Portrait Of A Dog – (Angelina) Jolie

I have alway seen Jolie as a fox. She is a Pomeranian mix but I have never encountered a dog quite like her and I find her beautiful. Her golden coat color, light eyes, huge ears and fox-like expression make her a pretty unique dog.

She is originally from the Italian Southern region of Calabria; having been rescued from a landfill, where she was found alongside her dead mother, she lived with a volunteer until my father’s partner adopted her via an ad she saw on Facebook. She was still a puppy when she first came home (and not the most beautiful one, I will admit!) and she grew up to be a lively, playful dog; she is so beautiful in her own unique way.

Jolie is one of our two most hyperactive dogs (the other one is Byron, and I shall talk about him later on). She loves running and playing in the garden, barks a lot (especially towards unfamiliar dogs passing by) and loves being in the company of humans. She is affectionate when she chooses to be, as she can’t stand when people touch her tail; when this happens, she tries to bite you in a playful way!

She’s found a mother in the figure of Grace, our Irish setter who is now about ten years old; having arrived home when she was a few months old, Jolie has learned to identify Grace as her mom, she often “kisses” her and it’s almost like she’s searching for love and protection when interacting with her.

I have such a good relationship with Jolie; she keeps me company when I sit in the garden during the warm season and spends her time hunting flies and lizards (she never catches flies because she’s always trying to grasp their shadows, which she sees reflected on the floor when it’s sunny). She can’t stand to see me cry and will always try to comfort me; her eyes speak on her behalf.

Jolie loves ice cream (even though we hardly ever feed it to her, as it isn’t an adequate food option for dogs) and she is such a gourmand in general; one can really tell she comes from Calabria, and her spirit perfectly embodies a Southern “person”; she has so much energy and confidence, she is not easily intimidated and she can be loud at times!

I look at her and think about my grandmother on what would have been her 92nd birthday, about how she was scared of dogs but nonetheless she would have loved Jolie, with her personality, good looks and a face that displays so much love towards all of us.