Priestly the puppy

Once upon a time there was a girl named Candace who loved animals. Every opportunity she had growing up she would play with the neighbors dogs and always wanted to take them for walks. She dreamed one day of having a dog of her own.

When she turned ten she began asking for a dog of her own, every Christmas and birthday that was the only thing she really wanted. Every time she asked she always got the same answer. No.

When she turned fifteen Candace finally got her wish. A handy-down dog named Jethro. Jethro was very cute and sweet and loved being with Candace. But he was also naughty and loved to run away when he got the chance and Candace would spend hours trying to coax him back home. But she loved him and did everything she could for him to give him a better life.

Candace and Jethro were together for several years, but he was a very old dog, and shortly before Candace turned 21 Jethro became so sick that Candace knew it was time to let him go. She struggled for days after his death, wondering if she had really done the right thing, and had nightmares for weeks. The backyard seemed empty without Jethro in it - so for her birthday Candace asked if she could rescue a dog from the animal shelter.

Dad took Candace to go look at an English Springer named Curly, who was living in a foster home. Candace liked the dog right away and the next day they adopted him. Candace didn't like the name curly, so after much deliberation she changed his name to Captain Jack Sparrow, but Jack for short.

Jack and Candace were soon inseperable. Wherever Candace went Jack wanted to go too. In fact, he saved her life one night when she went for a walk in late October after the sun had gone down. Candace had wanted to go for a walk to get some fresh air by herself, but Jack was so insistant and anxious to go that Candace finally relented. If she didn't she never would have come home.

Jack became a changed dog after that. Barking and growling whenever the doorbell rang, always keeping himself between Candace and whatever came through her bedroom door. Climbing up on the bed and placing his head on her back when she trembled so hard it made the bed shake. He was weary of strangers, especially on walks and would growl as if he meant it whenever anyone approached.

A couple years after that Candace met Michael. They dated briefly and fell in love. They decided to get married. And as they drew closer to their wedding date and with the Christmas season approaching, they asked each other what they wanted. Both wanted a puppy - Candace a Yorkie and Michael a Shih Tzu.

Two weeks later Michael had a baby puppy put on reserve for him and Candace had a Yorkie named Priestly living at the house. Jack loved Priestly even though Priestly was much much smaller than he was. He seemed excited to have a baby brother to play with.

Priestly wasn't sure if he liked it here with us. He cried all of the first night, leaving a very tired Candace and Jack with little to no sleep and Candace with a long work day ahead of her. When she got home from work later that afternoon Priestly's little body was trembling with joy when he saw her and he began to whimper until she picked him up.

The following day Candace didn't go anywhere. She lounged around in her pajamas with Priestly asleep on her lap and Jack asleep by her legs while she watched bad TV. They had a nice quiet day and when Candace's friend Victoria wanted to hold Priestly he had none of it. After a couple of minutes of being held he crawled over her arms and back onto Candace's lap where he promptly fell right back to sleep. If Victoria was hurt she didn't mention it.

Two days later Priestly was coming more to life. He enjoyed playing, getting into mischief, and occupying all of Candace's time that he could. He'd often try to run and hide so he could make a mess on the carpet, but Candace always caught him before he did his business and put him in his box. He enjoyed pestering Jack by nipping at his nose or jumping on Jack's stubby tail. He'd make Candace laugh by following her around at a silly little run when she got up to go anywhere, and would cry sadly when she put him back in his box.

The following day he had a new activity. Chase Candace where ever she goes in the kitchen while trying to pounce on her feet, then bite her toes when she stops moving. Of course Candace moved much faster than he did so he had to run, but being so young he didn't have much control and couldn't stop on a dime like she could, so he often ran into the backs of her legs. And as fast as he made his little legs run it never seemed to be fast enough. Candace was always faster and he was always left behind to catch up.

After chasing after Candace for about half an hour Priestly would get tired and would slow down. Candace would gently scoop him up and set him on her lap while she read or worked on her computer and Priestly would sleep, quite content, dreaming of a fun game of chase Candace around the kitchen.

Candace smiled as she looked down at the little tan and black bundle of fur and the sleeping liver and white dog at her feet and felt content.

"And to think we'll have dog number three in a couple of weeks." She said to herself smiling. "I guess I can handle one more bundle of joy to love."

The End.