Richard Christiansen's Top Dogs at Flamingo Estate
Flamingo Estate is also the headquarters of his brand of the same name. What started as a local farm box delivery, featuring produce from local growers, has grown into an online marketplace for handcrafted home goods – from Californian olive oil made by a fourth-generation olive farmer to the brand’s signature Roma Heirloom Tomato Candle. We talked with Richard about his forthcoming book, “The Guide to Becoming Alive,” and what he’s learned from 14 years of living with his dogs.
We love to hear the stories of how pets and their people met – or “how they Kismet.” How did your dogs come into your life?
I used to own an advertising agency, and I was on a photoshoot in the West Village in New York. We were filming on the street, and there was this dubious puppy store on the block run by a woman who kind of looked like Cruella de Vil. The puppies were right up against the window, and I saw this dog, and he kind of scratched the window at me and honestly my heart just sank. I loved him. It was just like, “Wow.”
We were filming for a couple of days, and I would go up and down the street and keep seeing him in the window. I just had this dog in my head for a week. The filming got delayed, and we went back a week and a half or two weeks later, and I thought, “You know what, if that dog isn’t taken, I would love him.” So I went to the store and he wasn’t in the window; I went inside and asked what happened to the dog – had he been sold? The owner said no: “He’s downstairs. He has a skin disease. No one wants him.”And I said, “Oh. I want him. I will take him.” And so I picked him up, and he licked my neck, and he has been my best friend ever since. That’s how I met Freeway, my first dog. He’s been by my side every day for 14 years. We became inseparable, really.
Were you already living in LA at the time?
I was living in New York in this little apartment and nothing was practical about having a dog, but we kind of figured it out. I took him to work with me every day. And then a year later we got his brother, Daylesford, from the same place. I think subsequently that place closed down, and now there’s this general trend to not get dogs from pet stores like that. They were both so young and quite small when I got them – I could put Daylesford in my coat pocket when I first got him. They’re both Cocker Spaniels, which is just an amazing breed.
Tell us the story behind their names, Freeway and Daylesford.
I grew up in outback Australia and, as a kid, I dreamed about America and getting out of the dirt and grit of the outback. There was a show on television in the ‘80s called “Hart to Hart” with Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. They lived in Beverly Hills, and he was a billionaire and she was beautiful, and they had this giant mansion. They solved crimes and they both had matching Mercedes. And I was like, “Oh, wow, that's what America’s like,” and, “Oh my god, I want it! How do I get there?” They had a dog called Freeway, so I just was like, “You know what? You're gonna be my Freeway.”
Daylesford was just this unbelievable bundle of happiness from the very first day – just joy, and a different energy to his brother. I had a boyfriend at the time and I said, “What's the happiest place in the world?” We'd gone to England, and there's a farm there called Daylesford Organic. And he said, “We should call him Daylesford. It's the place we love the most, and it's full of love.”
“My dogs really softened my heart. They taught me how to love.”
How would you describe Daylesford in three words?
Innocent. Mischievous. Childlike. Wondrous.
Now Freeway.
Soulmate. Deep love. Stoic.
The relationships we have with our pets are really some of the most profound.
I had a crazy gift from a friend who gifted me a Zoom reading with this very, very famous psychic – like speak to dead persons psychic. She was on Zoom – she lives in Sedona, of course – and she said, “Is there an owl above your bedroom, hooting?” And I said, “Okay, there actually was an owl, he’s around all the time.” And she said, “Oh, that's your grandfather. He's trying to talk to you. Did your grandfather have tattoos?” I told her he did, and she described him in acute detail. And then she said, “He's really happy that you have found your soulmate.” I had just gone through a breakup, which is sort of what precipitated the psychic reading. I was just falling apart, full Alanis Morissette style. And I was like, “Oh, you know, I really miss my ex.” And she said, “Oh, no, no, he's not your soulmate. Your soulmate is a little white dog that's probably at your feet right now.” Which was Freeway.
It was amazing to have this stranger on Zoom say your soulmate is that little white dog by your feet. Some things are true, you know?
You mentioned you grew up in the outback of Australia. What was your relationship with animals like growing up?
