poodle drama

I was reading a story in yesterday's Portland Oregonian about pets in the news. Of course they mentioned that awful story about the tiger in the San Francisco Zoo -- which made me awfully sad every which way -- but they had other, happier ones.

How could you not like the happy ending for Mango, the teacup poodle squashed by a pot of Thanksgiving stuffing? Some timely CPR and a trip to the emergency vet, and she lived to tell the tale. Which you may read here.

While I was looking for the link to that story, I stumbled across a most interesting labor of poodle love: The Poodle History Project. Here I learned, among other things, that Beethoven wrote a lied (short lyrical German song) about the death of a poodle, and that famed poodle owners include the Empress Josephine, Victor Hugo, Billie Holliday, and Thomas Mann.

Funny, one would think a poodle would be a cheering companion, but it didn't work for Thomas Mann. . . or maybe I'm just cranky because I keep stalling out in the center of The Magic Mountain.