudas to see and when he saw her, he immediately thought that he would indeed like to have her. He kept a mental picture of this dog in his mind for a whole week, and then he finally made a decision and told the fellow that he would be over on the weekend to pick her up.

The dog was so much on his mind that once, during an important busi-ness discussion on the telephone (long distance to Thailand arrang-ing the shipment of 50 containers of pineapple) he was so preoccupied thinking about “Lucky” that he had to interrupt the discussion and asked the gentleman on the other line to re-peat what he had said.

In the meantime he prepared a place for her to stay, purchased ad-ditional food, bowls for her food and water, comb, shampoo, leash, collar, etc., eagerly awaiting the day that he would take possession of her. He even told Irma that she had a new friend coming and that she was to be good to her.

Mr. Goudas finally arrived at the place where he had to pick up “Lucky”. The neighbour was there with the dog in his arms and prompt-ly proceeded to tell Mr. Goudas that he had changed his mind and was keeping her, no longer willing to give her away. Mr. Goudas then asked him if he had the Internet, and if so,

he should use it to find out if there were any individuals in prison who had murdered the owner of an ani-mal, which was promised to them, but the owner had changed his mind about it.

Because, if there were no such in-dividuals, he (Mr. Goudas) would be the first to commit this crime and before the owner could respond, Mr. Goudas grabbed “Lucky” and left. The owner stood with his mouth open in disbelief finally uttering, “You dog snatcher!” as Mr. Goudas was leav-ing. (Mr. Goudas the dog-napper!!! You heard it here first on www.gou-dasfoods.com.). Mr. Goudas turned to him and said, “I have two words to say to you sir, and those words are not happy birthday.

So, get lost, you *****!”

He took “Lucky” to the car who all the while was telling Mr. Goudas her whole story, the good and the bad times she had had all in her bark-ing format. He brought her home and introduced her to Irma, “Lucky” it seems also continued to relay her story to Irma.

Mr. Goudas then changed her name to “Koukla” which in Greek means beautiful. She immediately respond-ed to the name as if she knew what it meant.

The time went by and she adapted well to the home and office environ-ments and even became friends with the cat, Tiger. The barking story-tell-ing habits never went away. Even to this day she still barks her stories

to everyone who visits Mr. Goudas. She is never any further than two feet away from her master, at any time of the day or night.

Over the years she has appeared in the Toronto Star, and on the CBC

twice: on the program called Venture which related how Mr. Goudas lost a quarter of a million dollars due to the corned beef issue; and Culture Shock, a program with Lana Starchuk, who called Mr. Goudas the “Emperor of Ethnic Foods”.

The next article relates to TIGER and the circumstances which brought him into Mr.Goudas’ life. TIGER, the cat, was obtained under peculiar cir-cumstances in the year 2,000.

One evening, after having dinner at a friend’ house, Mr. Goudas ap-proached his car to find a ginger-co-loured cat sitting on top of the roof of his car. He laughed at the sight and asked his friend whose cat it was.

He was told that the cat’s name is Tiger and that he loves to sit on the roof of cars. However, owners of

cars which had a vinyl roof were not too happy with Tiger though, and his owner wanted to give him away.

He had received too many com-plaints about Tiger scratching the vi-nyl roofs with his sharp nails.

The cat did not move an inch as Mr. Goudas entered the car. It was as if he felt at home. When Mr. Goudas started the engine, Tiger finally jumped off the car.

He stood and stared at Mr. Goudas for the longest while. Mr. Goudas felt a tug in his heart and decided then and there that he will adopt him. After all, Tiger needed a new home.

However, Tiger was unwilling to en-ter the car of a stranger. The owner suggested that he would deliver him to Mr. Goudas the following day.

When that day arrived Tiger was brought to Mr. Goudas’ office fully equipped with food, a bed, a litter box and scoop.

The introduction to Koukla and Irma was eventful. Tiger immedi-ately showed who was the boss by growling and flashing his nails. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and strolled around the office famil-iarizing himself.

With respect to going to the bath-room, he simply went outdoors. The litter box was not necessary.

The food situation was a comedy of errors, Tiger loved dog food and Koukla and Irma developed a taste for cat food. It was a funny sight to

see… mix and match and all the pets eating from the same bowl. As time passed by they even slept together.

Tiger found that the top of the filing cabinets was the best location to ob-serve everything and everyone. He loved being on top of the printer too.

There was an older car with a vi-nyl roof which was always sitting in the driveway, so Tiger became very comfortable and went back to his vinyl scratching habits. No one complained. Ever so often Tiger dis-appeared for a day of two, so her occasional absence was not of any concern. There is a lot of territory for him to explore around here. However, one day shortly after Irma’s passing, Tiger never returned. We do not know what became of him, and to this day, Mr. Goudas’ heart is overwhelmed at his disappearance and he still hopes that one day TIGER will come home. I hope he does come home too.

Mr. Goudas found himself so in-spired by Irma, her “best friend” Koukla, and Tiger the cat, that he de-cided to write a story about them at 3:00 a.m. on August 20, 2003.

The story has been translated into many different languages, such as English, Greek, Italian, French, Chi-nese, Spanish, Sri Lankan, and Ko-

rean. It is also available in 4 audio formats: English, Greek, Spanish and Italian.

The English narration is by Jesse MacDonald. The Greek version is narrated by Basilis Diamadopoulos from the CHIR broadcasting compa-ny. The Italian translation and nar-ration were done by Antonio Figola. The Spanish narration by Jairo Rios. The Chinese translation by Henry Ching Lee. The French by Karine Giroux. The Korean by Dr. Young-soo Kim. The Spanish by Alex Alva-rez from Nicaragua, Rafael Onofre from Mexico, and Milagro Franco, from El Salvador. The Greek by So-fia Papadhimitri. The Sri Lankan by Chandraleela Kana

The Koukla, Irma and Tiger story is the subject of animal lovers, humane society members, and people who plan to adopt a dog or a cat and want to know more about the animals.

It is a wonderful gift for children. Mr. Goudas has generously donated various versions in C.D. format as presents to children.

Their story is also available on the following websites:

www.mrgoudasbooks.com, www.goudasfoods.com, and on one

of the finest websites in the world, www.flyermall.com. You may also enter the words Koukla Goudas on Google.

The English version is superbly narrated by Jesse MacDonald, one of the most gifted voices in the world today and a personal friend of Spyros Peter Goudas.

Although the following is not part of the script, at the end of the narra-tion Jesse made this statement:

“Ladies and gentlemen, kids! Mr. Goudas has always had dogs and cats in his life; a true humanitarian! As mentioned before, Mr. Goudas wrote this article at 3 a.m. It is ob-viously not a business article, but to me it’s one of the nicest articles I’ve ever read.

It characterizes beauty, warmth, love, kindness, compassion, humour, and many other qualities that are inher-ent in Mr. Goudas.

Mr. Goudas could be a writer one day if he chooses to go in that

direction.Who knows what will happen

at another 3 a.m.!”-----------------

Above you read the delightful story of these three animals.

To the non animal lover this booklet is of no significance.

It may have been pleasant reading but did not evoke any deep feelings

or emotions.

To animal lovers, on the other hand, this booklet speaks directly to

their hearts.

There are millions of people who treat animals as a part of their family

and their love for these animals flows deep within them.

Sometimes you may see an elderly

lady holding a dog close to her chest or a gentleman walking the dog around the block late in the evening, or the macho men with their pit bulls or a young kid with a lassie look alike collie. Regardless of the nationality,

color or religion, when it comes to their animals the international

language is Love! Each one of these people place priority on the safety, protection

and health of their pet.

Life continues and as long as the pet has you and you have them,

everything is fine and dandy. However, as in Greek mythology, ev-erything good comes to an end, and,

the life span of the pet eventually comes to an end.

There are hundreds of stories related to the loss of an animal, either by

accident or natural causes. Nevertheless, the ending is always

a sad story. Each individual reacts differently.

One thing they all havein common is the pain and grief

that the loss leaves inside.

The original booklet was printed some time ago, and we were

just about ready to reprint with additional information.

However, this information is not pleasant because we are about

to announce the passing of our Beloved Koukla.

The void she has left is incredible. Each moment we expect to hear the ringing of the bells which precedes

her arrival, or turn to the left or to the right and see her there!

On Friday morning, Koukla showed signs of dizziness and was unable to walk straight. Consequently, she

spent most of the day in the arms of her master.

The next day, wanting to make her feel better Mr. Goudas placed her in her basket and took her outside

for a day in the sunshine.

The new addition to the family, Miss Mon Amour, the Siamese princess, was present since she and Koukla had become fast friends. Amazingly, with some kind of cat wisdom and knowledge, Mon Amour kept walking around Koukla, continually smelling

her breath to ensure that Koukla was still breathing.

Mr.Goudas was advised by the veterinarian that the inevitable was apparent since Koukla was

already 16 years old.

As you may see in the pictures, Mr. Goudas spent more than 2 hours coming to terms with the situation, until Koukla took her final breath Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 3:24 p.m. He was overcome with grief and held her lovingly in his arms, stroking her

still beautiful coat of fur for an extraordinarily long period of time.

His beloved Koukla was gone, his heart filled with pain and love, eyes overflowing with tears of grief.

Time and life seemed to stand still. Animal lovers will understand

at this particular moment that we do not have any words to describe

this feeling!

Finally composing himself, Spyros Peter Goudas began to perform all

the acts necessary at a time like this.

He informed those close to him of Koukla’s passing and tried to find a

place where her remains could be kept until Monday morning.

He called the Humane Society and the individual who answered the telephone knew the Koukla Story and Mr. Goudas and recommended a Veterinary Clinic in Richmond Hill.

Thankfully, and to his amazement, they actually knew who Koukla was as well. He was grateful and also

humbled by this experience.

The legacy of Koukla will live on.We miss her, we love her,

and we always will.

On the Monday following her pass-ing, Mr. Goudas and staff of the main

office said their farewells and she was interred next to Irma.

Goodbye, Koukla. It is very strange, but each moment we seem to expect your presence.

You are gone but you will never be forgotten.

The following pictures are not really a pretty sight but they show the

emotions involved in losing a beloved animal.

Life Continues

There is a new addition. Mon Amour, a beautiful, blue eyed, Siamese Cat was given to Mr. Goudas

as a Chrismas present, in 2009.

She became acquainted very quickly with the environment and stuck like

glue next to Mr, Goudas.

One night, she went outdoors to hunt and returned with a squaking

rabbit in her mouth. She thought it was a mouse.

When Mr. Goudas pried the animal out of her mouth, he told her it was not a rat but a rabbit, she appeared to feel sad and proceed to correct the situation by lovingly licking the rab-bit, and began acting like a mother.

The following pictures are woth a thousand words.

Publication Information Spyros Peter Goudas, reserves the right, without prior notice, to revise this information.

No part of this publication, images, likenesses, slogans, names, trademarks, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Copyright, 2011 Version.

If you have any comment about this booklet please sent it to cnn@cnnads.comWe hope this booklet brings some smiles, or maybe a few tears

Κυρίες και κύριοι, αγαπητά παιδιά!

Για να καταλάβετε την ιστορία που πρόκειται να σας διηγηθώ, πρέπει να δείτε με την φαντασία σας ότι η ΚΟΥΚΛΑ είναι ένα όμορφο Γαλλικό Πούντλ, ολόασπρη, με πολύ όμορφα

μαύρα και έξυπνα ματάκια.

Η ΙΡΜΑ από την άλλη, είναι το πιό ευγενικό σκυλί στον κόσμο.

Έχει πάντα ντροπαλά, λυπητερά μάτια, και σε κοιτάζει κατάματα. Είναι μαύρη με άσπρες πατούσες από την φτέρνα έως κάτω και η άκρη της

ουράς της είναι άσπρη.

Ο ΤΙΓΡΗΣ είναι ένας εξαιρετικός γάτος. Πηγαίνει πάντα κοντά στους ανθρώπους και τρίβεται στα πόδια τους σαν να θέλει να πει «Γειά σας,

εδώ είμαι εγώ!»Γειά σας! Το όνομά μου είναι

ΚΟΥΚΛΑ!

Η λέξη ΚΟΥΚΛΑ στα Ελληνικά, όπως μου εξήγησαν επειδή είμαι Γαλλόφωνη, χρησιμοποιείται όταν αναφέρεται κανείς σε μια όμορφη κοπέλα. AX αυτοί οι Έλληνες, όλες τις

κοπέλες τις φωνάζουν Κούκλα!

Δεν χρειάζεται φυσικά να ‘πώ ότι μου αξίζει πραγματικά αυτό το όνομα, γιατί είμαι πραγματική κούκλα! Βέβαια, το όνομα γεννήσεώς μου ήταν Lucky (Τυχερούλα), όπως με ονόμασε το

πρώτο μου αφεντικό. Τώρα είμαι περίπου 8 χρονών, και

είμαι ακόμα σε περίφημη φόρμα.

Η γούνα μου είναι καλύτερη από

κάθε άλλη φορά: είναι σαν μετάξι. Έγινα μητέρα δύο φορές, πριν κλείσω

τα δύο μου χρόνια.Το προηγούμενο αφεντικό μου

με έδωσε μετά τη δεύτερή μου γέννα, γιατί ήμουνα πολύ μεγάλη σε ηλικία κατά τη γνώμη του.

Με το καινούριο αφεντικό μου ομως, τα πάω μια χαρά, παρ’όλο που είναι δύστροπος, ιδιόρρυθμος,

ανακατωσούρης, απαιτητικός, και με μαλώνει πού και πού.

Κατά βάθος όμως νομίζω ότι με αγαπάει. Μάλιστα, μπορώ να πω ότι

αγαπάει πολύ τα ζώα γενικά. Γι’αυτό και οι συνεργάτες του τον

φωνάζουν «Ο Ζωόφιλος».

Εμένα μου αρέσει να κάθομαι κοντά του, και εκείνος με κρατάει όλη την ώρα στο γραφείο του, στην πολυθρόνα

που είναι δίπλα του. Με πλένει 2-3 φορές την εβδομάδα, μου χτενίζει τα μαλλιά, μου φτιάχνει τα φρύδια και τις βλεφαρίδες, φροντίζει

τα νύχια μου, καιστολίζει με κοσμήματα και διαμάντια το λαιμό μου.

Επειδή έχω σγουρά μαλλιά, εκείνος προσέχει πολύ όταν τα

χτενίζει, προπαντώς τα αυτιά μου.

Το αφεντικό μου μου βάζει επίσης ένα υγρό στα μάτια: αυτό το χρειάζομαι γιατί καμιά φορά κλαίω όταν με μαλώνει επειδή γαυγίζω σε κάποιον.

Αλλά εμένα μου αρέσει πάρα πολύ να γαυγίζω σε όλους τους ανθρώπους, ειδικά σε άντρες με στρατιωτικές στολές ή κάτι παρόμοιο, και γενικά άντρες με κοντά παντελόνια που μου

δείχνουν τις τριχωτές τους γάμπες!Καμιά φορά το αφεντικό μου μου φωνάζει γιατί γαυγίζω πάρα πολύ. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι μου αρέσει να γαυγίζω όλη την ώρα, χωρίς διακοπή. Εκείνος όμως δεν πάει πίσω, είναι σαν ένα παλιό γραμμόφωνο με τη βελόνα κολλημένη στο ίδιο σημείο και επαναλαμβάνει το ίδιο πράγμα:

«Σταμάτα Κούκλα, σταμάτα Κούκλα!»

Αλλά εγώ πάλι γαυγίζω στον κόσμο, γαυγίζω σε όσους ξέρω, αλλά και σε αυτούς που δεν ξέρω.

Με αυτόν τον τρόπο τους λέω «Γειά σας, Γειά σας»

και τους υπενθυμίζω «Εδώ είμαι, κοιτάχτε με πόσο όμορφη είμαι»!

Το γάβγισμά μου έχει γίνει πολύ διάσημο τώρα σε όλον τον κόσμο από τότε που με δείξανε στην τηλεόραση που λέγεται CBC τον Μάρτιο του 2001, όπου όλοι μπορείται να με δείτε να περπατάω δίπλα στο αφεντικό μου και να γαβγίζω ασταμάτητα στην

κινηματογραφική μηχανή.

Ήμουνα επίσης και σε μια από τις μεγαλύτερες εφημερίδες του Καναδά, στην Τορόντο Σταρ (5 Φεβρουαρίου 2001), σε μια φωτογραφία η οποία με δείχνει στην αγκαλιά του αφεντικού μου και που πιάνει παραπάνω από τη

μισή σελίδα της εφημερίδας.

Μπορώ έτσι άνετα να πώ ότι είμαι πολύ διάσημο σκυλάκι, πολύ ωραίο,

και ότι έχω πολύ φωτογένεια!

Θυμάμαι μια φορά περπατούσα δίπλα στο αφεντικό μου στο δρόμο, όταν είδαμε ένα τερατώδες σκυλί μαζί με το

αφεντικό του να έρχονται προς εμάς. Το αφεντικό μου με άρπαξε στα γρήγορα και με κράτησε σφηχτά στην

αγκαλιά του. Άκουγε τα δόντια μου να τρίζουν όλο και πιό δυνατά και άρχισε να ανησυχεί εάν θα τον δάγκωνα για να με αφήσει. Όταν το αφεντικό του τεράστιου σκύλου πλησίασε, είπε μαλακά στο δικό μου αφεντικό: «Μην ανησυχείτε ευγενικέ κύριε, ο σκύλος μου είναι πολύ ήσυχος και δεν είναι βίαιος.» Το αφεντικό μου κοίταξε αργά πίσω του και με είπε χαμογελαστός: «Δεν ανησύχησα για το δικό μου σκύλάκι, ανησύχησα πιο πολύ για το τί θα συνέβαινε στον δικό σας σκύλο εάν

άφηνα την ΚΟΥΚΛΑ ελεύθερη.»

Φαντάζομαι το αφεντικό μου με ξέρει πολύ καλά, γιατί εάν ήμουνα ελεύθερη δεν θα έχανα καθόλου καιρό πριν κάνω αυτόν τον γίγαντα κομματάκια. Μπορεί σε κάποιους να μοιάζω μικρή σαν μύγα, αλλά το δάγκωμά μου είναι

μυθικά δυνατό.

Το αφεντικό μου δουλεύει πάνω από 16 ώρες την ημέρα στο γραφείο του και εγώ είμαι πάντα μαζί του, καθισμένη στην πολυθρόνα δίπλα του

ή πάνω στα γόνατά του. Μετά τη δουλειά, εκείνος με κρατάει μαζί του, ακόμα και αν πηγαίνει στο

κρεβάτι του για ύπνο. Τις περισσότερες φορές εγώ κοιμάμαι με το ένα μάτι ανοιχτό για να είμαι σίγουρη ότι δεν θα με αφήσει μοναχή

μου σε αυτή τη ζωή. Αν όμως είμαι πολύ κουρασμένη, γιατί κάνω πολλές υπερωρίες, κοιμάμαι στα πόδια του, οπότε εάν εκείνος ξυπνήσει και κάνει να κουνηθεί ξυπνάω και εγώ

και έτσι δεν μπορεί να με αφήσει μόνη μου και να φύγει χωρίς εμένα.

Μιά φορά θυμάμαι το αφεντικό μου πήγε στον γιατρό επειδή ένοιωθε κάποιο βάρος στον θώρακά του όταν κοιμόταν. Αυτό τουλάχιστον είπε στον

γιατρό... Από εκείνη τη μέρα δεν κοιμάμαι πιά πάνω στο στήθος του, αλλά εκείνος δεν θα ξέρει ποτέ ότι εγώ ήμουνα η αιτία όλης αυτής της φασαρίας γιατί το βράδυ πήγαινα και κοιμόμουνα εκεί. Το αφεντικό μου κάνει βαρύ

ύπνο και για λίγες ώρες μόνο.

