Latin poem to a beloved pet.

Angela

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It was an epitaph found on the grave marker. Aww! Nice to know we've always loved our pets.

"This inscribed Latin poem contains the epitaph for Margarita (‘Pearl’), a dog born in Gaul. She became a lap-dog in Rome but it is unclear whether her owners picked her up in Gaul or bought her in Rome as an imported animal. Margarita deceased in 1st or 2nd century Rome.

The poem is written in verse & as if spoken by Margarita herself."I used to lie on the soft lap of my master and mistressand knew to go to bed when tired on my spread mattressand I did not speak more than allowed as a dog, given a silent mouthNo-one was scared by my barking""

Now if only I could teach my dog that! :)

She wasn't always a couch potato, either.

"
"I was trained to run boldly through strange forestsand to hunt out furry wild beasts in the hills."
https://twitter.com/ticiaverveer/status/1223617555182628864

 
Oh that was a really cute idea to honor her after death, she must've been sincerely loved by her masters. Apparently it was somewhat of a tradition to write cute poetic verses in epitaphs for animals in the Graeco-Roman world, perhaps a bit for amusement, but also due to a true belief that it was a cute way to show their affection. As this blog post aptly reminds (https://thepetrifiedmuse.blog/2015/04/14/the-master-and-margarita/), it's a bit unsettling that there are also similar poetic epitaph tributes to slaves and freed slaves of Roman masters, which makes us wonder if they saw them a bit like we do pets today, in general a bit like "they're almost like us and we love them, but not really on the same status and value" (though I'm sure some people would dispute this view as they keep their pets as if they were their own very much human children).
 
26169297_102526023885425_6464769236403520243_n.jpgEleven years ago today, my old beagle Daisy, my first dog, died. The day the barking died. To this day, I still call every postal worker "Daisy's friend" sarcastically because she hated our old mailman. In fact, that is the name my springer spaniel Coco knows our mail carrier by...look, Coco, here comes Daisy's friend...she hated cats as well, but did admire the domestic ferret. She liked the way they smell.
 
View attachment 11790Eleven years ago today, my old beagle Daisy, my first dog, died. The day the barking died. To this day, I still call every postal worker "Daisy's friend" sarcastically because she hated our old mailman. In fact, that is the name my springer spaniel Coco knows our mail carrier by...look, Coco, here comes Daisy's friend...she hated cats as well, but did admire the domestic ferret. She liked the way they smell.

Aww...

My wonderful dog hates cats, but hates squirrels even more. I have to pull down the blinds of one room because the window looks onto a tree where a squirrel is storing nuts. He goes absolutely mental when he sees the damn thing. One day I'm going to wind up with a broken hip because he was pulling away from me trying to get at one. He's mostly a hound breed that hunts raccoons among other animals, so I don't know if it's baked in the dna or what.

He also hates without exception every single man who comes onto or even passes by our property. I had the plumber in the other day. Polo was tied up to a pillar in the garage. I told the stupid man not to go into the garage but of course he did. He ran into the house hyperventilating and white as a ghost.

When he's straining at the leash, mouth open, teeth showing and salivating, he's indeed a fearsome sight, so I don't blame the guy, but you should always listen to owners when they say don't go near the dog.

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I like feeling protected, but I do wish he was less aggressive in this way. Thank God he's not like that when we go out. Then it's all licks for the humans and sniffing around the dogs.
 

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