Portrait Of A Dog – Noir – Studio Libraries

Where do I even begin with Noir? It is quite difficult to put into words how extraordinary she is.

My father’s partner acquired her in 2019 after she was found near Agrigento, Sicily (Southern Italy), where she had previously been abandoned by a family who was leaving for the holidays (unfortunately this seems to happen a lot in the summer months), and was then found by a volunteer who put her up for adoption.

Noir is a Flat-Coated Retriever (which, as you may already know, is basically a black retriever) and has the most admirable qualities you will find in a retriever: a self-assured, happy dog, affectionate towards the family and generally getting along well with other dogs.

She is generous and playful. She loves to retrieve pretty much anything, especially her tennis ball. Whenever Noir comes across one, she won’t stop asking you to play with her, even when she’s visibly tired, as she tends to suffer from heat stress in the warm season (we often joke about how she should be used to hot weather, since she comes from Sicily, where it’s super hot in the summertime).

A curious dog by nature, she spends the summer months looking for lizards in the garden with our Pomeranian mix Jolie; the two of them will interrupt their hunting only when food is around!

I fell in love with Noir the moment I saw her. We met during a pretty tough time in my life and, being the ideal dog for pet therapy, she contributed to my feeling better while giving me her love and influencing me with her good humor. When I was growing up I didn’t have dogs, so Noir was the first dog I have ever walked when I first visited my father and his partner’s house. I had heard about her more than a year prior to meeting her, when I saw her adoption sheet on my father’s laptop; I had no idea when I saw it that this dog would have made such a huge difference in my life by becoming so essential to my well-being. She makes me smile on our long walks by the lagoon and I can’t even leave the house by myself if she’s in the garden because she will start crying, as she can’t stand being left home! In fact, she is always excited about her daily walk (this happens less in the summertime because she’s too busy chasing lizards!).

Noir has a great appetite and loves eating snacks. She’s such an educated dog, she usually sits in a typical pose with her paws crossed and shows her love and affection towards us just by being there and keeping us company.

Whenever I visit my father’s house I sleep in the basement, where I have a mini-apartment; Noir enjoys following me all around the house and she will often come down to visit me when I go to bed at night (she usually sleeps in my stepsister’s room), waiting for me to wake up in the morning by the staircase door.

Her smiling face puts me in a good mood, her pensive face (so serious!) often makes me laugh. I love how she is generally protective towards the rest of our dogs and the way she behaves in public, very peaceful and respectful with strangers and their animal companions.

Everyone loves her because of her great character, her polite manners and her unconditional love for humans. And I am grateful to God every day for letting our paths cross, since Noir helped me become a better person and gave me a positive outlook on life.