Και εγώ φυσικά πρέπει να κοιμάμαι βαθιά και άνετα, γιατί δουλεύω σκληρά. Η αλήθεια όμως είναι ότι δεν παίρνω καμμία άδεια ή κανένα

επίδομα για τη δουλιά μου. Αυτή είναι πραγματικά που

λένε «σκυλίσια ζωή»!

Πριν δύο χρόνια ήμουνα πολύ στενοχωρημένη γιατί άκουσα κάποιον να λέει στο αφεντικό μου ότι μια μεγάλη βαριά ρόδα από ένα αυτοκίνητο τσάκισε το κεφάλι του

πρώην άντρα μου (Τσίπη). Εγώ πάντα του έλεγα να μην παίζει με τη μπάλα στη μέση του δρόμου, αλλά

αυτός δεν με άκουσε ποτέ. Από εκείνη τη μέρα έγινα επίσημα χήρα και δεν σκοπεύω να παντρευτώ

ξανά...Εγώ δεν έπιασα ποτέ άλλον φίλο, αλλά έχω μια πολύ καλή φίλη: Το όνομά της είναι ΙΡΜΑ και είναι ένα μαύρο ιρλανδέζικο σέττερ, ή τέλος πάντων ένα από τα περίεργα ονόματα που οι άνθρωποι δίνουν καμιά φορά

στα σκυλιά.

Η ΙΡΜΑ ήταν με το αφεντικό μου για πολλά χρόνια πριν εμφανιστώ εγώ. Είναι ήρεμη, δεν γαβγίζει στον κόσμο, καλωσορίζει τους επισκέπτες με πολύ καλούς τρόπους, και κρατάει τον εαυτό της πολύ καθαρό, αλλά έχει ένα ελάττωμα να ροχαλίζει δυνατά όταν

κοιμάται. Το τρίχωμά της είναι μαύρο και φαίνεται βελουδένιο μετά από ένα

μπάνιο.

Έχουμε δύο κοινά χαρακτηριστικά: και οι δύο αγαπάμε πάρα πολύ το αφεντικό μας, και επίσης και οι δύο πηγαίνουμε την ίδια στιγμή στη τουαλέτα, πρώτα η ΙΡΜΑ και μετά

εγώ.

Το αφεντικό μου έχει επίσης και έναν γάτο με το όνομα TΙGER (ΤΙΓΡΗΣ), ο οποίος έχει ένα όμορφο, μαλακό και ντελικάτο χρυσαφένιο τρίχωμα. Απ’ότι φαίνεται, από το χρώμα και την εμφάνισή του, εκείνος είναι το πολύ πολύ πολύ μετ’έπειτα εγγόνι της γάτας που είχε η Ώντρη Χέπμπουρν

στην διάσημη ταινία «Πρωινό στο Τίφφανι».

Ο ΤΙΓΡΗΣ περνάει την περισσότερη ώρα του πάνω σε υπολογιστές και εκτυπωτές, επειδή είναι ζεστοί και άνετοι. Καμιά φορά εκείνος προσπαθεί να πιάσει τα πουλιά έξω από το γραφείο, και συνήθως τα καταφέρνει

μια χαρά.

Εγώ και ο ΤΙΓΡΗΣ μαζί κοιμόμαστε ανάσκελα με τεντωμένα όλα τα πόδια μας στον ίδιο καναπέ, αλλά η ΙΡΜΑ κοιμάται πάνω σε ένα χαλί στρωμένο

μπροστά στον καναπέ.

Το αφεντικό μας μάς παίρνει μαζί στο αυτοκίνητό του όταν οδηγεί για να

πάει κάπου. Ο ΤΙΓΡΗΣ δεν θέλει ποτέ να ταξιδέψει, οπότε τον αφήνουμε πίσω και μας περιμένει μέχρι να γυρίσουμε. Παρ’όλο που πρέπει να καθόμαστε στο πίσω κάθισμα του αυτοκινήτου, εγώ πάντα τρυπώνω αργά και σχεδόν αθόρυβα μπροστά και κάθομαι στα

γόνατά του. Φροντίζω πάντα να διαλέγω την κατάλληλη στιγμή για να το κάνω αυτό, όταν εκείνος είναι απασχολημένος με την κίνηση και δεν μπορεί να

ασχοληθεί μαζί μου. Για να αποφύγει την πολλή συζήτηση

μαζί μου εκείνος πάντα λέει: «Έλα τότε ΚΟΥΚΛΑ, κάθησε

πια εδώ και ησύχασε».

Αυτό μου θύμισε μια φορά που καθόμουνα άνετα στα γόνατα του αφεντικού μου, όταν ένας αστυνομικός

μας σταμάτησε για έναν έλεγχο.

Εγώ δεν καταλάβαινα τί συνέβαινε, αλλά όταν το αφεντικό μου άνοιξε το παράθυρο και ο αστυνομικός άρχισε να μιλάει, ξαφνικά γαύγισα πάρα πολύ δυνατά, και αυτό ξάφνιασε τον αστυνομικό που πιθανώς να τρέχει ακόμα από εκείνη τη μέρα, χωρίς το καπέλο του και με τα παντελόνια του

να είναι βρεγμένα και να μυρίζουν.

Το αφεντικό μας μάς παίρνει παντού μαζί, ακόμα και στα σημαντικά του ραντεβού. Εάν δεν μπορεί να μας πάρει μαζί σε κάποια συνάντηση, μας

αφήνει για λίγο στο αυτοκίνητό. Η ΙΡΜΑ κάθεται άνετα στο αυτοκίνητο περιμένοντας με υπομονή

και κατανόηση, αλλά εγώ γίνομαι πολύ ανήσυχη επειδή οι άνθρωποι πλησιάζουν το αυτοκίνητο και με κοιτάζουν σαν να μην έχουν ξαναδεί

ένα τόσο όμορφο σκυλάκι. Για να δείξω την ενόχλησή μου στο αφεντικό μου αρχίζω και μασάω το ταμπλώ του αυτοκινήτου, αφήνοντας το υπέροχο αποτύπωμα των δοντιών

μου σ’αυτό.

Η μεγάλη διαφορά ανάμεσα σε’μένα και την ΙΡΜΑ είναι ότι εκείνη τρώει τα πάντα και δεν σταματάει ποτέ να μασάει. Εκείνη τρώει ακόμα και χορτάρι από τον κήπο και δεν ξέρει

πότε να σταματήσει! Θυμάμαι μια φορά το αφεντικό μας

μας πήρε μαζί σε ένα Ελληνικό πικ-νικ, όπου έκαναν περίεργα

πράγματα αυτοί οι Έλληνες, όπως το να σουβλίζουν αρνιά.

Η ΙΡΜΑ πήγαινε από τραπέζι σε τραπέζι και έριχνε στον κόσμο ένα λυπημένο βλέμμα σαν να μην είχε

φάει για μέρες.

Έτσι, όλοι της έδιναν φαγητό, ταϊζοντας το «κακόμοιρο πεινασμένο σκυλάκι

που ποτέ κανείς δεν φροντίζει».

Στο τέλος της ημέρας το αφεντικό μου αναγκάστηκε να την κουβαλήσει στο αυτοκίνητο, γιατί δεν μπορούσε ούτε να περπατήσει από το πολύ φαγωπότι!

Τί μέρα που ήταν κι’αυτή!!

Μια φορά τον μήνα, το αφεντικό μας μας πηγαίνει σε ένα ινστιτούτο ομορφιάς για χτένισμα, ψαλίδισμα, πλύσιμο, κόψιμο νυχιών και άλλα τέτοια. Δεν έχω ιδέα πόσα χαρτάκια

(εννοώ τα χάρτινα λεφτά τα οποία εγώ τα λέω Γαλλικά Φράγκα) δίνει το αφεντικό μου στην στυλίστρια, αλλά

ξέρω καλά ότι το αξίζουμε! Αυτές είναι ωραίες μέρες γιατί όλοι λένε ότι είμαστε πολύ όμορφες όταν γυρίζουμε στο γραφείο, αλλά βέβαια αυτοί δεν ξέρουν τί σκληρή μέρα έχουμε περάσει στο ινστιτούτο

ομορφιάς! Οι άνθρωποι δεν καταλαβαίνουν πόσο δύσκολο είναι για ένα σκυλί να κάθεται εκεί και κάποιος να προσπαθεί να του

κόψει τα νύχια κοντά κοντά, και πόσο πονάει αυτό αν κάνουν

κανένα λάθος.

Μια μέρα το αφεντικό μου με πήρε σε ένα μεγάλο και φανταχτερό μέρος που λέγεται εστιατόριο, όπου οι άνθρωποι κάθονταν δίπλα σε τραπέζια και

έτρωγαν από διάφορα πιάτα, τρώγοντας λες και δεν

θα ξημέρωνε άλλη μέρα. Το αφεντικό μου με πήρε μέσα, χωρίς να το προσέξει κανείς, κρύβοντάς με κάτω από το παλτό του, και έπειτα εγώ έπρεπε να κάθομαι σιωπηλή στα

γόνατά του κρυμμένη κάτω από το τραπεζομάντιλο.

Έπρεπε να είμαι αθόρυβη γιατί το αφεντικό μου με προειδοποίησε ότι οποιοσδήποτε θόρυβος θα ενοχλούσε τους άλλους πελάτες και θα μας

βγάζανε έξω με τις κλωτσιές. Οπότε εγώ κάθησα εκεί, χωρίς να βγάλω ούτε άχνα, παρατηρώντας μερικούς άντρες με άσπρα ρούχα οι

οποίοι φορούσαν ένα παπιγιόν στο λαιμό τους.

Αυτοί οι άνθρωποι λέγονται ‘γκαρσόν’ (που στα Ελληνικά σημαίνει σερβιτόρος). Φυσικά θα αναρρωτιέστε

πώς ξέρω όλες αυτές τις λέξεις? Είναι πολύ απλό: εγώ είμαι ένα Γαλλικό Πούντλ, και τα Γαλλικά είναι

η μητρική μου γλώσσα.

Προς το τέλος της βραδιάς εγώ άρχισα να βαριέμαι και έτσι άρχισα να μουγγρίζω κάτω από το τραπέζι. Σε κάποιο σημείο ένας από τους σερβιτόρους άρχισε να πλησιάζει το τραπέζι μας κρατώντας από έναν δίσκο με καφέδες στο κάθε του χέρι.

Καθώς εκείνος πλησίαζε το αφεντικό μου, εγώ νόμιζα ότι θα του επιτεθεί και ξέχνώντας τελείως ότι έπρεπε να είμαι σιωπηλή, του γαύγισα ξαφνικά πολύ δυνατά και τον τρόμαξα. Οπότε αυτός πέταξε τους δίσκους στον αέρα και όλοι έκαναν ένα ωραίο ντους με εκείνο το καφέ υγρό που κουβαλούσε.

Εγώ έκανα μόνο τη δουλιά μου, που είναι να προστατεύω το αφεντικό μου! Δεν μπορεί να με κατηγορήσει κανείς

γι’αυτό!Επειδή το αφεντικό μου είναι ο ιδιοκτήτης εργοστασίου τροφίμων, νόμιζα όταν με υιοθέτησε, ότι ποτέ δεν θα ανησυχούσα πια για φαγητό. Όμως έκανα μεγάλο λάθος, διότι το αφεντικό μου πάντα δοκιμάζει τα καινούργια του προϊόντα πριν τα βγάλει στην αγορά, και πολλές φορές μου ζητάει να τα δοκιμάσω μαζί του.

Σε όλα αυτά τα χρόνια που είμαι μαζί του, μου έχει δώσει να δοκιμάσω κάτι περίεργα φαγητά όπως σπανακόρυζο, πρασόρυζο, φακές σούπα, λάχανόσουπα, ακόμα και ωμά

ρεβύθια (γιατί τα δοκιμάζει να δει αν είναι κατάλληλα για

να μπούν σε κονσέρβες)! Ειδικά τώρα τελευταία, με το καινούριο ρύζι στη κονσέρβα, που είναι έτοιμο για σερβίρισμα, και με όλες αυτές τις γεύσεις, το αφεντικό

μου είναι πολύ ενθουσιασμένο. Εγώ όμως δεν ξέρω και πολλά πράγματα από αρωματισμένο ρύζι... η γεύση κοτόπουλο και μοσχάρι δεν ήταν και τόσο άσχημη όταν με έβαλε να δοκιμάσω, αλλά μερικές άλλες γεύσεις, όπως η γεύση λαχανικών με το σέλινο και όλα αυτά τα καρότα.

μου φαίνονται απαράδεχτες.

Τί νομίζει τέλος πάντων, ότι είμαι κανένα κουνέλι πιά? Πραγματικά δεν καταλαβαίνω γιατί οι άνθρωποι αγοράζουν τα προϊόντα του από τα

Σούπερ Μαρκετ.

Μου φαίνεται τόσο περίεργο γιατί αρέσουν σ’αυτούς τόσο πολύ αυτά τα φαγητά! Εγώ προσωπικά δεν έχω δει

κανένα σκύλο να αγοράζει Mr. Goudas προϊόντα.

Ωστόσο η Ίρμα τρώει όλα του τα προϊόντα, ακόμα και το ωμό ρύζι.

Η Ίρμα θεωρεί όλα τα προϊόντα που φτιάχνει το αφεντικό μας ως τα

καλύτερα σε όλον τον κόσμο!

Σας χαιρετώ,Τυχερούλα ΚΟΥΚΛΑ Γούδας

(Αυτό το άρθρο το έγραψα στις 3 το πρωί, 20 Αυγούστου 2003, με τη

βοήθεια του αφεντικού μου.)Αυτό το άρθρο μπορείται να το διαβάσετε στο www.goudasfoods.com στο κουμπάκι σχετικά με όλα τα πράγματα που έχουν γραφτεί για το

αφεντικό μου.Κυρίες, κύριοι, και αγαπητά παιδιά! Ο κύριος Γούδας είχε πάντα σκύλους και γάτες κοντά του: είναι ένας πολύ

φιλόζωος άνθρωπος!

Όπως διαβάσατε νωρίτερα, ο κύριος Γούδας έγραψε αυτό το άρθρο στις 3 η ώρα το πρωί. Προφανέστατα δεν είναι επιχειρηματικό άρθρο, είναι όμως μια από τις πιό όμορφες ιστορίες που

γράφτηκαν για τα ζώα. Το άρθρο αυτό χαρακτηρίζει την ομορφιά, την ζεστασιά, την αγάπη και ευγένια, το ενδιαφέρον, το χιούμορ, και πολλές άλλες αξίες που μπορεί κανείς να αναγνωρίσει στον ίδιο τον

κύριο Γούδα. Ο ίδιος θα μπορούσε να γίνει συγγραφέας κάποια μέρα, αν έπαιρνε αυτή την απόφαση και ακολουθούσε

αυτό το επάγγελμα. Ποιός θα μπορούσε να μαντέψει τί θα έγραφε κάποιο άλλο πρωινό στις τρεις

η ώρα!

Αυτό το άρθρο δημοσιεύτηκε στην εφημερίδα «Εβδομάδα», την πρώτη

βδομάδα του Σεπτέμβρη. Δημοσιεύτηκε επίσης στην εφημερίδα

«Jamaican Xpress», στις 23 Οκτωβρίου 2003.

Το ίδιο άρθρο μεταδώθηκε και στον ραδιοφωνικό σταθμό CHIR στις 18 Οκτωβρίου 2003.

Αυτή η ιστορία μεταφράστηκε από την σκυλίσια γλώσσα στην ανθρώπινη

από τον κύριο Γούδα. Τυπώθηκε και μεταφράστηκε

στα Ελληνικά από την Σοφία Παπαδημητρίου.

Signore e signori, bambini!

Per capire la storia che sto per raccontarvi, dovrete lavorare

di immaginazione.

KOUKLA è un affascinante barbo-ncino francese, tutta bianca, con

occhi intelligenti e bellissimi.

IRMA, è il cane più gentile del mon-do intero; ha occhi sempre timidi

e tristi quando la guardi diritto negli occhi, è nera con zampe bianche

dalla caviglia in giù e la sua coda alla fine è bianca.

TIGER è un gatto magnifico; va sem-pre vicino a tutti, alzandosi sulle zampe posteriori come per dire “

Ciao, io sono qui!”.

Ciao, il mio nome è KOUKLA

Per chi di voi non conosce il signifi-cato di Koukla, è una parola greca

che vuol dire “bellissima”.

Eh, questi greci chiamano sempre le ragazze ‘Koukla’!

E’ inutile dire che io davvero merito questo nome, perché sono sul

serio una bambola!

Comunque, il mio nome alla nascita era Lucky, me lo diede il mio primo

padrone. Adesso ho più o meno 8 anni, ma sono ancora in gran

forma. Il mio pelo non è mai stato

così bello prima: è come la seta. Sono diventata madre due volte,

prima di compiere due anni.Il mio precedente padrone mi diede via dopo il mio secondo parto, per-

ché ero troppo vecchia per lui.

Adesso vivo col mio attuale padrone, anche se misero, pignolo, rude, e

mi grida ogni volta, tuttavia penso che in fondo mi voglia bene. Infatti,

posso affermare che lui ama moltissimo gli animali.

Non meravigliarti perché il suo col-lega di lavoro lo chiama

“L’ Uomo-Cane”!

Mi piace stare vicino a lui, quasi 24 ore al giorno; lui mi tiene tutto il

giorno in ufficio,sulla sedia vicino alla sua, mi fa il bagno

2-3 volte alla settimana, mi spazzola, aggiusta le mie sopracciglia,

si prende cura delle mie unghie, adorna il mio collo.

Dato che ho il pelo molto riccio, se ne prende cura quando mi spazzola. Poi mi mette anche un certo liquido sotto gli occhi; questo perché qualche volta io piango quando lui mi sgrida per aver abbaiato contro qualcuno.

Ma a me piace tanto abbaiare alla gente, specialmente alle persone in uniforme, agli uomini in pantalonci-ni, e a chiunque mi stia mostrando

le sue gambe!

Qualche volta mi sgrida perché ab-baio troppo; ma a me piace abbaiare tutto il giorno, senza fermarmi mai!

Il mio padrone è come un vecchio grammofono con la puntina fissa sempre nello stesso punto; continua a ripetermi sempre la stessa cosa:

“Basta Koukla, basta Koukla!”

Ma io continuo ad abbaiare, abbaio alle persone che conosco e a quelle che non conosco; questo è il mio modo per dire “ciao, sono qui, guar-

da come sono bella!”.

Il mio modo di abbaiare è diventato molto famoso da quando sono stata in TV, nel Venture Program della CBC (nel Marzo 2001), dove camminavo accanto al mio padrone e abbaiavo

alla telecamera.

Sono anche stata su uno dei più im-portanti giornali del Canada, il To-

ronto Star (5 Febbraio 2001), con una mia foto tra le braccia del mio padrone, occupando più

della metà della pagina.

Ora puoi facilmente capire perché sono un cane molto conosciuto e ve-

dere anche come sono fotogenica!

Ricordo che una volta stavo passeg-giando col mio padrone per strada, quando ad un certo punto egli vide in

lontananza un cane molto grande col suo compagno umano che stavano venendo verso di noi.

Il mio padrone rapidamente mi prese su e mi tenne stretta fra le sue brac-cia; ma sentiva i miei denti digri-

gnare sempre più forte e iniziava a temere che io potessi morderlo

per liberarmi.

