Pup
A pup came to her front porch.
On a mild, mild day, and she in faded blue jeans for the Fall,
To eat there.
In the cool, gray-concrete shade of the woman's front porch.
She came out the door with her straw broom.
And did wait, did stand and wait, for there he was, on the porch before
her.
He looked up from his sad-eyes at the grandma in the door
And squirmed his velvet-black cuteness round-bellied up over the edge of
the porch step
And rested his throat upon the step bottom,
And where her blue Croc had stepped through the door, with a small whimper,
He licked with his soft mouth,
Deftly chewed on her old shoe, whipping his tail so quickly,
Imploring.
************************************************
My mother found a puppy on Wednesday morning. Or he found her. Darn those people who dump pets on rural roads like so much unwanted trash. She refused to feed him. "I don't want him to stay. I don't want to get attached. If I don't feed him, he'll go somewhere else."
Wednesday night, she caved. She gave him a Cool Whip plastic tub of milk, and some bread soaked in bacon grease. She made a bed from a sideways Styrofoam cooler, and lined it with an old afghan. Red and orange and white and brown.
Genius stopped by to kill some time between the cancellation of his robot team practice and a school volleyball game. He befriended Pup. He made a video on his phone. He showed students and teachers at school the next day. They tsk-tsk'd Val in the hall. "I can't believe you won't let your son have a puppy." Not that he had even asked.
Genius declared that Pup was SO CUTE. And since our 12-year-old dog died last August, we were really one dog short. And besides, he's a boy, Mom, and you said you wanted another dog, and Grandma can't keep him.
I had to run the proposal by Hick, because Genius didn't dare hope. Hick relented. So I picked up Pup today after my Inservice Day. I called Hick and told him he needs to sit down with Genius and have The Talk.
Pup is a girl. Genius is a master manipulator.
11 comments:
Ye Gods look at that sad, sad face on that one. I think my heart gave way a bit.
At least she doesn't look like she will get too big (unless I am misjudging the size of her feet).
What cute eyes. Even George Constanza would cave in to that plea, and offer a home to the pup, or offer to send the pup to Paris. (Do I get bonus points for being the only one to catch the Seinfeld connection?)
OMG how could you refuse that baby face? That pup needs you and your boys.
Ahhhh, I'm so glad you've adopted the little guy! Did you name him yet?v Just last night I finished my story for "Chicken Soup for the Soul; I Can't Believe My Dog Did That." It was about our first dog, which we got as a small puppy! Please let us know your new guy's name!
I am so glad she has been rescued! She would not have survived more than a few days on her own and would have had a miserable death. How thoughtlessly heartlessly cruel people can be.
Yay for you!
What an adorable puppy. How could anyone resist such a sweet face?
Donna
Oh, poo....I did read your entire post and did read that "she" is a "girl"...so why I kept referring to her as him....I have no idea! My apologies!
T.S.
I was ready to say no to the pet idea when I found out it was a female. Then she sat down at my feet and gave me The Look. It was just like the ASPCA commercial with the Sarah McLachlan song. My heart couldn't take it.
*******************************
Sioux,
We think she's a Lab mix, but her feet are incredibly small. The picture makes them look bigger than they are.
I am awarding you 10 bonus points for the Seinfeld reference. That, and $2.16, will get you a Route 44 Sonic Diet Coke with lime. At least I didn't get saddled with a Farfel by a drunk guy on an airplane. Or pull an Elaine and hire Newman to get rid of the pup. Or have it follow me because I unknowingly had Grandma Mimma's napkins full of mutton in my pockets!
I was hoping somebody would notice the "Snake" reference. But short of calling myself V.T. Victorian, I couldn't think of a way to drop a hint. So unless my readers are clandestine D.H. Lawrence fans, I suppose it went unnoticed.
******************************
Becky,
The little bundle of joy is called "Juno". My boys are into mythology. When pup-pup was thought to be a boy, his name was going to be "Titan". Don't worry about the gender faux pas. My mom called pup-pup "he" the whole time. And I did too, until I picked "him" up and saw the error of my ways.
**************************
Carol,
My husband thinks the pup is only about 4 weeks old. I don't know how people can live with themselves after abandoning a baby animal to die. I guess they think they will magically learn to hunt game. Or that somebody will take them in. They could at least sit in front of Walmart and give them away.
**************************
Donna,
You should see her gallop along the porch sideways, and growl at the cats. Until they look at her, of course. Then she sits down and pretends it wasn't her.
I don't know whether that face is proof of survival of the cutest...or God. But she's adorable. Congratulations on your new puppy.
What an adorable face...who could abandon such a jewel..the fates moved to give it a perfect home :)
Tammy,
Those eyes. That's what made me agree to take her.
*************************
Susie,
The sad eyes are going away. She frolics.
Post a Comment