Woof, am I havin’ FUN! I got to yap with this week’s innerviewe-ee on the BEACH! It was great. There were frenly humans an frenly fellow pooches, an it wasn’t too hot, so paws-in-the-sand was just nice an tickly.
Luke Nielsen (ack-shully it’s ‘Cool Paw Luke’ after some human in a moo-vie) is one of the most easy goin’, frenly, fun lovin’ poocheroos I’ve ever yapped with: a big, hansome Chesapeake Re-TREE-ver, which I hadn’t heard of buh-fore. Found out they’re major water dogs with amazin’ coats: like sheep coats, very wavy, with two layers; wooly underneath, oily on top, to ruh-PELL water. Cool Kibbles, right? But the Cool Kibble-ist thing about Luke, I thought, was how much he loves water. I mean, he Body Surfs!!!! I was like, “Woof! Dude!”
He came runnin’ up from the O-shun, nose-to-tail wet, but not drippin’. The water on his amazin’ coat looked like a whole bunch of liddle DIE-munns. He shook off, an after a core-jull wag-an-sniff, innerduced his Dad, Peter. “My Mom’s Heather Peterson. She’s at work. So, Bonz, you swim, right?”
“Totally,” I replied. “I have a pool at home an I paddle around in it every day. Then I lounge on the deck. But watchin’ you out there in the O-shun, well, full disclosure, that’s way, WAY more water than I would EVER go in, on purpose.”
“I hear ya,” Luke smiled. “Hey, thanks for replyin’ to my woofmail. When I saw my girlfren Murphy’s picture and story in your column I thought maybe you’d like to innerview ME! Her brother Lucky’s one of my Besties, an he said I should try, too!”
Then, buh-for I could say the pleasure was all mine, he said, “O, ’scuse me. Hang on. Just a second,” an zipped over to greet a coupla pooches leash-walkin’ by with their humans. After frenly wag-an-sniffs all ’round, an pats from the humans, they continued down the beach.
“I’ve made so many frens around here, fellow poocheroos an humans, too. Those two were Murphy an MY-shuh.”
Before I could open my notebook again, Luke’s Dad flung a yellow tennis ball soarin’ into the bubbly water, an Luke flew after it, didn’t even slow down when a big wave grabbed the ball an out it went, followed by Luke.
For a coupla seconds he totally disappeared, an I was like, “Aagghh!” But then he bobbed back up, the ball in his mouth, ran right up to his Dad, plopped it down, an shook the liddle DIE-munns off. Then, I guess he remembered the inner-view an turned to me, as I was wipin’ off my slightly damp notebook.
“Sorry, Bonz. It’s hard for me to stay still. Play more, worry less, that’s my motto. I LOVE the beach!”
“I noticed. No worries,” I replied. “So how’d you find your famly?”
“Ack-shully, although I’m a Pure Bred, I’m NOT a Snob Nose. In fact, I’m almost, sorta a rescue.
See, after a long-an-happy life, my Dad’s pree-vious pooch, Shooter, also a Chesapeake, hadda go to Dog Heaven an Dad knew he hadda always have a doggo, cuzza us being, as you know, the Best Companions! There was this breeder who hadda stop bein’ one because of not doing a good job.
There were three litters an I got picked by my Aunt Laura as a present for my Dad. I was 8 weeks old an it happened to be National Puppy Day!”
“Woof, that was a Sign!” I said.
“I agree. It was meant to be! An, not to brag, but us Chesapeakes are Really Smart and O-B-D-ent. I was the champion at puppy training. We’re also great working dogs an famly dogs. Dad says I should run for mayor cuz everybody loves me. Even my step-brother, Mr. Whiskers, he’s a cat.
We’re buds. An I have good manners. I love diggin’ …”I had noticed that, fer sure. He dug lotsa holes, with impressive gusto, sendin’ the sand flyin’, but only where the ocean whooshed up an filled ’em back in.
“I ’specially love play-play-playin’ with liddle humans on the beach. They always come up to me for pats an stuff. Oooooh, look!”
Luke raced over to the edge of a building and came back carrying what looked like the trunk of one of those bamboozle trees that’d washed up, stickin’ way outta his mouth on both sides.
“See?” He set it down. “There’s always fun stuff on the beach. I NEVER get tired of it!”
“Do your ever travel?”
“I love ridin’ in the car. I hold Dad’s hand and chill when we drive up to Ashville, North Caro-LINE-uh. (I have two girlfriens up there, but maybe don’t mention that to Murphy, OK?) We only go to rest-runts, parks an other places that are pooch-frenly. We like hangin’ at Earl’s up in Suh-BASS-chun. And I run alongside when Dad rides his bike. Oooo, an here’s a fun thing: A liddle while back, when we were havin’ that almost hurricane, a human from The Weather Channel, Mike Side-ELL, hung out right here with me for a liddle bit an I was on TV. He called it a Live Feed. I never saw any food, though.
“Wanna see my Halloween costume?” he suddenly asked.
“Woof, yeah!”
His Dad buckled Luke into a green and black harness built up in the middle (sorta like a Ninja turtle), A pole sticking up in the back held a liddle camcorder.
“I’m goin’ as a reporter, like you, Bonz, recording a dog’s-eye view of the big Second Street Bistro Halloween Party in Fort Pierce. Crispy Biscuits, right?”
“The Total Crispiest, Luke! You’re an outdoor Doggo, I can see, but how about, like, indoor toys?”
“Not that interested, Bonz. Altho, whenever I visit pals, I can sniff out THEIR toys. Even if they’ve been lost behind the sofa pillows or in a dark corner of the laundry room for years. Guaran-woofin’-teed.”
I was in a super good mood headin’ home. I think some of Luke’s ZWEH-duh-vee had rubbed off on me. But NOT the ZWEH-duh-ocean.
Till next time,
