Page 34 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW Special Edition 5

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 3 4

Once in my life I saw such eyes as a sixteen-year-old, when a little miss invited me to go
with her to the Berlin Industrial Exhibition, for which she certainly needed a pair of white
glacé gloves, size 5 ¾. I brought her the little white things, looked for five minutes into
the inscrutable eyes, whereupon their owner said good day to me.

Tasso had the same eyes, but he did not leave, but kept looking at me, piercingly, with the
look of a sphinx. I took from my evening sandwich the slice of ham and gave it to him.

Tasso turned his head to the side, clearly saying “no!”. Then he turned, went to a corner
and wanted to lie down there. This seemed to be a matter of many ceremonies for him, as
it took a very long time. Until he had stretched out his long legs and lay down on them, I
could count to 25. In this pose of repose, as if made of porcelain, Tasso now lay in his
corner. His gaze struck me, I could feel it even through my back as I sat working at my

writing desk. His gaze pursued me seemingly everywhere and I succumbed to it. He was
stronger than me.

I also succumbed to this rare dog on the first evening we were together, because he
refused everything I offered him with extraordinary distinction. To be kind, I wanted to
stroke his head; he bowed it repulsively to the side with an indifference that had its own
style, which did not tolerate strong rebuttal. I put a dish of dog food in front of his nose.
He first looked at it and then at me. Then he shifted his head to the side on his front legs

and clearly expressed his boredom. He didn't need to underline the movement because he
was used to it, he was visibly bored and he had me to thank for it because I had done it
with every dog so far.

Not a sound passed his lips that first day, from incoming visitors he took no note, the

environment did not seem to suit him at all, so I was ashamed. That evening I didn't take
my Sloeqi out anymore, because I was afraid the next day the neighbours might sue me at
the animal protection association for having a half-starved dog.

However, early the next morning I took him on a leash for the first walk. Indeed, all eyes
were on my Sloeqi as he proudly walked beside me with a light stride. I heard the best
compliments and exclamations of delight from ladies whose judgement on taste I

otherwise highly valued. So my Sloeqi was undoubtedly a beautiful animal and stylishly
slim, not skinny as I had thought the day before.

So I had to learn something new and adapt to the new shape, especially as a lady passing
by clearly stated: “the gentleman didn't suit the dog at all”. So I took my latest fitted coat

out of the closet and went for a walk with my Sloeqi wearing only it. My otherwise brisk
walking pace took away my strength and I sauntered through the streets like an
vagabond. I shaved twice a day and only wore ties, which cost RM 8.75 each.