Quando il padrone del grande cane si avvicinò, dolcemente disse al mio,“Non si preoccupi gentile signo-re, il mio cane è molto calmo, non è

violento.” Il mio padrone con un piccolo accen-no di sorriso disse, “Non sono preoc-cupato del mio cane, ma del vostro,

se lascio andare la mia Koukla.”

Io credo che il mio padrone mi con-osca proprio bene, perché se mi avesse lasciato andare, non avrei

perso molto tempo nel fare a pezzi quel Golia.

Potrei sembrare come una pulce su un cammello per alcuni, ma qualche volta il mio potere di pungere cresce

fino a proporzioni epiche.

Il mio padrone lavora più di 16 ore al giorno in ufficio e io sto sempre con lui, seduta sulla sedia vicino alla sua

o sulle sue ginocchia. Dopo il lavoro, mi tiene sempre con se, anche quando va a letto.

Il più delle volte dormo con un oc-chio aperto per essere sicura che non

mi lascerà sola in questa vita!

Se sono molto stanca, dormo sulle sue gambe, così se lui si sveglia o cerca di muoversi, anche io mi sveglio e sono sicura che non può lasciarmi!

Ricordo una volta che il mio padrone andò dal medico per lamentarsi di qualcosa di pesante che sentiva sullo

stomaco quando dormiva.

Bene, almeno è questo quello che lui

disse al dottore. Da quel giorno, non ho più dormito sul suo stomaco,

ma lui non saprà mai che ero io la causa di questo dubbio, perché

dormivo sul suo stomaco.

Lui dorme molto profondamente e per poche ore.

Anche io merito di dormire profonda-mente e comodamente, perché lavoro

così tanto per tutto il giorno! Il fatto però è che io non ho vacanze

o benefici per il mio lavoro.

Questa è davvero una vita da cani!

Un paio di anni fa, diventai molto depressa quando sentii che qualcuno disse al mio padrone che il mio ex-marito, Chippy, si schiacciò la testa

sotto le ruote nere di una grande e pesante auto.

Io gli ripetevo sempre di non andare mai a giocare a palla in mezzo la strada, ma lui non mi ha mai ascol-tato! Da quel giorno, sono ufficial-

mente vedova e non progetto di sposarmi di nuovo…

Non ho mai avuto un altro fidanzato, ma ho davvero una buona amica; il

suo nome è IRMA ed è un setter irlandese nero, con quel tipo di nome

divertente che la gente qualche volta da ai cani.

IRMA era insieme al mio padrone già qualche anno prima che io arrivassi nella famiglia.

Lei è calma e non abbaia alla gente, anzi dà il benvenuto agli ospiti most-

rando anche buone maniere, si tiene pulita, ma ha il solo difetto di russare

rumorosamente quando dorme. Il suo pelo è nero e diventa molto

morbido dopo un bagno. Abbiamo due cose in comune:

entrambe amiamo tantissimo il nos-tro padrone, ed entrambe andiamo a fare il bagno nello stesso momento,

prima IRMA e poi io.

Il mio padrone ha anche un gatto di nome TIGER, che ha una soffice

e delicata pelliccia dorata.

Apparentemente, forse a causa del suo colore e del suo aspetto, sembra che sia il pro - pro – pro –pronipote

del gatto che Audrey Hepburn possedeva nel famoso film “Colazione da Tiffany”.

TIGER passa la maggior parte del suo tempo sui computers e sulle stam-panti, perché sono calde e comode.

A volte tenta di prendere uccelli fuori dall’ufficio, e in questo di solito ha

successo. Entrambi TIGER e io, dormiamo insieme sullo stesso

divano, con tutte le zampe tirate su; invece IRMA dorme sul tappeto

di fronte il divano.

Il nostro padrone ci porta sempre in auto con lui, ogni volta che deve

andare in un luogo qualsiasi.

TIGER non vuole mai viaggiare, così sta a casa e ci aspetta.

Nonostante si suppone che dovremmo sedere sui sedili posteriori dell’auto,

ogni volta io striscio piano piano, e quasi invisibilmente vado avanti

e mi siedo sulle ginocchia del mio padrone.

Ma devo essere attenta nel decidere il momento giusto per farlo, cioè quando è distratto dal traffico e non

può occuparsi di me.

Per evitare qualche ulteriore discus-sione con me, dice: “Vieni Koukla,

siediti qui su e fai la brava!”.

Questo mi ricorda di una volta quan-do ero seduta comodamente sulle ginocchia del mio padrone, e la

polizia ci fermò per un controllo.

Non capii subito cosa stava succe-dendo, ma quando il mio padrone abbassò il finestrino e il poliziotto iniziò a parlare, immediatamente io

diedi un abbaio fortissimo che spaventò il poliziotto, e forse

starà ancora correndo da quel giorno, senza il suo cappello e con i pantaloni bagnati e puzzolenti.

Il nostro padrone ci porta ovunque, anche alle sue riunioni importanti. Se non può portarci ad una riunione, ci lascia in auto per un po’ di tempo.

IRMA si siede comodamente aspet-tando con pazienza, ma io divento frustrata perché la gente che passa vicino al finestrino, mi guarda come

se non avesse mai visto prima un cane così bello.

Per mostrare la mia frustrazione al mio padrone, mordo sul cruscotto

dell’auto lasciando i segni del mio bellissimo completo di denti.La grande differenza fra me e

IRMA e che lei mangia proprio di tutto, e non si ferma mai.

Non mangia mai l’erba del giardino! Non sa soltanto quando smettere

di mangiare!

Ricordo una volta che il mio padrone ci portò ad un picnic greco, e faceva-

no divertenti attività come l’agnello arrosto.

IRMA andava da un tavolo all’altro guardando tutti con occhi tristi come

se non mangiava da giorni.

Così, ognuno le dava da mangiare, nutrendo quel “povero cane affamato

di cui nessuno si prendeva cura”.

Alla fine della giornata, il mio pa-drone dovette portarla in braccio fino all’auto perché aveva mangiato così tanto che non poteva neanche

camminare!Una volta al mese il nostro padrone ci accompagna in un salone di bellezza per farci spazzolare, pulire, lavare,

tagliare le unghie, e tutto il resto.

Non so quanta carta, (voglio dire carta moneta, e in particolare quelli che io chiamo Franchi Francesi), il mio padrone dà allo stilista, tuttavia

so che lo meritiamo! Questi sono davvero bei giorni per-ché tutti ci dicono come siamo belle quando ritorniamo in ufficio, ma in realtà loro non sanno che giornata pesante passiamo al salone di bellez-

za! La gente non può capire come è difficile per un cane stare lì seduto con qualcuno che cerca di tagliarti le unghie, e com’è doloroso a volte se

fanno un errore.

Un giorno il mio padrone mi portò in un fantastico luogo chiamato ris-torante, dove le persone si siedono vicino al tavolo e mangiano da vari piatti, saziandosi quasi come se non

ci fosse un domani.

Il padrone mi portò dentro la sala e, nascondendomi nel suo cappotto, non disse a nessuno della mia pre-senza; poi mi fece sedere con calma sulle sue ginocchia sotto la tovaglia.

Dovevo stare in silenzio perché il mio padrone mi avvertì che un qualsiasi rumore avrebbe disturbato i clienti.

Così mi sedetti lì e non feci nessun rumore, guardavo solo

qualche ragazzo vestito di bianco che indossava un ‘papillon’ (che in

francese significa cravatta a farfalla) intorno al collo.

Questi ragazzi erano chiamati ‘garcon’ (in francese vuol dire

cameriere).

Allora, come conosco queste pa-role? Bene, è molto semplice; dopo tutto sono un barboncino francese, e perciò il francese è la mia lingua

d’origine.

Alla fine della serata, ero veramente stanca e iniziavo lentamente a

brontolare sotto il tavolo.

Ad un certo punto, uno dei cameri-eri si stava avvicinando al tavolo con

due vassoi da caffè nelle mani.

Stava venendo verso il mio padronee pensavo che volesse attaccarlo, così dimenticai che dovevo stare seduta

e calma sotto la tovaglia e immediatamente lo abbaiai molto forte e lo spaventai.

Inoltre, tutti ebbero una bella doccia di un liquido marrone che il cameriere stava portando.

Ma io avevo solo fatto il mio lavoro, che è quello di proteggere il mio pa-

drone! Non posso essere rimproverata!

Poiché il mio padrone è proprietar-io di un’azienda alimentare, dopo avermi adottato, pensavo che non avrei avuto mai più preoccupazioni

riguardo al cibo.

Ma sbagliavo. Il mio padrone testa sempre i suoi

prodotti prima di mandarli nei supermercati, e a volte mi chiede

di provarli insieme con lui.

Durante tutto il tempo passato con lui, mi ha dato roba terribile da pr-ovare come: spinaci e riso, porri e riso, zuppa di lenticchie, zuppa di cavoli, e anche ceci crudi (perché lui

prova se i prodotti possono essere inscatolati)!

Ultimamente, a causa del suo nuovo riso in scatola, pronto da mangiare, e con tutti i sapori, il mio padrone

è stato molto contento.

Ma io non condivido riguardo questo riso al sapore di…pollo e carne; non è male quando lo assaggio, ma ci sono altri gusti che non esattamente mi soddisfano, come i vegetali, con tutto il sapore di sedano e carote…

Cosa pensa?

Che sono un coniglio o qualcosa del genere? Io davvero non riesco

a capire perché gli umani comprano sempre i suoi prodotti dagli scaffali

dei supermercati.

E’ così strano per me, perché a loro piacciono davvero! Non capisco gli umani e i loro gusti! Personalmente, non ho mai visto un cane comprare qualche prodotto del Signor Goudas.

Tuttavia, IRMA mangia tutti i suoi prodotti, anche il suo riso crudo. IRMA considera i prodotti del nostro padrone i migliori di tutto il mondo.

Distinti saluti,Lucky KOUKLA Goudas

(Ho scritto questo articolo alle 3 di mattina del 20 Agosto 2003, con l’aiuto del mio padrone.)

