Leni Ramberg

A Dog Named FIFI

Fifi was a young puppy when we bought her.  Fifi was all white, apart from her right ear.  It was streaked with apricot.  The right ear was flawed in another way—it would not lie down as a proper poodle’s ear should.

Fifi was sold at a discount because of the unruly right ear. The lady who sold her to my parents kept a strip of Scotch tape across the ear to make it lay down. The woman told Mom and Daddy if we kept the ear taped down, in a few weeks it would learn to behave. At first we followed the woman’s instructions.  But each time we removed the tape and replaced it with a fresh strip, the ear would pop up like a terrier’s.

After a month, Mom decided we were just wasting tape. We grew to like her funny ear.  It really perked up when Fifi was happy.  Fifi was super smart and obedient. With exception of her ear, Fifi always behaved.  And posing for the camera in the pic above, she’s in need of a haircut, but she’s calm, with both ears nicely down.