Most of this story is taken from my own family history. In her twilight years, my Great Aunt Mickey had a poodle whom she loved beyond reason. She doted on that dog hand and foot 24/7. There are so many funny stories about Mickey and her poodle, starting with the name itself. The dog's name was Puddin' and she was very particular about the pronunciation. If you pronounced Puddin' with a 'G' at the end, she corrected you. Puddin' was mean and nasty to everyone except Mickey, and if you tried to be nice and pet that dog, he'd nip at you and growl. And Mickey would reprimand YOU for bothering Puddin'! And it is true that Mickey wiped Puddin's butt following each and every trip to the backyard to take care of his business. But my personal favorite story about Mickey and Puddin' involves a road trip they took with my Grandma Luisa, who was Mickey's sister-in-law.
They were headed to Billings, Montana, to see Mickey's sister Babe (real name Ariadne, but she always went by Babe). Billings is a solid 12 hour drive from Elk Point, South Dakota, my hometown and also the place Mickey and Grandma Luisa lived. But the drive took well over 15 hours because Mickey would stop every 50 miles or so to let Puddin' out, either to stretch his legs or give him a snack or take care of his business. But that wasn't even the worst part for my Grandma Luisa. You'd think Mickey would put her sister-in-law's comfort before Puddin's, but that was not the case. Mickey made my Grandma Luisa sit in the backseat the whole drive so that dear Puddin' could sit shotgun!
Anyway, when Puddin' finally passed, Mickey insisted on burying his body in her backyard. And so she enlisted the help of my Uncle Geoff, bless his heart. Geoff buried Puddin' in an old suitcase from Goodwill. Then when it came time for Mickey to move from a two-story house into a one-story, she demanded that Puddin' be disinterred and brought to her new backyard. This time, Geoff wasn't going for it. And so I thought it would be funny to see what happened if Geoff had dug up the dog. I hope you enjoy the story!