THE KOUKLA STORY
By SPYROS PETER GOUDAS AND SOFIA PAPADHIMITRI
To understand the story I'm about to tell you, you have to visualize in your imagination that KOUKLA is a nice French Poodle, all white, with very beautiful sharp eyes.
IRMA on the other hand is the most gentle dog in the whole world; she always has shy, sad eyes, looking you right in the eye, she is black with white paws from the ankle down and the portion of her tail at the end is white.
Bonjour, mon nom est KOUKLA
Hello, my name is KOUKLA - Jamaican Xpress
Sofia’s Papadhimitri Note:
Music by Sofia and Livia Papadhimitri CLICK ON THE PHOTO
Sofia Papadhimitri and Livia Papadhimitri worked for Spyros Peter Goudas for many years. They are both accomplished musicians and along with their father, Jani, are a musical group.
Jani Papadhimitir is a well-known musician not only in his native country, Albania but in musical circles all over the world, especially here in Ontario, Canada.
Click here to view the live performance of this musically talented trio.
Dear Readers:
I would like to say a few words, regarding the writing of this article, and what conditions it was completed under…
One night, around 3 am (just like previously mentioned), Mr. Goudas was struck by a feverish inspiration to write Koukla’s story.
A few minutes later, my phone rang, and while half asleep, I heard my boss’s voice, who
unable to hold his excitement, was talking about some idea mentioning Koukla’s name and kept saying repeatedly “Come right away before the busy morning comes and I lose my inspiration”.
The next thing I remember is driving to his office and realizing that I was still wearing my pajamas under my sweater. Arriving at the factory, I found Mr. Goudas going back and forth outside the main entrance, with an obvious state of eagerness. As soon as he saw me, he once again began talking rapidly about an article regarding Koukla,etc., etc.
So we began to write until the morning found us still writing and making corrections, filling pages and narrating exciting excerpts from Koukla’s story, who sat with us sleepless all night, and gave us her contribution through barking, or rubbing against her owner's legs now and then.
When his secretary arrived in the early morning hours, Mr. Goudas told her briskly to cancel all his appointments, making no exceptions, because he did not want any interruptions from anyone.
Imagine this, considering that his appointments go one after the other for the whole day,
every day and many businessmen need to book the meeting date quite some time in advance!
Long story short, the writing and completion of this article lasted for 3 days and 3 nights, a marathon that became more and more exciting every time we were engaged in a new adventure of Koukla, while the writing would become faster and faster, trying to document all the ideas of
the moment.
We would literally live on coffee and sandwiches.
This gave me the chance to realize that it is really difficult for someone to express all the exciting adventures of such a vibrant and smart dog, like she does, in a human language, since us humans are not capable of understanding the point of view of an animal’s life.
I did, however, get to experience the ‘dog life’, those three days and nights since I truly worked like a dog (according to the expression)!
It looks like Mr. Goudas already knew the meaning of this saying since he didn’t even seem tired, nor did it look like it was the first time he worked this hard and non-stop for days.
I believe this experience was beneficial for me since I was able to deliver, together with Mr. Goudas, a successful biography for Koukla.
Today, years later, Koukla’s article remains a loved one, among animal-lovers that visit the www.goudasfoods.com website.
We receive congratulatory letters from various fans of Koukla, and each time our hearts are touched.
It looks like there are a lot of people that share my boss’s, as well as my love, for animals (I myself have an adorable cat named Charlie), but that also understand the value of inspired work, like the above article.
Mr. Goudas Events and News
IRMA GOUDAS "Farewell to a Faithful Friend..."
DEAR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS OF SPYROS PETER GOUDAS,
Unfortunately, today we do not have good news to share.
It is with sincere regret that we advise that IRMA GOUDAS, one of Mr. Goudas' constant companions passed away at 11:55 p.m. last night.
Most of you may know Irma from the article titled "Koukla", which tells the story of Mr. Goudas' pets, Koukla, Irma, and Tiger.
Many of you have expressed your appreciation for this article, written by Mr. Goudas himself, and have congratulated him into his original and successful portraying of the different personalities of his beloved animal friends: Tiger, the friendly and playful cat, Koukla, his faithful follower and official announcer of approaching company, and of course Irma, the gentle companion who politely greets everyone and never barks.
The anticipation of Irma's death was expected.
She had suffered the effects of a car accident for the last few years.
Lately, her hips were no longer able to hold her weight and she continually kept falling down and eventually could not even stand up on her own.
But, would you believe, the day before she died, she actually did get up and walk around the office for a short time.
Maybe in her own way she was taking her final stroll in familiar territory saying goodbye to her friends in the various offices.
Finally, on Thursday, in anticipation of her passing, many people remained in the office.
She lay down on her rug, with Koukla at her side all the while, and breathed her last breath at 11.55p.m.
Irma will be greatly missed.
She was a kind, loving, attentive, obedient and faithful dog.
She was friendly to all the workers and the public in general.
No one had to be fearful of or to be intimidated by her.
Even the children who came into Mr. Goudas office over the years fell in love with her.
Irma will be greatly missed...
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Mini-biography of Irma Goudas
The following will give you an understanding of how she came into Mr. Goudas' life, his family, and all of the workers and friends of his organization.
