Kiki Leonard, a beautiful liddle Pah-muh-RAINY-un puppy, is only 9 months old, an she’s already joined the famly bizness. I innerviewed Kiki in the break room of her workplace, the Vero Beach Book Center.
If your humans like books, you might remember the long-time Official Mascot an Greeter, Hemingway, a Cool Catnip fee-line, who was King of the Book Center.
Kiki has really big paws to fill but, although still a pupper, she’s already doin’ great as the new Official Mascot an Greeter. She looks a liddle like a fox. Dainty, with a little triangle face surrounded by soft, fluffy hair, like a collie; fluffy pom-pom tail curled over her back; pointy ears tilted toward whatever catches her attention.
“Good morning Miss Kiki!” I introduced myself an my assistant.
Cuddled in her Mommy’s arms, she said, “Mommy said you’re gonna write a story about me, an I shouldn’t be nerr-vus cuz you’re nice. I know what a story is. There’s zillions of stories here, stuffed inside things called Books. They’re all over the place.”
“I’m duh-lighted to meet you, Miss Kiki. I did notice lotsa books. Your story won’t be inna book, though. It’ll be inna NOOS-paper. It’s bigger an floppier than a book.”
“Cool Puppy Chow,” she exclaimed, then, “Oops, I forgot to innerduce my Mommy, Elizabeth. My Dad works here, too. He’s Chad. My human brother an sister are Thomas an Emily. So, should I start tellin’ you stuff now?”
“Absolutely, Miss Kiki.”
“Well, my Furever Famly hadn’t ever had a pet. Ever. They thought about gettin’ a cat, cuzza Hemingway, I guess. ’Cept they’re uh-LERR-gick to cats. So Emily an Thomas decided to get a liddle dog. Mommy looked for a long time. She checked breeders an rescue places, but couldn’t find The Dog. Thomas an Emily looked at lotsa breeds an picked Pah-muh-RAINY-un cuz we’re playful, smart, frenly, outgoin’, an social. Plus, as you see, majorly adorable.”
“For sure,” I innerjected.
“They finally found The Dog, ME, in Orlando. Emily an Mommy brought me home when I was 11 weeks old. Emily picked my name. An guess what?”
“What?”
“I was a Big Suh-PRIZE to Dad. He came home from work an There I Was! Well, he was shocked, but he liked me right away, of course. I mean how could he not, right? BUT, he Absolutely, Positively Didn’t Want A Dog At The Book Center. Ever. Period. No Way.”
“Um, looks like that didn’t work out quite the way he expected,” I commented tack-fully.
“I KNOW. Right? But all the grrrls who work here love me an wanted me here. So did Mommy, who works here, too. SO, one time when Dad was out of town, the grrrls said to Mommy, ‘Go get your dog!’ Of course, the grrrls an all our CUSS-tummers loved me right away. An Dad saw, like Mommy says, that I add a duh-MEN-shun to the store. Everybody likes to pat me an cuddle me.
“I know it’s hard to buh-LEEVE, cuz I’m so beautiful now, but I did go through an Awkward Stage when my puppy fur was growing out. Some grew fast, an some grew slow. Some was longer and curly, some was straight. Mommy says I looked like a Toilet Brush.”
Kiki showed me a pick-shur an I almost toppled over laughin’. (She laughed, too, so it was OK.)
“I love liddle kids an babies,” she continued, “I like bein’ in the liddle kids’ section. But at storytime I get too excited, I run around, jump in their laps an wiggle. (Mommy says I’m uh Diss-TRACK-shun, which is confusing, cuz I’m pretty sure I’m a Pah-muh-RAINY-un.”)
I smiled behind my paw. “What’s homelife like?”
“I work all morning, then go home an nap. Mostly I don’t bark, sep’ when there’s a door-knock or a new person. Then I do a ‘Who’s there?’ Like this.”
She gave a very respectible Woof-Grr.
“Crispy Biscuits!” I told her.
“Mommy’s teachin’ me Basic Dog. I can already do sit/stay. AN I can stand up on my back paws for a really long time, an even walk BACKword. See?”
She had really great balance forward AN backward.
“I’m havin’ a liddle trouble with Fetch. Soon as I do the fetch part, I have this urge to RUN. I have a big, fenced yard, so I RUN, RUN, RUN. Doncha love that free feelin’ of wind in your ears? So I guess FETCH still needs a liddle work. But, Mr. Bonzo, I’d NEVER eat a shoe or anything like that. EVER.
“Mommy cooks for me. My favrite food’s chiggen. An Green Beans. An those Snappy Peas. An one time a week we go to Bark Avenue where I get a speshull treat.
“I’m not too intrested in toys. I have jus two here, my stuffy hamster an skunk. At home I have My Baby, a stuffy liddle green monster, which I got inna Care Package from Ant Patty in honor of me bein’ The First Pet. Thomas an Emily are kinda my puppies. I can boss ’em around. Thomas anyway.
“I have a coupla pooch pals I see at the bookstore, Betty an Basil. I can’t wait to visit Nana and Papa. They live on the river, an I get to explore the MAN-groves. I also like the beach; runnin’ around with my neighbor JoJo; an playin’ in the pool at my pooch fren Brody’s house. Mommy thinks it’s hilarious when I’m wet cuz I look like a stick, with all my lovely fluffy fur stuck to my body. Thank Lassie, it fluffs back up.
“At night I sleep with Mommy. I guess I’m a Mommy’s Grrrl.”
Heading home, I was thinkin’ about charming, silly liddle Kiki, who can make pretty much everybody smile. I know I smiled all the way home. (An in that grow-out pick-shur, she really did look like a toilet brush.)
