This week I made the acquaintance of an elegant little European named Daisy Wood. Akshully I had met her briefly at the Dogs for Life Howl-O-Ween parade and (clever me) I got her number.
Daisy is a Papillon, but you say it without the L’s – Paa-Pee-On (why are the L’s even there?). Anyway, it’s French for “butterfly,” and when you see her you know why.
Daisy’s a tiny Spaniel, very delicate, with a silky black and white coat with brown trim. The butterfly part is her EARS. I don’t know who her stylist is but, WOOF! those ears are PAWsome! They stand straight up, wide at the bottom, pointy at the top, with long, feathery hair, which kinda curls out – totally looks like butterfly wings, like she could fly away any minute.
Soon as we knocked, we heard lotsa woofing and the clicky sound of little toenails on the floor. Daisy was SO excited, she bounced and twirled and woofed ‘til her Mom picked her up.
“Bonjour, Monsieur Bonzo. Bienvenu! We are tres, tres excited you have come! This is my Mommy, Katie, and my Dad, Roger.”
“It’s a great pleasure to see you and your parents again, Mademoiselle!” I said, with sincerity, noting her sparkly dark eyes and happy smile. “I’m eager to hear your story.”
“Tres Bien, Monsieur Bonzo. I am descended from European aristocracy. There’s even a Paa-Pee-On in a family portrait of Louis XIV! It is said my ancestor was brought to France from Spain and adopted by the French queen, Marie Antoinette, who had Big Hair, like me. But one day she went to get a haircut and took her Paa-Pee-On with her, but something happened. I’m not sure exactly what. But my ancestor hadda get another family.
“About my own early puppyhood, je ne me souviens pas beaucoup, I don’t remember much. I was adopted from the animal shelter two times, and returned both times because I was too bouncy. But, Monsieur Bonzo, I was only a petite puppy. Puppies are ‘spose to be bouncy, N’est-ce pas? But it was Meant To Be: My Mommy and Dad were ‘yard sale-ing’ one Saturday. They were gonna go to lunch, but Mommy wanted to go to the shelter and look at dogs. So they did. Just as Dad spotted a black dog he liked, a shelter human walked by with me, wrapped in a blanket. I’d just been returned – again. I was so scared I was shaking. Well, Mom wanted to grab me right away and I got Tres Excited! Then they walked out and my ears totally flopped. But they were just Officially Signing In, and they CAME BACK and GOT ME. There was NO WAY Mommy was gonna let me go. If they’d gone to lunch they never wudda seen me. C’est le destin! So now I have the Best Family Ever!
“Then one day I was playin’ and suddenly I felt weak. I couldn’t even stand up. We were all scared. Mommy and Dad took me to the doctor and found out I had heartworms.”
“Oh, Woof!” I exclaimed. “You coulda Bought the Kennel!” (Every dog knows heartworms can send you straight to Dog Heaven.)
“Mais oui!” Daisy agreed.” But I took Special Pills an now I’m all better.”
“Thank Lassie!” I said. “So, whaddya do for fun?”
“I have so many friends: humans, dogs and cats! I play on my lanai and I love the dog park. I appear delicate, but I can keep up with the Big Dogs. I am tres rapide! My Yorkie friend BooBoo has a pool. We lounge on this floaty thing. She jumps in, but not me. I don’t like swimming. My cat stepbrother Harley is kinda old and naps a lot. But my cat stepsister Tabby is my bon ami. We play chase, and snooze together in our Special Chair.” Daisy leaned closer and whispered, “Dad thinks it’s HIS chair and we let him use it, so don’t tell him it’s ackshully ours, d’accord?”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” I assured her.
“I can dance, too! Regardez!”
Her Mom held a treat way up high, and Daisy hopped over to her on her back feet, and did several pirouettes, waving her front paws gracefully. Then her Dad threw a squishy ball and Daisy fetched a few times. Then she jumped onto the couch an attempted to bury the ball in a pile of pillows. It was charming and hilarious.
“I also love camping with Mommy and Dad in our Fifth Wheel! Do you recall that big hurry-cane?”
“I sure do!”
“Well, we invited two neighbors and their pooches – Brodie, a Lab, and Annie, a Yorkie (she’s smaller than a pint of peanuts), to go camping with us Somewhere Else, so we wouldn’t get blown away. We all piled into our Fifth Wheel for a road trip. We had a BALL. When me and Dad go to Home Depot, we’re always stopping to yap. I sit politely in the cart, and everybody says, ‘Look at those EARS!’ I’m irresistible to Humans, I guess.”
“Also to pooches,” I thought to myself.
“I always let Mommy and Dad know when I have to Do My Duty. When I’m done, I race to my special rug in the kitchen, put on my Most Adorable Face and await my Treat. Mommy and Dad bought me my very own big fancy bed once, when I was little(er). I chewed a hole in it and pulled out all the stuffings. Now I get to sleep with them.”
I couldn’t believe it was time to go. “It has been a pleasure, Mademoiselle Daisy.”
“Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Bonzo,” she said, flashing a big smile.
Heading home, I was thinking about butterflies and clicky-toe pirouettes.
Till next time,
The Bonz
