Wednesday Wake up Tactic...
Posted by Romeo in Wake up Tactics on March 10, 2010 | 1 Comment
Poked female staff manager in the mouth. That was all it took today. NICE.
When you're this cute you can pretty much do whatever you want.
Poked female staff manager in the mouth. That was all it took today. NICE.
When you're this cute you can pretty much do whatever you want.
Have decided the more the staff ignores me in the morning, the more aggressive I shall be in my pursuit. When one Romeo is pushed away, the force of 10 more Romeos shall come back to claim BREAKFAST.
Today this worked. Staff was not happy. But BELLY was.
This morning I used a multi-faceted approach that worked quite nicely.
First, meowed. Then, stood on female staff manager’s chest with front paws. Meowed. Then, got whole body on her chest, looked down on her and meowed. Meowed. Meowed. Meowed. I also dropped a little bit of drool on her face. When she turned her head to avoid getting slimed, I took full advantage of access to her ear and closed in. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. MEOW. MEOW. MEOW.
And….she was UP. BREAKFAST time, baby!
Am phantom in the morn.
The response to our March Online Bichon Bash in honor of Bailey the Bichon has been amazing! Thanks for all of your support! Throughout the month, every Sunday is “Small Paws Sunday” and I’ll be featuring a guest post from none other than Bailey’s mom, Bev. Take it away, Bev!
Our First Bichon Bash--Bailey and I are on the left, in the first row.
BICHON BASH?
A Bichon Bash is when you get a bunch of little white fluffy dogs together and have a party. Just imagine a sea of white pooches! OK, if you’re into Labrador Retrievers you might not appreciate the cuteness factor. But if you like little dogs, it’s an overdose of cute!
Bailey, attending her first Bichon bash, is annoyed when she discovers that she is not the only cute white dog at the party.
Over the years, Bailey and I attended several Bichon Bashes here in Dayton. And that’s where we first learned about Small Paws Rescue.
This month, I’m working with my friend Romeo and we’re having an online Bichon Bash to raise money for Small Paws Rescue.
WHAT’S SMALL PAWS RESCUE?
Small Paws Rescue was started by Susan Sebring and Robin Pressnall (Executive Director) eleven years ago when they were turned down by an already existing Bichon rescue group because they were ìnot been suitable for rescue work.î Robin and Susan decided they would form their own Bichon rescue and Small Paws was born.
Higgins begins his Small Paws journey!
SOME NUMBERS
HOW DOES SMALL PAWS RESCUE BICHONS?
Small Paws is entirely supported by donations and fund raisers. Donations are generated mostly from the membership though a newsletter. Small Paws also raises money through an eStore and on eBay–both great places to shop if you’re looking for Bichon-oriented clothes and accessories.
Small Paws is totally volunteer-driven. It is virtually an army of foster parents, pooch transporters, shelter-watchers, prayer circle participants, blanket-makers, eBay suppliers, auction attenders, financiers, and emotional supporters. Every member is connected to the group through the newsletter, emails, phone calls, and a shared urgency to help Bichons.
A SIMPLIFIED VIEW OF THE SMALL PAWS PROCESS
Robin Pressnall, Executive Director, holds some rescued Bichon babies who will soon have furever homes.
Small Paws takes lifetime responsibility for the Bichons who enter the Rescue. If an adopted Fluff is ever orphaned, it is returned to Small Paws and a new home is found. The Small Paws Bichon is carefully matched to his or her new home–at a high rate of success. And there are followups done on every adoption.
Scarlett and Rhett, a bonded pair with a questionable heritage, just arrived from a shelter. They will be placed in the same furever home.
Sometimes a Bichon will enter Small Paws as half of a bonded pair–two dogs who have bonded emotionally (and often they’re not both Bichons). Bonded pairs are never separated, but are offered at the adoption fee of a single dog. Senior dogs’ adoption fees are always reduced. And puppies are reserved first for people who are grieving for a lost loved one. A home is found for all–no matter what the special needs.
The volunteers of Small Paws operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They are tireless and creative in their missionto help orphaned Bichons find furever homes. At first, they appear to be a loose gathering of do-gooders. But on further examination, they are a refined organization motivated and motivating people to work together to make this world a better place.
That’s why I love them!
Noni lounges with some friends.
His staff writes:
“Noni’s latest is great (for him.)
Checking to be sure I am fast asleep, he rubs his whiskers on my face very lightly. He waits a few seconds. Then he does it again. I wiggle my nose.
And he ever so lightly rubs his whiskers on my face, again. Within seconds of his second pass, I wake up, mumbling ‘what the fu*k?!’
