Voodoo

Birthday: 3/27/2017

Twitter: @dog\_voodoo

Voodoo came to the squad as a three year old foster dog called Bu. Very overweight and with epilepsy that wasn't well managed, he was in need of more care and attention than his previous owner could give him. During his two week probation, he discovered he liked both walks and swimming, bonded with his siblings, particularly Guacamole, and joined Team Foreign Object after eating a sleeve from GR Mom's sweatshirt. On the podcast introducing him, GR Mom said he would probably be staying and on 1 December it was announced that he was a permanent member of the squad.

For reasons that may never be fully understood, Voodoo is sometimes known as Pinto Bean—a nickname of great endearment coined by GR Mom.

As the youngest dog of the squad, Voods became the little brother to the group, pouncing on Guac to get him to play, tackling him off the ottoman and potentially taking over from Venk as the weirdest dog. He became best friends with Guac and the two boys loved play fighting together, though Guac was able to calm him down when Voodoo got too excited. He developed an interesting friendship with Manchego. Cheggs was fascinated with him and Voods responded to this, trying to get him to play with him. After Voods and Remi travelled to Maryland for training together, the boys grew to also become close friends and would play in the snow together in the garden.

Voods also loved going on walks and would push other dogs out of the way to join GR Mom but he was a slow walker and would often stop to lie down, which was imagined by GR Mom as a firm “Nö”. Often this would mean GR Dad would have to come and collect Voods in the car as he’d decided his walk had come to an end, and a stubborn Voods cannot be moved on easily.

As he was on a keto diet to help with his epilepsy, he wasn’t able to have carrots and instead had a “meat carrot”, aka a piece of turkey rolled into a carrot shape, though he occasionally had a piece of cheese or an egg instead. He was also able to enjoy special keto waffles after a recipe based on almond flour had been found. The episode was not without its drama, as an eggless almond flour recipe first tried by GR Mom left the waffle iron caked with inedible goo. Fortunately the waffle iron survived, and a second almond flour recipe (with eggs) proved successful.

Despite enjoying ample keto-approved meals and goodies (including cheese snacks and strawberries), Voodoo had an obsession with chomping things that aren't food. Besides the arm of GR Mom's sweatshirt (the item that made him a member of Team Foreign Object), he's tried to eat socks, shoes, towels, ant poison, rocks, driftwood, rubber mulch, a lint roller, a flower pot, a covid mask, GR Mom's headphones, GR Mom's skirt, GR Mom herself, and multiple items from the recycling bin—especially metal cans. (Also a dead fish, though some have argued that because fish are keto-friendly, they're fair game—though very stinky.)

In hopes of educating him, a fan account under @VoodsFoods has been established to rule on which items are and are NOT Voods' Foods. Another Friend Of The Squad, inspired by the PowerPoint Guac viewed after eating a Brillo pad, developed a presentation to help Voods make this crucial distinction. Although he'd be closely supervised to prevent further infractions, it's not yet clear if the message ever sunk in.

In an ironic twist, Voods himself got chomped late in the evening of March 16, 2021—by a gecko. After an altercation in the street, the lizard flung itself at Voodoo's face and managed to bite him right in a vulnerable spot under his nose, drawing blood. Despite the drama, Voods and the gecko were both fine. (The gecko got away.)

Voodoo was originally scheduled to undergo surgery for a CCL (knee ligament) tear in late June 2021. Because recovery time from the surgery is 12 weeks, GR Mom invited followers to join her in a 12-week effort known as Operation Pinto Bean: a time for Friends of the Squad to tackle personal goals and projects of their choice. As it turned out, pre-surgery tests showed that Voods was anemic—meaning surgery would need to be delayed. Even so, Operation Pinto Bean began on schedule, running from approximately July through September 2021. Voods was soon cleared of any serious health issues and got his surgery July 7, 2021, returning home the next day.

On Halloween 2021, Voods showed interest in a 'chicken waffle' costume that Venk was trying on and, when given a chance, he happily wore it himself too, looking very excited to be dressed up. Until Venk jealously pulled it off him, that is.

After months of deterioration from epilepsy, Voodoo sadly passed away on May 17, 2022. He’s remembered as a very sweet, loving dog who is dearly missed, including by many who never met him. His ‘Nö’ remains a squad/FotS in joke.

Song:

It's Voods, Voods, Voods!

You sure are one of the dudes!

You have a whole bunch of moods!

You eat things that aren't food!

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIQ4tVhhjrL/?igshid=1kqr8zroj7sjm
3. ↑ https://youtu.be/MvTY9GGPM\_I?t=118
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/VoodsFoods/status/1352504836533719040
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheGoldenRatio4/status/1373078370691452934
6. ↑ https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vRnINZFj\_ALUmbi-gxKPtuY5M2gWWwCp60Bjjw1VAVIcHuHLhhVfJfXQ0MtQ9os2-gMq57pTjKM5qUT/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=2000&slide=id.gae756a0140\_0\_81
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/VoodsFoods/status/1351530748700975114
8. ↑ https://youtu.be/Bpt30duiG8k?t=488
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/jenrunswithdogs/status/1409632419989233675
10. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheGoldenRatio4/status/1413202517756989457
11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPQB\_NHh\_Lw
12. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheGoldenRatio4/status/1526642174447738883?s=20&t=dCmuueG2BXq84HPusD\_JCg
13. ↑ https://youtu.be/g4v9GTfrrK8?t=207