Hi, Dog Buddies! Don’t you just love this cool weather? Makes me want to get outside and RUN! Every tree and fire hydrant smells extra good.
I was at the Dog Park the other morning to interview a Goldendoodle puppy, Lexi Ferguson. The humans were standing around with their paws in their pockets and their shoulders sort of hunched up, but all the pooches were running all over the place, lovin’ the weather.
Lexi is an 11-month-old only-dog, and lives with her humans, Leigh and Gary. She’s a long-leggedy girl with white curly hair and a very fluffy tail that waves out behind her. Her mom is a white Golden Retriever and her dad is a poodle: Lexi’s got her mom’s coloring and her dad’s looks. Real pretty. Talk about running around – she has that fast, poodle-y prance, and I had to trot along behind her, trying to keep up and not drop my notebook. It did get a little slobbery.
Lexi’s very sociable, smiles all the time, seems to know every dog in the park. It was just one wag-and-sniff after another.
“I got shampooed special, just for you, Mr. Bonzo,” she said. “See how fluffy I am? I’m s’posed to tell you about me so … I came from a breeder in Fellsmere. Mom and dad had just lost their Labrador and they were so sad. Dad didn’t want another dog but mom really, really did. I was just a teeny fluffball, only 8 weeks old, three and a half pounds, and as soon as dad picked me up, that was it! Mom says they’re Gonzo over me!
“It’s just the three of us at home. We’re Empty-Nesters, which means my human brothers, James and Jack, don’t live with us anymore. They’re in college – Mom says that’s a big school – so I guess they’re learning to sit and shake paws and fetch stuff.
“I’m a Snowbirddog because we spend the summer in Maine. I have lots of room to run up there, in the woods. It’s pretty fun!”
Suddenly, she took off toward the far side of the park. “Be right back,” she called, her mom hurrying after her. “What the woof?” I wondered.
I checked my notes for a couple of minutes, then they came trotting back. “Sorry, Mr. Bonzo. I am really modest, Mom says. When I have to poop, I go way, way far away for privacy. And Mom has to come, too, cuz she has the poop bag.”
“Well, that’s very conscientious,” I said. “What do you do when you’re not here? What’s up at home?”
“I have a crate. I don’t stay in it too much but I like knowing it’s there. I get to sleep wherever I want, which is usually under the coffee table. Mom and Dad invite me to sleep with them but, one time, up in Maine, I jumped up on the bed – it was really high – and I fell off onto the hard floor and bonked myself. So I sort of don’t want to take a chance again, you know?”
“Totes,” I said.
“I eat Blue Buffalo and get great treats – salmon jerky and duck jerky! Delish! I sometimes barf when I ride in the car, but Mom and Dad say I’ll outgrow that. When I was a little pup, I chewed pretty much everything – just checking stuff out to see what tasted good. I chomped up lots of home décor back then, but not anymore. Anyway, Mom says, ‘What’s a few shells and things?’ She says I was just nervous in a new place. She’s real understanding.
“I have a whole bunch of toys. My favorite’s an old sock with a crinkly plastic bottle in it. Man, I could chew on that forever. And every day I take all my toys out to the yard, one at a time. Then mom and dad go pick them up at night so they don’t get ruined in the sprinkler. They learned that game pretty fast. I never get tired of it. “
As I watched Lexi trotting around the park, greeting pals and sniffing trees, I noticed her totally white feet were getting blacker and blacker, picking up dirt from the damp ground. I told her they looked like black sox.
She laughed. “I know. I LOVE to play in the dirt. The new trees here have lots of lovely dirt around them and I sometimes just roll in it. I can’t HELP it. Don’t tell anybody, but Mom and Dad nicknamed me Pigpen. But they say it with love, so it’s OK.”
It’s been fun yapping with you, Lexi,” I said. “Have a great Christmas!”
“You, too, Mr. Bonzo!” She turned and ran back toward the group of dogs playing in the field. “Hey, guys, wait up!” she hollered.
Well, Dog Buddies, it’s been fun yappin’ with you this year. I hope you have a great Christmas and get tons of toys and treats from Santa Claws.
And most important – always remember, humans have a lot of stuff to deal with and it’s our job, as dogs, to help them all we can. So keep greeting, and wagging, and nose-bumping and cuddling! Show ‘em the love! See you next year!”
