This first adventure begins at 5:45 in the morning with the first train to Madrid. The truth is that I really want to meet our protagonists today, John (Lisbon 2013) and Irene.
After getting lost in the wonderful streets of Malasaña, I take the metro to the place where we have met with John and his closest relative, the actress Irene Visedo (Madrid 1978). I get off at Bilbao station and, after walking 5 minutes, I arrive through a small tree-lined walk to the agreed place. There, Irene quickly appears, who excuses John because he has hurt his leg and will not be able to physically accompany us.
About Irene, I can tell you that she is an actress and has participated in countless films and series such as ‘Cuéntame como paso’, as well as plays. She is also the author of the book ‘Simply Mindfulness’. As for John, I will tell you that he is a Whippet breed dog, very adorable and calm, who transmits a lot of tenderness. Even though he couldn’t come, that won’t stop him from becoming our first protagonist.
Irene…
John or Incredible Dream?
I call him John because if he does something wrong, he won’t make it with Incredible Dream… he breaks the vase. It’s like, “Incredible Dream, no!” (laughs) … But he came with a name, they gave him to me with a name. In John’s litter, all the puppies were Incredible “something”… Dream, Hope… The truth is that he lives up to his name because he is a sleepyhead and a dreamer.
It is very cute to see Irene imitate the sounds and movements that John makes when he dreams.
John came into your life at 6 months old, puppy, puppy, in a place where you have spent many summers… Portugal…
John is Portuguese. He was born in Lisbon and was given to me by friends who have a house on the beach, so he lived like a prince. I think the trauma was really the separation. I feel a little like that. The separation and coming to Madrid, because a big city is still a place that, if it is no longer suitable for us, then for an animal… Although, poor thing, he had no choice but to adapt and he did it very well, but at first he trembled. John is shaky, he has fears of him, he is shy. Then, when he relaxes, he is open, very affectionate, cuddly, observant, but he has a character that he is not worth anything. When he is not comfortable, it shows.
You came to Spain by plane and, I understand, you had a terrible time…
I had a terrible time because I didn’t think it was a suitable place for him. I have always taken into account what is best for John, despite the mistakes I have also made due to my lack of experience. He was my first dog and, furthermore, we had not made the trip by car, but by plane. It was a totally irrational decision in which I said, “Yes, yes, I’ll keep it”… “But are you keeping it?… it has to be now.”
We quickly arranged the passport, his ticket and, before I knew it, we were both on a plane. Me in the cabin and him in the hold. A warehouse in which I will never put it again. If I ever have to travel with him by plane, because I have no choice, I will spend whatever money is necessary so that he can travel in the cabin. I’m even considering a private jet shared with more people.
I was informing myself, back in the day, and there are private trips that you share with more people. They are expensive, but when sharing expenses it is not crazy either. You can only take the dog in the cabin if he meets specific dimensions or if he is an assistance dog. John is not a service dog. For that he would have to lie, and I don’t see myself in those. There are people who do it! I have a companion who has done so to travel to the United States. You go to the psychologist to do the paperwork, I pretend to be unstable and he compensates me to take your dog with you. I haven’t gotten into it, but I can understand that at any given moment you do anything for them.
A large dog is not practical. The people I know with small dogs move more freely than I can move. I move, but with much more difficulty, with more organization and less improvisation.
John is your first dog… Were you afraid?
I was scared, yes, but it was an irrational fear. It scared me and, at the same time, I wanted it very much. I wanted it since I was little. I was never into dolls, I was into stuffed animals and I thought they were alive, I took care of them and when I saw the advertisement for Tristón needs a little friend… Do you remember that, Edu?… I believed it! At that moment, I asked for a Tristón because if I needed a little friend, I was there. I have always had the desire to have a dog and it scared me because of the great lack of knowledge I had and the truth is that it is something that, if you have not had one, it is difficult to imagine the great responsibility it entails.
What kind of relationship do you have?
We have a relationship of total companions. John and I are rarely separated and, when we have to, I normally leave him with a caregiver, always the same, who has been helping me for many years and who for John is like his second trusted person. More than trust, comfort. If I’m not there and he is there, fine. A dog knows who takes care of him in the way he wants.
What are you all talking about?
