Wo(man)’s Best Friend: Alessandra Codinha and Her Golden Retriever, Hugo

Alessandra Codinha

Alessandra Codinha

The Pagerie Pet is not only your son or daughter, but closest confidant. Introducing Wo(man) ’s Best Friend, a series that reveals our favourite PAGERIE companions and the personality traits that make them one of a kind.

Writer, content creator, and brand consultant Alessandra Codinha has exquisite taste. And no wonder. Her background in fashion (formerly, she worked at publications like Into The Gloss, Vogue, and Departures), synthesized with film, art, and TV, makes her writing lively and enticing. The same can be said for her Substack, Here We Go. “I love keeping up with the world, especially in the larger culture,” she said. “But now I’m talking about it at dinner parties, where people ask what should I watch. I spoke to a few friends and they said all I want is someone to tell me two books to read on vacation. Three hotels to stay at and what’s worth watching on Netflix. And I thought, I actually want that too and a sick pair of jeans and cute shoes, or a good lip balm. I decided, why don’t I just write the kind of emails I wish I were getting?”

And she did. Here We Go is an excellent newsletter and we especially love when she brings Hugo, her 9-year-old golden retriever, into it. “He’s just the best,” said Alessandra. “It’s hard to quantify. I’ve had him since he was a puppy. He’s now 65 pounds and nine years old. He’s been across the country with us multiple times. He’s swum in nearly all the Great Lakes. He’s my best friend, but also petulant child. And also, maybe my employer. He’s a little prince, who we all orbit around.”

When Alessandra first laid on eyes Hugo, he was a little ball of fluff in a pile of other puppies. “The breeder we got him from was a little bit crazy,” she said. “She had blue nail polish on him. He had a black birthmark right above his ear and because of that, the breeder thought that nobody would want him. And I said he’s mine. He’s perfect. And he has proven to be utterly perfect ever since.”

The Pagerie Pet is not only your son or daughter, but closest confidant. Introducing Wo(man) ’s Best Friend, a series that reveals our favourite PAGERIE companions and the personality traits that make them one of a kind.

Writer, content creator, and brand consultant Alessandra Codinha has exquisite taste. And no wonder. Her background in fashion (formerly, she worked at publications like Into The Gloss, Vogue, and Departures), synthesized with film, art, and TV, makes her writing lively and enticing. The same can be said for her Substack, Here We Go. “I love keeping up with the world, especially in the larger culture,” she said. “But now I’m talking about it at dinner parties, where people ask what should I watch. I spoke to a few friends and they said all I want is someone to tell me two books to read on vacation. Three hotels to stay at and what’s worth watching on Netflix. And I thought, I actually want that too and a sick pair of jeans and cute shoes, or a good lip balm. I decided, why don’t I just write the kind of emails I wish I were getting?”

And she did. Here We Go is an excellent newsletter and we especially love when she brings Hugo, her 9-year-old golden retriever, into it. “He’s just the best,” said Alessandra. “It’s hard to quantify. I’ve had him since he was a puppy. He’s now 65 pounds and nine years old. He’s been across the country with us multiple times. He’s swum in nearly all the Great Lakes. He’s my best friend, but also petulant child. And also, maybe my employer. He’s a little prince, who we all orbit around.”

When Alessandra first laid on eyes Hugo, he was a little ball of fluff in a pile of other puppies. “The breeder we got him from was a little bit crazy,” she said. “She had blue nail polish on him. He had a black birthmark right above his ear and because of that, the breeder thought that nobody would want him. And I said he’s mine. He’s perfect. And he has proven to be utterly perfect ever since.”

“...I said he’s mine. He’s perfect. And he has proven to be utterly perfect ever since.”

A few years ago, Alessandra moved cross-country with Hugo and her partner from New York City to Los Angeles. “Hugo’s version of heaven is sitting on our old stoop in Tribeca on a sunny day, I’m reading a book, he’s sleeping, and people come by and pet him and tell him how handsome he is. I’m so grateful to have a dog in my life. I can’t think of anybody who wouldn’t benefit from having one. They make everything better.”

