Jenny Scales the Heights

This is a nice picture of my late dog Jenny. It is, however, a lie. It makes her look majestic and all powerful, when in fact she was self effacing and easy going. I was recently in Paris having dinner with a friend who knew Jenny from years ago. She (my friend, not Jenny) was a waitress at a bar called Doyle's. She remembered that Jenny used to sit under the bench of my booth and sip stout from a bowl she (my friend) put out for her. This was a nice memory, much warmer than this photo evokes. However, it was also not true. The dog my waitress friend describes was Toto. (I knew all the dogs that came into Doyle's.) In fact, Jenny used to sit on the bench next to me and drink from any willing neighbors' glass. There were many willing neighbors, as Jenny was very popular. This is the memory of Jenny I most cherish. Of course, I'm not really sure that this was the way it happened either. Since I don't have a photo of Jenny at Doyle's, I can remember Jenny anyway I want to.

submitted by Henry Horenstein
Boston, Massachusetts USA
September 1996

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