More than talking to him, I do talk to him a lot. I constantly communicate with him. The other day, someone told me: “But he doesn’t understand you”… I told him that he understands some words and associates them. Imagine that we go out around the neighborhood and that I drink coffee in three or four different places. We’re in the area of ??one of these places and I say, “Where are we going, John?” At that moment, he gets his bearings and takes me to the site.
What I do is talk to him a lot because it is a stimulus. Whether you understand or not, relate words or not, encouragement is very important.
For example, now that I have come with you, Edu, I have told John: “I’m going to this and I’ll be back shortly. I come and go.”
My speech with him is always very similar, so if I express myself in a certain way, he knows perfectly what I mean. There is a code there. There are things that I feel that, from chewing on them so much, we have them by hand. There are many years of guidelines and structures made. If you don’t get it out of those structures, there can be an understanding.
On occasions, you have commented that he is a great being, very sweet, but… Do you ever get angry?
No. I got angry with him when he was younger and I realized that he was of no use. He made me angry at myself because of my own frustration. When he ate or bit things… Of course, he was in a pure research stage. There is a time when you have a dog that is tougher… you step on them, they poop… until they understand the code of where yes and where no. Having a dog means putting yourself at the service of the animal. It is giving yourself to that service, which has nothing to do with servitude. They are two different things. It is the vocation to serve a being, who depends absolutely on you, who is like a child who does not grow, who remains two or three years old.
This great responsibility is assumed by one’s own choice. You are free to take it or not…
Completely. It’s your choice. So, I think that, at the beginning, when I saw the part that is hardest and most complicated, especially living in the city and in an apartment, because if you live in a chalet, the relationship that the dog has with the environment is different.
Have you ever considered leaving the apartment to live somewhere else because of John?
Yes, I have considered many things for John, but I have not been able to carry out all of them because I have other circumstances that prevent it. At this point, I must negotiate with myself, and what I try is to take many walks, take it on my vacations, always count on it and include it in my leisure and my rest. It is true that, at times, I have made the typical four or five day trip to Europe and I have had to leave him in the care of another person, but I don’t like being separated from him.
You’re having a bad time…
Yes, I have a hard time because I am never sure that he will be as well as he is with me. With the caregiver yes, but if it’s not with him, I don’t stay calm. Let’s see, nothing happens later either because when I have left it with other people, for a weekend or two days, these people give everything and are doing great. For me it is a stressful situation because he had a lot of separation anxiety when he was little and that was the most difficult thing. There, I had to mature, grow a lot and realize that what John needed was to be with me.
Is it selective?
Very selective. He is not a dog that goes with just anyone. He never wants to be separated from me. He doesn’t go away peacefully. John’s looks are very penetrating. I, at least, understand them because they touch me deeply. He expresses himself very clearly and when we have to separate, we do it and despite the looks, it is what he touches. You have to separate.
That’s why I told you before, Edu, that the relationship we have is one of total attachment.
As we progress in the talk, I realize how much Irene suffers for John and to what extent they have acquired a mutual commitment. Of course, despite her suffering, when she talks about him, about her looks, about her relationship, her face lights up…
The hardest moment you’ve had together?
The poisoning he had from Giardias. The vet started giving him antibiotics and everything seemed to be going well until he became resistant and they considered that more medication regimens were necessary and I, of course, said: “he’s not going to be able to handle this”…
After this, one day, I was making breakfast, and notice that John rarely gets up quickly from his mat because he is quite lazy… At that moment I hear the rattling of his paws on the floating floor and when I go I see that he is giving him a epileptic attack. Of course… I didn’t know what to do… I remember that, I don’t know how, I grabbed him, carried him, hailed a taxi and we ran to the vet.
On another occasion, in the month of August, he was admitted for ten days in a hospital, which was windy, in an undeveloped area that could only be accessed by taxi and I thought, “If this is what having a dog is like… “You have shined, Irene.”
John’s early years were marked by all these things that left consequences. From time to time, he has an attack.
Irene… How are you similar?
We look quite alike. We are both somewhat shy, we quite like calm. John, for example, doesn’t like loud music. We both really like to sleep! I can take him down at 11 at night to take him for a walk and at 10 in the morning we are still “nailed” and it’s not like he comes out shotgun… With complete calm.