A few years ago, Alessandra moved cross-country with Hugo and her partner from New York City to Los Angeles. “Hugo’s version of heaven is sitting on our old stoop in Tribeca on a sunny day, I’m reading a book, he’s sleeping, and people come by and pet him and tell him how handsome he is. I’m so grateful to have a dog in my life. I can’t think of anybody who wouldn’t benefit from having one. They make everything better.”

“...I said he’s mine. He’s perfect. And he has proven to be utterly perfect ever since.”

“...I said he’s mine. He’s perfect. And he has proven to be utterly perfect ever since.”

A few years ago, Alessandra moved cross-country with Hugo and her partner from New York City to Los Angeles. “Hugo’s version of heaven is sitting on our old stoop in Tribeca on a sunny day, I’m reading a book, he’s sleeping, and people come by and pet him and tell him how handsome he is. I’m so grateful to have a dog in my life. I can’t think of anybody who wouldn’t benefit from having one. They make everything better.”

Breed: Golden retriever.

Cutest quirk: He doesn’t really bark or make noise, but sometimes he’ll whine if he comes downstairs and sees the door closed.

Best trick: If you go bang, bang, he’ll lie down like he’s been shot and then he can roll over and spring back up. He can also do high five or sit pretty. He gets excited to see people he knows and will typically bring you a shoe. That’s the retriever in him.

Go-to cuddle spot: He’s very snuggly. Normally, while he sleeps, he sits right on my feet when I do calls.

Pagerie must-have: I think it’s always nice when something you need to have is much nicer than it has to be. The Ox leash is very dignified and handsome, with a nice heft to it, thanks to the chain links. And a coordinating leather poop bag holder?! Sold.

Favourite human food: He loves bananas. He can smell a banana being opened from a different floor and he will run there.

He also loves pizza crust that he finds on the street in urban cities. The nice thing about living where we live is there’s really no food on the street, compared to where we used to live in New York. It used to be a constant battle of fishing chicken bones out of his mouth. You never know how many chicken bones are in a city until you have a dog. They’re so dangerous.

Daily uniform: He’s not huge on accessories. He has a collar that I made for him, which has his name embossed. I wanted to butch him up a little bit, so it’s a very tough-looking collar. It’s got hearts with arrows going through them. But lately, he’s been more of a nudist.

Go-to outdoor activity: We walk a lot because of where we are in the canyon. So we do long walks every day, but he loves to hike and swim.

Preferred luxury item: I have a beautiful Loro Piana blanket and it’s on the couch and Hugo rests his head on it all the time. I always know when he has been here, but he deserves it.

Breed: Golden retriever.

Cutest quirk: He doesn’t really bark or make noise, but sometimes he’ll whine if he comes downstairs and sees the door closed.

Best trick: If you go bang, bang, he’ll lie down like he’s been shot and then he can roll over and spring back up. He can also do high five or sit pretty. He gets excited to see people he knows and will typically bring you a shoe. That’s the retriever in him.

Go-to cuddle spot: He’s very snuggly. Normally, while he sleeps, he sits right on my feet when I do calls.

Pagerie must-have: I think it’s always nice when something you need to have is much nicer than it has to be. The Ox leash is very dignified and handsome, with a nice heft to it, thanks to the chain links. And a coordinating leather poop bag holder?! Sold.

Favourite human food: He loves bananas. He can smell a banana being opened from a different floor and he will run there. He also loves pizza crust that he finds on the street in urban cities. The nice thing about living where we live is there’s really no food on the street, compared to where we used to live in New York. It used to be a constant battle of fishing chicken bones out of his mouth. You never know how many chicken bones are in a city until you have a dog. They’re so dangerous.

Daily uniform: He’s not huge on accessories. He has a collar that I made for him, which has his name embossed. I wanted to butch him up a little bit, so it’s a very tough-looking collar. It’s got hearts with arrows going through them. But lately, he’s been more of a nudist.

Go-to outdoor activity: We walk a lot because of where we are in the canyon. So we do long walks every day, but he loves to hike and swim.

Preferred luxury item: I have a beautiful Loro Piana blanket and it’s on the couch and Hugo rests his head on it all the time. I always know when he has been here, but he deserves it.