This week I met The Ultimate Lap Dog, a Maltese who looks like a total Fluff Muffin, but has a Really Important Job and is one cool poocheroo.
A nice lady ushered us into the office at Dogs For Life, a dog training facility and off-leash park. Then we heard this little voice: “Welcome! Please have a seat. I’m Sir Georgia Sunshine Ferger, but everyone calls me Sunny. This is my Mom, Shelly. She’s the Founder and I’m her Execu-Pup Assistant.”
Under a long desk was a comfy-looking alcove, with a sign – “A Spoiled Rotten Maltese Lives Here.” Sitting on a fluffy pillow inside the alcove was a little pooch, paws crossed, big smile.
“Great to meet you, Sunny!” I replied. “I spotted you at the Howl-O-Ween Parade, but you were busy! Thanks for fitting me in.”
“No problemo,” Sunny said. “I’ve got a coupla hours before I have to be at the Senior Center, so we’re good.”
His Mom picked him up and deposited him on the couch next to my assistant. “I love being right up next to humans. Now we can have a nice chat. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Sunny was white, with wavy hair and a beautiful, flowing tail. He had bangs, his fluffy ears were trimmed into a short bob, and, above one ear, two purple feathers were woven into his hair. He was, well, cute.
“I like that feather thing you got going,” I commented.
“Thank you. I do stay in touch with my feminine side. I usta wish I was more of a big ol’ hound dog with one of those deep voices, but now I see how being fluffy and small really helps in my work.”
“Please tell me about yourself,” I said, opening my notebook.
“I don’t really know how old I am. Several years ago, me and a girl Maltese were rescued from a backyard in Atlanta. We’d been abandoned. We think we’d been used as breeders, that’s when you have to keep making puppies all the time but you never get to be an ackshull FAM-ly. We ended up at a Maltese rescue place in Florida.
“Anyway, when my Forever Mom’s Rat Terrier, Sabrina, went to Dog Heaven, Mom really needed another dog. It hadda be snuggly, and work as Ambassador for Dogs For Life, and be the Dog Park’s Official Greeter and a Pet Therapy Dog. I’d ended up in Vero Beach by the time the Howl-O-Ween parade came around. That’s where Mom found me. And here I am.”
“Woof!” I said. “And you learned to do all that stuff?”
“Yep. But at first I was an emotional wreck. Not mean, or anything. Just anxious. I thought I’d be abandoned again. But Mom’s a Super Good Dog Teacher, and she helped me get in a routine. It took me a long time to learn where to Do My Duty and where not to. I still only poop in dirt, not grass. The backyard in Atlanta didn’t have any grass.
“My breed’s Very Old, from the island of Malta. We were owned by royalty. We were fabulous lapdogs cuz we’re great at lounging, napping and being carried. Plus, we looked adorable. Ladies useta carry us in their big poofy sleeves! No Woof! We were so popular we were traded for goods! So that’s mostly what I do – lounging, napping and being carried. Of course, I take my duties as an ambassador and greeter very seriously.
“But I am First and Foremost a Pet Therapy Dog, which means I know how to visit nursing homes and sit in people’s laps and let ‘em pat me. I am a terrific snuggler. I am snuggly with everyone! I’m happy to sit next to ‘em or on their lap for HOURS. And I have a whole drawerful of costumes and bandanas. People LOVE that! And, Mr. Bonzo, when a human is all alone, or sad, or in a nursing home, do you KNOW how imPORtant that can be? When somebody who’s sad or stressed out relaxes and starts to pat me and talk to me, that is the BEST feeling EVER. So it doesn’t bother me one little bit that people ushully think I’m a girl, cuz being little and fluffy and cute and wearing costumes and feathers in my hair is really a plus. See what I mean?”
“Woof, Sunny, you’ve given me a whole new perspective. You are one pawsome pooch! And this place is Cool Kibbles! Lotsa trees, room to run!”
“Come’on. I’ll show you around!” Sunny jumped down and off we went, Sunny talkin’ the whole time.
“Years ago, Mom was teaching 4-H kids all about pooches and they wanted a special place to do it. It took a long time, but they finally got this place. Now Dogs For Life officially owns it, 4 acres, our spiffy office and training center. We’re a non-profit. We’ve got PAPERS. And the BEST human supporters and volunteers EVER! Now we’re training LOTSA dogs for veterans coming home from Iraq and other scary places. Mom says, in the past coupla years, there’ve been many more veterans who need dogs, so we’re workin’ really hard.”
I especially liked the big room where pooches learn how to be service dogs. There’s a whole bedroom set up, doors to practice with, and a special phone with a big button to call for help. And lots more. I wanted to stay, but duty called.
Heading home, I was wondering whether I would be Dog enough to wear costumes or feathers in my hair if it was for a Good Cause. I like to think I would.
Till next time,
The Bonz