Presley Schmitt is a heartwarming example of A Dog’s Purpose. You know what I mean: Time after time you fellow pooches tell me how you an your Furever family found each other under often unusual, amazin’ and totally unexpected SIR-come-stances (sometimes happy, sometimes sad), and how you AN them came to ree-lize it was Meant To Be.
Presley is a spruce an stylish 4-year-old, black-with-some-gold Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: warm, frenly AN a charming Master of Puppy Eyes.
Presley is also one of the many (humans AN pets) whose lives got a liddle sideways back in twenny twenny one, when that Terrible duh-ZEES was happenin’.
Presley was woofin’ greetings as me an my assistant approached the front door, an he bounced right up for the Wag-an-Sniff, then got scooped up by a nice lady who led us into the livin’ room.
“Oh, Mr. Bonzo, I love your COLL-um!” he exclaimed. “I always wanted to ackshully be IN it!
This is my Mom, Christine! It’s just her an me. We’re each other’s BFF! I also have a human SIS-ter, Jessie. She’s pawsome!”
I flipped my notebook to a blank page. “It’s a great pleasure to meet you both! So, how did you find your Furever Home?”
“Well, lemme see: So, back buh-fore me, Mom had ’dopted a rescue pooch for company. His name was George, an he was a lab/shepherd mixture. But then George hadda go to Dog Heaven an Mom was alone again. Well, Mom’s neighbor knew how sad Mom was so she kinda started lookin’ for a ruh-placement dog; one that’d be The Right Dog for Mom. One day (it was in JOON twenny twenny three), she heard about this liddle pupper whose famly just couldn’t take care of him anymore. ME! It was when all the humans were wearin’ masks an mostly stayin’ away from each other. At that time, in addition to me, my famly had sevral liddle kids so things were gettin’ Very STRESSFUL.
“Mom’s fren told Mom about me an asked if she was interested. Thank Lassie she said YESS! My original famly’s gramma brought me to my new home an me an Mom said the liddle kids I usta play with could come visit me. Me an Mom fell in love with each other Right Away! An I felt so safe an comf-tubble in my new house, right away, too! Ya know?”
“I abso-woofin’-lootly do!” I told him.
“Also,” Presley continued, “I came with a different name – Bigby – but I never ackshully FELT like a Bigby, ya know? So she gave me a new name in honor of her favrite singer. Well, officially, it’s King Presley of Three Oaks. She also named my big, fluffy toes. She calls ’em Spatulas.”
“What’s your daily life like?” I queried. “Any Besties? Fave foodstuffs? Pooch pals?”
“Lemme think: Well, cuz it’s just me an Mom, I go to Doggie Day Care to SO-shull-eyes. That’s pretty fun. I pretty much like ALL fellow pooches, big an small. At the dog park, I play with Enzo a lot. He’s a Golden Doodle. On NAY-ber-hood leash walks, there’s Leo an TiTi.
“I get So Excited when my sister Jessie comes over on Windsdays. I always KNOW when it’s Windsday so I sit by the door an WAIT!
“I’m very fond of my chiggen-flavored NUBZ, AN my Peanut Budder Kong. TRAY YUMM!
“OOO, an Car Rides! (I’m always safely clipped in.) Every Sunday morning me an Mom drive to JC Beach, an we stop an see COWS on the way! Cows are SO-O PAWSOME! I’m tryin’ to learn MOO. Me an Mom leash walk on the beach an I get to play in the SAND.
“I also had a fun car ride advenchur with Mom to North Care-o-LINE-uh. We had Christmas with my brother Bill an Jenna; an my neece and neff-you Henry an Caroline, an Pearl, a liddle pupper like me! An look! I got this speshull collar from the North Care-o-LINE-uh Tar Heels basketball team! I wanted to check their shoes but I didn’t get the chance.”
“That IS kinda weird,” I commented.
“I know, right? Anyway, THAT’S my big bin of stuffies.” He pointed.
It WAS pretty big. An full of stuffies. “Got any faves?”
“YEP! THIS one.” He grabbed a monkey with, I think, a banana. “I call it my Big Ka-hoo-na. An THIS one.”
He dug around in the bin an pulled out a green, cylinder-shaped stuffy with a face anna tail, but no legs or arms. “This is my LIZARD stuffy. I got it from my sister Jessie. I enjoy chasin’.
ACKSHULL lizards, also. Outside, around here, it’s All About the Lizards!”
I was pretty sure any ackshull lizards he may have come across would be in a similar condition, but I prudently didn’t inquire.
“Oh, an, guess what Mr. Bonzo? Sometimes I go to work with Mom atta place called Habitat for Hu-MAN-iddy that helps humans ackshully BUILD a house when they don’t have one. WAY Cool Kibbles. I like to think of myself as the o-FISH-ull MASS-cot. They all know me an I get to go to the Dedy-K-Shuns when the houses get all built. It’s Very Fun an Speshull.
“But” (he looked at me with a Very Sincere Expression in his big brown eyes) “what’s most important is always bein’ here for Mom. I consider it my PURPOSE. I don’t bark much ’cept when there’s someone outside or at the door. I can sound fuh-ROW-shus when I want to!”
“I don’t doubt it for a second,” I told him.
“I ALWAYS know when Mom’s not havin’ a good day, so I sit in her lap, give her liddle nudges, kisses, stuff like that. Just hang out with her. We were so lucky to find each other, Mr. Bonzo! I know I’m right where I’m s’pose to be.”
Headin’ home I was thinkin’ about how often us pooches discover our Purpose when we least expect it, maybe weren’t even lookin’. But we always know it was Meant To Be. (Then I started tryin’ to remember where I left my Kong. It’s gotta be around the house somewhere.)
