Fala, our handsome scottie, was selected by his "older" sister Kate as a companion. Visiting the home of Pat Gilmore, a breeder of Scottish Terriers in New Jersey, young pups were brought to Kate to see how she would interact with the little guys. Kate was alone at home when I was teaching at Brooklyn College and Harold was working. A year old, and uncaged, she expressed her distress by chewing on various objects, as, for instance, White Fang, a novel by Jack London about a dog. She also took a fancy to redesigning our Victorian furniture and chewing on wood panelling in the house. Our vet suggested that she proably would change her behavior if she had a companion, such as a cat or a dog. We opted for the latter, and chose a scottie because it would "speak" the same language. Among the pups presented to Kate was a sturdy handsome little boy. He did not take flight when Kate stood over him; he held his own. As Fala matured Kate taught him all the doggie lore that she knew and then the two together expanded their horizons. Though their temperaments differed--Fala was more laid back, Kate more inquistive--they found common ground and played with each other affectionately. When Fala died, Kate uttered a startling unforgetable howl of mourning. She never repeated that heart-rending sound again, but she did search for Fala, carefully investigating a huge field where the two often played and walked together. "Wiggy" as we often called Fala was remarkable.
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