Potete trovare il mio articolo nel sito www.goudasfoods.com nella sezione

“About Mr. Goudas”.

(Commenti di Ingrid MacDonald dalla trasmissione radio)

Signore e signori, bambini! Il signor Goudas durante la sua vita

ha sempre avuto cani e gatti; un vero umanitario! Come già detto prima,

il signor Goudas ha scritto questo articolo alle 3 di mattina.

Ovviamente non è un articolo d’affari, ma per me è uno degli arti-

coli più belli che abbia mai letto.

Rappresenta bellezza, calore, amore, gentilezza, compassione, umorismo,

e tante altre qualità che sono collegate al signor Goudas.

Potrebbe diventare uno scrittore un giorno, se solo scegliesse di

continuare per questa strada.

Chissà cosa succederà qualche altra volta alle 3 del mattino!

Questo articolo è apparso sul giornale “Ebdomada”, la prima

settimana di Settembre 2003.

Questo articolo è apparso sul giornale “Jamaican Xpress”,

il 23 Ottobre 2003.

Questo articolo è stato trasmesso dalla stazione radio CHIR,

il 18 Ottobre 2003.

Questa storia è stata tradotta dal linguaggio dei cani al linguaggio

umano dal signor Goudas.

Scritta e redatta da Sofia Papadimitri.

Tradotto in italiano da Antonio Figola.

Damas y Caballeros y Niños!

Para entender la historia que voy a contarles, tienen que visualizar en

su imaginación que Koukla es una Poodle francés muy bonita, toda blanca con unos hermosos y

penetrantes ojos. Por otro lado,

IRMA es la perra más gentil en todo el mundo, siempre es tímida, con ojos

tristes, mira directo a los ojos.

Ella es negra con patas blancas des-de los tobillos hacia abajo y la mitad

de su cola hasta el extremo es blanca.

TIGRE es un gato magnífico, él siempre se acerca a todo el mundo,

levantándose como para decir “Hola, estoy aquí”

HOLA MI NOMBRE ES KOUKLA!

Para aquellos de ustedes que no sepan cual es el significado de KOUKLA, es la palabra

griega que significa Belleza. Si!

Esa gente griega siempre llama a las mujeres “Koukla”.

Enredada de pronunciar.

En serio me merezco este nombre, porque en serio lo soy.

De cualquier manera mi nombre de nacimiento era Suertuda, dado

por mi primer dueño. Tengo aproximadamente 8 años aho-

ra, y todavía estoy en buena forma. Mi piel esta mejor que nunca,

es como seda!. He sido madre dos veces, ambas antes de tener

dos años.Mi anterior dueño me regaló después de mi segundo parto porque era muy

vieja para el. Me la llevo bien con mi actual due-ño, aunque es inconforme, se queja mucho y me grita de vez en cuando,

pero muy en el fondo yo creo que el me ama.

De hecho puedo decir que ama mucho los animales. Sin importar porque le llaman el “hombre perro”. Me gusta

estar cerca de él, casi las 24 horas del día.

El me mantiene todo el día en la ofi-cina, en la silla al lado de él.

Me baña de 2 a 3 veces a la semana, me peina, arregla mis cejas, cuida

mis uñas, y decora mi cuello.

Como tengo el pelo crespo tienen que tener cuidado cuando me peina. También me pone gotas en mis ojos, esto porque a veces lloro cuando me grita después de ladrarle a alguien.

Pero a mi me gusta ladrarle a la gente, especialmente a la gente con

uniformes, hombres con shorts y cualquiera que me muestre las

piernas!.

A veces me grita porque ladro mucho. Me gusta ladrar todo el día sin parar. Mi dueño es como una vieja radiola

con la aguja estancada en la misma estación.

El sigue diciendome lo mismo una y otra vez, “Para Koukla,

Para Koukla”.

Pero yo sigo ladrandole a la gente. Le ladro a la gente que conozco y que no conozco, esta es mi manera

de decirles ¡Hola! y decirles ¡Estoy acá, miren

lo bella que soy!.

Mi ladrido se ha vuelto muy famoso desde que aparecí en Televisión, en el Venture Program of CBC (Marzo/01) donde me pueden

ver caminando al lado de mi dueño y ladrandole a la cámara.

También estuve en uno de los más grandes periódicos de Canadá,

“The Toronto Star” (Febrero 5/01) con una foto mía en los brazos de mi dueño, cubriendo más de

media página

Fácilmente pueden decir que soy una perra muy popular y ven cuan

fotogénica soy!.

Me acuerdo una vez que estaba cami-nando con mi dueño en la calle, donde vi un gran mounstruo de perro y un

hombre viniendo hacia nosotros.

Mi dueño rápidamente me levantó y me abrazó fuertemente entre

sus brazos.

Mi dueño podía sentir mis dientes rechinando fuerte y mas fuerte, y se

comenzó a preocuparse por si

lo iba a morder a él para que me soltara.

Cuando el dueño del otro perro se acercó le dijo a mi dueño y maestro suavemente “No se preocupe amable señor, mi perro es muy tranquilo y no

es violento”. Creo que mi dueño me conoce muy bien, donde me hubiera soltado, yo

hubiera podido despedazar a ese Goliath en poco tiempo.

Debo parecer como un insecto en la espalda de algún camello pero

el poder de mi ladrido algunas veces puede crecer en proporciones

épicas.

Mi dueño trabaja más de 16 horas al día en la oficina y yo siempre estoy con él, sentada en la silla de al lado

o en sus muslos.

Después del trabajo, siempre me mantiene con él, aunque sea

para irse a la cama.

La mayoría del tiempo duermo con un ojo abierto para asegurarme de que no me deje sola nunca en la vida!. Si estoy muy cansado, duermo sobre sus piernas, así, si se levanta o trata de moverse, yo también me

levanto para que no me deje.

Recuerdo alguna vez que mi dueño fue al doctor par quejarse

de un peso que sentía en su pecho mientras dormía.

Bueno al menos eso fue lo que le dijo al doctor.

Desde ese día, no duermo más sobre su pecho, pero él nunca sabra que

yo era la que le causaba ese problema porque yo era la que

dormia sobre su pecho.

El duerme muy profundo y por muy pocas horas.

Yo me merezco dormir profundo y cómodamente también porque yo

trabajo muy duro todo el día.

La cosa es pesada porque no tengo vacaciones, ni beneficios por mi tra-

bajo. Esta es una verdadera vida de

perro!.

Hace un par de años me deprimí mucho cuando oí a alguien contán-dole a mi dueño que a mi ex-marido lo habia atropellado un camión muy pesado, suprimiéndole la cabeza con

sus llantas contra el piso.

Siempre solía decirle que no jugara con la pelota en la mitad de la calle

pero nunca me escuchó.

Desde ese día soy oficialmente viu-da y no tengo planeado casarme de

nuevo…Nunca tuve otro novio, pero tengo una muy buena amiga, su nombre es

IRMA, y ella es una Irish Setter negra, o algún tipo de nombre

chistoso que los humanos suelen ponerle a los perros.

IRMA estuvo con mi dueño, varios años antes de que yo apareciera en la foto. Ella es tranquila, no le ladra

a la gente, le da la bienvenida a

los visitantes mostrándoles buenos modales, y manteniéndose limpia, pero tiene el único problema de que ronca muy fuerte mientras duerme.

Su pelo es negro.

Ella luce muy suave después del baño. Tenemos dos cosas en común:

las dos amamos a nuestro dueño, y las dos vamos al baño al mismo

tiempo, primero Irma y luego yo.

Mi dueño también tiene un gato lla-mado TIGRE, que tiene un hermoso,

suave y delicado abrigo de piel dorada.

Aparentemente por su color y su apa-riencia probablemente es el biznieto

de la gata que Audrey Hepburn tenía en la famosa película

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.

Tigre se la pasa la mayoría del tiem-po encima de los computadores o

en las impresoras, porque son calientes y cómodas.

A veces, él también trata de atrapar gatos afuera de la oficina, en lo cual

usualmente tiene éxito.

Ambos, Tigre y yo, dormimos juntos con nuestras patas estiradas en

el mismo sofá, como sea Irma duerme en un pedazo de tapete al frente

del sofá.

Nuestro dueño nos lleva consigo cuando quiera que maneja a algún lugar. Tigre nunca quiere viajar, en-

tonces él siempre se queda atrás y espera por nosotros.

Aunque se supone que debemos ir en la parte trasera, yo siempre me

deslizo despacio, y casi invisible-mente a la parte delantera y me

siento en las piernas de mi dueño.

Yo escojo el momento preciso para hacerlo, cuando él esta distraido con el tráfico y no

puede pelear conmigo.

Para evitar cualquier futura conversación conmigo el dice:

“Ven acá Koukla, siéntate acá y quedate quieta!”.

Esto me acuerda de una vez que yo estaba en las piernas de mi dueño cómodamente cuando un oficial de policia nos paró para una requisa.

Yo no me di cuenta de lo que estaba pasando, pero cuando mi jefe abrió la ventana, y el policia habló, de re-pente ladré tan fuerte, que lo tomó por sorpresa y probablemente segui

corriendo desde ese día, sin su sombrero y con sus pantalones

mojados y olorosos.

Nuestro dueño nos lleva a donde sea, incluso a sus reuniones importantes. Si no puede llevarnos a su reunión,

nos deja en el carro por un rato.

Irma se sienta muy cómodamente en el carro esperando con paciencia y entiende, pero yo me frustro mucho

porque la gente se acerca a la ventana del carro y me miran como sin no hubieran visto nunca antes

una perra tan linda como yo.

Para mostrar mi frustración a mi dueño, muerdo la consola del

carro, dejando mis lindos dientes marcados.

La gran diferencia entre Irma y Yo es que cuando ella se come cualquier

cosa, nunca para de comer. Ella come hasta pasto del jardín.

