Kate Lehman, Enna Schlaht, Felix & Roméo
ph. Charlotte Toscan du Plantier
Kate is a painter and Enna attends a French-American school. They have adopted Felix and Roméo from Reunion Island.
I grew up around a lot of animals. I've had cats, dogs, a duck, a turtle, a guinea pig, a rabbit, a rat...
And now we have two dogs.
Enna grew up with cats, which we don't have any more, the two dogs we have now, we had hermit crabs, and a little lizard too. And a rabbit at one point. But we got rid of the rabbits because there wasn't enough room with the dogs for them all to be happy. The dogs are called Felix and Roméo. Two boys and they are about 4 years old now. They were little puppies who were rescued from the Reunion Island. I found an association on the internet, that works with the SPA of Reunion Island. They collected the dogs, placed them on the internet, and made sure they were brought to foster families. We went to pick them up from a foster family. They were 3 or 4 months old, the rescue wasn’t sure. I had chosen "small" dogs because we were thinking of travelling with them everywhere, taking them on a plane etc. The rescue said that they would probably weigh 8 kilos, adult size... Well, Felix is 25, and Roméo is 20!
They go to the Bois de Boulogne, they go to the countryside with us, since the lockdown they sleep with the children whereas before they were not allowed to sleep in bed.
They were very cute when they were puppies. Now they are still very affectionate. I enjoy seeing them in the countryside. Sometimes I dream about them, about them being part of my dreams. They have a special presence, they are part of the family.
They hate water. Especially Felix. He's an island boy, he likes the heat. When it's cold outside or when it rains, he really doesn't want to go out. Roméo, on the other hand, doesn't mind. He doesn't hate it, but he is afraid of other dogs. When we walk down the street, he always barks at everyone, but that's because he's afraid.
They love to cuddling and eating, of course. Felix is very, very greedy. Roméo too, but a little less so. I once made a big cheese board for a dinner party, and there was only one cheese left, out of four huge pieces... but he didn't damage anything, the cheese just disappeared, without making a mess! All the pieces, except for one that was left whole.
They are both quite fearful. Roméo is more like a dog, Felix is more like a human. They are very loyal: if we go for a walk, they will never run away, there is no need to worry, they never go very far. They love snuggling together, they are very close to each other. It is very sweet. Roméo is really affectionate, Felix is more independent.
At first, we decided to only take Felix. And then we thought it was sad to separate the brothers, so it was basically a five-minute decision to take both. And in fact, we are very happy with that decision because our two kids bicker a lot. Now at least there always is a dog for each of them. But there's not necessarily a dog for one and a dog for the other.
I think that being together with our dogs brings us a bit closer to nature, but I also think people have a stronger or weaker natural connection to it. I used to think it was just a matter of upbringing. Meaning, if you were brought up with animals like I was brought up with spiders, animals or insects that people usually kill. Whereas in our house you respected all living things. However, when my son Roman was three months old, I watched our cat pass between him and another child, who was at our house, I saw Roman's eyes follow the cat, and his friend, he didn’t even look. So I said to myself that it is not necessarily education, but there also needs to be a more pronounced interest. Julian, for example, is not interested in animals at all. But Roman, there was a contact right away.
And I think that it is very beneficial for us to touch them. There's something about it: it makes them happy, and me too!
