TailofMonthBeau

Tail of the Month

May 2006

5 years old

Beau

WOOF! I'm a Puli named Beau!! I live with my Mom and Grandparents in CT. We visit Eastham and Nauset Kennels in June and September.

I'm a herding dog. I take this responsibility very seriously. On the Cape, I make sure my family gets safely herded to Nauset Light Beach, or PTown, or Chatham, or Wellfleet...you get the picture!! Mom sometimes needs to take direction from me. After all, a Puli "owns" their humans. One way I herd Mom is putting my nose behind her knees as she climbs the steps from the beach.

still a puppy, not fully corded - Nauset Beach herding humans

As a bonafide dog critic, I must give Nauset Kennels - where I stay at nights and on rainy days while my family vacations - 4 paws, 1 tail, and 1 tongue up!! You see, I love being with my kennels-mates and my down to earth humans who take excellent care of me at the kennel!!

Some quick "tales" about me:

- my corded coat goes down to the ground and sometimes makes it difficult to tell my front from my back. My advice to you? Look for that ever-present, dangling pink tongue!

- we (Mom & me) won our hometown's pet parade for the "look-a-like" contest because Mom put on a rasta wig and I already have a rasta wig.

just to give you an idea...

-At home, when Mom hollers "shoo", it's my job to chase away the starlings and grackles at the backyard bird feeders so the smaller songbirds can return and feed without competition.

- I have a street named after me! You see, I wore in a large trail in the backyard woods at home. It became such a well-defined loop that my Grandpa put up a "PULI ST" sign at the front entrance to the trail so I could always find it. How cool is that! (Grandpa: I would've found the entrance on my own, but I thank you anyway!!)

-When I do the Puli trot, my corded tail - which rests on top of my lower back- bobs form side to side, sort of like a compass. People following me are assured to find their way with the help of my built-in navigation device!

- at PTown, I can't escape all of the attention showered upon me. Yes, I do look a little unusual with my special coat. I am the Puli Ambassador of PTown, if only for one week in June and one week in September. 9 out of 10 people passing by on Commercial Street stop to see me, to ask questions about me, to take my picture, to touch my cords. Whew! It's like a full-time job!! And I'm supposed to be on vacation!

- lots of times people ask: "How does he see?" After all, the cords cover my eyes most fo the time. Well, it is what it is, folks. It's part of my Hungarian ancestry. Not wanting to get kicked in the face by a hoove while herding sheep provides great evolutionary genius and incentive to get used to cord covered eyes. The expressive brown eyes are there though; trust me!

- my favorite toy is a squeaky fluffy ball, about 10" in diameter (see photo). I own about 18 of them. My problem is I have to keep track of them better. Some are buried in the yard, the ball is half-way down in the dirt; the other half of each ball just juts out of the ground. I can't help it!! I'm not a digger. A herder, yes; but not a digger (like my cousin Buddy the beagle).

Beau with his ever present favorite ball!!!

- finally, I'd like to share with you that - in addition to receiving the honor to be the "Tail of the Month" - I've been selected to appear in the Puli Club of America's 2010 Calendar. My whole family is very excited. The self-confident Puli in me wonders, "What took 'em so long to choose me? I'm eight years old for goodness sake!"

My three short-term doggie goals include:

1. Mom has set up a funny looking pole jump in the backyard. I think it's some agility thing. For me, no less. Being a Puli, my instincts tell me to tread carefully. And, being a Puli, I love to have a good time and make my humans laugh!

2. to keep honing my herding skills. While they are well-tuned, there's always room for improvement (of course, I'll need my family's cooperation to practice!)

3. to visit Nauset Kennels again soon for more away-from-home pampering. Mom wouldn't leave me anywhere else whilst on the Cape!

N.K.! YOU ROCK!!

love,

Beau

June 2009