Ella ni siquiera sabe cuando parar de comer. Me acuerdo que una vez nuestro dueño nos llevo a un picnic Griego, donde ellos hacían cosas

chistosas como asar cordero;

Irma iba de mesa en mesa, y le hacía cara de triste a la gente como si no

hubiera comido en muchos días.

Entonces todo el mundo le daba comida , alimentado al “pobre hambrienta perrita, de la que

nadie cuida”.

Al final, mi dueño tuvo que cargarla hasta el carro, porque ella no era capaz de caminar después de haber

comido tanto. Que día!

Nuestro dueño nos lleva una vez al mes a la sala de belleza para peinado, corte, baño, corte de

uñas y todo eso.

No se cuántos papeles (refiriéndome a papel moneda, lo que específica-mente llamo francos franceses), le dará al estilista mi dueño, pero se

que nos lo merecemos.

Esos son buenos días porque todo el mundo nos dice lo bien que lucimos

cuando volvemos a la oficina, pero ellos no saben verdaderamente el día

tan pesado que pasamos en el salón de belleza!

La gente no sabe lo difícil qu ees para un perro sentarse allá y tener a alguien tratando de cortarle las uñas pequeñas y cuan doloroso puede ser

si se equivocan.

Un día mi dueño me llevó a un lugar muy lujoso llamado restaurante donde la gente se sienta al lado de las mesas y comen de varios platos. Comiendo como si no hubiera un

mañana.Me entró sin que nadie se diera cuen-ta, escondiéndome bajo su abrigo, y luego tuve que sentarme callada-mente en sus piernas detrás del man-

tel. Tuve que ser silenciosa pues mi due-ño me advirtió que cualquier ruido podría asustar a los otros señores.

Entonces me senté, sin hacer ningún ruido, mirando algunos señores

usando ropa blanca con un “papillion” (palabra francesa para

corbatín) alrededor de su cuello.

Esta gente es llamada “garcon” (pa-labra francesa para mesero).¿

Ahora que cómo sé todas estas pa-labras? Bien, es muy simple; soy un perro frances “french poodle”,

después de todo, el francés es mi lengua nativa.

Al final de esa noche, yo me estaba aburriendo mucho y entonces

comencé a escurrirme debajo de la mesa.

En algún momento, uno de los me-seros se estaba acercando a la mesa con un par de tazas de café en ambas

manos. El se estaba acercando mucho a mi dueño y yo pensé que lo iba a atacar, entonces olvidé aquello de quedarme callada, sentada e invisible detrás

del mantel, y de repente le ladré muy duro y lo asusté.

Entonces todo el mundo tuvo una buena ducha del líquido café que el

mesero iba cargando. Yo solo estaba haciendo mi trabajo, que es proteger a mi dueño, no puedo

ser culpada por eso.

Como mi dueño es el jefe de una fá-brica de comida, pensé que después de que me adoptó no me tendría que

preocupar por comida.

Pero me equivoqué; mi dueño siem-pre prueba sus productos antes de que sean lanzados en los supermer-cados, y algunas veces me pide que

los pruebe yo también.

En el tiempo de vida que he pasado con él me ha dado cosas terribles a probar como espinaca y arroz, sopa de lentejas, arroz con puerro, sopa de repollo, incluso alvejas y pollo crudo (porque el trata de ver si el producto

es bueno para perros)!.

Especialmente ahora, con su nuevo arroz canino, listo para comer, con todos esos sabores con los cuales mi

dueño ha estado muy emocionado.

Pero yo no se, acerca de este arroz sazonado, el de pollo y el de carne no estuvieron tan mal cuando los probé, pero algunos otros sabores no son del todo mi agrado, como el de vegetales

con apio y zanahoria.

¿Que piensa él, que soy un conejo o algo así?. Yo en serio no entiendo porque los humanos siempre com-

pran sus productos de los estantes de los supermercados.

Es muy raro para mí pues al parecer

en serio les gustan.

No entiendo a los humanos y sus gustos!. Personalmente no he visto nunca a un perro comprando ningún

producto de Mr. Goudas.

Sin importar que, Irma come todos sus productos incluso su arroz crudo,

considerando que los productos de nuestro dueño son los mejores

en el mundo.Con cariño.

Lucky KOUKLA Goudas.

(Escribí este artículo a las 3 a.m en Agosto 20 de 2003 con la ayuda de mi

dueño). Señoras, Señores y Niños!

Mr. Goudas siempre ha tenido perros y gatos en su vida, un verdadero ser

humano, caritativo, luchador!

Como lo mencioné anteriormente Mr. Goudas escribió este artículo

a las 3 a.m.

Obviamente no es un artículo de ne-gocios pero para mi es uno de los

mejores que haya leido.

Demuestra la belleza, calor humano, amabilidad, compasión, humor

y otras cualidades que son inhatas en Mr. Goudas.

Mr. Goudas podría ser un escritor algún día si él quisiera ir en

esa dirección. Quien sabe que pueda pasar

a otras 3 a.m.

Este artículo apareció en el Periódi-co “Ebdomada”, primera semana de

Septiembre 2003.

Esta historia fue traducida del len-guaje del perro al lenguaje humano por Mr. Goudas, y fue puesto en pa-pel y editado por Sofia Papadimitri.

Esta es un bonita historia. Es importante saber el español,

mas si vive en Canada.

El señor Goudas piensa que la poblacion hispana debe estar

orgullosa de su idioma y su cultura.

Y el espera aprender el espanol lo mas pronto possible.

The Spanish translation by

Alex Alvarez from Nicaragua,

Rafael Onofre from Mexico,

Milagro Franco, from El Salvador.

Mesdames, Messieurs et tous les membres de

la famille!

Pour comprendre l’histoire qui suit, vous devrez visualiser

Koukla, un beau caniche français, tout blanc avec des yeux perçants.

IRMA, par contre, est la chienne la plus gentille au monde;

elle a toujours des yeux gênés voir tristes tout en vous regardant droit

dans les yeux. Elle est toute noire à l’exception de ses pattes à partir des chevilles ainsi

que le bout de sa queue qui sont de couleur blanches.

Finalment, TIGER est un chat magnifique

qui va à tout le monde et qui fait sa place comme pour dire :

« Bonjour, je suis là! »

Bonjour, mon nom est KOUKLA

Pour ceux qui ne savent pas ce que Koukla signifie, cela veut dire «

belle » en grec. Ah! Ces grecs surnomment les

femmes « Koukla »!

Je crois que ce nom me va à merveille car je suis une vraie

« Poupée ». Par contre, à ma naissance, mon

nom était « Lucky » signifiant chanceux que mon premier maître

m’avait donné. J’ai approximativement 8 ans et je

suis en excellente forme. Mon pelage est plus beau que

jamais, c’est comme de la soie.

Par ailleurs, j’ai donné deux por-tées de chats avant l’âge de 2 ans. Mon premier maître m’a donné car

j’étais trop vieille pour lui. Je m’entends bien avec mon nou-veau maître malgré le fait qu’il est misérable, capricieux, dur et même

s’il me crie après , je sais qu’au plus profond de son

cœur, il m’aime.

En réalité, je peux dire qu’il adore les animaux.

C’est pourquoi tous ses confrères de travail l’appelle « l’homme au chien

». J’aime rester près de lui, nous som-mes ensemble presque 24 heures sur

24; je vais au bureau avec lui, où je m’asseois dans ma chaise à ses

côtés. Il me donne un bain 2 à 3 fois par semaine, me brosse, le pelage et les sourcils, me coupe les ongles et me met des décorations dans le cou. Étant donné que mon poil frise,

il doit faire attention lorsqu’il me peigne.

Il me nettoie les yeux avec un liq-uide, car souvent je pleure lorsqu’il

me reproche de japper après quelqu’un.

J’adore japper après les gens, spé-cialement ceux qui sont en uniforme, en bermuda ou n’importe quelle per-

sonne qui me montre ses jambes!Parfois, il me crie car je jappe trop, j’aime japper toute la journée sans

arrêt.Mon maître est comme un tourne disque avec l’aiguille prise à la

même place car il me dit sans cesse la même chose :

« Arrête Koukla, arrête Koukla!

» Ça ne m’empêche pas de japper après les gens que je connais ainsi

ceux que je ne connais pas.

C’est ma façon de dire : « Bonjour, je suis ici, regardez-moi comme je

suis belle! » Par ailleurs, mon jappe est devenu très populaire depuis que j’ai passé

à la télévision au programme Venture à CBC au mois de mars 2001, on peut me voir marcher à

côté de mon maître et japper après la caméra.

J’ai aussi ma photo dans un des plus gros journal au Canada :

le Toronto Star (5 février 2001), on peut me voir dans les bras de mon maître dont la photo prend plus de

la moitié de la page.

Vous pouvez dire que je suis une chienne très populaire et très

photogénique. Je me rappelle, une fois, je prenais

une marche avec mon maître et nous avons rencontré un énorme chien.

Mon maître m’a vite pris dans ses bras et me tenait fermement.

Il sentait que mes dents se serraient de plus en plus et il avait peur que je

le mordre pour qu’il me lâche.

Lorsque le maître du gros chien

monstre approcha, il dit gentiment à mon mon maître :

« Ne vous inquiétez pas, mon chien est très calme et loin d’être violent

». Mon maître fait un petit sourire en coin et il dit : « Je n’étais pas

inquiet pour ma chienne mais plutôt pour votre chien si je laissais

Koukla aller. » Mon maître me connaît t

rop bien car s’il m’avait laissé aller, j’aurais en peu de temps dévorer ce

Goliath en pièces.

J’ai peut-être l’air d’une puce sur le dos d’un chameau pour certain, mais mon pouvoir de mordre peut

atteindre une force légendaire.

Mon maître travaille plus de 16 heu-res par jour au bureau et je suis tou-jours avec lui, dans la chaise à côté

de lui ou parfois sur ses genoux. Je suis toujours avec lui même

lorsqu’il va se coucher.

