Portrait Of A Dog – George (Clooney)

I have always thought of George, our Pekingese, as a little lion. He’s one of the oldest dogs we have and one of the very first dogs my father’s partner bought.

He is almost eleven years old and he comes from a Pekingese breeding centre on the outskirts of Rome.

When we first met, he was a bit shy but then he started spending the evenings on the couch with me while I was working on my laptop. Having nine dogs, we usually don’t allow them to enter the living room all at once because they would probably destroy it, especially if we aren’t home, but we like to allow one or two dogs at a time to stay with us when we watch TV.

George is the one who is always present in the living room, be it on the couch or the pouf. He loves playing with other dogs (especially with Byron, our Setter Gordon; let’s say he enjoys bossing him around!) but he also likes falling asleep next to us.

We need to be a bit careful when choosing which dog will keep George company in the living room because he gets very jealous and starts growling. It’s almost comical to see but it’s important to prevent fights, as the Pekingese is considered a proud, fearless dog, despite his little size.

I love spending time with George because he’s incredibly affectionate and makes me laugh so much, especially when he starts rolling on the floor and playing by himself. He enjoys going for a daily walk and I have to say he walks pretty fast in spite of his old age.

We shave him almost four times per year because he’s so fluffy and the hot summer weather is bad for him, with all that dog hair, which I could spend hours touching; it is so relaxing!

He used to have lack of appetite, mainly because he lost some teeth with aging, so when I met him he was not in the habit of finishing his lunch; this led to a fight with some of the other dogs (if you have dogs, you know how some of them can be a bit aggressive when food is around, and I have been told it’s the same with cats) but thankfully he recovered pretty quickly, as he is so strong and brave. His eating habits have improved since his accident and he loves meat, bread snacks…and pizza!

George hates being left alone at home but really likes spending time in the front garden (especially on the outdoor sofa) with Dolce, our black and white puppy, watching people and cars passing by; he doesn’t bark to strangers or other dogs so we let him outside as much as he wants. This allows him to explore his surroundings and being in contact with nature, which keeps him happy and healthy.