Goya and the dog

"The parasol" , one of the paintings that remains at my granny's house. My mum brought it one day from the El Prado museum, a lithograph to decorate our small living room with an electric brasserie under the table.

I remember spending hours mesmerized at the smiles, the colors and the little black spot on the lady's skirt.....soon after, I was 4 years old probably,  I was able to be more assertive with my art admiration  and discovered that it was a dog! a dog!! that little thing looking like a "churro" (Spanish type of fried flour doughnut)
From the very same day that I discovered that that little thing at the bottom was a dog, my imagination went flying and had dreams of going for walks with that dog in the meadows of the peripheral San Isidro park in Madrid.
Every day for 10 years I admired the painting in the small living room, hearing the laughs of the couple and the barking of Perla the dog ...yes I named him as if he was mine.
So Perla or Perli, or Negrito, watched me with his lively eyes and silky coat under the Spanish sun, how I will do my homework and eat my afternoon snack.
I wanted to be the lady with the umbrella , I wanted to have Perli  sleeping placidly curled up in my long dress on a Sunday morning.
So I suppose that that dog was one of the first animals in my life, true, in a Goya's painting but I must say he has always been alive and barking in my dreams and in my mind.
Perli you will be glad to know now that I have become a vet!!