Peekaboo, I (hardly) see you!

As a farm boy, it’s not surprising that I’ve had a lot of dogs over the years. My peak was up to seven at one time, believe it or not.

While I have had my share of canine companions and cronies, most have been medium- or large-sized breeds. I’ve had a couple of fairly big dogs for a while. Until recently, I’ve had relatively little experience with VSD’s (“Very Small Dogs”). Now I’m up to three dogs, or really maybe two and a half (“Two and a smidget,” my girlfriend says).

Several months ago I acquired a dog named Peekaboo, which certainly indicates what type of dog she is. I’m not exactly certain of her breed; a mini-poodle/Havanese mix (Havapoo?) was the vet’s guess. She’s as cute as a button and weighs maybe 6 pounds soaking wet, much of it hair. She’s a delightful dog, but having a VSD has been a mixed blessing.

You fellow VSD owners know of the many menaces to our minuscule mutts. If you live in town, you probably look carefully in your yard for rogue rodents (squirrels, chipmunks, perhaps even especially large field mice) before letting little Foo Foo or Shoo Shoo out to air. Virtually any cat in the neighborhood is larger, also. Sometimes MUCH larger. There’s a good reason why my brother, whose wife has a mini-poodle, refers to VSD’s as “little poops” (“Little dogs, little poops,” are his specific words).

These types of concerns are amplified in a rural environment. There aren’t too many squirrels, but it’s usually because something else already ate them. An animal named Peekaboo is pretty much bait in this setting.

A while back, before I got my VSD, a big snapping turtle crawled into my yard — not a particularly rare occurrence in spring. My Labrador retriever, an 80-pound male, barked at it until he brought it to my attention. I called off the lab and my other dog, an Aussie mix of about 50 pounds, and there was no harm done.

However, now that I own a VSD, I can imagine things going very differently:

Peekaboo: Yap, yap!

Turtle: Snap, snap!

Me: Oh, crap!

I imagine that you other VSD owners can relate to this concern, since the little devils often do not like to back down to pretty much anything. The word “feisty,” which stands for “Furry Eater Is So Tasty Young” (at least to the turtle), was invented for these dogs.

Even the owner can be an additional threat to a little dog’s well-being. My feet must each weigh as much as Peekaboo, although I’d just as soon not cut one off to find out. I haven’t squished her yet, but I definitely have to watch it.

There are, of course, also a number of advantages to the VSD. In addition to the very small cleanup problem (Half-a-poo?), a little bag of dog food lasts me practically forever. These items are not unrelated! They’re also undeniably tough for their size, or they wouldn’t have survived all those big size 13 shoes over the ages.

Yes, there are redeeming qualities to VSD ownership. As I mentioned, mine is as cute as can be, and I love her. Hey, where is she? I’d better go find her! And if you want to help, please watch your step.

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About R.W. Weeks

Rob is a retired Southern Illinois University instructor who lives on his family’s farm in Union County, Illinois. His mother, Joan, who is a nice person, lives in Cape Girardeau.