Hi, dog buddies! This week I had the fun of yapping with a 4-pound dynamo who loves all sports involving a ball, and even has her own itty-bitty basketball hoop. No woof!
She’s a Morkie (Maltese/Yorkie) and her name’s Paisley. Just Paisley, no last name, thank-you-very-much, she told me. “Paisley, you know, like Lassie – or Cher.” And she tossed her ears back, to make her point.
She graciously welcomed me and my assistant and led us into the living room. “This is my Mom, Glennie Bowland, and my Dad, Richard Warshaw.”
Paisley’s a pretty honey color, fluffy, with a cute, white soul patch. Like lots of small breed pooches, she’s not a fan of sitting still. When she did, every fiber of her little being sort of vibrated. And she wasn’t a bit shy.
“I just had my first birthday Aug. 10. Me and Mom and Dad had a nice little party. So I’m a big girl now, four whole pounds! I was just 2 pounds when I first got here. I came from a nice farm up in Brooksville. When they were getting me ready for my Forever Family, they had to weigh me on a cat scale, because the dog scale didn’t even register me. THAT was kinda embarrassing.” She giggled.
“Tell me about your day-to-day stuff,” I suggested. “I hear you’re a real athlete.”
“Totes!” she said, and ran over to her Mom and Dad and did some bounce-in-place. Her Mom found a Paisley-sized soccer ball, tossed it into the kitchen, and Paisley bopped it all over the place. Same with her little football, and her normal-sized ping-pong ball. THEN Her Mom got out this itsy basketball.
“Lookit THIS!” Paisley said. There was a little hoop and net on the wall, way down low. I’d never seen anything like it. Her Mom held the ball up and Paisley swished it into the net with her paw.
“How ‘bout THEM dog biscuits!” she said proudly. “I’ve been workin’ on my DUNK! My humans have a really great sense of humor, which is lucky for me, ‘cuz I love to untie shoelaces. And I enjoy grabbing glasses right off people’s noses, when they least expect it. You gotta be well coordinated for that!”
“I imagine so,” I commented.
“Mom gave me my own glasses, which isn’t quite as much fun, but I do enjoy munching on the earpieces. And on Mom’s pink visor, too. I’ve decorated it with my tooth marks. I also occasionally take Mom’s socks right off her feet, but I don’t hurt ‘em; they just get sorta slobbered on. Oh, and, Mom and Dad got me this totally cool Halloween costume.”
Her Mom bought out an orange tutu and fastened it around Paisley’s tummy. She looked like a fluffy little pumpkin ballerina. She did a couple of twirls.
“If you don’t win a prize, there’s no justice,” I said.
She wiggled out of the tutu and zoomed out to the pool, where her dad had gathered colored balls and an inflatable dolphin. “Lookee here!” she said. As her Dad held up each ball, Paisley’d bop it into the pool. He held up the dolphin and she kissed it on the nose.
I was still laughing as she continued, excitedly, “Dad and me like to go on a Sea Cruise. Dad puts on his Panama hat and puts me into our beverage raft. It fits me perfectly. Sometimes he puts something called Margarita in one of the beverage holders next to me. It’s kinda green. He drinks it while we just float and float. I also consider myself a Fearless Lizard Chaser. I just play with ‘em, I don’t catch ‘em.”
“I lotsa times go to yoga with Mom. It’s officially a No Dogs Allowed place, but the yoga lady says I’m more like a little caterpillar than a dog, and all the humans there like me (I mean, Duh, who wouldn’t?), so I get to go.”
I asked if she travels much.
“I adore traveling. It’s so broadening, dontcha think? We go to Sanibel and Hilton Head. I have a bestie there, Willoughby – he’s a Havanese. I got a bunch of neighborhood pooch pals, too, but I’m mostly a People Pooch.”
“What do you eat, and what about your sleeping arrangements?” I inquired.
“I NEVER get people food, just kibbles. My favorites are salmon, cow tail, duck feet – and liver treats. Dad says I always go Full Speed, so I have to slow down when it’s bedtime. He is a really good piano player, so he plays our baby grand, usually Gershwin or Rodgers and Hart, and it puts me right to sleep every time, all snuggled up in my crate on my pile of toys. I especially enjoy, umm, “Embraceable Me,” I think Dad said it’s called. Something like that. And sometimes me and Dad watch Bloomberg TV – that puts me to sleep, too.”
Heading home, I was thinking how cute Paisley looked in her pumpkin tutu. I was feeling very happy that my Mom doesn’t put costumes on me. I’m just not that kinda pooch. Thanks, Mom. You understand me.
