A Droopy Christmas Tale (Tail)

“What’s that noise? Where’s it coming from?” Looking out the living room window, I searched for the source. It got louder as I approached the front door. Being Christmas eve, it was chilly outside, so I couldn’t imagine the neighborhood children being out too long in this.
Opening the door, I looked around. No sound. All I heard was the snowflakes falling to the ground. Closing the door, I convinced myself I was hearing things It happened again. It had to be coming from somewhere around the porch. Putting on my jacket and new Christmas gloves, I heard the whining again. Yes! That’s what it sounded like. Whining.

Stepping carefully out the front door, I looked for clues of the noise. Snow was all around, and there was no indication of anything unusual. No footprints or tracks anywhere.

Just as I was turning to head in, the sound happened again. It’s coming from under the porch! Grabbing the snow shovel, I removed the snow from around the porch, so I could see underneath. Kneeling, I peered through the small opening under the stairs. Oh my gosh! It’s a puppy. It was shivering and very frightened. I called to it, but he cowered more into the corner, out of reach. Good god, how was I going to get that baby out of there?

Shivering myself from the nip of the cold air and now damp clothes, time was of the essence. How long had he been there? How could I not know? How am I going to get that pup to come to me?

Racing back into the house, stomping the snow off my legs I realized that probably scared that baby even more. So, dragging my snow-covered body through the house I opened the refrigerator. What would be best? Oh, this will work, pulling out a left-over hamburger patty. I need it to have maximum scent and appeal, so I nuked it in the microwave. Hopefully this will do the trick. Who knows when that poor thing ate last.

Out the door I went again, into the frigid air. I can just imagine what the neighbors would think seeing my crawl around in the snow. They think I’m nuts anyway. The crazy cat lady of the neighborhood. With burger in hand I began speaking to the shivering puppy in the childlike voice that most people speak to pets and babies. “Come get your warm hamburger. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. Where did you come from little guy?”

The puppies nose picked up on the scent of the burger but was still reticent to come forward. Continuing to speak gently, stretching my arm as far in as possible, the puppy started coming closer. Suddenly a car came around the corner and startled us both. “Jerk!” I yelled back. Damn. Now I’m back to square one. The puppy is cowering in the corner.

"It’s okay little fella. Let’s get you out from under here. It’s too cold out here for both of us."

Slowly the puppy inched its way to my hand, smelling the meat. Reaching gingerly to take a piece, the pup came a little closer. “That’s right. It’s going to be okay. Gotcha!” The pup struggled against me as I pulled him towards me. I didn’t even get a good look at him, I just grabbed him and got myself into the warmth of the house.

Immediately going to the fireplace, I sat on the floor and set the pup in front of me. Aww. It’s a baby basset. You’ve got to only be a couple of months old. “What are you doing wandering around by yourself in this weather?” The sad droopy eyes just looked at me, shivering a little less because of the warmth of the fire.

The cats began coming from every room to see what momma had brought in now. This was the strangest looking cat they’d ever seen, but clearly it needed their attention. Carefully sniffing the pup before getting too close, each cat decided it was ok. This puppy was too exhausted and cold to do anything but sit in front of the fire and get warm.

Checking the puppy over for a collar, or signs of injury I didn’t see anything unusual except him being cold and appears to be a little low in weight. I fed him the rest of the hamburger and offered him some water. He mostly seemed exhausted. Pulling one of the cat beds over in front of the fireplace, I put the pup in it and he immediately laid down. I could tell he felt more comfortable with me. I couldn’t help but stroke his big long ears and that sad looking face.

The cats decided he needed a little extra TLC and came over and began grooming him. He seemed to find comfort in it and soon he was asleep. One by one, the cats curled up around him.

The whole experience had exhausted me as well, so I pulled a pillow and blanket over me and, curled up near the fireplace too, and quickly went to sleep. A couple hours later I was awakened by a wet tongue kissing my face.

“Well hi, little man. Looks like someone is feeling a lot better.”

The puppy wiggled about, licking my hands and face.

“What shall we call you?” Holding the puppy up with those short stubby legs, long droopy ears, that was it! Droopy. However, the sadness in his eyes, though still a little droopy too, had changed to happiness and excitement. Wrapping Droopy in my arms, I covered him in kisses. The cats joined in and it was like he had always been a part of the family. They followed him around and I couldn’t help but laugh as he tripped over his ears a few times checking everything out. The cat lady was now Droopified. What a wonderful Christmas this turned out to be for both of us!

Word Count 997