This, he knows, is ‘human’ for ‘ok, ok, you win, I’ll feed you.’
Bugger.”
Hee hee! Noni sure knows how to get BREAKFAST and fast! I hope you’re paying that staff of yours well, Noni! xo.
This morning I learned an important lesson: look to the lower ranks of your staff for promising talent.
Stood over female staff manager and Meow. Meow. Meow. No response. As usual. Then, male staff member stared to stir. Now, I don’t usually pester him for BREAKFAST but this morning he quickly became a person of interest.
So, hopped over female staff’s head and Meow. Meow. Meowed at male. And Booyah! BREAKFAST was served.
I must focus on the male staff member more often. He really has a lot of potential.
Always be on the lookout for opportunity.
Today employed my most prized and effective weapons: da whiskers.
Put face REALCLOSE to staff’s face and tickle, tickle, tickle. Soft meow (reear). Tickle, tickle, tickle. Soft meow (reear).
Staff cannot take tickly wickly in her face and she was up! BREAKFAST came chugging along very soon!
If you had 'em, you'd use 'em too!
Sweet Bailey
Bailey the Bichon was a courageous girl who recently went to the Rainbow Bridge. She and her staff were some of the first friends I made when I started FURPOWER fundraising and have always supported my work. You can learn more about Bailey and her staff at My Fire Hydrant.
Ms. Bailey lived a long and happy life and even outsmarted the Big C and lived for several years afterwards. She was very loved and spoiled by her staff member, Bev. And she certainly deserved every bit of pampering she got!
Anyway, it’s Bailey’s birthday month and to honor and remember her, I’m holding the first-ever online Bichon Bash and supporting Small Paws Rescue, a nationwide Bichon rescue that has rescued over 7,500 Bichons in 11 years from shelters, puppy mills and surrenders. They do wonderful work and I am so happy to help them this month. And give a high paw to my friend Bailey up at the Bridge.
She’d be so pleased! If you would like to donate, please click here.
AND I am working on a very special project as part of the online Bichon Bash. I’m putting together a video montage of Bichons! Can you imagine? ALL BICHONS? How cute is that?
So, if you are staff to a Bichon please send me a photo of your Bichon for my project. You can email to romeo (at) romeothecat (dot) com. Tell me your Bichon’s name and where you live. If you have friends with Bichons, tell them to send along to me too. It’s going to be awesome!
Thanks for all of your ongoing support and look for posts throughout the month about our Online Bichon Bash for Bailey efforts.
Mwah!
Tags: bichon bash, bichon rescue, small paws bichon rescueStarted the day as usual, meow. Meow. MEOW. Then put paw on female staff member’s face. Was rudely brushed aside.
But then I spied something irresistible: a box. A box with PAPER in it. OMIGOD, BINGO!
Abandoned the bed and jumped into the box, rustling and playing with paper and generally making a huge nuisance of myself. This worked beautifully and BREAKFAST was served!
Did you really think I was NOT going to find - and leverage - this box?
He looks innocent......but I see that tell tale glint in his eye.
Greetings from Ohio, Romeo!!
I’m Little Dude, so named because I was found by a friendly farmer all alone under some hay. I was a litter of one! Strange, huh? I’m now a house kitty of one… and still a little dude. But, this works in my favor when it comes to breakfast. My staff has started feeding me (and only me!!) wet food every morning, the holy grail of kitty fare. I always know when the sun rises that I’m only hours away from this delicious gourmet treat, so I start the slow preparation of getting staff out of bed to feed me. (Note: this is a tedious process and I recommend it only for the brave and for those with staff who don’t wake up easily.)
Step one: About an hour before staff’s alarm usually goes off, paw at her forehead until she is half awake. Be sure to stand behind head to avoid swats. When she rolls over, scurry under the covers beside her.
Step two: This is the waiting game. Slide in between staff’s arms and purr, keeping her half awake. This is getting her thinking about the fact that you want breakfast and reminds her just how adorable you are, under the covers and keeping her warm and such.
Step three: After she falls back a sleep, come out from under the covers. Gently keep tapping her face, like Chinese Water Torture… Tap. Tap. Tap. As she starts to wake up, step it up—use your claws a little and paw at her lip. Even if staff grabs paw for a second, continue. Your persistence will pay off. Keep Tapping. Keep pawing
Step four: She’s up!!! Hurry to the Bathroom!!! It’s BREAKFAST!!!
God speed, Romeo!!
Sincerely,
Little Dude
Hee hee, Little Dude. I like your style, especially the Chinese Water Torture and leveraging claws ever so slightly to encourage a faster reaction. NICE. Thanks for writing!
