Poodle-doo Written by Parker A. Poodle ™ ©2017 Sarah Becker February 2017 The weather is warming, springtime awaits, and the dogwoods debate their blooms. I welcome the change of seasons. March 2 is Read Across America Day and I invite all to sit with me beneath the trees, a book in paw or hand. I, Parker A. Poodle, am a retired Reading Education Assistance Dog. The dogwood is Virginia’s state flower (1918) and tree (1956). In preparation my lady and I strolled to Alexandria’s Duncan Library to check out their latest books. She entered while I waited outside. A seated bench mate put down his guitar and watched. I was restless and it showed. Not long before my arrival an angry passer-by thumped my rump and told me to pick up my poodle-doo. My lady stood poop bag in hand while I explained, in doggerel or clumsy fashion, that poodle-doo is American regional English synonymous with bird, a clipped-wing Mississippi bird to be exact. The word originated in 1906. He next called me a poodle-worm, American regional English for caterpillar with lots of hair. Maybe the passer-by thought I was Dog Town educated. Not so, though my lady is a Midwesterner. Poodles are “proud, active, and very smart!” Ask the American Kennel Club. With the AKC as my reminder I stood silently and let it go. It was then my bench mate spoke to me. “Did you come to the library to read?” he asked. “No,” I responded. “Only to research and later write.” My bench mate asked if I was familiar with the children’s book Rocket Writes a Story. Rocket is a dog and it is a book I often recommend. His favorite children’s book: Go, Dog, Go. In P.D. Eastman’s Go, Dog, Go the poodle is pink….