Pekingese Forever! A Century of King fAmily PeKingese 1943 Mary King with two
equAls A life greAtly imProved by PeKingese AssoCiAtes SEVENTY PLUS TWELVE
by Louise W. King
1913 David W. King with his sister’s Pekingese “Sir Toady Lion” in England
Pekingese and friend with a propable poodle Washington, Connecticut
“Sarah Stoutly-Bigg” nee Manticore Sarabande… the first of the Manticore Pekes to call Tiny Toad Hall home. Photo by James Balaban Deutschmann
A clearer view of Mary King’s Pekes “Georgina” and “Toadette”(and anonymous intrusive Dachshund) Washington, Connecticut
B efore the first Peke at our house, there were Aunt Mary’s Alderbourne Pekes, Georgina and Toadette at her house in Con- necticut where she lived during WWII. Aunt Mary was my favorite aunt, and the Sumacs was the best of all places to visit… undoubtedly because of the Peke presence. Living in Washington DC with my mother, I went to camp in 1946 and came home with the admirable Taffy Topaz, a marmalade Persian kitten. Taffy’s life ended prema- turely… fatal encounter with a dog in 1949. Mother and I concluded that no cat would be as wonderful as Taffy. What next? A Pekingese puppy. Mother had always wanted a Pekingese; my authoritative god- mother had Pekingese in England and I remembered Georgina and Toadette. Off to a breeder in… Virginia?… Maryland?… was his name Harry Silfies (spelling?) who had two puppies for sale. He gave good advice about which puppy would be best for me. The pret- tiest puppy stayed close to her mother. The larger, darker, puppy was interested in meeting new- comers and did indeed prove to be the right puppy. Squeekie (she never actually barked) had a heav- ily Orchard Hill pedigree and lived a long life. Truth to tell, she was more mother’s dog than mine… I went to
boarding school and then to col- lege… but Squeekie was the vital Pekingese Presence at home for years! We learned the classic Peking- ese “Joke at Human Expense” from her. Staying at a Richmond house with a securely fenced yard one autumn, where leaves had been raked into large heaps… Squeekie went out into the yard and vanished. Mother called, but there was no sign of Squeekie. Looking about, mother concluded that Squeekie couldn’t have gotten out of the yard. Had she been stolen? More and louder calls of “Squeekie”! Nothing… until deep in one of the leaf piles a tail wagged, and there was Squeekie. Eventually I was living in San Francisco, sharing a house with several people… without a Peking- ese. Seeing an ad for Pekingese puppies, I ventured to Petaluma… where the advertiser proved to be the wife of an out-of-work construc- tion worker. Living in one trailer, a second, smaller trailer was the home of Pekingese… including four or five assorted puppies… not one of which I wanted. Having politely refused to buy a puppy, a brief contretemps ensued when I tried to leave without being given all the puppies free of charge. Con- cluding that the situation was des- perate, I bought the least objection- able puppy, hoping the cash would
1943
Georgina and Toadette at my father’s house 1943
Aunt Mary with Georgina… Connecticut 1944
232 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , F EBRUARY 2015
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