Doodle-a-Dog

“It’s a golden doodle,” said my co-worker. She had brought pictures of her new puppy to work.

“A what?” I asked.

“A cross between a golden retriever and a poodle. A golden doodle.” she repeated. The photograph showed a miniature canine with pale gold kinky fur, long ears, and bright black eyes. It was playing in the grass.

“Where does the “d” come from in doodle?” I asked. A doodle was a scribble on a piece of paper. It was not a dog.

“I don’t know!” she exclaimed, a little exasperated with me.

I remember the days when dogs stuck to their own kind. There were no schnoodles or doodles or mi-kis. Who do we think we are, messing with nature?

My first dog was one third red setter, one third husky, and one third collie. I’m not sure how you breed a dog by thirds, but that was how I remember it. Her name was Frances. She loved to run through the open field at the end of the road.

Frances also liked to swim, which was bad news whenever she managed to escape from the house. She’d run right for the pond in the backyard and jump into its murky depths. Then we’d have to chase her with the hose to clean her off before she was allowed to come back inside.

I may be biased based on my experience, but I’ve always thought big dogs were better. I lived down the street from a yard full of beagles once. Every time I rounded the corner I heard, “Yap, yap, yap,” for about half a block.

Did you hear about the flying chihuahua aptly named Tinker Bell? 70 mph winds near Detroit picked up the 6-pound dog and carried her almost a mile away. Thank goodness for that pet psychic or Tinker Bell would have been bear food.

It would have been hard to forgive a dog like the cash-eating Swiss mountain dog from North Carolina. It ate $400 in cash that its owner had left on a table. She had to follow the dog around the backyard to pick up pieces of the bills. Eeeew!

If you are a true dog lover, you can be jealous of the employees at ilovedogs.com. They take their dogs to work every Friday!

Whatever your preference, you have to admit dogs are very unique and fascinating animals. Whether sniffing out survivors after a natural disaster or warning someone about skin cancer, they have proven they belong at man’s side. Just give them the respect they deserve and don’t call them a snickerdoodle!