Photo by Lee Woolcock
Josefina Estrada Nora Boston
We caught up with award-winning Maltese-cutey Josefina Estrada Nora Boston to ask her what life is like for a dog in the lime light.
I was born in Madrid, but came to Barcelona as a baby. I sleep about 23 hours a day; the rest is cuddles and snacks. I also have a fetish for ripping up important papers and paper towels.
My mum and dad found me through a world-famous poodle breeder. I was four months old and I had funny teeth. I’ve got an overbite and that’s why my tongue sticks out. Apparently, they thought it was quite cute so they chose me.
Maltese dogs are very energetic. When I was very little, I was always chewing corners. My mum would often stick her finger in my mouth and find a nail in there, or a staple… odd things she didn’t even know she had round the house.
I have a lot of clothes. My favourite is my dinosaur jumper. My abuela makes me a lot of jumpers. Mummy also buys me a lot of jumpers and if they aren’t exciting enough she bejewels them with rhinestones. My dog-tag was made by my aunty Rachel. I’m very well dressed.
Barcelona is definitely a dog city. It’s a great size and people are dog crazy. There are lots of little dogs because of the size of the flats, and I have a lot of friends on the streets. Sometimes my parents take me to Montjuïc to run around the park there. It looks like a city from the future.
I sometimes dream about chasing a little ball, but I can never quite catch it. Maybe it’s stress.
I’m normally very placid and not yappy at all unless with my friends. However, my dad has the Hey record by Julio Iglesias and he sometimes leaves it out. Julio’s face stares at me and I have to bark at it to make him go away. His smile is creepy.
I’m very proud of the fact that I won best photo at Estimada Mascota last year. I was given all my yearly injections and some cat treats as a prize (yes, CAT treats). Mummy was happy because those things are expensive. I think my greatest achievement, though, is convincing my parents to let me sleep with them in their bed. I like to be right in the middle.
Mostly I admire people who are good to their dogs and dogs who are good to their people. We are the secret to happiness, so be sweet to us! I also really admire Inspector Rex on the TV. He’s a German Shepherd and is really cool and handsome.
It can be a bit scary on the Barcelona pavements. There are a lot of careless people with bicycles or on their phones who don’t look where they are going. It’s a different world down there—sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can find whole prawn heads.
My mummy brushes my hair daily, otherwise I get dreadlocks in my armpits. I go to the groomers once a month at the Hospital Veterinari de Montjuïc, which is a lovely place. It has a swimming pool for dogs with back problems.
There’s a huge difference between cats and dogs. Cats scratch. I’m always warm, especially in the summer.
My favourite things are ‘Sandwiches’ (more cat treats that I get sent from the UK), and snuggles.
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