This week I innerviewed Spencer Bain, a poocheroo with an uplifting, in-spuh-RAY-shuh-null story to tell. Spencer is a hansome fellow with a gentle, laid-back duh-MEEN-er. PLUS, he’s an English Springer Span-yull, same as, well, ME. Just sayin’.
“Good morning, Bonzo,” he greeted me an my assistant. “I feel I know you from your columns.
I’m Spencer an this is my Mama Margie. She’s a Snowbird an I’m a Snowbirddog: We Don’t Like Cold Weather one liddle bit. My Papa, Bill, is in Ver-GIN-Yuh Beach and he visits us.”
“A great pleasure.” I replied, an added, “It’s Cool Kibbles meetin’ a fellow Springer, an I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your story. I understand you’re currently retired.”
“Indeed I am. Where would you like me to start my tail?”
“From puppy-hood,” I replied, opening my notebook.
“Well, as you know, I’m a pure-bred Springer. My Fancy Papers name is Sir William Spencer McLeod, named for a coupla of humans called ROY-ulls – Prints William an Lady Diane Spencer.
An my liddle (jus turned 1) pooch brother Windsor, named for a big fancy house for royal humans. He’s probly nappin’ at the moment.
“Anyway, Mama an Papa got me up in Ver-GIN-yuh as a pupper, 9 or 10 weeks old probly (I’m almost 9 now). I looked much older cuzza being Very Large. Anyway, it’d been 7 years in human since Mama an Papa’s pree-vee-us pooch, Shannon, had gone to Dog Heaven, an it was TIME.
“At first, Bonz … may I call you Bonz?”
“Absolutely.”
“At first, Bonz, I thought I’d probly be a Show Dog cuz I have VERY good linny-udge (my parents were Show Dogs), PLUS, not to brag, I looked really good. EXCEPT, one of my eyes looked a tiny bit sad. I thought I looked PEN-sive, but it doesn’t take much to get disqualified at that level.”
“Oh, Woof, Spencer, that’s SO Soggy Biscuits.”
“I KNOW! Right? BUT, it ackshully worked out Great, cuz, lookin’ back, Bonz, I think I was always meant to be an ee-MO-shun-null Support Dog. I started learning right after I got to my Furever Home, an, turns out, I’m Really Good At It.”
“Pawsome!” I said, impressed. “So, what’s it like being an ee-MO-shun-null Support Dog?”
“Up in Ver-GIN-yuh, I worked at Sentara Ver-GIN-yuh Beach Hoss-piddle, an Windsor Woods Elementary School, an here in Vero Beach I worked at Scully Welsh Cancer Center.
“I ree-lized I can really help humans by just doin’ basic Dog Stuff I think us pooches have instinks to do au-duh-maddically: Like I visit people in hospittles an, if they want, I climb on their chairs or hospiddle beds and they pat me. Also, in that room where family-an-frens wait, they can pat me an sometimes I show ’em my tricks to help the time go by better. Humans call it a dis-TRACK-shun. Another real important thing I do is, when a human is sittin’ inna speshul kinda big chair for a preddy long time gettin’ what’s called KEE-mo, I put my head in their lap (only if they want me to, of course) and they pat me an, Bonz, it ack-shully makes um feel better. An that makes me happy.
“I also had fun with liddle human kids when I visited their school. I was inna program called Tailwaggin’ Tutors that I totally loved!”
“What’s a Tutor?”
“Kinda like a teacher but with a smaller buncha liddle humans. So, we’re all in the school library, I curl up on the floor, an the kids read me stories. An if they accidently miss-say a word, I NEVER make fun. All their words sound GREAT to me!
“Then, if there’s time enuf, we play a game called ‘Find the Cheese.’ The kids hide a liddle bit of duh-lischus cheese while I’m not lookin’. Then my Mama says, ‘Spencer, Find the Cheese,’ an I crank up my Super Sniffer. I run around like crazy an ALWAYS find it. THEN I get to ackshully EAT it.
“Also, Bonz, even though I can’t be a Fancy Show Pooch, I do get to do agility stuff. See, Papa built me my very own Agility Course and I Totally Nail It, if I do say so! Like, BOOM!”
“That is so pawsome, Spencer,” I exclaimed. “But, why did you retire if you loved it all so much?”
“Well,” (he lowered his voice) “almost two years ago, I started feelin’ a liddle droopy, so Mama took me to the vet an found out I have this duh-zeez. Mama an Papa call it ‘The C Word.’ Right away, Mama’s best fren Ra-Ra came all the way from Ver-GIN-yuh to help me get on a Speshull Diet like humans sometimes do when they get the C Word.
“I get organic popcorn an green beans an pum-kin cookies an frozen blooberry yo-gert. An I feel good, maybe a liddle sleepy a lotta times, an I’m losing some hair, but I get to sit out on my deck, an look at the river AND I get speshull Peanut Budder Chews that help me chill.
“At first I was bummed that I couldn’t do my Emotional Support jobs anymore cuz I couldn’t have the required shots I hadda have to be in schools and hos-pittles.”
“Oh, Woof, Spencer,” was all I could think of to say.
“But that’s OK,” he continued, “cuz, so far, I CAN still do one similar thing: I’m the Lobby Greeter at my day care, called Dogs Life. I welcome everyone, speshully the newbies so they’ll feel comftubble.
“Ya know what, Bonz? I’m Totally Livin’ My Best Life, No Woof! I still get to walk on the beach, chase lizards, maybe not quite as fast, and swim in my pool (with my life vest). I’m one lucky poocheroo, Bonz! Plus, when I DO get to Dog Heaven, I wanna be the Lobby Greeter.”
Heading home, I was a liddle PEN-sive, but also Very Happy I’d met Spencer an heard his story so I can share it with you. An super happy he is still enjoyin’ blooberry yoghurt. I’m gonna raise my dish of duh-lishus yoghurt to Spencer this very evening.
