Tuesday, June 29, 2010

I am a Miniature!


Self reflection has the potential for positive and negative outcomes. On the one hand, self reflection leads to personal and spiritual growth. But it can also enmesh one in a tangled web of doubt and even despair.

My own contemplation has led to a surprising result: physical growth.

Yes, I exaggerate. However, I've discovered that far from the toy poodle tag with which I was branded by the American Kennel Association and contrary to my lineage which runs to the toy category, I am a Miniature!

Physical size tends to be the qualifier forthe toy, miniature and standard poodle descriptor. My first suspicions were aroused when I learned that my breeder told Maman et Papa that my top weight was expected to be 8.5 pounds. Patently ridiculous for I am now at a comfortable 12. I searched the AKC official poodle book for qualifying measurements and rechecked the information on the AKC web site . Honesty compels me to note that according to the measurements taken at my doctor's office, I seem to be on the toy-miniature cusp. At first this seemed an insurmountable barrier to true self knowledge.

Further contemplation suggested that proper assessment comprises qualitative as well as quantitative values. Among the qualitative values: strength, self-possession, tough demeanor with a heart of gold, a light and springy gait, willingness to help the little chap and challenge the oppressor, large intellect and a sizable girth, etc.

As most of you already know, I possess all these qualities in abundance.

In the end, self reflection was a highly positive experience leading from restricted self knowledge through an identity crisis to a fully realized sense of the true me.

Now no longer under the false impression that I'm a toy poodle, I proclaim my newly acquired knowledge to the multitudes (and to my faithful fans & friends): I am a Miniature!

Note: Strangely & despite what I regard as the fruits of my self reflection, Papa still thinks I'm a toy poodle with the bark of a standard, and Grandpere advises that I wear a Western hat rather than a pink polka-dotted one.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Many Happy Returns of the Day


Today is my 5th birthday. According to my birth certificate, which lists my parents, grandparents, etc. back to the fourth generation, I am the last in a long, prestigious line of red & apricot toy poodles.

However, documents may be forged, no? Mama informs me that I'm too tall and too portly to be considered a toy poodle. So, from this day forward, just call me Miniature Mercury Murphy Roushanzamir.

Surely each birthday evokes a certain amount of self examination along with concerns about identity: toy/miniature, nurture/nature, culture of origin/adopted culture, and so on.

But equally if not more importantly, birthdays bring Gifts & Presents. I love gifts & presents. And I appreciate them, each and every one. Presents should be wrapped in tissue paper, preferably tied up with a pretty ribbon. I love gift wrapping and I appreciate each gift and present wrapping (and unwrapping). It is so sweet that my friends and fans, my Maman et Papa, grandmere et granpere are thinking of me on my birthday; and should you need just a bit of assistance in the gifts & presents department, read on.

My birthday list:

Handmade doggie IQ-test toy (real wood)

Doggie Casino Brainy Board Game

ARFgyle Dog sweater (for celebration when the hideous heat & humidity ends)

Eco dog personalized place mat

Dream Dog toy

Meteorite LED ball dog toy

May your day on this, my birthday, be as happy as mine is and continues to be. Cheers from your friend on my special day with many happy returns of this day for us all.