Two-poodle home brims with barks, fur, energy — and big love | Suzy Leonard

Suzy Leonard
Updated ·3 min read

My husband wasn’t keen on adding a second standard poodle to our household.

“Eli is perfect,” he said. “Why would you want to mess that up?”

He had a compelling list of why-nots.

Our yard isn’t big enough.

What would the Leonard household be like without Vivian, pictured at right? None of us, including Eli, want to know.
What would the Leonard household be like without Vivian, pictured at right? None of us, including Eli, want to know.

Our bank account isn’t big enough. (Vet bills and dog food and grooming, oh, my!)

Our bed isn’t big enough.

I tried not to nag. When my poodle friends let me know about one, then another pup in need of a homes, I let him make the decision and wistfully declined.

“It’s not the right time,” he said.

For a year and a half, Eli remained an only dog.

Then along came Vivian.

One look at her photo, and I knew she was ours. I swear she was laughing at the camera.

She was ours from the start

On May 4, 2023, we loaded Eli into the car and made the trip to Athens, Georgia, to pick her up. Now we can’t imagine life without her.

In the past year, we’ve learned Vivian’s favorite things, in this exact order:

  • Breakfast

  • Dinner

  • Snacks

  • Her big brother

  • Mom

  • Dad

  • Running laps in the back yard

  • Any one who comes for a visit

She’s not as particular about her dislikes:

  • Bath time

  • Brush time

  • Alexa notifications

  • People who go underwater in the pool

Endless energy (and love)

Where Eli is cautious and polite, Vivian has no boundaries.

Eli approaches people carefully and with purpose. He’s poodle royalty and expects to be treated as such.

Vivian greets everyone with excitement and a wiggly backside. Crouch in front of her to say hello, and chances are good her paws will be on your shoulders and her tongue on your cheek in a microsecond.

She’s a shameless flirt. On more than one occasion, I’ve stopped at a light when she’s in the backseat and glanced over to see a guy in the next car waving and blowing her kisses. Who says real men don’t like poodles? Even the macho-est can be charmed by a pretty girl.

She has a wicked sense of humor and torments her big brother, whirling around and grabbing him by the ear to drag him outside for a run.

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She can execute a full axel that would make an Olympic figure skater jealous.

She groans with delight when her ears are rubbed just right.

Vivian has helped Eli find his voice. Our perfect fellow, who used to think such common doggie shenanigans as reacting to the doorbell were beneath him, now joins her in charging the front door anytime a visitor approaches.

I’m not sure the poodle garden flag fully prepares guests for the cacophonous greeting they get from a combined 100 pounds of white fur and deep bass barking.

Yes, our vet bills have doubled. Their haircuts are triple what I pay for my own, and we’ve become good friends with the folks at Rockledge Pet Pros.

Oh, and our bed definitely isn’t big enough.

Luckily, though, our hearts are plenty big, and that’s all that matters. It’s good to be a two-dog household.

Suzy Fleming Leonard is a longtime journalist and retired writer and editor for FLORIDA TODAY. Email her atsuzy@321creates.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Adding a second poodle to our family doubles the bills — and the love