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Max’s Wayback Machine

Max and I were digging around in some old files and we discovered an unfamiliar USB drive at the bottom of a box full of documents from our days in southwest Utah.

We popped the jump drive into the computer and were happily surprised to find it included some photos of the Malt taken 12-13 years ago.

Way back before his Hawaii beach days and his Southern California adventures, Max was a dog who spent a fair amount of time in the deserts and mountains of Utah. Just for nostalgia sake, I thought I’d post a few of them.

Here’s the little guy in the back yard of our Utah home when he was under a year old. He was so tiny and silky/fluffy. The Alpha Japanese Female would be embarrassed if she knew that I told you that her nickname for her puppy was “poo-poo-ka-choo.” Don’t ask me.

Before he was the Mighty Malt he was a Fluff Pup.

Even as a pupster, Max was fond of the mountains, especially in winter. He had a number of cold weather outfits, of course; his favorite was a shearling-lined jacket with collar. He weighed so little he could usually run on top of the snow and when he would make an escape it was exhausting for his human counterparts to trudge through the white stuff to catch him.

When we drove home from the mountains we often stopped by and fed the donkeys at a nearby ranch. The AJF always brought along a bag of carrots. Max sat in the AJF’s lap while she fed the donkeys and was friendly with the big boys and girls.

You can see a carrot in the AJF’s hand reflected in the truck’s mirror.

At our home’s lower elevation we only got a few inches of snow a couple of times a year. That didn’t deter me from creating a snow rabbit in the back yard. Max didn’t know what was going on until after the rabbit was done and he was released into the yard. He went completely nuts seeing the rabbit. He considered it an existential threat and attacked with all the ferocity that a 6 or 7 pound Maltese can bring to bear.

He could get really filthy in winter, really fast. The dog, I mean.

Anyway, those are a few snapshots of Max’s early days. Before he went all Hollywood glitz and glamor. Maybe I’ll post a few more from the Wayback Machine sometime later on.

The Poo-poo-ka-choo.

Categories: The Dog From Rancho Cucaracha

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38 replies ›

  1. The Poo-poo-ka-choo was so cute!!! What an adorable little furball! That little face…oh my gosh. I wish I could say the same thing about the GIANT rabbit. I’m guessing there was no Homeowners Association to lop off its ears. Looking forward to more photos of Little Max Through the Ages. No rabbits.

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    • The rabbit was my one and only Utah snow sculpture. No HOA around there. Max hated that thing and after a couple days I removed it so he wouldn’t keep stressing out about it. It was happy serendipity to find a bunch of old Malt photos. He was such a fun, lively puppy!

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  2. Max hasnā€™t aged a single solitary day! He retains all of his youth and vigor, the better to vex you with no doubt. I suspect that enormous white rabbit hasnā€™t fared nearly so well over time. Ha! Super fun trip in the Wayback Machine! And a lovely smile on your beautiful wife šŸ˜Š

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  3. Jeez Louise Tom, you coulda warned us that the damn rabbit was 6′ tall! Quite a piece of sculpture you created, but I have a suspicion the AJF and Max we’re glad to see Harvey melt!

    Tom, your AJF wife is absolutely gorgeous. And even married to you, she manages to smile!! Amazing gal.

    Max was definitely the cutest Poo-poo-ka-choo ever, and even more so now.

    Those donkeys are hysterical all pushing and shoving to get a carrot. What was Max’s reaction to all those heads in the car? “Hey dad, can we bring them home so I can have some playmates?”

    I don’t think your neighbors would have taken notice Tom. They were used to you making an ass out of yourself!! šŸ¤—

    Stay safe. California is in a mess with Covid-19. Well, every state is in trouble, but CA is one of the worst. Hope you can do most, or all, of your shopping on line. This virus is no joke. We can’t afford to get lax about protecting ourselves and others.

    Good time to stay home and go through more old files.
    Ginger

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    • We were amazed that Max and the donkeys were such good companions although weā€™ve always been told that there is an affinity between dogs and donkeys. The rabbit and poo-poo-ka-choo were not friends. Not sure why he hated that thing. Youā€™re right about the AJF ā€“ thereā€™s no explaining why she sticks with me.

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  5. Surprisingly I, too, remain young and adorable but nobody seems to agree with me. Max and I like to say we are like fine wine but most people point out that fat and old are unusual adjectives to describe wine.

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  6. Maybe it wasnā€™t a Harvey rabbit but a Donnie Darko one, and that is why the Malt freaked. Nothing like knowing a jet engine is going to fall on your head.

    Those are some seriously adorable pictures. Canā€™t wait to see more!

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  8. OMYGOSH, Max! What a little cutie who turned into a handsome fellow! (Your pup photos made me go AW!!! and giggle! šŸ™‚ )
    My how the years have flown by so quickly and what great adventures you’ve had! šŸ™‚
    Oh, my on the BIG BUNNY! šŸ˜® HA!!! šŸ˜€ How many days before it hopped away?! šŸ˜‰ šŸ˜›
    HUGS!!! šŸ™‚

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    • The years sure do fly by quickly. Max has traveled more than a lot of people. He’s been in all the states west of the Mississippi except Texas, flown overseas (Hawaii) twice, visited almost every National Park in the western US and taken at least a dozen multi-state road trips. Too bad he doesn’t get frequent traveler miles.

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  10. So it’s true then…little Max has ALWAYS been adorable?! And I’ll bet he gave that ‘wascally well-built wabbit’ a run for his money (are those yellow streaks I see on his foot?). Didn’t realize Mr. Peabody and Sherman had gig in Utah. What a great find!

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    • +1 for a Peabody and Mr. Sherman reference. +1 for being brave enough to use such an old reference. šŸ˜ˆ Max looks very yellow in that rabbit photo. I’m not sure what that was all about but it could very well have been a windy day. As a puppy he would raise the windward leg when peeing and the spray would blow back. It wasn’t pretty. He finally figured it out.

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    • We first saw Max when he was a just a photo posted on the community bulletin board at the local grocery store. He was the last of a litter of 4 I think. The others had been promised to family members by the owners of Max’s parents – he was the left over of the litter. We looked at the photo while checking out and then called and went directly to pick him up from the nice Mormon family who had him. They had named him “Dash.” His parents were called Polly and Jack although they had fauncy schmauncy pedigree names too.

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  12. Rabbit? More like a Kangaroo! No wonder Max hated it.
    Little dogs often get violent when larger dogs do not, right little Napoleon’s they are.

    My great niece is doing the family history, some wonderful pictures have been found!
    You are so lucky to have found these. Great memories.

    I wonder if Max would attack a similar snow sculpture today…?

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    • Even back then it was unusual for Max to lose his composure when confronted with something new. Back then he liked other dogs whereas now he has only a select few canine friends with whom he’s willing to associate. I don’t think he’d be as reactive today. At 13 he’s a mellow fellow and peaceable soul. Kudos to the great niece! I can only say that if I were in charge of assembling a family history our clan would have faded into anonymity and for some the members, a well-deserved anonymity.

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  13. I showed my dogs the photo of the rabbit and they think Max’s reaction was spot on. Hideous creature, deserving of canine disdain.

    The surprise of discovering photos from long ago is the best. Glad you found and shared these of Max and your other better half.

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