Mickey Mouse didn’t start out the way we all know him now. In some of his original roles Mickey was known as a trickster who enjoyed pranking his enemies to get the better of them. Over time Mickey was rebranded to more of a hero character, a little bit shy but always cheerful and in 2009 he was rebranded again in the video game Epic Mickey. When describing Epic Mickey, Wikipedia says “Setting the story for Disney’s Epic Mickey, Part One follows the adventures of a mischievous Mickey Mouse, revealing the origins of Wasteland – a world of things forgotten, retired or rejected”.
Well it’s official now; I’ve discovered that Mickey has really never changed at all and he is much the scamp he was when he was first born in 1928. Wait, it wasn’t 1928… wasn’t it 2010?
I’m sure I’m confusing you now….. and I didn’t mean to mislead you but I’m actually talking about my Mickey Mouse, the little black dog I always refer to at the end of my articles. Whether you’re a pet lover or not, I hope you’ll indulge me in writing about this little guy.
He's the little black guy stuck in the middle.... Yes, there really are two black pups!
Mickey came into my life the day after Christmas in 2010 and as you’re reading this he will have just turned two. I’d been entertaining the idea of a new dog for a couple of years and simply fell in love when I laid eyes on this little black fur ball. I have to give credit to my daughter, Shelley for choosing to name my new puppy after our favorite mouse. I’m not sure I would have thought about it, but with a tiny black puppy and my love of Disney, it made perfect sense.
Shelley's Elphaba
I’m sure that many of you have pets you’ve named after favorite Disney characters. Shel contemplated Belle and Jasmine for her little one before she actually decided on a non-Disney moniker for her Elphaba. However that doesn’t stop Elphie from dressing up as a Disney character.
Mickey was a very good puppy in some respects from that very first night at home. Shel and I were preparing for a sleepless night of listening to a puppy whine and cry in his new an unfamiliar surroundings, but Mickey went right into his crate, laid down and went right to sleep without a peep. Wow, was I lucky! Or so we thought!!
Now Mickey is not a bad puppy by any means but he has fit the definition of mischievous in many ways these first two years. First, it was chewing wood, or paper, or anything he could get his little teeth on. Thankfully that has stopped. Second, he likes to climb on things….. like tables, window sills and the kitchen counter. You might ask how he gets up on the kitchen counter since he weighs only 9 pounds and is probably only about 10 inches tall. Well, he jumps up on a couch, leaps across the air unto the kitchen table and from there walks onto the kitchen counter. Seriously!! My kitchen table has been blocked with boxes now for almost two years because I just can’t seem to get him to stop. The silly thing is he listens when I tell him to sit, stay or come. I think he just likes to be up higher than his 10 inches.
Standing on the window's sill to look outside
On top of a cabinet
On the kitchen table
Hiding under a table
Now the wonderful thing about him is he loves me. Sometimes just a little too much. Mickey is a Shih-poo which is a combination of a Poodle and a Shih Tzu. In ancient times both of these dogs were breed to be lap dogs, and let me tell you that Mickey has that trait totally ingrained. He probably spends 99% of the time I’m home (and sitting down) on my lap. But, as all my fellow dog lovers know, there is nothing like the joy you get from a devoted dog.
Chilling in my lap
Pre-haircut - Mickey's hair gets so long that he can't see!
Post haircut - did they give me the wrong dog?
Like the original Mickey Mouse, I’m hoping my Mickey gets rebranded and calms down a bit as he gets older. After all, although he has hit the terrible twos, isn’t that really something like eight in dog years? But whether he does or not, I love him just as much as he loves me and it’s wonderful to come home every day not only to my canine best friend but also to someone who reminds me (every time I call him) of my favorite Disney character and the most magical place on earth, Walt Disney World.
Exhausted!! This is what most evenings look like.
Thanks for reading!!
Jo Scholl is proud mom to three wonderful grown children, one of whom is my fellow WDW Fan Zone columnist Shelley. Oh, and I’m also mom to the small black dog named Mickey Mouse described above, Grandpups Elphaba, Lexie and Wrigley and Grandcats Joey, Zella and Redd!
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