Category Archives: Standard Poodle

The Adventures of Winston, our rescue Standard Poodle, although there is very little that’s “standard” about him…

Welcome To… Winston!

Brace yourself. We feel a song coming on.

Our love bubble got even bigger and more colorful this week with an entirely new and delightful energy…

… name ‘a Winston, the new Standard for coffee-smellin’ puppy-breathin’ chewy sweetness around here.

Winnie.

A Poodle.

Winnie, a Poo…

Tubby little cubby…

… all stuffed with fluff…

He’s Winnie…

… a Pootz…

Winnie…

… Apu…

Willy…

… nilly…

… silly young bear!

More on Winston in the days to come, once we get to the stage where we’re all sleeping through the night, Rick finds his other slipper, and I have time once again to get both legs shaved in the course of one shower.

Faith, Hope, and… Apu?

Faith was rescued the day she went to labor with her 12 puppies. She was so emaciated that only four of the puppies survived. The good news is that under Madeline and Brad’s excellent care, they are thriving now and all have been adopted and will be heading to their new homes within the next week or so. Our own little squirmer will be landing at Chez Jamison on September 12.

We’re not sure which one of the fat red balls lined up at Faith’s feeding trough will be ours, but I’m sort of hoping it will be the one on the far left. I think that sweet little butt speaks to an intelligent, mellow, friendly sort of poodle, don’t you?


We need your help here. In addition to stocking up on water bowls and squeaky toys, we are trying to land on a name.

We were strongly leaning towards “Watson” for a while there, in part because of the recent announcement of IBM’s artificial intelligence machine, and partly because it would be fun to holler “Watson! Come here!” every day. But “Watson” is already a family name, and we don’t wish to incite umbrage in the sharing parties.

We like “Omar” very much (big fans of “The Wire”) and Mr. Sharif was a cool, elegant dude. Plus, it’s a beautiful name that means “flourishing and long lived,” and has a dignity that befits the noble poodle. However, we also would like to get a goat someday and, obviously, the goat would need to be named “Omar,” too. This might get confusing down the road…

“Winston” is a particular favorite, and lends itself to the term of endearment, “Winnie, the Poohdle.”

We’re also considering “Ripley,” believe it or not, since poodles are incredibly intelligent and will spontaneously create their own circus tricks, just for grins and chuckles.

“Gizmo,” “Emile,” and “Gnemo” (the “g” would be silent) all would work too. But the name at the top of the list right now is “Apu,” because I just can’t help myself.

Or are we barking up against the wrong tree altogether here? Please jump in with your thoughts. Otherwise, little Spanky is likely to end up with a dog tag that says “Thank you!” on one side and “Come again!” on the other.

We Want a Dog

We want a dog.

So it’s a serious issue when, as a couple, your lifestyle doesn’t represent a responsible space for living with a dog.

What does that say about your life?

It means you either need to give up on connecting in a meaningful way with the wonderful species of canines, become cat people, or find a new lifestyle.

Wanting but not having a dog is equivalent to failing to connect to the color green, or to great spaghetti sauce, or to laughter.

And yes, cats are fabulous, if you enjoy a life of domesticated service and don’t have allergies to cat saliva, disdain, or shredded everything.

So when the “wanting to but not being able to” light bulb went off in our collective head this month, it served as yet one more confirmation that the time has come to make some changes.

Ready?

We’re making some changes.

We’re also communicating with the Southern California Poodle Rescue Operation, and have bought the book “[easyazon-link asin=”B00BR9WLR8″ locale=”us”]The Art of Raising a Puppy[/easyazon-link]” by the monks of the New Skete Monastery.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00BR9WLR8″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WhgQmzloL._SL160_.jpg” width=”101″]

Stand by… Things are going to get very wriggly, and warm, and wonderful around here…