In celebration of their marriage, my parents bought a miniature poodle puppy. They named her Fete… a French word meaning festival, celebration or party. This picture is of my daddy, me and Fete.

Fete lived to be 16 1/2 years old.  ♥

“My” first dog was another poodle, whom we rescued. We named her Jolie, because she was so beautiful.  Très jolie. ♥

My fond memories of Fete and Jolie make this next picture even more special for me. Meet Ellsworth and Gordy.

Gordy’s mom, Martina, recently acquired a donkey bank that she named Ellsworth because the bank has similar color to Ellsworth. According to Martina, Gordy has many characteristics like a donkey: sweet, good sense of humor and loves scritches. Gordy is a rescue, and like Ellsworth and Co, Gordy arrived at a very loving home. 

Martina shared that sometimes she feels like adopting Gordy was the best thing she’s ever done for herself.  His grin makes her heart happy.   ♥ ♥ ♥  

This picture is of  Gordy, formally known as  Gordon Lightfoot vonPudel (Martina gave him a classy name to make up for his neglected/abused puppyhood), and Georgie, formally known as Georgie Tara. Georgie is Martina’s other poodle; she’ll be 13 next month. Gordy is très handsome and Georgie is très jolie.  Hugs to you two!

I’ve always found there isn’t much middle ground for most folks when it comes to poodles. Love them or not, in many circles, poodles are regarded as the second most intelligent breed of dog after the border collie, and before the German Shepherd. The breed is believed to have originated in Germany, where it is known as the pudel… and standardized in France, where it was commonly used as a water retriever.

What was your childhood pet and what was his or her name? If you have photos that you’d like to share, email them to morningbray@hotmail.com and I’ll post them here. ♥