The Little Devil:Taz

He ran through the street, I couldn't breathe, chasing after him with a laugh nearly suffocating me as I pumped my legs harder to keep up with his somehow smaller, yet faster ones.

Honestly, he was a blur of white and the falling snow didn't help, only the flash of pink I could see from his mouth every so often let me know where he really was. I could run no more, and we were approaching a field anyways, so I slowed. Attempting to catch my breath I called out for him to stop.

He did not stop, rather, he sped up and a brief flash of panic had me yelling out to him in a far sterner tone than I usually used.

"Taz!"

Somehow, he used his little legs to leap into the ditch, and out of my sight, I rushed forward to find him, only to burst into laughter when I did. Taz was a small thing, a mixed toy poodle who tolerated being loved by three little girls who dressed him up and treated him like their own little baby. He was flooded with a little too much pampering by said girls and I’m sure everyone knew it.

Now, he tried to fight through the snow, struggling and jumping like a kangaroo to keep running. He had lost his momentum and came to a stop, half buried in snow and starting to shiver before he attempted to turn around to struggle his way back to me. He got stuck and looked up at me with puppy eyes while shivering in the deep snow.

Taz wasn’t always the smartest dog, and I gave a sigh before I shuffled into the ditch and into knee-deep snow, it got deep into my boots and I felt it seeping into my socks before I scooped him up and hugged him into my coat, zipping him into it “Now we’re both gonna suffer because of you” I scolded him, and rubbed his little body through my coat to try and warm him up as I turned and headed back to the house.

The snow fell, and I felt him steadily warming up, the dampness of the snow that clung to his fur melting into my clothes and his fur. I would need to wash both of us once we got home. I walked and spoke with him, pointing at the trees, the snow, and the sky, and he held still for a time, watching me talk and looking around as if he understood me. I wanted him to understand me and knew that to some degree he did.

He did not want a warm bath but somehow suffered through it all. The blowdryer was his worst enemy, and he cowered away from it as though they had gotten into a bad fight and the blowdryer won. Once he had finished drying, I let him be free and he ran through the house like he had unlimited energy. After a bath, he always got the zoomies, ripping through the house and back and forth as though I hadn’t just taken him for a run.

After showering, I snuggled into bed for a nap. The sound of little footsteps against the hardwood floor had me scooting over on the bed and giving it a pat. Taz lept on a moment later and gave a huff as if insulted I had dared to lie down without him. I rolled my eyes at him and pulled him in for a hug and a snuggle.

He was always the best snuggler and a little heater to keep me warm through the winter days. Those were my favorite days with him.