Bodhi an Vero Strouse were the perfect joyful innerviewees for the Christmas/New Year holidays. You HAD to be in a Good Mood from hangin’ out with that pair.
A nice man an lady answered the door, with two frenly, curly-haired, long-leggedy doggos bounce-bounce-bouncin’ up for welcoming Wag-an-Sniffs. “We’re SO STOKED you’re gonna write about us in the PAY-per,” said the one with the red collar. “I’m Bodhi Strouse. I’m 4. I’m a Golden Doodle! This is my liddle brother Vero, our Momma, Karen, an our Dad, Darryl.”
“Golden?” I blurted, having noticed both pooches were totally black.
“I KNOW. It’s a liddle confusin’, me bein’ a not-golden Golden Doodle. All eight of us littermates are black, like our pooch-Mama, even though our pooch-Dad is golden.”
“An,” piped up Vero, turning from my notebook, which he had been studiously snuffling. “I’m a WOOO-DLE!”
“A what?” I asked, even more confused.
“Sorry, Mr. Bonz,” replied Bodhi, on behaff of his liddle brother. “A Woodle’s a mixture of a Wheaton Terrier anna poodle breed.”
“What he said,” agreed Vero.
“I appreciate the clarification,” I said, writing as fast as I could. “It IS a liddle con-fusing at first. I must compliment you both on your Exceedingly Cheerful, Crispy Biscuits Diss-paw-ZISS-shuns!
So, how did you meet your Furever Famly?”
“I’ll go first cuzza bein’ oldest,” said Bodhi.
I turned a page, an Bodhi began. “So, back in o-HI-o, Momma an Dad had some frens who had Golden Doodles, which Momma an Dad thought were pawsome. (Which we Totally ARE!) We’re high-po-aller-GEN-ick, an don’t shed. Much. Plus, we’re Verry Smart. An lovable. So, when Momma an Dad were lookin’ for a pooch, a fren of Momma’s knew someone on the eye-lun in Wabasso who knew someone who hadda litter. (MY litter!) Momma went to see us, an I right away KNEW she was My Furever Mom. I sat in her lap an snuggled to make sure she knew it, too.
Of course, she did.
“I’ve always been a Very Good Boy, but, when Momma an Dad came to pick me up, I was only 8 weeks old. Altho I didn’t need Mommy Milk anymore, I cried. All the way home. An all night. Night after night. Then, my human brother Christopher, an his wife Hillary told Momma an Dad they should let me sleep in their bed an, when I got wiggly, they should take me outside to P. Dad said ‘ABSOLUTELY NO!’ But I kept cryin’ every night so finally he said ‘FINE, then!!’
“I still sleep with Momma an Dad. So does Vero. An I’ve NEVER, EVER P’d where I shouldn’t. I usta hafta stay in my crate when Momma an Dad were away, but now I don’t. We stay in our speshull room (AKA Momma’s office), where I sit on My Couch by the front window an watch for Momma an Dad to come home.
“I also usta chew stuff a lot, soft stuff like rugs, BLANK-utts, PILL-ohs, COME-fer-ters. But not anymore.”
“How ’bout YOU, Vero? What’s your tail?” Vero trotted over from where he’d been hangin’ out with my assistant, getting under-the-chin scratches.
“I’ve only been here since something called Aug … Aug …”
“August,” said Bodhi.
“Right, August, whatever that is. Anyway, Momma an Dad thought maybe they should get a Partner-in-Crime for Bodhi, is how they put it. An at the same time our human sister Ashley an her huz-bun Lee up in o-HI-o also wanted to get a pooch. They all wisely decided to get a Wooo-dle, so Momma an Dad got me, an Ashley an Lee got my brother, from a famly in o-HI-o.”
“I’ll tell this part,” Bodhi said. “Me an Momma an Dad were livin’ down here by then, so we all drove up to o-HI-o. Ackshully, at the time, I thought we were just visitin’. Me, an my o-HI-o pooch pals Maggie an Chandler and this other silly liddle pupper had fun playin’ together.
“But THEN, when it was time to go, Momma an Dad plopped HIM into the back seat! With ME! I had No Idea this nutty, bouncy liddle twerp was going HOME with us. I was like, ‘WHA-AT? Sharin’ MY backseat? I don’t THINK so!’ But it was TROO! I looked at Momma an Dad in disbelief. ‘WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?’”
“Yeah,” explained Vero. “He usta growl at me or ignore me, which was hard cuzza me bein’ a bouncy puppy an all. But, finally, I guess he ree-lized he’s my Big Brother, Totally The Boss. I’m good with that. I just wanna puppy around all the time anyhow. He doesn’t mind ’cept when I, on occasion, sneak a liddle tidbit from his bowl.
“Troo!” agreed Bodhi. “I usta be a Grazer, but now, with this goofball ever-ready to grab my dinner, I hafta gobble it right up. But, bottom line, he’s my Liddle Brother an I’ve gotta make sure nothing bad befalls him.”
“That’s PAWsome,” I said with admiration. Then, to Vero, “Where’d you get that Cool Kibbles name?”
“Momma an Dad an our other human sister Chelsea an her husbun Gary were thinkin’ what to call me an Chelsea said, ‘Well, you live in Vero an you really, really love it an it’s a nice name so … why not call him Vero?’ Everybody agreed. I think it’s Totally Crispy Biscuits, too. Don’t you?”
“Abso-woofin’-lutely!” I replied. “U-neek, even. So what kinda stuff do you like to do? Any pooch pals?”
“I love toys,” said Vero, “speshully my chewy alligator. No stuffies, tho. I kinda duh-molish ’em!”
“I’m not into toys,” noted Bodhi. “I do love Tug with Rings. And, sometimes, Fetch. We play with Jax, a Golden Doodle, when she visits from o-HI-o with Chelsea an Gary; an Dixie, a Labradoodle down the street, who we stay with when Momma an Dad are Away.”
Headin’ home, I was thinkin’ about the two energetic, fun-loving brothers, livin’ their Best Life with their Furever Family. An thinkin’ about making a Doodle/Poodle/Woodle/Noodle Chart to learn more about a Big Segment of the Pooch Population.
