Harley Daniel looks like Snoopy to me. He’s a Cool Kibbles liddle dude – loves humans an other pooches. An he just turned 7. Harley wanted to meet at the Dog Park, where he goes every morning with his Mom, Sally.
We spotted each other right away, an he trotted over for the Wag-an-Sniff: nice red collar, real frenly, stopping to greet pooch pals on the way. After the intros, we got comf-tubble on the cool ground under a nice shady sorta patio.
“Did anyone ever tell you you look a lot like Snoopy?” I hadda ask.
“If I had a Pupperoni for every time somebody asked me that, I’d be a Total Tub!”
We laughed.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t balance on a doghouse like Snoopy does, but I am part Beagle. An part Bassett. That makes me a Bagel.”
I could see this was gonna be a fun innerview. “So, you must like cream cheese then.” (Couldn’t help myself.)
More laughing.
“You bet your dog biscuits. ANY kinda cheese. An – cheeseBURGERS. They’re The Best. I just got one for my birthday. Duh-LISH!”
“So, Harley, how’d you an your Mom find each other?”
“Mom hadda a bulldog named Weezer, who went to Dog Heaven in 2013. He was 11 anna half. She was DE-vuh-staded. Well, you know how lotsa humans say they Never Want Another Dog when their pooch goes to Dog Heaven?”
“Absolutely,” I replied.
“Well, Mom wasn’t like that. She needed another pooch come-PAN-yun. So she went to the shelter in Melbourne. She was sad, but hopeful. As it happened, I had been deposited there about the same time. I don’t know why. I thought I’d been a Good Puppy. I was only 6 months old, so maybe I was just too Bouncy Puppy. Anyway, I was sad but hopeful, too. And, Bonzo, when Mom spotted me, out of all those waggin’ tails an wet noses, it was One Of Those THINGS. She said to the shelter person, ‘I want HIM!’ Since I had already gone through all the Proper Pro-SEE-jures, she took me home that very day.”
“Pawsome Dog Biscuits! So how’d things go?”
“Ackshully – full disclosure – it wasn’t all kibbles an gravy at first. We got along great, except I kept slippin’ out and runnin’ all over the neighborhood whenever she opened the door. I also figured out how to wiggle out of my collar. I wasn’t runnin’ aWAY For-EV-er or anything, I just had all this energy and curiosity. I hadda run! An check stuff out! I mean, I’m a hound after all. It’s juh-NED-ick.”
“I hear ya,” I agreed. “So, how’d you two figure it all out?”
“Mom got me a trainer. And a harness. PLUS, we come here every day so I can run as much as I want. Now I’m Much Bedder. ’Cept sometimes, when I first get here, I Jump Up On People inna frenly way, cuz I’m so excited to see my pooch an human pals, an get lots of attention! You wouldn’t buh-leeve all the stuff there is to sniff around here. An there’s this nice man who always comes here by himself an gives us pooches treats. (I wonder if maybe his dog went to Heaven). Me an Fudge, she’s a boxer, hang out together. An me an Alfie usta play tag a lot. He’s a Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix. But he’s a snowbirddog an he’s Up North now.”
“So, what about foo …”
Suddenly, Harley stood up straight an alert, smellin’ the air. “Hang on, Bonzo. Just a sec.”
He got inna sorta crouch an started creepin’ stealthily through the grass, all Nose-to-the-Ground, starin’ at something. He crept forward for a minute or so. Then something popped up outta the grass, right in front of him, an flew away. He turned an trotted back. “Well, poo. That bug could fly. Who knew? So, you were sayin’?”
“Er, yes, what about foodstuffs? Other than cheeseburgers, whaddya like?”
“I like hoof treats stuffed with peanut budder. An, guess what, one time me an Mom went to a rest-runt for breck-fust with Fudge an her human. It was called Mully-guns. It’s pooch frenly. It was my first time, but Fudge is a pro at eatin’ out, so I just did what she did. Pawsome!”
“Whaddya you do when you’re home?”
“I have lotsa toys. An me an Mom play hunting games. Like fetch, an hide-an-seek. What she does is, she throws a toy an, while I’m fetchin’ it, she Hides. An I Seek. I always find her, ee-VEN-shully. In the closet. Or behind the bed. Or in the bathroom. I have a serious NOSE.
“I play with my neighbor pooches Abby, a Yorkie, an Teddy, he’s a Golden Doodle. I also chase lizards an squirrels an rabbits. But I never catch ’em. Those liddle suckers are speedy. It’s probly best anyway. On our (very long) leash walks I see lotsa birds. Mom’s teachin’ me their names. Lemme think – um, there’s cranes, hair-uns, storgs, spoonfaces I think, also gaders an odders – they’re not birds.
“One time, this duck started chasin’ us. We ran cuz we wanted to be puh-lite. Then, next time on our walk, that silly ol’ duck spotted us an started chasin’ us again. Mom laughed, she couldn’t help it. The duck had such a huh-LARRY-us waddle.
“At night, I have my dinner, Do My Duty, then me an Mom play a liddle more, then watch TV. My favrite channel’s Animal Planet. It’s very ed-ju-CAY-shunnull. Have you ever seen ‘Pitbulls an Parolees’? It’s real innersting. We also like ‘Too Cute,’ an ‘Dogs 101.’ At 10:30 it’s bedtime. I usually sleep with Mom. I have a great life.”
Heading home, I was sorta wishin’ I had as much energy as Harley. He’s such a cool poocheroo. An I was wonderin’ whether Gramma an Grampa ever watch “Pitbulls an Parolees.” An whether Gramma might make me a cheeseburger on my birthday.
Till next time,
The Bonz
