This week I had a great yap with a good lookin’ poocheroo, Hunter Ale Reed, a young Border Collie/Heeler from Colorado. He’s just 4 anna half and his story is in-SPY-ring. I bet you’ll think so, too.
Hunter an his Mom work inna animal hos-pittle, which is where me an my assistant went to innerview him. His Mom was sittin’ at the reCEPshun desk. I didn’t see him at first, but soon as I introduced myself, Hunter popped up from behind his Mom’s chair.
“Howdy, Mr. Bonzo!” He trotted around the desk for the Wag-an-Sniff. “Ah’m Hunter Ale Reed. Jus’ call me Hunter. This is my Mom, Ciera. She’s a Veterinary Technician and Patient Supervisor an ah’m Assistant Manager. Ah also provide client support in Difficult Times. Come’on back to my office, take a load off, and I’ll tell ya my story.”
Hunter led the way back, and we all got comftubble. He sat down right smack next to his Mom, an I opened my notebook. “Ready when you are,” I said. “Say, how’d you get that cool middle name, Ale?”
“The first outing me an Mom went on was tourin’ a brewery. Ah was just a puppy, all excited an wiggly, an ah knocked a glass of ale over. Embarrassing!”
“That’s huh-LARRY-us!” I said.
“Anyway, we were born in Colorado. Perfectly good cattle dogs. But for some reason, all eight of us got dumped by the side of some random road, like ol’ socks. But we got rescued, an our pickshures got put on Craig’s List. Mom’d been on line lookin’ for a Heeler (an Australian Cattle Dog) an when she saw my pickshure she called IMMEDIATELY cuz ah was egg-ZACKLY what she was lookin’ for.
“Well, Bonzo, ah couldn’t of ever found a better Forever Mom. An, as it turned out, ah was perfect for her, too.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Mom had a lotta experience trainin’ pooches, an she got me up to speed pretty quick. Not to brag, but us herdin’ dogs are real smart, an real sensitive to our humans, too. So, when ah was about 6 months old, ah began to REE-lize somethin’ wasn’t right with Mom. Ah didn’t know exactly what, but ah knew fer SURE ah needed to stick close to her like burrs on fur. To proTECT her. Sometimes ah’d whine, or pull her pantleg, an sometimes she’d wake up an ah’d be lying on top of her. And she’d REE-lize she wasn’t feelin’ right. Finally, she decided to go to a dok-ter to find out what was goin’ on.”
“What WAS goin’ on?”
“The dok-ter told Mom she had Epilepsy, and she’d been havin’ SEEzures an she didn’t even know it. But somehow ah had sensed it an had been tryin’ to alert her.”
“Woof!”
“The dok-ter said Mom’d need a specially trained dog to help her when she was havin’ a SEEzure.”
“But she had you already, right?” I said.
“Yep, but pooches who are pets aren’t s’posed to be SEEzure Dogs. Thank Lassie, the Humans In Charge knew ah had natch-rull ability, so ah got special permission to go through the training.’ Ah hadda go to school in Montana for three months. Ah’d never been away from Mom before, an ah missed her so much. But ah learned everything ah was ’posed to, an now my Most Important Job is bein’ Mom’s Official SEEzure Dog. Ah know how to do stuff to protect her, like barkin’ to alert humans called Caregivers when she’s havin’ a SEEzure, or getting’ right up against her so she won’t get hurt. Ah wear a special vest when we’re Out In Public, so humans’ll know I’m At Work.”
“Woof! That is Serious Dog Biscuits!” I hadda take a liddle breath and wipe my paw across my eyes.
“So, Hunter, you’re A Pooch of the West. How’d you get all the way down to Florida?”
“It was great out in Colorado, specially in winter. Ah was a real Snow Dog. Loved to run around in it, jump into the piled-up snowbanks, try to bite the snowflakes. But Mom couldn’t do her job anymore, so we moved back to where she was from: Sebastian! An now ah have a GRANDpa. We go out in a boat on the laGOON, an we fish. Ah even learned to SWIM. Finally. It took a while for Mom to convince me about that. It’s not fluffy like snow.
“My favorite toy’s a Teddy Bear ah’ve had since puppyhood. Ah push it all over the floor with my paws. Ah also like retrieving. But ah Don’t Like Squirrels. Those liddle fuzzballs scare me. They’re MEAN. An LOUD.
“Ackshully, Bonz, most of my best buddies are human. Did you know ah’m the Only Male Member of the Junior League? An ah have lotsa frens here at the animal hos-pittle, employees an clients.”
Hunter lowered his voice and spoke behind his paw. “I have the humans trained to bring me snacks. An the staff ladies share their ice cream with me. It kinda reminds me of eating snowflakes back in Colorado. But only the vanilla. (Dogs aren’t s’pose to have chocolate.) Ah like bacon an pancakes, too, but ah don’t get to eat ’em much cuz Mom keeps me on a Dental Diet. She says when you’re in the Public Eye, you need Fresh Breath and Clean Teeth. Workin’ in an Animal Hospital, you haffta Set The Standard, ya know?”
“I do indeed,” I replied. (I wouldn’t dream of going on an innerview with Moose Breath.)
Heading home, I was thinking how Hunter an his Mom had found each other, just when they both needed it most. It’s amazin’ how things work out. I was also thinking maybe I’d check the freezer when I got home in case there was some vanilla ice cream.
Till next time,
The Bonz
