Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Saturday morning when I came downstairs, Chickie was stretched out like a rug in front of the TV with Dobby curled into a ball at his throat and Chilly lying between his two front legs like they were spooning.
“Well, you guys are clearly terrified,” I told my pets.
I took a picture to document the love fest.
Sam’s parents were having a party at their house, and even though the boys were tired and a little cranky, and Kola thought they should stay home with Chickie instead—and what a great excuse not to go—Sam ordered them all into his SUV, with the dogs, both Chickie and Dobby, and off we went to put in an appearance.
For some reason or another, us and family get-togethers had a lousy track record. One time, Kola got hit on by a friend of one of Sam’s sisters. Another time, Hannah knocked out one of Sam’s cousins, who was beating on his own girlfriend. It was bizarre. Sam’s immediate family, parents, siblings, their kids, that was fine. No issues there. But the extended family was not great. On my side, there was me and my brother, Dane. That was it. On Sam’s side, a family reunion would need acres of real estate to accommodate everyone.
Of course, when we got there, there were more people than just Sam’s immediate family, some assorted cousins, aunts, uncles, and they had brought their dogs as well. It was fine, though. Kola carried Dobby as he always did, the Chihuahua too small to walk around free, and Chickie stayed right next to Hannah.
It turned out to be a nice party. There was a tent out back with heaters, Sam’s mother and aunts had cooked, so the comfort food was amazing, and everyone was getting along. That changed the second Hannah screamed.
I was on the other side of the yard, Chickie at my side, with Sam’s cousin Levi and his wife, when I heard my daughter—I could pick out any sound she made in an instant—and turned. From where I was, I could see Hannah moving a chair because there was a dog, from what I could see, trying to get at Dobby.
The yard was crowded with people, and I yelled at them to get out of the way as I ran and pushed through. When I heard Hannah scream again and then the sound suddenly stopped, that scared me more than her first shriek. When I shoved through into the opening near the back of the second tent, I found Hannah crying, holding Dobby with her one good arm, and Chickie was there with the throat of a Chow held fast in his jaws.
He had been with me when Hannah first cried out, and I hadn’t heard him make a sound. No bark, no growl, but he had to have gone to her like a missile and put the other dog on the ground in seconds.
It was really something. Chickie had the other dog pinned, it was limp, not moving, but it was panting and there was no blood. He could have easily killed it, but instead, he was simply keeping it still.
Someone choked out, “That’s amazing.” And it certainly was.
“Holy crap,” Sam muttered when he reached me.
“Good boy,” Hannah said shakily as Kola went around Chickie and the dog no one had claimed yet, to reach his sister.
“Whose dog is this?” Sam yelled, and his cousin Erin came out of the crowd holding a collar attached to a leash.
“I’m so sorry,” she rushed out. “He slipped out of his collar when we came into the backyard. I had no idea there was a small dog back here.”
He had gone for Dobby, not Hannah, but my daughter was protecting her pet, so the chow had continued to jump, growling at the Chihuahua, which scared Hannah.
“Kaido’s a sweet boy. It’s just small dogs—all small animals—make him crazy.”
It wasn’t her fault Kaido got out of his collar; it happened all the time. It was just an accident. Of course, if Chickie hadn’t been there, I would have felt completely different.
“He’s calm now,” she told Sam. “Please don’t let your dog hurt him.”
“Chickie, let go,” Sam ordered, and Chickie released the chow but immediately backed up, in front of Hannah and Kola, shielding both, lowering his head at the same time.
Erin called her dog, who retreated to her quickly, and she had the collar and leash on him in seconds. Chickie was still in his battle stance, but what was interesting was that once Erin took her dog with her inside the house, Chickie lifted his head, checking, and then turned to Hannah and sat down, awaiting praise.
She shoved Dobby at Kola and sank to her knees in the grass and grabbed Chickie with her good arm, squeezing him tight and repeating “good boy” over and over.