A Whale Of A Tale Of The Tail Of Dickie Dragon

Our niece Lindy says Dudo looks like Kate Moss. He’s nice to look at, loves to pose, and his “head shots” always look like he’s sucking in his cheeks giving him that undernourished supermodel look (not that ALL supermodels have that undernourished look, but it IS one of the looks). Also, he seems to always know exactly how to tilt his head for best effect.

(Click any image for a tall tale… tail.)

MOOSE (LEFT) AND DUDO THE SUPERMODEL.

I’m fascinated by cats’ tails (and tales of cats, in case you hadn’t noticed). Our cat Dobie, in California, was long-haired with a huge (gigantic) fluffy tail. It had no tensile strength and just softly billowed in his wake. His brother Maynard (who was excruciatingly neurotic and of course we loved him), had identical markings but medium hair. His tail was almost prehensile.

When San Geraldo and I had our bed & breakfast hotel in Palm Springs, Maynard would walk out onto the patio, pass under one of the aluminum chairs, hook his tail to the underside as he went, and drag the chair along the patio behind him. Every single day for two years.

And every single day (for two years), the moving chair would scare the crap out of Maynard and he’d run back inside.

DOBIE (AGE 13) AND HIS TAIL (ALSO AGE 13).

Dudo’s tail snaps, and curls, and waves. And when he lies idle, his tail seems to always be perfectly positioned to complement his pose. Sometimes, he even holds it in place.

Musy’s tail is soft and gentle and often gets in his way. So this is the tail of Dudo.

SORRY. EVEN DUDO HAS HAD ENOUGH.

This song hasn’t stopped playing in my head since I began thinking about tail… oops, I mean tails. The Kid Brother had the record a very, very long time ago. And I, of course, would listen to it with him. He would never sing along, but I was expected to. I still know it by heart. It’s a whale of a tale…

And the long and the short of it is true…