Sam Odom’s a good-lookin’ pooch: a mix who looks like he got the best parts of a Collie, some Heeler thrown in, a dash of Pointer, an even a Papillon (cuzza his big beautiful, budderfly-wing ears). But Sam almost didn’t make it past his puppyhood, an he’s still very timid.
When Sam’s door opened, there were two pooches on the padio, paws on the sliders, waggin’ and woofin’ to beat the band. A lady anna liddle grrrl greeted us; peeping around from behind ’em was this long-leggedy pooch, lookin’ like he was ready to flee at any second (till the liddle grrrl kneeled down and started givin’ him pats). I knew it was Sam.
“Good afternoon,” I said, sotto voce. “I’m Bonzo, an this is my assistant. We are so happy you could make time for an innerview. You must be Sam.”
He looked at me timidly. Then at the liddle grrrl. Then back at me. Then at the lady. After they assured him I was OK, Sam approached for the wag-an-sniff, an inspected my assistant’s shoes.
“I am. Please don’t be offended. Even though I’m 7 now, I am still very app-ree-HEN-sive about new humans. Or fellow pets. It’s cuzza some Unfortunate Events when I was a pupster. Here, let’s go sit down.”
As we passed the patio doors, he turned an addressed the still waggin’ an woofin’ duo, in a Very Large, Not-Timid voice, “Hey! Pooches! Knock it off!”
They both immediately did.
“Well, that’s interesting,” I thought to myself.
“This is my Mommy, Emily, an my Daddy, Wayne. An this (the liddle grrrl) is my BFF Natalie. We unnerstand each other cuz we went through similar stuff, so we’re both rescues, inna way. Those two goofballs on the padio are Sister, she’s a pit mix Foster Failure, anna Total Daddy’s Grrrl; an Tebow, he’s a Lab. His full name is Woodrow Augustus Tebow Odom (cuz Daddy likes that football guy). So, where should I start?”
“Tell as much of your past as you wanna share, an what life’s like now, stuff like that.”
Sam stepped into a little nap-pad on the floor next to the liddle grrrl, did that Turning-in-Circles Thing, plopped down, an began.
“My puppyhood’s a liddle blurry. I was born in Mississippi, which is somewhere up that way.” (He pointed.) “I remember me an another puppy runnin’ in the streets, totally lost. (There’s a really bad Stray Problem in Mississippi.) Then somebody grabbed me an tied me to a stop sign. I don’t know how long I was there but some humans were throwin’ stuff at me as they drove by. I was very scared.”
“Oh, for Lassie’s Sake, Sam,” I said. I was uh-PALLED. How can humans DO that stuff?
“Well,” Sam continued. “I didn’t know it, but a nice lady had heard about my sit-chew-A-shun and came to get me. By then I had got loose from the stop sign, but me an my fren were Totally Freaked Out, cuz our experience with humans so far had not been good. To say the least. So, when the lady tried to catch us, we took off an hid in the woods. She tried this several times an finally I was too pooped to outrun her.
“I thought I was Toast for sure, but the lady wasn’t mean. She was the first kind human I ever met. She took care of me an put me on something called Pet Finder: I don’t understand zackly what that is, but that’s when my life Totally Changed, cuz that’s how Mommy an Daddy found me an became my Forever Famly.
“When I got to my new home, there was already another animal …”
Sam was innerupted when, from behind a chair, there appeared a big, fluffy gold cat, who said, “That would be me! I’m Buddy, King of the House. I taught this Silly Pooch everything he knows, including who’s boss. That’s Buddy with two D’s, by the way.” And with that, he disappeared behind the sofa. I made more notes. (Two D’s.)
“Sister came next,” Sam continued. “She was gonna go to Maine in a Very Big Truck with Pet Finders, but her adoption fell through, lucky for all of us. She an Buddy are Besties. Ever since she was a puppy, they’ve been tumblin’ around an chasin’ each other. She’s also a Major Foodie; cake, cinnamon rolls, she can even open cabi-nuts if there’s bread in ’em.”
“I can relate to that,” I mumbled, bein’ a bread fan myself.
“She doesn’t get tubby, though,” Sam continued, “cuz she LOVES Fetch. She can fetch till she falls over in a heap.
“Then there’s Tebow, our goofy, ram-BUNK-shush liddle brother, he’s 2. He was born on Christmas, just after we moved from Mississippi. Mommy helped our neighbor duh-liver his litter: 5 grrrls an Tebow. He was last to appear, an Mommy couldn’t resist. To tell the truth, I pretty much raised those two. Even though I’m a low-key, inside sorta pooch, I am the Alpha. Just don’t tell Sister.” He grinned.
“My lips are sealed,” I assured him.
Natalie rose, exited, then returned with something that resembled a furry white Twinky on her shoulder. “This is Faith Paris Odum,” Sam said. “She’s a HAM-ster. She doesn’t speak much Dog.”
Faith Paris had teensy pink ears and bright black eyes, which were currently gazing at me, unblinking. Un-versed as I was in Hamster Etiquette, I mustered my most un-scary voice. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Faith Paris.”
She scrunched up against Natalie. “I being pleece to meeting you. You are knowing I be a famly member, not a leetle snack, is it so?”
“Yes, Miss Faith Paris. Absolutely. Rest assured.”
Sam an his famly were so intresting, I couldn’t buh-leeve an hour had passed. Heading home I was thinking about how all those different sorts of people an animals were havin’ such a fun life, sharin’ an helpin’ each other. An about cake.
Till next time,
The Bonz
