Pretty Little Runt
There were three guardians in our house. Like benevolent gods, they watched over us, but none as much as the one who helped my mom give me my first breaths in life. She was like a second mother that brought us toys! Unlike mom, she walked on two legs, and used her front paws to pick us up, scratch our ears and rub our tummies.
She gave each of us names. My light gray sister she called ‘Misadventure’, but was later renamed ‘Moon’ since she was the one who almost always climbed out of the tub. My dark grey brother had a single white dot on his back, so she called him ‘Dot’, but later began calling him ‘Elvis’. My dark grey sister with the funny white mark on her back she called ‘Christmas’. My red and white sister with no marks on her back she called ‘Squeaky’, very close to my name ‘Squeaker’, and sometimes I thought she was calling me when she was really calling to my sister. ‘Squeaky’ soon became ‘Mitu’. My other red sister she named ‘Ace’. My black and white sister she called ‘Xena’. They were the first names we learned meant that we were to come to our guardian for feeding, playing or that wonderful sensation of petting. My name was changed to ‘Princess’, and my guardian said it was because I was so beautiful, regal, and a dainty little runt. She said it was because I was the smallest with the biggest attitude. Whatever that meant must have been good because she always hugged me to her when she said it, and it made me feel so happy inside.
The guardians’ names were ‘Mom Aleeha’, ‘Dad Jim’, and ‘James’. They were enormous creatures, two and three times the size of mom, but gentle. They never stole my toys like Moon did, and never chewed on my ears like Ace. When my teeth finally began to break through my gums, they brought me mushy round bits soaked in milk that tasted so intriguing. I ate as much as my belly could hold, since mom seemed reluctant to feed us. The stuff felt so good in my tummy, I slept for hours!
Each time the guardians left me, I let them know I wanted to be with them. It felt as if they were tearing out my heart when they left me behind with my siblings. I tried so hard to follow them, but they kept putting barriers in my way. Every once in a while, my guardian would take me with her, carry me around way up high and out of the reach of my siblings. She would bring me special toys and tidbits of food that made my taste buds dance and my mouth water. It wasn’t long before she became more important to me than my own mother.
“How’s my little Squeaker today?” Those words would shiver through me all the way to my tail and I would run as fast as my unsteady legs could carry me.
The salt of her nose tickled my tongue, but tasted oh so good and she would breathe deeply of my scent as she lifted me on high. The warmth of her love flowed in to me and mine flowed back as I mouthed her fingers.
“No, no, little Princess, this is what you need to chew on.” She would say as she put a toy in my mouth.
Disappointed but still happy to be with my guardian, I would chew on the toy instead. She would sit with me for a time, stroking my fur before she would make us a big round bowl of food.
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