A Beginning as Such

I lick the skin of my left ankle, it's grayer whiter flesh than i expected. It's wrong that I should see it at all as I usually have fur there. Mom has seen it too now and has suggested fleas. She said that I should not worry my leg but it's a chilly spot in the winter air where once I had fur.
It's not fleas, i try to convey with a twist of my head. She examines the spot. Carefully she touches me with her fingertips my gray can feel her warmth. Self Consciously I hide my leg, folding it among the others. She too noticed my skin was pale and grey. Was she expecting pink with freckles like fluffy? She once said I was a lot like him except he had white fur and apparently pink and freckled skin; where mine grows gray. I hope she's not disappointed.
I do have a black coat that has started to turn a distinguishing gray rather prematurely and I have curls of which make me appear overly cute and more approachable than I really am. Pairing my curls with the fact I am of mixed breed known as Schnoodle does little for my self esteem and garners me no extra respect. Really, Schnoodle does have the ring of snack food to it; Fruit Loops, Ring-A-Dings, Schnoodles.
Mom and everyone I know call me Ricky. It's a cute name and fits my curly exterior, however I secret the thought that Richardo lies below the surface like the gray skin that has been most recently revealed to me.
This is neither here nor there, the issue at hand is the unfortunate exposure of my ankle skin. I will continue to break through moms thickness, she need only to open her eyes and notice the ten pound mongrel that bites at my ankles by form of Inigo.
Last year I had fur on my skin where I expected it should be. Mom brings home Dung Bug and now I have a receding hairline below the caps of my knees. I've been waiting for mom to catch on, I love her but honestly, she's not the crunchiest kibble in the bowl. So here I sit and journal my troubles, hoping for release so as to spare the life of dear little Inigo.