Oliver as puppy

fred's ollie
Originally uploaded by Uncle Mikey.

For a while it was hard to tell which way he was pointing, since his hair grows straight out and he did a lot of hopping and jerking around as a pup, making him a sort of high-energy Tribble. He's half Bichon Frise and half poodle, we think, although there may be some Maltese in there (that's what he was advertised as, a Malty-Poo). He learned much of his behavior from Patton the cat and catches toys and balls with his front paws, and isn't much of a fetcher even though that was one of Patton's great strengths.

Patty would watch my hand closely as I threw one of the little foam balls we got for him to fetch, chase after it immediately, and do a proud little rolling strut on the way back, usually dropping the ball right in your hand. After nine or ten times, he'd bring it halfway back, drop it, and then come flop down next to you for a scratch and a rub.

Damn I loved that cat.