“The Bulldog”
Jun 11, 2019The bulldog spied his target about two hundred feet away, crawling on the boardwalk toward the river’s edge. He foamed at the mouth, drool oozing to the ground. He looked up at his owner, who was talking to a random passerby, barely holding onto the lease. Now was his chance.
The bulldog made a run for it, the leash slipping from his owner’s hand. He was a fat dog with short legs, but he was like a tank, moving fast, letting nothing stand in his way. He could smell his target as he neared.
The baby’s mother didn’t notice the bulldog charging toward her baby. The baby was on a mission to get to the railing, to put her little fingers in the fence, grab on, and pull herself up onto her feet for the first time.
With her back toward the dog, the bulldog rammed his face into the baby’s butt. He could smell the sweet aroma coming from the baby’s diaper. The baby startled and turned around, settling on her butt, staring into the squished face of the monster. Her smile quickly turned into a frown, and she put up her hands to defend herself.
The bulldog circled the baby, sniffing the air and smelling the baby’s head and hands and dirty butt. The baby sat on the ground, her gaze following the bulldog.
“I’m not afraid of you,” the baby said.
“Why not?” said the bulldog.
“Because you look funny,” said the baby.
“That’s not very nice,” said the bulldog, and he got sad and lay down next to the baby.
“Is that your mom?” said the baby, motioning to a lady running toward them screaming what the baby assumed was the bulldog’s name.
The bulldog looked back. “Yeah,” he said. “Is that yours?”
The baby looked back and a lady was running frantically toward them from the other direction, fumbling with an oversized stroller.
“Yeah,” said the baby. She turned back to the bulldog. “You wanna get out of here?”
“Yeah,” said the bulldog. “Hop on.”
The baby sat up, grabbed the bulldog’s harness, and crawled onto his back. The bulldog stood up and charged ahead just as the two confused ladies reached them. The bulldog and the baby laughed, drool oozing from both of their mouths as they headed toward the sunset at the far end of the boardwalk.