According to 2020, we need to giggle over Tootsie, a nine-year-old Boston Terrier’s odd behavior. People stare as she strolls around with a rubber chicken dangling from her mouth. Her favorite chicken is a ‘hockey player’, which is appropriate because her Human family lives and breathes ice hockey.
“When we go for a walk Tootsie insists on taking a chicken and carries it the entire time,” admits Heather. “She has an endless collection of them because she beheads them minutes after she receives a new one. After she enthusiastically decapitates the toy and takes the squeaker out, she declares it ready for a walk. She has never met a ‘real’ chicken, but if she did, she would ‘run like a chicken’ in the opposite direction.
Tootsie is adorable as she tilts her head in an understanding way when we talk to her. Her ears spin like radars when asked, ‘Go?’ or “Beach?’. Hearing the words, she runs and choses a headless carry-a-long chicken.
Both family vehicles have a supply of rubber chickens because one time, we arrived at the dog park and were chicken less! Tootsie had an anxiety attack and flipped out barking. What a travesty! She responded by chasing dogs – so I made her get back in the car and go home.”
Tootsie purr-furs nutritional people food. Once she realizes that no people food is obliging her by falling like autumn leaves off the table, she reluctantly goes over to her bowl and picks up one piece of kibble at a time, and spits it out on the floor. She is a discerning eater who went through a phase of insisting on having cheese, leftovers or gravy sprinkled on her food. She’d gently lick the sprinkled food off the kibble and then eat the kibble for dessert.
The dog sleeps under his parents bed covers, but it is an unpleasant experience because of the ‘Tootsie-toots’.
“We impulsively bought Tootsie from a pet store, something that good dog owners, like us, knew we shouldn’t do,” confessed Heather. “Two days later, the vet told us that our puppy had juvenile cataracts. He suggested we return the pup, that we had all fallen in love with, and get our money back. I asked, ‘Then what will happen to her’ and the vet said, ‘The store will return her to the breeder’ – not a good fate for Toots. So we kept her! When she became blind we took her to a
veterinary ophthalmologist who paw-formed cataract surgery which improved her vision!
We bought Tootsie on a whim, but she is worth that wild moment for all the joy and humor she has gifted our family.”
A second chicken encounter comes from Bea, our favorite 97-year-old Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales fan. Bea shared that 70 years ago, a boyfriend took her on a date to a race track, where they went to the stables and said, “Hi” to the horses.
“One horse was kicking his stall, whinnying and carrying on,” said Bea. “I asked the trainer, ‘What is wrong with your horse?’
The trainer responded, ‘He won’t calm down until we put his buddy in his stall with him.’
With that, the trainer walked to the truck, reached in, and pulled out a fluffy white chicken. He walked the bird over to the horse’s pen and put it in with the horse. Before you could snap your fingers, the race horse became as happy as a screaming baby handed his favorite blanket!”
