Leo The Dog (LTD)

Leo was first thought about by my grandmother, Kacky, in about 2020. He stood on top a hill of obstacles Kacky had to beat, including Poppy’s initial dislike for the dog (and becoming a jumping bean to let the dog out every second), difficulty finding the right breeder, research, and much, much more. But the top of that tall hill was achieved on March 26, 2021, Leo’s gotcha date. Poppy, and Kacky made their way over to the Jessie's Doodles place and purchased their pup. The vet estimated he would be about 13 pounds. Presently, he stands around 26 pounds! “Boy, they sure got that wrong!” My grandmother chimed in after listening to the video titled, “Kacky Leo Vid,” in my Google Drive. He has also had some mischievous mishaps. Once, he dug up all the flowers in my grandmother’s flower bed. They never leave him alone out in the yard anymore! Once he got himself caught around a stop sign when Poppy was taking him for a walk.  Poppy has said he doesn't like him. He said in an interview, “If you want the house to turn into a jail, and you have to close every door you go through, it's great. Justtt great. If you wanna be a spanish jumping bean, and have to let the dog out for whatever reason every two seconds, its great.” But now he loves him dearly. He said this about him when I asked for some media for this section:
Leo Leo me oh my oh! Sweetums Oogums Poogums doll baby doggy boy. Master of body language. Very persuasive.  Kind of taciturn but we always learn.   Leo is patient and persistent.  A face made to love and the ingratiating personality to back it up! (He also sent the picture at left)

Leo the dog has been a “fam” favorite dog for the couple years he has been adopted into the Kernan household. He loves to run in the backyard. He also loves jogging in the front yard. He likes to play ball (and get himself entangled in every bush he can!) and jump for it. As I once said at the Christmas family get-together, “ Leo qualifies as dad’s brother!” We joke that, “aww…Seany and Leo are playing together. Uh-oh! Leo seems to be barking at his brother…why is one brother scratching the other behind his ear?…etc. etc. etc.” It is really fun to talk about. Leo the little ball of fire and fun has won the hearts of everyone he comes in contact with, despite some troublesome acts on his part. He is the coziest little bubba I’ve known. 


A poem about Leo

By Simon Kernan

In the cozy abyss of land frolicks this: Leo the dog, a wonderful pet, in sheer bliss. 
My grandmother loves him, my grandfather not so much. (Or so he thought at first (;

But in the end they both love him a bunch. 
A heart of warmth, a nose of coldbreath dog, a warm abode

he takes him for walks, though he plops at the end
He loves that little furball

Afterall, he’s man’s best friend
Leo the Dog, on Kernan's wall of fame,With charm and wit, he earned his name.
In every act, he steals the show,

But beware the Great Dane, should they ever cross paths, oh no!

Leo, the dog of endless energy

I have a whole ton of energy. He does too! That's why we are such good partners. Every time we go over to my grandparent’s house, he jumps on me and runs to the back door. But trust me, I am just as excited as him! I run out with him and we start with a little catch. Then once he catches it, I begin to chase him and he runs away. It's sort of our routine, and I absolutely LOVE IT! It continues for about 30 minutes, then Leo does something that Poppy likes to call “plopping”. Its pretty self-explanatory; he goes “plop!” Right on the ground where he is at. Then you have to coax him inside with a treat! 
 
Morning Routines

I slept over at my grandparent’s house one time. Leo slept with me in bed…and I didn’t even force him to! He came over and plopped down right on my feet when I was doing a sudoku puzzle in bed! “Alright then! He’s chosen you for the night!” My grandfather said. In the morning, he stretched out after waking up. I woke up just as he was and we went to the kitchen to find some delicious smelling coffee wafting through the air, eggs, and toast! That is coziness. I should write a column about coziness soon. I love Leo!! (; He’s a good dude. 

Leaving their residence…

Poppy and Kacky were (I believe) going on a trip somewhere, and they had to leave Leo behind at a place called “Camp Bow Wow”. There is a live camera at Camp Bow Wow, called the Camper Cam, where owners of their dogs can log on and watch the routine for the camp. Poppy sent the picture at the bottom of this article to the Kernan Updates (a column I wrote recently about that is readable), where you can see Kacky watching the Camper Cam at The Admiral’s Club in the airport (I THINK). I then made a “Breaking News” little funny thing out of it, and they all laughed. The picture has that added on. Poppy reports, “Watching Camper Cam is a mixed blessing!   Nice to see our baby boy is well taken care of and safe but we worry if his tail isn’t wagging!  Fortunately it’s usually wagging a lot!” 😜 


“This genius dog…”

“Merry Christmas. Walking our genius dog. 🐶🎄😅” That was what could be read sometime near Christmas on the Kernan Updates thread. The picture following it was to be laughed at by all members of the Kernan dynasty: It showed Leo wrapping himself up in the leash next to a stop sign! 😂 Its funnier if one sees the picture but you can laugh thinking about it.


The love test

“We did a test to see who Leo likes better.  Res ipsa loquitor- Latin for the thing speaks for itself. 😅” Poppy said to me as we were doing this column together. In other words, it was obvious. He sent a video that looked like the picture at bottom. The lady that let him out went, “woooooooow!” My grandfather chuckled, and my grandmother laughed and patted Leo. What a wonderful little guy. He has brought so much joy to my grandparents. After all, it is like having a child all over again except taking away some of the most difficult parts! Hope you enjoyed this read!! -Simon

Leo in personality

Leo does some funny things. But when it comes to personality, one hears a whole different level. It is HYSTERICAL…especially when the king of story-tellers, Poppy, will tell them with extra embellishments! One time, Poppy said he took socks from Kacky's closet after dashing past her when she opened the door for a second. Then he grabbed a shoe and ran back into the living room. When Poppy saw him, he dropped it and looked at it like he didn;t know what it was! Talk about sneaky! 
Leo also enjoys roughhousing with Poppy. Poppy will scratch Leo’s teeth while he sits on the couch and leans down. Sometimes they play “tug-o-war” with each other’s fingers. YIPE! It can get really rough when Leo wants it to.
Leo has changed the lifestyle of Poppy and Kacky, too! They now can’t say words like “treat” or “van” or “walk” or “our” without having to s-p-e-l-l it out! “…and now Leo knows what t-r-e-a-t means!” Poppy remarked concerning this. Poppy and Kacky have set out cameras in the house to monitor their baby boy. Both of them enjoy logging onto the Ring system and checking the cams for their pup.
No matter the situation, Leo brings joy to the home. Whether that’s acting innocent, or doign something silly, he brings laughter to everyone. He is truly a wonderful animal. (: