Pearls Before Swine

We spent last week-end at “Le Violon d’Ingres”, the home of my best friend Eriqs parents. Dirk and Janin sold their place in Deurne three years ago and moved to Anhée, a beautiful place in the province of Namur, Belgium.

Dirk and Janin take care of seven cats, three chickens and two dogs. Most of the cats were astray and found a place to stay at Le Violon d’Ingres. One of the two dogs is Robin. He is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. This is a small companion dog or toy dog. He is very keen on company from other dogs, cats, as well as grown-ups and kids. Lili was no less than in love with this creature. She caressed him, hugged him, kissed him and even carried him carefully around like a baby. Robin enjoyed the attention and had an awesome time with his buddy. This sweetheart even sleeps together with Thor, a Norwegian Forest cat, giving each other licks and cuddles.  It’s very important to be aware of the background of a dog like the Cavaliers. They are so very popular, which results in breeding on a massive scale at unofficial enterprises. The consequences are well-known: hart failure, eye failure and spinal problems. Always buy your little puppies at breeders who can show you the pedigree of mummy and daddy dog. Robin was born at Bosca Hanica at Bois d’Haine, in the province of Hainaut. Here you will encounter a nice, unaffected lady, breeding her lovely creatures with care.

This picture was taken by Eriqs dad, Dirk Van de Vondel. He was the principal of the school where I studied and am now teaching, from 1996 to 2005. Afterwards, he moved upwards to become the head of our department in Antwerp. During his retirement, since 2010, he still collaborated in the policy of capacity problems for the school department.