Dog Owner / Frank Biniakou
A day in two best friends’ life
It is a usual Monday morning in Athens. Frank Biniakou wakes up and even before he drinks his double espresso, he takes his dog out for a walk. Although sleepy, he is trying to put Arya’s collar on, while she is wagging her tail out of excitement. Frank talks to her in the process. “Who’s going for a walk?” he asks happily. He puts his jacket and mask on, and he closes the door behind him.
Frank is a 27-year-old law graduate and dog owner. He lives with his pitbull/ best friend, Arya for five years now.
From since he adopted her, Frank walks Arya 4 times a day every day.
Exactly when he wakes up and in the evening. Then, in the afternoon and exactly before he goes to bed at night.
“She has her schedule, she is a 5-year-old dog, not a puppy,” says Frank. Arya understands when he talks about her, so she is looking at him flattered.
The morning walk is basically a round around the block or just a small walk until the dog is ready to go back home.
Ten minutes later, Frank and Arya are back home. Arya’s feet sound on the marble floor while she is running towards the apartment door. “She always gets excited after a walk,” says Frank.
This type of walk is also the “before bed” one. But evening-afternoon walks are different. Or at least, used to be before the pandemic. It was always like “another day another park,” according to Frank. Some weeks ago, Arya used to play and run in parks with other dogs all day long.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Frank was able to walk his dog wherever he wanted, without worrying about the curfew or the social distancing. Also, many more parks were open, but unfortunately closed temporarily.
Now, things have changed. For their evening walk, Frank and Arya are in a park near home. They live ten minutes away from there. Frank texts a specific number from his mobile phone, to explain the reason of his outdoor activity. Without this, police can charge him with a 300 euro fine.
Frank Biniakou and Arya on the park for their evening walk. Shooted at 5pm in Athens, Greece.
The sun has almost set. Frank throws a stick away and Arya immediately runs to bring it back. “Good girl,” he says and kisses her on the forehead. He catches Arya’s leash, and they walk back home.
Apart from the restrictions, Frank is happy that at least he can walk his dog out as much as she needs.
However, he cherishes all the times they had their long and careless walks. Once the quarantine will end, Frank promises to take her to all the different parks, so they can play with other dogs and meet other dog owners as well.
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Georgia Briseniou is a sophomore student who studies Journalism and Mass Communication at AUBG. She likes meeting new people and listening to their stories. Georgia also likes dogs and her favorite city is Athens.