We had a million sheep and goats and donkeys and farm animals. I was really comfortable with animals because we had such a big farm. My mom had two sheep, Minnie and Max, who would walk in and out of the kitchen. They were in the house all the time. My mom loved Minnie and Max – she had photos of them in her wallet instead of photos of my brother and me. When they heard her truck, they would run outside to greet her like a dog does. My mom had – and still has – this parrot that sits on her shoulder. She takes it in the car with her, it sits at the dinner table with us. We take it to restaurants with us. She's become a crazy parrot lady.
We had a lot of dogs. English sheepdogs, you know, the sort of dogs that live outside, sleep outside – Freeway and Daylesford would never survive – that take care of everyone and make sure that everyone else is okay, really hard working dogs. I developed a real affinity for the silent language of animals and empathy for them all the way through my childhood.
I have a forthcoming book called “The Guide to Becoming Alive,” and there's a chapter in it called “Love Like a Dog.” It's all about Freeway and Daylesford and what you can learn from listening to animals.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned from your dogs?
Honestly, it’s the capacity to love so deeply. I think they really softened my heart. They really taught me how to love. That was the most surprising thing.
Where is their favorite place to relax around the Estate?
They each have a spot on the sofa. The floor of the house is cold, it’s terrazzo, and it's hot in Los Angeles, so they love just laying in the corner of the cold floor. And then in bed, obviously. They sleep in bed with me, much to the dismay of my boyfriend. I hope the Estate is a big playground for them. They have so much space to run around, which is such a luxury after years of living in New York without a backyard. I think they love it.
“I have a forthcoming book called ‘The Guide to Becoming Alive,’ and there's a chapter in it called ‘Love Like a Dog.’ It's all about Freeway and Daylesford and what you can learn from listening to animals.”
It sounds like a dream. Do they get into any of the plants or vegetables you grow on the property?
Daylesford will not touch anything natural. He's a McDonald's dog – any artificial or processed dog food he would love. But Freeway is obsessed with fruits and vegetables. All the tomatoes – anything that’s in his height range – are all picked off. All the tomatoes are gone, all the onions are gone. He loves the vegetable garden, but the vegetable garden is wrecked because of the way he loves it. He always has loved it, actually. When I tried to grow watermelons, he ended up eating them…any kind of vegetable, he’s always in there.
“If you invited me to the Academy Awards I wouldn't go because I'd want to be at home with the dogs.”
It’s 11pm on a Friday. What are your dogs doing?
I'm in the bath house in the bathtub and Freeway and Daylesford are on the floor next to me.
It’s 8am on a Saturday. What are your dogs doing?
The exact same thing. It's how I end my day and start my day. They're always there. They always know exactly where to curl up.
How does living with dogs enhance your life?
In so many ways. One of the things I've been thinking a lot about recently is loneliness. David Brooks just wrote this great book, “How to Know A Person,” and in it he says that something like a third of Americans in this big study don't have a best friend they can call – and that half of us have never met our neighbors in this country. As we get more addicted to our devices and telephones, we've really lost our connection to real people. We fill our time with those [digital] interactions as a substitute, because otherwise we'd be really lonely.
One thing I would say about Freeway and Daylesford, having them by my side every day, for the last 14 or 13 years, depending on which dog, is I've never once been lonely. I've never felt loneliness, ever. I'm always with them, and I'm always talking to them and they're always looking at me. I have never felt any kind of FOMO. So many people, especially in this city, always have FOMO. They always want to go out, and then where do we go next, and why weren’t we invited, and where’s the next party….and I couldn't give two fucks. I just can't wait to go home with the dogs. That's all I care about. If you invited me to the Academy Awards I wouldn't go because I'd want to be at home with the dogs. I fucking love being home with them. It's a real gift. That's an accidental joy I never expected, not just that I would never be lonely, but I would love spending time with them more than people. I find such solace and real inner calm just being around them all day long. It's such a joy. I'm so lucky that they came into my life.
Photos by Christian Högstedt, Pia Riverola, and Drew Escriva for Flamingo Estate
Where my dogs at?
