"Where I grew up, dogs are dogs. Their lives consisted of modest
pleasures like long walks and boisterous ball games. A night out meant guarding
the house. But in Paris, a city of roughly two hundred thousand dogs (an
incredible number when you consider there are no backyards and only pocket-size
parks) canines lead lives that are remarkably similar to their masters. They
stay in châteaux-hotels and have expensive
haircuts. A night out means dressing up and dining at fine restaurants.What
makes this unrestrained spoiling even more bizarre is that it's totally at odds
with the strict discipline the French mete out to their kids. While children are
expected to sit rod-straight at restaurants, eating and conversing like little
grown-ups, dogs are babied and indulged, perched on velvet stools and hand-fed
from plates.
Sarah Turnbull
Almost French: Love and a New Life
in Paris
"...Suddenly [after acquiring a dog] I
have an identity. To the local commerçants, I'm no longer an anonymous
foreigner. I am the maman de Maddie. This title carries street cred. Shop
assistants who had previously ignored me now smile as they surreptitiously slide
her a corner of croissant. The fromager calls her in for a chunk of
Gruyère; Pierre blows her boozy kisses from across the street. Napoléon--who has
never once asked how I am--enquires after Maddie every time he cycles by.
In a city where establishing contact with strangers is notoriously difficult,
suddenly it seems everyone wants to talk to me because of my dog."
