My story begins in London, not so very long ago.

Yet so much has happened since

then, that it seems like an eternity. At that time, I lived with my pet in a bachelor
flat just off Regents Park. It was a beautiful spring day, a tedious time of the year
for bachelors. Oh... that's my pet, Roger Radcliff, a musician of sorts. I'm the one
with the spots. My name's Pongo. As far as I could see, the old notion that a
bachelor's life was so glamorous and carefree was all nonsense. It was downright
dull.

maɪ ˈstɔːri bɪˈgɪnz ɪn ˈlʌndən, nɒt səʊ ˈvɛri lɒŋ əˈgəʊ. jɛt səʊ mʌʧ həz ˈhæpənd sɪns
ðɛn, ðæt ɪt siːmz laɪk ən i(ː)ˈtɜːnɪti. ət ðət taɪm, aɪ lɪvd wɪð maɪ pɛt ɪn ə ˈbæʧələ flæt
ʤəst ɒf ˈriːʤənts pɑːk. ɪt wəz ə ˈbjuːtəfʊl sprɪŋ deɪ, ə ˈtiːdiəs taɪm əv ðə jɪə fə
ˈbæʧələz. əʊ... ðæts maɪ pɛt, ˈrəʊʤə Radcliff, ə mju(ː)ˈzɪʃən əv sɔːts. aɪm ðə wʌn wɪð
ðə spɒts. maɪ neɪmz ˈpɒŋgəʊ. əz fɑːr əz aɪ kəd siː, ði əʊld ˈnəʊʃən ðət ə ˈbæʧələz laɪf
wəz səʊ ˈglæmərəs ənd ˈkeəfriː wəz ɔːl ˈnɒnsəns. ɪt wəz ˈdaʊnraɪt dʌl.

It was plain to see that my old pet needed someone. * But if it were left up to Roger,
we'd be bachelors forever. He was married to his work, writing songs. Songs about
romance of all things, something he knew absolutely nothing about. Oh, he's
intelligent enough, as humans go. And I think you could say Roger is a rather
handsome animal in his way. I could see no reason why my pet didn't deserve an
attractive mate. At least I was determined to do my best. Of course, dogs are a
pretty poor judge of human beauty. But I had a rough idea of what to look for.

ɪt wəz pleɪn tə siː ðət maɪ əʊld pɛt ˈniːdɪd ˈsʌmwʌn. * bət ɪf ɪt wə lɛft ʌp tə
ˈrəʊʤə, wiːd bi ˈbæʧələz fəˈrɛvə. hi wəz ˈmærɪd tə ɪz wɜːk, ˈraɪtɪŋ sɒŋz. sɒŋz əˈbaʊt
rəʊˈmæns əv ɔːl θɪŋz, ˈsʌmθɪŋ hi njuː ˈæbsəluːtli ˈnʌθɪŋ əˈbaʊt. əʊ, hiːz ɪnˈtɛlɪʤənt
ɪˈnʌf, əz ˈhjuːmənz gəʊ. ənd aɪ θɪŋk jʊ kəd seɪ ˈrəʊʤə z ə ˈrɑːðə ˈhænsəm ˈænɪməl ɪn
ɪz weɪ. aɪ kəd siː nəʊ ˈriːzn waɪ maɪ pɛt dɪdnt dɪˈzɜːv ən əˈtræktɪv meɪt. ət liːst aɪ wəz
dɪˈtɜːmɪnd tə dʊ maɪ bɛst. əv kɔːs, dɒgz ər ə ˈprɪti pʊə ˈʤʌʤ əv ˈhjuːmən ˈbjuːti. bət aɪ
həd ə rʌf aɪˈdɪə əv wɒt tə lʊk fɔː.