This week I innerviewed a liddle black Shih Tzu, Leena Dzama, who has her very own Cool Kibbles buggie. She calls it her Buddha Buggie. It’s got a pillow an blankets: pur-pull, an green an a pink-an-white one with her name on it, like, a hundred times. She can look out, an there’s this liddle sorta screen door. PLUS, it’s bright PUR-pull! Sweeet!
Leena an her Mom an Dad have a flower shop in Vero, an she’s there every day greetin’ people an hangin’ out in her Buggie, or running around being cute, which is what she was doing when me an my assistant walked in. She ran right up for the Wag-an-Sniff.
“A gracious good morning, Mr. Bonzo. You look like your pikshure, but even more han-sum in the fur.”
“Well, thank you, Miss Leena,” I replied, blushing under my ‘han-sum’ fur. I noticed she had a sparkly collar, an a Summer Bob, with some attractive white highlights around her face, which really made her black eyes stand out. So I told her so. (Hey, Poocheroos, I’m trying to notice those things; you know, tap into my softer side. The ladies like that. Make a note.)
“This is MumMA Aimee, an Daddy Frankie, who has to go deliver flowers right now.” Her Daddy zoomed off. Leena led us to a big round table, an plopped down in the middle of it.
“Snazzy wheels you got there.” I nodded at the pur-pull Buggie.
“I KNOW, right? When I’m not on the table bein’ a cennerpiece, or bein’ charming to CUS-tummers, I’m reclining in my Funky Buddha Lounge.”
“It’s pawsome, all right. So, Miss Leena, how’d you find your Forever Family?”
“MumMA an Daddy hadda a white Lab-mix – Sandee. She was real pretty. I’ve seen picck-shures. She was 15 people years when she went to Dog Heaven last summer. Daddy said NO MORE DOGS! But MumMA was prayin’ every night for a Small Dog. THEN this Cool Dog Biscuits thing happened. Last Fall, a lady came into the shop to apply for a holiday job, an MumMA hired her. The second day she was workin’ she noticed that shelf with a pick-shure of Sandee,” she pointed a paw. “The lady looked all sad, an told MumMA she had this liddle dog that she Loved So Much, Palusa (that was me), but she was gonna hafta get rid of it cuz of Unforeseen Circumstances, an was worried she couldn’t find a loving home.
“WELL, MumMA thought about it for a nano-second, an said “I’ll take her!” She knew it was an answer to her prayer. An, the minute I met MumMA an Daddy, I knew it was an answer to mine an my first Mom’s, too. I guess that NO MORE DOGS! thing was just a suggestion.”
“Before, I hadda stay inna kennel day an night. Now I get to run an play an meet people, an I sleep with MumMA an Daddy. This is my very own Forever Home. Sometimes I still can’t buh-live it – ’til I see my Pur-pull Buggie.”
Her MumMA picked her up an gently plopped her into it, an she almost disappeared into the fluffyness.
“Woof! Wonderful story! But how come you got a new name?”
“Leena was MumMA’s grandmother’s name. I really like it.”
“Cool Kibbles. So, have you had any adventures?”
She poked her liddle face out through the front opening. “Have I ever!! Mostly fun. Like my first vacation with MumMA and Daddy. It was Christmastime. We rode inna car to a place called Suh-van-uh. An we’re goin’ to Chicago soon an stay inna dog-frenly hotel right on the Loop. I’m not sure, but I think that’s something we can play tug-of-war with. MumMA an Daddy fixed me a super comf-tubble place in the back seat. MumMA calls it my Zsa-Zsa Place cuz it’s pretty an fancy, an MumMa says Zsa-Zsa was a pretty, fancy lady. Like me. Look, this is one of my Zsa-Zsa Place snuggly things.”
Her MumMA brought out a round, sorta flat, floppy pillow, wrapped it around Leena, an picked her up. All I could see were her eyes an nose. She looked like a Zsa-Zsa Burrito.
“That adventure was fun, but last week I had a not-so-fun adventure. I hadda have the No-Puppies procedure. The humans at the dog hos-pittle were real nice. But it still wasn’t any fun. I was sore and pooped for a few days, but I’m much better now.”
“I’m happy to hear that, Miss Leena.”
“Soon I can play in the dog park. An go Swimmin’! You should see my Dog Paddle! And I’ll hang out with my dog buddies on the south side of the inlet. I can’t WAIT! An, guess what? Daddy sometimes takes me along on flower dee-LIV-rees. That’s real important. He says, “Leena, Please don’t Eat the Daisies. But he knows I would never! Plus, MuhMA cooks my food. I get spinach, green beans, us-PARA-gus, sweet puh-tadoes and chiggin. I’m not big on crunchy things.”
“Any favorite treats?”
“YES! Once a week I get the Best Treat Ever! A big frozen marrow bone. I can munch on that forever.”
“That sounds duh-lish! How about tricks? You know: Sit? Shake?”
“Well, um, when MuhMA is saying stuff like that, I ALWAYS listen politely. I tilt my head to one side an look Extremely Adorable. But I just don’t feel, you know, motivated to ackhully do any of it. Well, on occasion, I might sit. Or, if I’m already sitting, that counts, right?”
I pretended to sneeze to keep from laughing. “Toys! Got any toys?”
“I’m not a big toy girl. I only have my tug-of-war sock, an one stuffy to sleep with.”
Heading home, I was thinkin’ about seein’ if my Gramma would buy me one of those frozen marrow bones. An getting Leena’s Woofmail address from my assistant.
Till next time,
The Bonz