BITING DOWN AN INTERVIEW WITH RALPHIE THE ‘DEMON DOG’

Hi friends! Reef the fox here with your weekly “Reef’s Report.”

Reef The Fox

Reef is a red fox that was saved from a fur farm. He now lives in Key Largo with his human, Nicole Navarro.

Boy oh boy, do I have a treat for your eyeballs today. If you were sifting through news stories online in the past six months, you may have seen a French bulldog named Ralphie who’s been making headlines.

The Niagara SPCA, located in New York, dubbed him a “fire breathing demon” dog after he kept getting returned to the shelter for “bad behavior,” specifically biting humans (by the way, I see nothing wrong with that). Either way, after his third return, the Niagara SPCA sent him to a board-and-train facility, and during that time more than 700 applications came in for Ralphie.

Here’s where it gets good. Mom’s friend, Jason (whose last name isn’t provided for privacy reasons), was one of those applicants. He’s a professional dog trainer and already had two dogs with a bite history, so even though the Niagara SPCA wanted Ralphie to stay close by, they approved Jason for adoption. Ralphie, who was recently featured in People Magazine, packed up his attitude and headed to Tennessee.

Ralphie is doing amazing, so I reached out to him for an interview:

Reef : Why did you get dubbed the “Demon Dog”?

Ralphie: I went through a heavy metal phase when I was at the shelter. Also, I may have attacked a few brooms, mops and vacuums and human ankles. You know, the usual things.

Reef : How has your dad helped you overcome your demon-like behavior?

Ralphie: My dad started me on agility and skateboarding and also he takes me hiking a lot. So I’m pretty busy to be a demon nowadays. You can only fit so many things into your day, you know?

Reef : Oh boy do I know. Tell us about your new animal siblings.

Ralphie: I have two big brothers, Lery and Arthur, and two big sisters, Cookie and Tizzy. I also live with two cats but I don’t know how exactly we are related. Cousins maybe?

Reef : Have you been approached about a possible TV show or movie about your journey and, if so, can I be in it since I am also a demon canid?

Ralphie: Yes, but I’m waiting for Wes Anderson to free up his schedule so he can direct my bio-pic. And of course! You can have any role you want in my movie, friend. You know Wes Anderson made a movie about foxes before. I’m sure he will be happy to work with a fox again.

Reef : What advice do you have for other animals that are misunderstood?

Ralphie: Stay true to yourself, but don’t be a jerk about it. There are good people out there. Trust them to help you. Also, always recycle.

Thanks so much to Jason, Ralphie’s dad, for believing in him. You can follow Ralphie’s very popular social media pages by searching “Ralphie the Reformed Demon Dog” on Facebook.

Anywho, that’s all for this week. Until next time, Reef, over and out!