Cookie an Peanut McDonald are step brother an sister poodle mixtures, both filled to the brim with energy and cute-ness. Cookie’s a 10-anna-haff-pound Shih-tzu-Poo (Pootzu?) with curly black-an-white hair; an Peanut’s a 5- or 6-pound Yorkie-Poo with tight golden curls.
Both of ’em have earmuff-style ears, an a bright, ready-for-what’s-next enthusiasm. Also that straight, sturdy poodle poss-chur and confident prancin’ walk, spe-shully impressive from the caboose end.
They bounced right up for the Wag-an-Sniff soon as a nice man opened the door. “Oh, YAY! It’s you! You’re Mr. Bonzo, right? I’m Cookie! This is our Daddy, Steve, and this (he nudged the liddle gold pooch) is my sister, Peanut. Our Mommy Eileen’s not home at the mo-mutt.”
“Very pleased to meet you,” I said, as Cookie an Peanut led the way to the living room. We got situated, an I opened my notebook.
“I’m gonna start,” announced Cookie. “Daddy an Mommy got us both from Florida Poodle Rescue, but not at the same time. They hadda sign a buncha papers, an have a home visit, an prove they had a proper house an a proper vet an groomer, an provide reff-rences, just to be sure we were gettin’ Good Furever Homes. I’m from Daytona an I got adopted in November 2022 …”
“An I’m from Tampa. I got adopted last Aww-gust, cuz Mommy said they should have two dogs,” innerjected Peanut. “The humans at Florida Poodle Rescue delivered us right to Mommy and Daddy’s house. Super Cool Kibbles, doncha think?”
I nodded.
“We’re both somewhere buh-tween 4 an 5 years old,” Peanut continued. “Daddy says Cookie’s The Greatest Dog In The World, an I’m a Miss-chuff Maker. But ackhully, Mr. Bonzo, I think it’s mostly just that Cookie’s not as ad-VENchur-us as me. PLUS, I am purrhaps a teeny bit more barky.”
“A LOT more barky,” said Cookie. “You sound like a big, fuh-ROW-shus pooch, for Lassie’s sake.” He turned to me. “She’s a great watchdog. When a stranger knocks and hears that bark, they think it IS a big, fuh-ROW-shus pooch, not a tiny liddle not-quite-6-pound fluffmuffin.”
“So true!” Peanut agreed proudly.
A liddle while later, there WAS a knock on the door and, sure enough, adorable, delicate liddle Peanut let go with several big, deep, serious barks I could scarcely buh-leeve came outta her.
After I picked up my notebook, I inquired, “What’s life like these days? Whaddya like to do? Any speshul toys? Activities?”
“Well, MY favrite toy is my very large cammo chewy bone,” said Peanut. “When I take a nap, I always have it in my mouth for comfort. I also love my green platypus. See?”
Peanut put her paw on a smushed, dark green stuffy, obviously well-loved. “I also enjoy chasin’ lizards around the pool; an jumpin’ in the bushes an gettin’ stuck, so Daddy has to come ‘save’ me. Or scoochin’ under the fence to the neighbor’s yard and Daddy has to knock on the neighbor’s door an fetch me. I think that’s why he hadda put a bell on my collar. So he could locate me. It seems like a game to me, but not so much for Daddy, I think.”
“We both love Belly Rubs,” added Cookie. “An we’ve been gettin’ in shape walkin’ with Daddy. He usta hafta carry us home a lot cuz we’d get pooped pretty quick, but now we can go a whole three-quarters-of-a-mile an we’re still ready to do more.
“I sorta like the beach, but only the sand part,” said Cookie.
“I don’t like it at all,” exclaimed Peanut. “PLUS we can get sunburn cuz we have hair, not fur.”
“I never woulda thought of that,” I mused, then, “Any favrite foodstuffs?”
“Daddy says I would eat them into a place called, um, BANK-rupp-cee, if I could. I dunno where that is, but I do love eatin’,” Cookie commented.
Their Daddy went to the kitchen, opened the fridge door, and extracted a bag, whereupon both pooches flew to him an began twirlin’ and jumpin’.
Peanut was twirlin’ super fast, an SNEEZIN’! Twirl. ah-CHOO! Twirl! ah-CHOO! It was huh-LARRY-us!! Cookie, on the other paw, was jumpin’ up an down like it was his JOB!
Then he let out a coupla ah-ROOOOs! He sounded like a ky-oatie. I was a liddle startled.
These certainly were pups of many parts.
“Daddy ackshully makes our meals,” explained Peanut. “He cooks chiggen an beef and chops it all up with veg-tubbles; um, there’s zoo-keeny an green beans an peas an care-utts.
He smushes it all into a bag an puts it in the freezer. He says if him an Mommy ever run out of people food, they can share our food.”
“I’m a way faster eater than Peanut,” noted Cookie. “I patiently wait till she’s through with her duh-lishus meal, an then I go over an lick her bowl. Our treats are good for us, too, like liver, an dried cod fish.”
“Do you have any pooch pals?” I asked.
“I’m not a fan of other poocheroos, ackshully,” admitted Peanut. “I guess I mostly just bark at ’em.”
“Me, I just usually ignore ’em,” added Cookie. “Except for Skipper, a Havanese. We’re buds.
He looks like me only bigger. We run together. Otherwise, it’s just me an Peanut, we’re each other’s besties.”
I couldda spent the rest of the day yappin’ an laughin’ with Cookie an Peanut, but I was on the clock.
Headin’ home, I was thinkin’ of the two adorable rescue poo-mixes and what a happy Furever Life they had found, an how many pooches have been saved by shelters like Florida Poodle Rescue and the many other shelters across the country – pooches just like eager Cookie an Peanut – safe, happy, healthy an livin’ their Best Lives.
