This week I had a pleasant yap with a lovely liddle Papillon – Angel Mae Mitchell – who is a snowbirddog from Wisconsin.
When the door opened, Angel Mae was standing next to a lady. She zipped up to me, pawsed, looked me right in the eyes an delivered one rather shy but Serious Woof. Then she turned an ran back to the lady.
I figured she was makin’ sure I knew it was Her Home an Her Job to protect it, an I admired her determination, in spite of her size an fluffyness. From a pree-vee-us innerview, I knew Papillon means ‘budderfly’ in French, and Angel Mae’s tiny fluffy face and luxurious, feathery sailboat ears totally resembled a budderfly, which rendered her Serious Woof more charming than ferocious.
“Good afternoon, Miss Angel Mae. It is a great pleasure to meet you.”
“Hello, Mr. Bonzo. Did my Serious Woof surprise you? It’s nothing personal. It just important to me that fellow pooches know I’m not scared of ’em, even though I looked like a delicate fluff muffin. I may be liddle, but I know what’s what! Oh, an you can just call me Mae. This is my Mom Amy. My Dad Chris is workin’ in Wisconsin but he’ll be home for Christmas. I’m So Excited! It’ll be our first Christmas in Florida!”
“Well, I am happy for you, Miss Mae,” I said. “How did you find your Forever Mom an Dad?”
She curled up on the floor next to her Mom. “I’m 13 (in human) now. I was raised to be a breeder at a place up in Wisconsin. I had some litters, which were taken away as soon as they didn’t need Mommy Milk anymore – which still makes me sad – an then, when I was about 7, my owners decided I wasn’t pretty enough, so they put me an some other puppy mamas On Sale.”
“Oh for Lassie’s Sake,” I exclaimed.
“I KNOW. Can you buh-leeve it? Fortunately, Dad’s sister (my Aunt Buffy) an his son (my brother Brady) had planned to get Dad a dog as a present, an found out about us purebred budderfly dogs bein’ available. Dad got to pick out his fvrite, an he picked ME. It was just him an me at first, an I was a liddle nervous an uh-LOOF, sorta kept to myself. I was use to bein’ crated, so havin’ a lotta space was kinda weird. Anyway, about 3 months later, Dad an me met Mom for the first time. She picked me up right away an cuddled me an gave me treats. Alluva sudden I ree-lized I had a Forever Famly, an I discovered I am a People Pooch. Sometimes I ackshully forget I’m a dog.
“When Dad works at home I always want to be right there helpin’ him. Or I curl up at Mom’s feet (like I’m doin’ now, ackshully). My totally favrite place to be is snuggled between Mom an Dad on the couch. That’s the Best!”
“I totally agree!” I said. “What do you do for fun? Do you like to travel? What do think of the beach?”
“I like squeaky toys a lot. An the first part of Fetch the Ball. I usually forget to bring it back. But it’s fun. An I’m real fast. An Woof! Can I LEAP! But not as high as I use to. The couch seems a lot higher these days. I guess I’m getting Up There. But I can still chase squirrels!! There’s a ton of ’em over at Riverside Park. I’m onna leash an Mom gets her exercise keepin’ up with me when I’m Squirrel Chasin’. At the Dog Park, I’m kinda reserved. I acknowledge fellow pooches, but I don’t run around with the pack.
“One of my FAV-rut activities is SNIFFIN’. There are so many intrestin’ smells everywhere. I can follow a sniff path like it’s my JOB. I’d make a great detective.
“I’m not a fan of water, ’cept in my bowl. Mom an Dad took me into a lake in Wisconsin one time, but it scared the kibbles out of me an I clung to Mom like glue till we got outta there. I do like the beach, tho, running along the edges of the ocean with the Pipers. Sometimes I get muddy playin’ outside, Then Mom hasta give me a shower, which I don’t like one liddle bit. But I LOVE gettin’ blow dried. I always look Fluffy an Beautiful after that.
“I love road trips. An stayin’ in hotels. An goin to pooch-frenly rest-runts. Down here, we go to American Icon Brew-ree an Post an Vine. They have bowls of water, an the humans think I’m Super Cute. Which, well, I AM, doncha think?”
“Indeed you are, Miss Mae,” I agreed.
“It’s way fun goin to the Tennis Club with Mom. I could watch that ball go back an forth ALL DAY long. I NEVER try to chase it, tho. That would be a major Fox Paw. Plus, the people in the tennis store give me Treats.”
“Do you play in the snow in Wisconsin? I’ve never even SEEN snow.”
“You’re not missing much,” she said. “I don’t like snow. It’s wet! An cold! When I haff to Do My Dootie, Mom an Dad clear a liddle circle of grass for me anna path to it. But when I’m done or I get distracted by a squirrel or something an I hop off the grass, it’s AWFUL!”
“Don’t you have a coat or something?”
“Humpf, I don’t care how cold it gets, I’m NOT wearin’ CLOTHES! Mom tried. She got me a winter coat. Anna Santa hat (which I wore for 6 seconds, for a phodo op). Anna Halloween costume. An I tore ’um all into tiny little pieces.”
Heading home, I was smilin’ to myself, picturing sweet Miss Mae, rippin’ her Santa hat to shreds. An snuggling up between her Mom an Dad, a silly liddle budderfly all cozy an content.
Till next time,
