August 25, 2006

Pet of the Month

“McKy McNeil”

By Laura Firchow
Times Intern

Poodles may be thought of as high-maintenance pets with an unfriendly disposition by many pet owners. This is one of the reasons Scott McNeil was a little apprehensive about buying a poodle as a family pet.

Owner Ricky McNeil, 15, is one of McKy’s favorite people to play with.

Lucky for Scott, he may have ended up with the friendliest toy poodle on the planet. What dog wouldn’t be playful and fun with a name like McKy McNeil.

McKy has been part of the McNeil family for three years, since he was a puppy.

For several years before they added McKy to the family, the McNeils went back and forth on whether they wanted a dog and what kind of dog they would buy if they ended up getting one.

Eventually, they decided to buy a full-bred teacup poodle. Ricky and his mother Charlene went dog shopping and a tiny, black fur ball, soon to be named McKy, caught their attention.

“He stood out at first because he was very shy compared to all the other dogs in the litter,” explained Charlene. He must have warmed up to the McNeils and decided they were a nice family, because a few minutes later the tiny dog ran up to Ricky.

“I didn’t pick him, he picked me,” said Ricky. Ever since, the McNeils have grown to love their dog very much.

As time passed by, the family started to notice that McKy was growing taller than expected, and his dark, black fur was turning a light shade of grey. The dog’s legs were growing long, and he was very tall for a teacup poodle. This is when they discovered that they had in fact purchased a toy, not a teacup, as had been advertised.

Gentle and friendly
The family describes McKy as a very gentle and sweet dog. “He is always so friendly with other dogs,” says owner, Charlene, “if a neighborhood dog barks at us on a walk, he simply ignores the dog. He is never aggressive.”

This lovable bundle of fur has a nice disposition and is always in the mood to play.

McKy is a 3-year-old toy poodle, who is always happy and full of energy.

As he grows older, he is learning more tricks and is very quick when playing fetch. One of McKy’s talents is his incredible balance. He can stand on his hind legs and dance around for his dog treats.

The family’s strangest memory of their puppy happened when they were visiting Charlene’s sister, Debbie Boyer. McKy was in the back yard, playing near a pile of dirt where the Boyers were building a pond. Everyone was inside the house when they heard a strange noise in the back yard. They soon discovered it was McKy crying, and walked outside to find him standing next to the dirt pile, holding his tiny leg up like it was hurt. He was quickly taken to the vet, where he was diagnosed with a broken leg.

To this day, the McNeils are unsure of exactly how McKy broke his leg, but they will never forget how sympathetic they were when their poor puppy had to lie around the house for weeks with a cast.

In the short three years of McKy’s life, he has already learned many new things and made a bundle of both dog and human friends. McKy is a truly adorable pet, and is lucky to have a family with an endless supply of love for him.