This week’s innerview-ee is a great example of a BIG dog inna LITTLE dog suit. So to speak.
Carlos Bemesderfer is an apple head Chu-waa-waa, mostly black with white chest, cheeks, eyebrows an knee sox. He also has a nice big, contagious smile.
Carlos’ head IS sorta apple-shaped, with a not-too-long snout at bout a 90-degree angle to the rest of his face, I guess you’d say. All in all, very spruce an tidy. An rockin’ a Cool Kibbles aqua collar.
However, although Carlos (AKA Carlito, Carlito Bandito, Carlito Burrito) is well, very liddle, size-wise (his Mom says he can easily get through a chain-link fence), he has a Very Big, XXL Doganality. Plus, in my opinion, in the Top Ten Coolest Ears on the Planet.
Carlos lives part of the time in Sebastian, so we met up there at that nice, woodsy park right by the river. Me an my assistant got there first an found a shady bench. There were, like, a zillion squirrels an a few of those tall, white, long-leggedy birds poking about for, probly, bugs.
Preddy soon a lady anna liddle grrrl came walkin’ up, accompanied by a jaunty liddle poocho with big sticky-uppy ears anna Crispy Biscuits aqua collar.
“Hi!” he said, approaching for the Wag-an-Sniff. “I’m Carlos Bemesderfer an THIS is my Mom Larissa, an THIS is my sister Emma, she’s 7. My Dad John an my brother Landon (he’s 12 an he REALLY likes sports) are elsewhere. You must be Bonzo!”
“Right you are! It’s a pleasure meeting you, Carlos! An I’m all ready to hear your tail,” I said, grabbin’ my notebook.
“Cool Kibbles,” Carlos said, an curled up between his Mom and his sister. “I’m gettin’ Up There, so you might haff-ta speak UP. I’m 15 now, but I was preddy much a newly arrived pupper when I got my Furever Famly back in twenny eleven.”
“I’m ready to write,” I said loudly.
“I’ll try to get it straight,” he grinned. “So, Mom’s brother (my Uncle Chris) and Aunt Tiffany found my pooch mama, Zoey, on something called Craig’s List (no clue who Craig is, but he’s got this Major List). They also have my pooch step-dad, Zach, an my pooch cousin Pickles. My actual pooch dad, Stewie, belongs to one of Uncle Chris’ other frens. I think I got that right.
“When I first got my Furever famly, I was so teeny, Mom usta make me sweaters outta sox. One sock per sweater. She still makes ’em for me. They’re quite stylish, in my opinion. Mom says I have SPUNK!”
“That is SO Cool Kibbles,” I told him.
“I sometimes show off my sweaters sitting on Dad’s shoulder. It’s fun. An comfy. Mom calls it Carlos’ Perch’ (like Dad’s a PIE-rat an I’m a parrot). Ackshully, I get a totally different perspective on, you know, The World, from up there.”
“Woof, Carlos, I never thought of that!” I said, with admiration. “I’d try it but I’d probly knock my Grampa right over. Anyway, the farthest I climb these days is onto my recliner.”
We laughed.
Just then, another dog trotted by, an Carlos let out a quite substantial bark. Just one. It was a good bit more of a bark than I would have expected from a pooch of such, well, diminutive stature.
“VERY nice Bark,” I told him.
“Thanks, Bonz,” he replied. “I never wish to be rood, but I want fellow dogs to know not to mess with me. Mom sometimes calls me Napolean. I never figured out why, tho.”
“Well, it was impressive,” I reiterated.
“My family’s always had dogs,” Carlos continued. “Buh-fore me, Gramma Kathy (I call her GG) an Grampa Dave had Chloe, a Jack Russell/Rat Terrier mixture. Grampa got her at H.A.L.O. after they lost their last dog in twenny-fifteen. Mom says Grampa Dave was always bringing home dogs. Mostly strays. Him an GG were always Major Animal Lovers, thank Lassie. Grampa hadda go to Heaven last spring. We all really miss him.
“So these days, when we’re in Georgia, I mostly hang out with GG. She’s my BFF, an Mom’s the runner-up. I snuggle with Mom an Dad at night, then go back to GG in the morning. An when food is involved, it’s Mom all the way.
“Oh, an we are a blended family! Just after my Mom’s cat – who she had for 20 years – hadda go to Cat Heaven, this random Mama cat an one liddle kitten just sorta appeared. Mom says that’s the universe’s CDS/Cat Distribution System at work! So now I’ve got cat frens Luna an CoCo.”
“Woof! Carlos, that is SO Cool Kibbles!” I exclaimed, then asked, “Do you travel? Fave foodstuffs? Toys? Famly?”
“We travel mostly buh-tween here an Georgia. We have a house up there called a, ummm, a SPLIT level, for Gramma an us. It’s two bunches of stairs an, even though I’m liddle, I can go up ’em an down ’em like anything.
“Also, up there, I have several pooch nay-bers. One of ’em’s pretty big. Nice, but BIG. I call him a Pit-a-saurus. Then there’s Fritz, a German Shepherd neighbor. He’s Way Cool Kibbles. There’s this fence buh-tween his yard an my yard an we run back-an-forth real fast along the fence. Even tho Fritz’s WAY bigger than me, I can totally keep up. Till one of us gets pooped. (It’s usually him.) Then I go sunbath on the deck.
“Lucky for me, speshully now that I’m not a sprout anymore, we have beds all over the house, upstairs an down. I love, love, love my nice soft blankets. I especially enjoy fluffin’ ’em an curlin’ up underneath ’em. Since I’m so little, I get kinda hidden under all those covers, so my famly has learned not to uh-SOOM a pile of blankets doesn’t have me under ’em.”
“That’s prudent,” I observed, then, “Got any favrite foodstuffs?”
“Oh, Woof, yes!” Carlos replied with enthusiasm. “I’ll admit I am a liddle Picky. Totally love chiggen, cheese an (the forbidden) chocolate. An GG fixes me speshul ground beef. It’s duh-lish!
“Although I don’t really swim (loungin’ is much less messy), I do LOVE my Sink Bath. It feels great, an THEN, when I’m all dried off an hansome, Mom gives me a TREAT. Sometimes it’s a teeny, liddle, small bit of Chocolate.”
Headin’ home, I was feelin’ happy, thinkin’ how things sometimes just seem to Come Together for a Happy Ending. Carlos’ big, blended, sorta snowbirdy family is a great example of that, doncha think?
Till next time,
Don’t Be Shy
We are always looking for pets with interesting stories. To set up an interview, email
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