The Hard-Working Grande Dame
{Viktoria Luise (Vise)}
A 14-year-old female German Shepherd mix
Her humans: Adrian Sudhalter (quoted here) and Andreas Hubener of Hastings-on-Hudson
Ten-second commercial: Vise is worldly. Born in Berlin, she lived there with us for four years before moving to the United States and becoming a Westchester devotee. For six years now, she has been accompanying Andreas to his architectural office in Dobbs Ferry, where she is the most popular member of the staff. Named after: Viktoria-Luise-Platz, a beautiful square in our old neighborhood in Berlin where she played as a puppy. Personality: She is the perfect mix of domestic pet and wild wolf. She loves people and sleeps contentedly on our bed at home or at work, but her animal instincts are still very much intact. She looks like: Sheep-herding dogs in Germany looked before they standardized the breed. Her mother was still actively herding sheep outside Berlin when we got her. Most endearing habit: The office staff consensus is that it’s her afternoon nap. In the quiet, open-plan office, they can hear the faint echoing sound of her muted, somnambulant woof and her happy paws twitching as she dreams of what they imagine to be a happy, canine paradise. Most annoying trait: Constant shedding that knows no seasons. Preferred people-food nosh: Pâté and birthday cake—both of which she has seized at public gatherings. Thinks she is: A dog. We think she is: A grande dame, angel, or a superstar. Most oddball thing about her: Her name, because in Germany, Vise (pronounced Vis-a) sounds like the word for pasture and in English like a credit card. Naughtiest behavior: As a teenager, she met a handsome speckled hunting dog who couldn’t resist her beauty and she got pregnant outside a Berlin convenience store. Seven adorable puppies later, we forgave her.
