About Our Σκυλάκι

Σκυλί (pronounced 'skee-LEE') is the Greek word for dog. But I don't think our dachshund Beatrice has been called that once since we've been here. The moniker she usually gets on the streets of Athens (as well as inside our apartment) is σκυλάκι (pronounced 'skee-LA-key'), which is actually the diminutive form of the word dog, i.e. "little dog". (The Greeks do this a lot, apparently, your 'souvlaki' is actually a diminutive of 'souvlos', the lamb served at Easter.) Our first few days here, Tim passed by an old woman on the street who called her a ψυχούλα (pronounced 'psi-HOO-la') or 'little soul'.

We weren't quite sure how Bea would be received in Athens...we had heard that dog ownership was becoming more popular, but this is a city known for its population of stray dogs.

Stray dog in a square in central Athens.

There are quite a few stray dogs in the city, however not nearly as many--and not nearly as scary--as I had imagined. For the most part, they seem pretty content. All look well-fed, and many have collars. They can often be seen lying lazily in the sun on a patch of cool marble in the middle of rush hour. (I am not condoning stray-dogness by any means: you should spay and neuter your animals!! I just mean that they are not the vicious roving packs of feral animals I had pictured.) When we initially took to walking Bea in the National Gardens near our apartment, we were wary of the several strays that seemed quite territorial there; we were even "barked away" out of one area of the park. We've now however figured out the parts of the National Gardens, that are basically stray-free and where almost all of the dogs you see are on leashes.

Bea comes face to face with a goat in the National Gardens' little mini-zoo.

Bea has met quite a few fellow furry friends--including Hermes, the shyest little terrier you've ever seen, and fluffy and furry friends of all shapes and colors. (There's even a large chow chow we've seen a few times in our neighborhood.) Bea is also not the only dog in our six-story building (which is actually composed of half apartments/half offices, making it nice and quiet on the weekends). While we haven't met the dog yet, we've met the owner of a labrador on the first floor, who was very excited to meet Bea, and complimented her "beautiful nose". I told him that Bea had a labrador "cousin" back in the US--can a play date be far behind?

But what about dachshunds? When we first arrived, Tim and I decided that Bea must be the only dachshund in all of Athens! But our first suspicions that this might not be the case were aroused when I went to the pet store near the American School--near the cash register was a wall of pet pictures, presumably from local dog owners, and, yes, one dachshund! Could it be? At the pet store, I purchased a box of treats called "Markies" (which incidentally, Bea has decided are the most delicious things she has ever eaten. Seriously, she goes absolutely nuts for these things.)

The coveted Markies box.

When I got home, Tim noticed that the recommendations for daily feeding on the side of the box list a ντάχσχουντ as an example of a small size dog. 'ντάχσχουντ' is the Greek transliteration of dachshund: it is literally pronounced 'DACHS-hund'! Hmm...we were getting really suspicious. Were there other dachshunds in Athens after all?

A few days later, we were walking Bea on a Sunday through the Plaka area, when we ran into a family exiting the Children's Museum. 'Σκυλάκι λουκάνικο!' ('skee-LA-key lou-KA-ni-kou') a little girl screeched. Tim began to laugh.

"What's so funny? What did she say?" I asked.

"She said: 'sausage dog'!"

And then, it happened. Tim arrived at the apartment breathless. He had seen a dachshund! On our very street! Yes, it's true--I've since seen it myself, although Bea has yet to come face to face with her own kind here. There is a little dachshund puppy living in our very own neighborhood. They are actually bred in Greece (see here and here), although judging by the reactions of delight Bea continues to elicit in Athenians on the street, they are still not very common!

So far, my favorite term for Bea is λουκανικάκι ('lou-ka-nee-KA-ki') or the diminutive form of sausage: 'little sausage'.

All in all, it has been quite an easy transition for our little one, and she seems quite the happy little sausage!

Fast asleep in a patch of sun in our apartment.