Sunlight was a fine thing, Winston thought, and he stretched his short, stubby legs out behind him and lay his head on his front paws. The heat of the day soaked into his skin, through his smooth coat, relaxing his muscles until he was a furry puddle on the front porch.
For a time, he kept his eyes half-open as he dozed in the sun. The grandkids were visiting and they had some peculiar and occasionally alarming ideas about what sort of things were fun. It had taken him three days to get the smell of strawberry lip gloss out of his coat the last time; that roll in the neighbor's compost heap had finally done it but Grandma Helen hadn't been happy about it.
Sneakered feet pounded past him and down the steps. The speed and energy, not to mention the smell of sugar, warned him the kids were close. He opened one eye a little wider and warmed up his growl. It was hard to growl when you were a puddle, so he hoped he wouldn't have to use it.
"Winston! C'mere boy!"
Winston puffed out a breath of annoyance, too relaxed to work up the growl after all, and shut both eyes. Small hands slapped down on his side and started pushing, rolling the skin and generous layer of fat up and down.
"Wake up Winston! Let's play!"
Let's not, thought Winston.
"Whatcha doin'?" a lighter, piping voice asked.
"I'm gettin' Winston up so he can play," the boy's voice said. The unrestrained energy and enthusiasm in both voices struck a chord of dread in Winston, and he'd have shivered if it didn't take so much energy. Another set of small hands joined the first, and the combined effort started to rock his wide body.
A couple of good shoves and Winston found himself sprawled on his back, legs splayed out to all four corners. The sun warmed his belly nicely.
"Is he…dead?" A finger poked at a leg tentatively and Winston caught a whiff of cherry lip gloss.
"No, he ain't dead. For cryin' out loud Chrissie, you can hear him snorin' all the way up the block. If he was dead he wouldn't be snorin', now would he?" The older and wiser voice was sarcastic.
"But Cory, he's not movin'. Budgie wasn't movin' neither and he was…dead." The small hand moved Winston's hind paw up and down carefully.
"Budgie was dead. And he moved plenty before you squeezed him!"
A short, bitter argument followed that accusation, and Winston took advantage of their distraction to roll over so his bulk rested near the edge of the porch. He sighed heavily and dozed in the heat of the sun. The snap of the leash on his collar woke him.
"Let's go, Winston! Time for a walk!" The boy tugged on the leash then leaned his full weight into it. Winston snorted through his short nose and let his entire body go limp.
"Chrissie, ya gotta push his butt!"
"I'm not touchin' his butt, you do it!"
"Chrissie stop bein' such a Barbie and help me!"
Small hands smacked down on Winston's hindquarters and started shoving. Ten minutes of shoving and pulling succeeded in moving him to the edge of the steps. An enthusiastic shove from behind pushed him just far enough to the side to tip him off the edge, and he rolled gently down the steps. He oozed to a stop on the sunny sidewalk, legs up in the air and head back, snoring gently.
Sunlight was a fine thing, Winston thought.
"Is he dead now?"
This post is a response to a prompt from The Red Dress Club to write about sloth. The best example of sloth I've ever seen was a friend's bulldog. At the time, he was one of the biggest dogs I'd ever seen (I grew up with miniature poodles...I know...pity me), and he never seemed to move. Read, respond, critique, share dog stories if you have 'em!
Love that you took the point of view of a dog! Yes! They do kind of look at you in *that* way sometimes, don't they?
ReplyDeleteLove this: "He oozed to a stop on the sunny sidewalk, legs up in the air and head back, snoring gently." the word oozed- perfect!
LOL, I love it! We've always had more active farm dogs, but you make me want to get a sloth dog, just for the laughs :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! All my dogs are hyper - there are days when I'd love to see a little sloth at my house that didn't come from my teenagers!
ReplyDeleteI love that you took this prompt to such a light-hearted place. This entire passage made me smile.
ReplyDeleteHere was one of my favorite lines. "It had taken him three days to get the smell of strawberry lip gloss out of his coat the last time; that roll in the neighbor's compost heap had finally done it but Grandma Helen hadn't been happy about it."
Stopping by from TRDC.
Thank you Florida Girl! That part was inspired by a poodle we had - Mom would take her to be groomed, but she hated the smell of the perfume so when she came home she'd find a pile of poo and roll in it. LOL
ReplyDeleteI love that this was from a dog's perspective!
ReplyDeleteYou did this so well. Excellent writing and such a creative take on the prompt. I love Winston!
ReplyDeleteHaving two dogs - and there's a bulldog named Watson next door - I loved this! I swear that's what my dogs are thinking sometimes. Altho if you wave food in front of them, they magically perk up! A very fun read!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Great length, and I love the last line!
ReplyDeleteThanks all for the positive comments!
ReplyDeleteAmyBeth - the last line is my favorite. Dan's favorite is "And he moved plenty before you SQUEEZED him!" Made him laugh until he had tears.
That picture is the best, and it was a really creative idea to write it from Winston's perspective. Enjoyed this :)
ReplyDeleteLOL. I love using the dog for this. I also LOVED the lip gloss and poking his butt part. I used to torture my grandma's dog with too much poking, too. Well done!! FUN
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome. I couldn't help but giggle at the vision of poor Winston just wanting to take a nap. And the snoring! I have an American Bulldog who can rattle the windows with her snores.
ReplyDeleteThis was adorable and hilarious. It reminded me of my own dog!
ReplyDeleteThis is great!! I love that picture that goes along with it. I can see the kids bickering and trying to get the dog to play...so sweet :)
ReplyDeleteI love the description of him "oozing". And being a puddle. A perfect piece of sloth :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful! You made me smile. I often play our puppies voices in my head when I am watching them look at us with such contempt! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis one definitely made me smile. I could feel Winston in this, perfectly. I always wondered what a dog might be thinking. Winston has some patience, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice for a re-share!
ReplyDeleteNow, back to "Legacy"...