Where do you sleep?
He has his mat and I put it at the foot of the bed. They told me that you shouldn’t put the dog in the room, that it then goes up to the bed… Little by little, I discovered that this is not a good idea. The dog is a herd creature, there is nothing like remembering the photograph that went viral of the elephants sleeping, and I thought, why is he going to sleep alone?… So he starts the night on his mat, at the foot of the bed. and, at a certain point in the night, he goes up to bed. Since I already know calico, he prepared a quilt for that space.
What drives you crazy?
He does capoeiras when he gets very happy. He runs super fast, although not so much now because he is 11 years old.
It’s so much fun to see Irene doing the things that John does to play… The way she tells it, it’s so hard not to see how much fun they have. Yes, yes, both.
When you have a shoot or a function… Do you pass text with it?
Lose attention. Once I’ve gone through a piece of text with him, he looks at me and acts like “I’m bored” so I try not to give him the bullshit. What is fun is that, sometimes, I am passing text, saying it out loud, and he sees me angry, sad, happy and he looks at me like “what have I done?”
Has he seen you on TV?
He is not one for screens. If he hears my voice… Any barking from a dog… I think that, over time, I have been leading a dog’s life more than he has a human life.
Surely the key is in the mixture of both…
Definitely. A little bit of both. I always try to remember that he is a dog. He has other needs and one of them is rest. They need to rest. I don’t agree with those people who go for a walk with their dogs and focus on them and not on their dog. The walk is for your dog. Don’t leave your house to let him pee and poop and feel it on a disgusting floor, on a shitty terrace. I don’t share these things at all.
14 years on ‘Tell Me How It Happened’ and other projects simultaneously… Taking into account the amount of time this entails… Did you take John to filming?
I tried to take him, but they wouldn’t let me. Obviously, there are other people on the team who have dogs and they are not going to make an exception for the actress. I understand this perfectly and I share it. If the production company had gotten involved and said, here in Pinto, we run a dog daycare for all of you who have a dog. That didn’t happen, so he stayed with the caretaker.
He gets up early with me, if I take him out at 5:30 or 6 a.m. m., I leave calmly because he has peed and pooped on him and remains calm until the caretaker arrives.
The greatest fortune I have had in relation to John is finding the caretaker.
What has John taught you?
It has made me mature in many things. It has allowed me to become aware of the animal world. With him I have had to mature because I am not a mother and, for me, it has been an immense responsibility that I take with great commitment. It has taught me tolerance, patience, commitment, it has opened my heart… There is a phrase that says “Until you fall in love with an animal, a part of your soul has not awakened yet”… It has a lot to do with unconditional love and the dependence.
Irene… Tell me a secret of yours
Let’s play. I get on all fours and play with him, and he loves it. He is 10 years old and still playful. I bite the stuffed animal… We have a lot of complicity.
Would you have a dog again?
I think, and today, not. It’s something I think about a lot because every day I prepare for John’s death. I don’t forget a single day because you realize that they are very ephemeral lives that are absolutely in your hands. I get the impression that when that farewell comes it’s going to cost me and it’s going to be very hard.
How are you preparing?
I prepare myself by living. Being aware, every day, that there is less left. That every day counts, it is not just another day. John is turning 11 years old. I don’t know if they have two, four… maybe five left, but Whippets have a life expectancy that is what it is. You never know with death. It always catches us unexpectedly even if you are expecting it. I also think a lot about how to be able to accompany them at that moment, which seems fundamental to me, because I still don’t understand how there are so many people who leave their animals to the vet so that he can make the decision at the slightest illness… That’s not like that.
You have to accompany him in illness, death… It’s something I can’t understand. People say “it’s such a hard time”… so give life courage!… He’s not your son, why aren’t we crazy but I know people who have children and have dogs and they tell me that they can’t make distinction from the heart. I am not John’s mother but, if anything, I can also be his mother.
Irene…thank you for introducing us to John
Thank you very much Edu.
I have the feeling that I have found an incredible person. Responsible, committed and who loves her John above all things. This week, I’ll call her to see how her paw is doing.
When we finished, we had a soft drink and discussed topics quite related to animals such as veganism… but that’s another story.
