I’d been Woof-mailin’ back-an-forth with Maine-to-Florida Snowbirddogs Peaches an Molly Bailey for months! When we at LAST got an innerview date set up it was TOTALLY worth the wait!
Both are Golden Retriever rescues, with silky red/gold coats, irresistubble Puppy Eyes an smiley faces. Peaches is 10, looks Golden Retreever-y, ’cept very short, cuzza also havin’ some Corgi. Molly’s 4, a full-size Golden. Both have traveled all over the country an Canada with their Mommy in their very own speshull dog-frenly motor home.
The charming duo were right at the door to greet us. Wag-an-Sniffs ensued. Both grrrls wore festive ear bows, Peaches in pink, Molly in green. Exceedingly fetching. (See what I did there?)
I introduced myself an my assistant, an un-ob-troosively fluffed my ruff. “It’s a great pleasure to meet you in the fur.”
“For sure,” replied Peaches. “This” (she indicated the nice lady who’d opened the door) “is Mommy’s helper Miss Sandra. She’s Super Cool Kibbles. An this is our Mommy, Paula.
Come’on in! We can’t wait to share our tails.”
Their house was like a Chrismuss wonderland. There were Chrismuss trees with deco-ray-shuns and colored lights everywhere (17, Peaches said); beautiful sta-chews of angels in cabinets; and liddle figures playin’ Chrismuss music on teeny liddle instru-mutts.
“Woof!” I said. “This is a-MAZE-ing!”
“I KNOW! Right?” said Peaches. “It’s a very happy place! Mommy started it back when we hadda stay in all the time cuzza those 19 Cobras.”
“S’cuse me? 19 Cobras?”
“Oh, YES, you know, when the humans hadda wear masks an we hadda stay in our houses cuz that Very Scary VI-russ, 19 Cobras, was makin’ lotsa humans Very Sick. An guess what, Mr. Bonzo, not to BRAG, but I wrote a couple books about it my very own self, with a liddle help from Mommy cuzza not havin’, you know, thumms. I also wrote a Chrismuss book about me an Jake. They were PUB-lished an everything!”
“Woof! That’s impressive, Miss Peaches! An I know what you mean about the thumms thing.”
As Peaches talked, Molly snuggled in next to my assistant, an was enjoying a duhlishus treat from The Satchel.
“So, how’d you ladies find your Furever Famly?”
“Well,” Peaches began, while Molly continued munching, “Mommy was lookin’ for a pooch fren for Jake: Hadda be a rescue Golden. She saw my pickshur on the Golden Retreever website where I was listed cuz my famly was movin’ an couldn’t take me.”
“Bummer,” I mumbled.
“But it was too late. I was already in the dop-shun process.”
“Bummer.”
“But that didn’t work out, so Mommy an Jake got me! He was The Best Big Brother. Taught me ALL the Important Dog Stuff. I love havin’ a Furever FAM-ly, an so-shell-eyezing with humans, old an young, also fellow animals. I’m a very happy grrrl. I’ve got SO MANY frens!
AN I have earbows in all colors so I’ll always look my best. I mean, I AM Super Cute, doncha think?” She smiled a dazzling smile.
“Ab-so-woofin’-lutely!”
“My turn!” Molly interjected from the couch. “When I tell you my tail you’ll unnerstand why I am SO HAPPY to have my Very Own Furever Famly. I’m 4 now, but I almost didn’t make it to 3.”
I turned a page an wrote Molly at the top. “Ready,” I said.
Molly began. “I was born in China, which is a total nother country, as far away as you can get without coming back around. If you can buh-LEEVE it, some humans in China actually think of pooches as food, not frens. So in 2019, me an about 50 other pooches were in this big, scary place, scheduled to be turned into people food. I figured I was TOAST. Then some animal rescue humans in China swooped in, got help from Big Dog Ranch Rescue right here in Florida, an SAVED us all. We flew inna PLANE to the Ranch so we could be ’dopted instead of … well … you know …”
“Oh, for Lassie’s Sake, Molly, that’s the scariest tail I ever heard!”
“If it wasn’t for those kind humans in China, an that Ranch, I’d be somebody’s lunch.
Anyway, that’s where Mommy found me for Peaches in April 2021, when Jake went to Dog Heaven. We all got along right away, an Mommy didn’t even haff to learn Chinese. An,” Molly added fondly, “Peaches taught me ALL the Important Dog stuff just like Jake did for her.”
“Awww,” I smiled.
“I just had another advenchur, but not SCARY, like in China,” Molly continued. “See, we have this nightly rich-chew-ell: Mommy lets us out to go potty, then we come back in an get our Bedtime Snack: Kackers (humans call ’em Goldfish). WELL, one night Peaches came back in for her nightly Kackers, but not me. Mommy called and called and looked an looked.
No me. She changed out of her PJ’s back into her regular clothes an looked everywhere outside, finally out on the dock by the river. She heard a buncha rustling in the mangroves along the seawall an finally saw me, down in middle of the mangroves. I had tumbled in an couldn’t get out. But I didn’t bark. I’m not much for barkin’. So Mommy decided to call the Pleece non-emergency an puh-litely ask for help. Then, cuz it was the middle of the nite, she lit all 17 Chrismuss trees so the pleece’d know where to go. Preddy soon, two pleece people arrived, a lady anna man, an right away one of ’em JUMPED RIGHT DOWN INTO THE MANGROVES JUST LIKE THAT an grabbed me, but I was too, umm, STURDY to hoist over the seawall, so the other pleece person JUMPED IN ALSO an they lifted me to safety, then JUMPED BACK OUT LIKE IT WAS NOTHING.”
I could’ve listened to Peaches’ an Molly’s tails all day.
Headin’ home, I began readin’ the books Peaches loaned me. They’re TOTALLY Crispy Biscuits! Two about her an Jake an the 19 Cobras and one called “Peaches an Jake Celebrate Christmas,” which is super hilarious.
Till next time,