#then Penelope and Telemachus get Odyssey a puppy who looks really similar to Argos

[vyunok-obyknovenniy]

Regarding Argos, I have a few thoughts (this is going to be a bit long (^▽⁠ ^;⁠))

First of, here's the quote:

(From Fagles' translation) Book 17 Stranger at the Gates <...> Now, as they talked on, a dog that lay there lifted up his muzzle, pricked his ears … It was Argos, long-enduring Odysseus’ dog he trained as a puppy once, but little joy he got since all too soon he shipped to sacred Troy. In the old days young hunters loved to set him coursing after the wild goats and deer and hares. But now with his master gone he lay there, castaway, on piles of dung from mules and cattle, heaps collecting out before the gates till Odysseus’ serving-men could cart it off to manure the king’s estates. Infested with ticks, half-dead from neglect, here lay the hound, old Argos. But the moment he sensed Odysseus standing by he thumped his tail, nuzzling low, and his ears dropped, though he had no strength to drag himself an inch toward his master. Odysseus glanced to the side and flicked away a tear, hiding it from Eumaeus, diverting his friend in a hasty, offhand way: “Strange, Eumaeus, look, a dog like this, lying here on a dung-hill … what handsome lines! But I can’t say for sure if he had the running speed to match his looks or he was only the sort that gentry spoil at table, show-dogs masters pamper for their points.” You told the stranger, Eumaeus, loyal swineherd, “Here—it’s all too true—here’s the dog of a man who died in foreign parts. But if he had now the form and flair he had in his glory days— as Odysseus left him, sailing off to Troy— you’d be amazed to see such speed, such strength. No quarry he chased in the deepest, darkest woods could ever slip this hound. A champion tracker too! Ah, but he’s run out of luck now, poor fellow … his master’s dead and gone, so far from home, and the heartless women tend him not at all. Slaves, with their lords no longer there to crack the whip, lose all zest to perform their duties well. Zeus, the Old Thunderer, robs a man of half his virtue the day the yoke clamps down around his neck.” With that he entered the well-constructed palace, strode through the halls and joined the proud suitors. But the dark shadow of death closed down on Argos’ eyes the instant he saw Odysseus, twenty years away. <...>

The text seems to imply Argos got abandoned a long time ago (or maybe it's the translation, I'm not sure. I don't know the original text)

My question is: did Tele even know, that this was his father's dog? That Odysseus had a dog and that dog was right there in the palace?

A couple possibilities:

Perhaps early into the 20 years of Odysseus' absence, or, more likely, early into the 10 years Odysseus was lost at sea, the suitors would've used Argos for their hunts? But then the moment Argos starts falling behind due to old age, they would quite literally throw him away...

Or

They could've been mistreating Argos because he was Odysseus' dog? They could've been too proud and arrogant to take him to hunt, even if he's better than all their dogs ;-;

The first version could also explain, why Argos wasn't with Telemachus.

"He's an infant. Such a good hunting dog would be wasted by his side"

And then people kind of forget about Argos, since he's with the suitors most of the time, until he gets abandoned again, but it's not like the suitors would make an announcement about this, so Tele might never even know that Argos exists...

And then, after Ody is back and everything settled down, he brings up Argos. Maybe he decides to bury the dead dog properly, not just let the body lay and rot where he died.

Telemachus could be really surprised, as well as feel guilty about not having known and taken care of Argos. He would also be sad and possibly angry, that he never got to spend time with his dad's dog.

Penelope would feel even more guilty, because Argos was hunting with the suitors and she assumed he was fine, until she just... forgot about him...

Odysseus may be a dog person but Penelope is definitely a cat person.

I know we joke about how Odysseus is a "Wet Cat" as it's correct but he really does "show love" and even behaves like a cat to me.

The whole "I only love two people and they're the only ones who can love me without fear of me biting them." as most cats pick "Their person".

My cats are literally the type to be like "Hi! I love you!" all the while they're walking across my work and knocking most shit over, leaving destruction in their wake. Odysseus literally slaughters a bunch of people and then a whiplash of him crying while being held by his wife.

(I also headcanon him as someone who "demands attention" like a cat. Especially from Penelope. "Ima lay my head in your lap even if you're kind of busy." "Ima grab your hand and start kissing your fingers even if you're holding something.")

Odysseus always wants to claim he's like a dog (Loyal, Brave, etc.) but he's not. Penelope has always loved cats, using some string to play with them sometimes even though I don't think Mycenae Greece had cats until later periods, being brought over from Egypt, it's a headcanon, let me have fun and his "wet cat" vibes are what drew her to him in the first place.