La plupart du temps, je dors avec un oeil ouvert car je veux être sûre

qu’il ne me laisse jamais seule! Si je suis vraiment fatiguée, je couche sur ses jambes, de cette

façon, s’il se réveille ou s’il tente de bouger,

je me réveille et il ne peut me laisser seule.

Un jour, il a été chez le médécin pour se plaindre qu’il avait un senti-ment de lourdeur au ventre lorsqu’il

dormait.

C’est ce qu’il a dit au docteur.

Depuis ce temps, je ne dors plus sur son ventre mais il ne saura

jamais que ce mal était réellement causé par moi lorsque je dormais sur son ventre car il dort très pro-

fondément pendant quelques heures seulement.

J’ai le droit de bien dormir moi aussi, je travaille tellement fort

toute la journée.

C’est dur, je n’ai jamais de vacanc-es et de bénéfices pour mon emploi.

C’est vraiment une vie de chien!

Il y a quelques années, j’ai fait une dépression lorsque j’ai appris que mon ex-mari, Chippy, s’est fait écrasé la tête par des pneus noirs

en-dessous d’une grosse et pesante voiture.

Je lui disais sans cesse de ne pas jouer à la balle dans le milieu de la rue, mais il ne m’écoutait jamais.

Depuis ce jour, je suis officiellement

veuve et je n’ai pas de plan de me remarier dans le futur…

Je n’ai jamais eu de copain après ce temps, mais j’ai une très bonne amie; son nom est IRMA et elle est

un Setter irlandais de couleur noire, ou un nom hors de l’ordinaire que

des gens donnent à un chien.

IRMA, était déjà avec mon patron pendant plusieurs années avant que

je rentre dans le portrait.

Elle est tranquille, ne jappe pas après personne, accueille les vis-iteurs poliment et elle est toujours

très propre, son seul défaut c’est qu’elle ronfle très fort lorsqu’elle

dort. Avec son pelage noir, il a l’air de la soie après son bain.

Nous avons deux choses en commun : nous sommes très attachées à notre

maître et nous allons aux toilettes en même temps, IRMA y va et après

c’est mon tour.

Mon propriétaire a aussi un chat dénommé TIGER, il a un beau,

doux et délicat pelage.

Apparament, à cause de son ap-parence et de sa couleur, il serait le petit-petit-petit-petit fils du chat que Audrey Hepburn avait dans le film :

« Breakfast at Tiffany’s ».

Tiger passe la majeure partie de son temps couché sur l’écran

d’ordinateur ou sur les imprimantes car c’est chaud et comfortable.

Parfois, il essaie d’attraper des oi-seaux volant à l’extérieur du bureau,

et il généralement réussi.

TIGER et moi-même couchont en-semble sur le divan avec nos pattes étirées, par contre IRMA se couche

sur la carpette devant le divan.

Notre maître nous amène avec lui n’importe où il va sauf TIGER car ça ne lui tente jamais de voyager,

alors il nous attend.

Même si nous sommes supposées restés sur la banquette arrière, j’arrive toujours à me faufiler

surnoisement presqu’invisiblement sur la banquette avant pour aller m’asseoir sur les genoux de mon maître. Je m’assure d’attendre le

moment opportun, comme lorsqu’il est distrait par le traffic et qu’il ne

peut me réprimander.

Pour éviter de rentrer dans une grosse discussion, il me dit : « Viens

Koukla, assieds-toi ici et ne jappe pas! » Ceci me rappelle un jour où j’étais assise comfortablement sur mon maître et la police nous a ar-rêtés juste pour une vérification.

Lorsque le policier est arrivé à la fenêtre de notre voiture avant que

j’ai le temps de réaliser ce qui se passe, mon patron a baissé sa

fenêtre et le policier c’est mis à par-ler, je lui ai lâcher un de ces jappe-ments, ce qui a pris le policier par

surprise et il est parti en courant car son chapeau est parti au vent et il

avait uriné dans son pantalon!

Je crois que jusqu’à ce jour, il fait encore des cauchemars de cette

journée là.

Notre propriétaire nous amène partout où il va, même s’il a des

rendez-vous importants.

S’il ne peut nous amener, il nous laisse dans la voiture pour quelques

temps.

IRMA s’asseoit bien confortable-ment sur la banquette et attend

patiemment, de l’autre côté, moi je suis impatiente car les gens qui pas-

sent près de la voiture me regarde comme s’ils n’avaient jamais vu un

chien aussi beau que moi. Pour démontrer ma frustration à

mon maître, je mâchouille le tableau de bord de la voiture en lui laissant

mes empreintes de dents comme souvenir!

La plus grande différence entre IRMA et moi est qu’elle mange n’importe quoi et elle ne cesse

de manger.

Elle mange même le gazon dans le jardin! Elle ne sait pas quand

arrêter de manger!

Je me rappelle une fois qu’il nous a amener à un pique-nique grec, où ils faisaient plusieurs choses comiques

comme faire rôtir un agneau;

IRMA allait voir tout le monde avec des yeux piteux comme si elle

n’avait jamais mangé!

Alors, tout le monde lui donnait à manger car on trouvait qu’elle fai-

sait pitié, « cette pauvre chienne affamée dont personne

ne s’occupe ».

À la fin de la journée, mon patron a dû la prendre dans ses bras et

l’amener jusqu’à la voiture car elle ne pouvait marcher tellement elle

avait mangé. Quelle journée!

Une fois par mois, notre propriétaire nous envoie chez la toiletteuse afin

de se faire peigner, couper

les ongles et le pelage après avoir pris un bain.

Je ne connais pas vraiment le pa-pier, (spécifiquement le papier-mon-naie dont j’appelle les Francs-Fran-çais), qu’il donne à ma styliste mais

je ne sait pas si on la mérite!

Il y a des bonnes journées car tout les gens du bureau nous disent que nous sommes beaux en revenant de chez la styliste mais ils ne compren-

nent pas la dur journée que nous avons passés chez elle.

Le monde ne comprend pas com-

ment c’est dur de passer une journée à se faire coiffer sans bouger et surtout lorsque la styliste nous

coupent les ongles et qu’elle rate son coup, comme c’est pénible

le mal que je dois endurer.

Un jour, mon maître m’a amené à une place très chic communément appelé un restaurant où les gens sont assis à table et mange parmi

différentes assiettes comme s’il n’y avait pas de lendemain.

Il m’a rentré dans le restaurant très sournoisement, me cachant sous son

manteau et il me déposa sur ses genous sous la nappe de table

en m’avertissant que je devais être muette sinon je dérangerais la clientèle.

Je suis resté assise tranquillement tout en regardant les serveurs vêtus

de blanc avec un nœud papillon autour du cou.

Même si je comprends et parle l’anglais avec mon maître, le fran-

çais reste demeure pour moi primor-dial car je suis un caniche français

et c’est ma langue maternelle.

Vers la fin de la soirée, je commençais à m’ennuyer alors je suis doucement descendu des

jambes de mon maître et j’ai vu un homme en blanc arriver avec un plateau rempli de cafés, croyant qu’il voulait faire du tord à mon

maître et ayant oublié que je devais m’abstiner de japper, j’ai soudaine-ment lancé un des mes plus beau et

plus fort jappement.

Ce qui a surpris le serveur et tout le monde alentour c’est trouvé trempé

d’un liquide brun.

Mais je ne faisais que mon boulot, ce qui est de protéger mon maître alors je ne peux être blamé pour

cet incident!

Étant donné que mon maître est le patron d’une compagnie

alimentaire, j’ai cru qu’après mon adoption, je n’aurais jamais

à craindre de manquer de nourriture.

Mais j’avais tord, mon maître essaie toujours sa nourriture avant

de l’envoyer dans les supermarchés, et parfois, il me demande

d’y goûter avec lui.

Depuis que je suis avec lui, il m’a fait essayé des choses horribles

comme du riz et épinard, du poireau

et du riz, soupe aux lentilles, soupe aux choux, même des pois chiches

crus car il voulait savoir si ses produits étaient bon pour aller

dans du canage!

Spécialement dernièrement, il es-saie ses nouveaux produits: riz en conserve, prêt à manger, incluant plusieurs saveurs, mon patron est très excité mais à propos de ce riz aromatisé… aupoulet et au bœuf

n’était pas si mauvais quand je l’ai essayé, mais d’autres saveurs n’était

vraiment pas à mon goût, celui au légumes avec pleins de céleri et de

carottes…

Que pense-t-il, que je suis un lapin ou quoi? Je ne comprends vrai-ment pas pourquoi les humains

achètent achètent ses produits sur les tablettes des supermarchés.

C’est vraiment bizarre car ils aiment vraiment ses produits!

Je ne comprends pas les humains et leurs goûts! Je n’ai jamais vu un

chien acheter des produits de Mr. Goudas.

En tout cas, IRMA mange tous ses produits même le riz cru.

Elle considère que ces produits sont les meilleurs au monde.

Bien à vous,

Lucky KOUKLA Goudas

(J’ai écrit cet article à 3 heures du matin le 20 août 2003 avec l’aide

de mon maître.)Mesdames, Messieurs et les enfants! M. Goudas a toujours eu des chiens

et des chats; un vrai homme humanitaire!

Comme mentionné ci-haut, M. Goudas a écrit cet article à

3 heures du matin.

Ce n’est évidemment pas un article d’affaire, mais c’est un des meilleurs

articles que j’ai lu.

Cet article caractérise, la beauté, la cordialité, l’amour, la gentillesse, la compassion, l’humour et plusieurs

autres qualités qui sont importantes dans la vie de M. Goudas.

Peut-être deviendra-t-il un écrivain un jour, s’il décide d’aller dans

cette direction.

Qui sait ce qu’il peut arriver à un autre 3 heures du matin!

Cet article a paru dans le journal« Ebdomada », la première semaine

du mois de septembre 2003.

Cette histoire a été traduite du lan-gage du chien à celui des humains par M. Goudas, et cet artcle a été

mis sur papier et édité par Sofia Papadimitri.

Traduit en français par Karine Giroux.