When their grandmother came over that day, she asked the children to come out front. She had something to show them. The two boys waited and watched as their grandmother grabbed something from the floorboard of her Datsun pickup. She carried it over to the grass and gently placed it in front of the brothers.
He was a dusty, dirt encrusted ball of fur and bone. A small black puppy with tan markings. He was full of wag and wiggle. The younger boy smiled and muttered a few words about how cute the pup was but the family had a dog and the younger boy was devoted to him.
The siblings' parents stood behind the kids, not too thrilled with the prospect of taking in another dog. The children's grandmother had expected this. But she also knew the older boy craved a dog of his own. She explained that the pup had wandered into her yard a few days back and had settled in on her back porch.
A cat person, herself, the older lady was afraid the little pup would, in time, scare away the wild cats she fed. That, and her yard was not securely fenced. The pup could wander away just as he had wandered in. Her house was close to one of the busiest streets in town and the puppy's safety could not be ensured.
Her grandson bent down and talked quietly to the pup. He then reached out and scooped the little guy into his arms and got a good look at the new arrival.
"He's covered in ticks and fleas!" The pup licked his face and
squirmed in his arms. The boy spun around, facing his folks."Please, may we keep him? No one will want him like he is -- filthy and covered with fleas."
His mother turned to her husband. The man studied his son. "If you keep him you will be responsible for his care. I don't want to end up cleaning up after him. And you will have to see to it he is fed every evening."
A name for the newest family member sprang to the boy's lips. "Dinky is hungry and dirty. I'm going to clean him up then feed him." A slow smile inched across the grandmother's face. Her daughter-in-law smirked. The man huffed and shook his head. "Come on inside, mom. We're just about to have lunch. Join us." He looped his arm around his mother's. The youngest boy ran on into the house. The three adults followed.
The boy pulled a wet arm across his sweaty face. The garage smelled like wet dog and flea soap. In the washbasin, Dinky stared up at the boy, his black eyes sparkling. The boy cradled the small head between his hands. "You're looking better than you did when you got here."
He rinsed the pup off and inspected him. "I think we've gotten all the bugs off you." He smiled down at Dinky. Dinky blinked then sprang up, hooking his forepaws onto the lip of the sink. Craning his neck up, he clearly wanted to get out of the sink.
"Oh, no you don't." The boy clasped the puppy around his waist, freeing his paws and held him up. Wet stumpy legs circled aimlessly on the long, thin body. Tan eyebrows, feet, and chest marked the dog to have some Dachshund in him.
The boy drew Dinky closer. "Are you hungry?" Dinky panted and tried to lick the boy's face. Puppy breath mixed with the wet dog smell and the boy couldn't remember smelling anything better.
The boy grew to adolescence, as did Dinky. They shared their
troubling teen years together. Whenever he could, he snuck Dinky into his bedroom at night. The boy had his pillow and Dinky had the other pillow. They shared their dreams, their heartaches, their fears and joys -- their days and years together.
Dinky became a staunch protector and friend. He loved the boy as deeply as any human can love another being -- even more so, since there is nothing deeper than a dog's love for a human.
by Stehvin Walker