"Mr. Goudas' Companion since March 15, 1992
One evening Mr. Goudas was parked near Trenton, Ontario, for a little while, leaving his car windows open.
When he returned to his car and started driving, he eventually realized he had a guest sitting comfortably on the back seat.
It was too late to return to Trenton as he was almost home.
A few days later he returned with his guest to the same area and asked neighbors and local shopkeepers if they knew her; it seemed like no one knew anything.
Additionally, he let her roam free for a few hours in case she found someone familiar.
By the end of the day, he had exhausted all the possibilities of finding her owner.
He then realized the dog was homeless and thought to adopt her.
He named her Irma, in memory of his childhood dog.
The full breed of Irma is unknown, she seems to be a mix with an Irish setter of some kind, and she is very polite and well mannered.
She welcomes all visitors and until recently she has always been in good health.
Irma loved to jump into Mr. Goudas' car straight through the window every time he left it open.
But in Sept. 2003, Irma had a serious car accident.
Luckily, she survived and has recovered almost completely since then.
Unfortunately, her hips were damaged permanently and she can no longer do her famous jump-in.
Irma has a fantastic sense of smell; she can smell food a mile away and follows her nose directly to the source.
However, she always pretends like she is so sad and hungry, giving the impression that Mr. Goudas is starving her to death.
Irma, however, is a loyal companion and together with her "best friend" Koukla, and Tiger the cat, inspired Mr. Goudas to write a story about them on August 20, 2003, at 3:00 a.m., which documented this fantastic story.
It has been translated into many different languages, such as English, Greek, Italian, French, Chinese, Spanish, Sri Lankan, and Korean.
It is also available in two audio formats: English, narrated by Jesse MacDonald, one of the finest, gifted voices in the world today and a personal friend of Mr. Goudas; and in Greek, narrated by Diamadopoulos Basilis one of the best known Greek Canadian radio personalities and the owner of CHIR Broadcasting Company."
The Koukla, Irma and Tiger story is the subject of animal lovers, humane society members, people who plan to adopt a dog, and even those who want to know more about animals.
It is a wonderful Christmas gift for children, and Mr. Goudas has generously donated various versions in C.D. format as Christmas presents to children.
To read or to hear (koukla) this wonderful article, please click on links, or find it under the articles section on www.goudasfoods.com.
In addition, Mr. Goudas mentions Irma in another one of his articles about a special New Year Resolution, when at the time he already knew that Irma's condition was becoming serious and her day of passing was approaching. You can find the New Year's Resolution article under the January 01, 2006 posting in the Events Section.
We believe today's sorrow will be shared not only by those who know Irma and have already read her story but also by all those who have lost their loving pet.
Judging by the attention the Koukla and Irma story receives, we were lead to believe that there are many people out there who welcome their pets as family members and mourn their passing just the same.
Irma's passing has touched all of us...
From Mr. Goudas and the Goudas Foods Staff
Mr. Goudas Events and News
GOODBYE KOUKLA!
It is with heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of Koukla, that beautiful French poodle, who was a faithful companion to Mr. Goudas for over 14 years.
She was never more than two feet away from his day or night.
She even sat on his lap while he was driving.
We remember an occasion when Mr. Goudas left the country for five days to give a speech in Costa Rica that Koukla sat and waited patiently with obvious sadness without eating or drinking.
Mr. Goudas dognapped her when she was 2 years old.
Prior to this, she was a mother on two occasions.
She fell ill on Thursday and was unable to stand on her legs by Friday afternoon.
She finally gave up on Saturday, June 12, 2010, at 3:24 p.m. She was 16 years old and always in good spirits.
Her beautiful coat of shiny, silky hair was well maintained right up to the end.
Koukla was well loved by the entire Goudas organization and the many friends, visitors, and associates of the company and Mr. Goudas.
As some of you may be aware, Mr. Goudas wrote the Koukla, Irma and Tiger story on August 20, 2003, at 3:00 a.m. The wonderful narration of this story is by Jesse MacDonald.
Since then, the book has been translated into several languages including French, Korean, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Spanish, Greek, and Italian and has been published in several newspapers and magazines.
It also available in audio format in English, Greek, Spanish and Italian and has had its share of airtime.
She was featured on the Venture program on CBC, March 2001, and had a full-page photo and story in the Toronto Star, February 5, 2001.
The Koukla story is an inspiration to animal lovers and children everywhere.
Since the Koukla Story, Mr. Goudas has written over 35 books.
Hundreds of thousands of people have read the Koukla Story since the books are featured on the main page of the FlyerMall website. In addition, the audio version and search for "Koukla".
We are certain that there is not another dog like Koukla, the little princess.
We will certainly miss her.
There are no words to describe the heartache and heartbreak that Mr. Goudas feels at her sudden and unexpected passing.
May God give him the strength to continue.
Koukla loved the sunshine. The photo included shows the tragic last few hours of pain and anguish in her master.
Her new playmate, Mon Amour, found a peaceful time to monitor the situation and console Mr. Goudas at this difficult moment.
It will be followed by a series of photos showing the entire event from Koukla's last moments to the burial.
You may clearly see the emotions involved by the expressions on the faces.
It was a sad day for all of us.
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The Koukla, Irma and Tiger story is the subject of animal lovers, humane society members, and people who plan to adopt a dog or a cat and want to know more about the animals
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