The Pippin Report

Hi Folks

If we haven’t met yet, I’m Pippin, the newest member of the Alderson family. I moved in with them about six weeks ago when I adopted them. (They say they “rescued” me, I say I look after them.)

We don’t know much about my previous family history. The vet tech who first met me a couple of months ago, said that I might be a “Pookie”: that’s a mix of Yorkie (Yorkshire Terrier) and Poodle. She also guessed I was 8 to 10 months old.

Well, since I’ve been out & about with Mary & Victor, two different people have called me a “rare breed”. They think I’m a Havanese – that’s a fancy dog, originally from Havana, Cuba.

So Mary & I looked up Havanese on the iPad. And even though many Havanese are white or beige, there are a few black ones, and yup, they look like me. Well, except they have long feathery tails. But somebody chopped my tail off – so with my little nubbin tail, maybe the puppy mill where I was born lopped off my tail by mistake!

There are many things I do Havanese style. I’m a bit of a thief. If you happen to drop a glove on the floor, I’ll quietly pick it up and hide it away. Or socks … never leave your socks on the floor by your bed, or I’ll tuck them out of site under the bed. Havanese owners say that me and my cousins are famous for being sneaky bandits.

I also have what they call the Havanese’ “unusual gait”. I love to do what Mary calls my Fancy Prance…Especially if I’m proudly carrying something in my mouth. I kinda toss my front legs out as I trot along. I also have a full speed gallop when I really get going. And I love to jump. Mary is trying to get me to jump through hoops…hmm, I’ll play along when I feel like patronizing her.

I’m pretty handy with my front paws – being agile is another Havanese trait. I can reach for things the way a cat does… wrapping my paw around a toy. I can play soccer, batting the ball around with my front paws. And I’m happy to wrap my paws around your neck and give you a big hug.

So now we wonder – what am I? Maybe I’m a Havapookie!

Anyway, I gotta run – I gotta carry my stuffed monkey around for a while. I work hard at keeping Mary & Victor entertained. It’s my job.

Pippin