Little Diablo

Just when the morning rays had started to spread their warmth on a cold, winter day, she tiptoed into the house. Noiselessly closing the main door, she tried to maintain her balance as she removed her socks and shoes with her left hand, one foot after the other. In her right hand was a tiny, skinny puppy, shivering in his sleep.

Her day had begun like any other, she had woken up at 4.30 a.m., had rolled over and kissed her husband gently on his cheek, had had her coffee and then she was out the door by 5 for her daily run. On her way back home, she had heard tiny squeaks coming from the vacant plot next to the town’s high school. Curious by nature, she had decided to investigate the source of the sound and had stumbled upon this malnourished puppy; it was obvious that his mum was not around to feed him. In a spur-of-the-moment, she had decided to take the puppy home with her.

Now in the kitchen, she gently laid him down on the kitchen island and got busy microwaving milk for him and preparing a smoothie for herself. Scared, sleepy, cold and hungry, his shy downcast eyes followed her every move. With a dish of warm milk in her hand, she turned around and looked at him; he looked up and wagged his tail.  

“You beautiful little baby” she cooed as he licked her face with his now milky tongue.

“Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? You are! Yes, you are” she said as he tried to climb from the kitchen island onto her shoulder.

His nails dug into her skin through her spandex t-shirt.

“Ouch!” she yelped as she felt one particular nail draw blood.

He wagged his tail in excitement and barked.

“Shhhh, be quite. You don’t want to wake my husband up. He will throw you out the house in a second! He hates dogs. Shhhh….” She tried to calm down the puppy as she picked him up. But her actions and words excited him even more. He jumped out of her arms and ran around the kitchen, barking happily.

“What’s a guy gotta do to get a good night’s sleep in this house?” her husband groaned from the bedroom. “What’s all that commotion babe? If it’s a robber, just let him take whatever he wants. You come to bed, back to me”

She laughed. “It’s a surprise!” More like a shock she muttered under her breath. “Come and see it.”

The puppy, having heard a different voice, had gotten scared and was now hiding behind her ankles.

“What is it?” asked her husband coming into the kitchen in just his boxers.

He’s going to be covered in scratches she thought. She giggled.

“Well?” he waited.

She took a step to the side, exposing the little puppy.

“NO WAY” he said in shock, anger lining his voice. “No fucking way”.

“I found him near the school. Just look at him, the poor thing is so skinny. His mother was not around so I picked him up and brought him home.”

“There’s no way we are keeping him”

“Yes we are” she said, now bending over and patting the little pup. He was wagging his tail again. “Yes, you are going to stay with us” she told him.

“NO HE IS NOT” her husband boomed from the doorway. “You have no idea how evil these creatures are. Before you know it, he’ll be ripping you to pieces”

“What rubbish! That’s just your fear of animals talking. Just look at him hun, he is the cutest thing ever”

The puppy was now sniffing around the kitchen floor. As if on cue, just when the husband looked at him, he peed at a spot near the sink.

“See! He is already messing up our house” her husband said victoriously.

“I’ll clean it up, won’t take a second. I will do everything, from his potty training to his food and exercise. You won’t have to do anything. We are definitely keeping him.”

“But why?” he asked dejected.

“Because I said so” she said while wiping the pee off the kitchen floor. The puppy had moved on to investigate the underbelly of the kitchen island.

*

Her husband started calling him Diablo. “Where’s that Diablo, that little rascal. Are you holding him? I don’t want his near me”… “Why is that Diablo barking so much?”… “Listen babe, we can’t have that freaking Diablo on our bed”…. While she hated it, she decided to name the puppy Diablo, just to piss off her husband.

*

It had been 9 days since his wife had found Diablo. And he was still not convinced with having a puppy at home. He wished the puppy had never come into their lives. Torn socks, chewed slippers, furniture with missing chunks of wood, upside down turned planters… all thanks to Diablo.

Today was a Sunday and he had free time to finally fix the wall sconce. A loose wire seemed to be the problem. With a screwdriver in hand, he started climbing up the ladder. Mid way, he almost lost his balance. While trying to hold on, he dropped the screwdriver. It rolled away under the sofa.

“Fuck” he cursed.

Diablo was watching this scene unfold from afar. Before he could climb down the ladder, there Diablo was, crawling under the sofa. Within a few seconds the pup was near him, with the screwdriver in his mouth. 

“Oh!” he exclaimed while retrieving the tool. “Thanks”.

Diablo yelped and jumped around wagging his tail.

*

His wife had taken the devil for a walk and he finally had a quiet house to himself. All he wanted to do was watch TV peacefully. He picked up a can of Pepsi and a packet of chips from the kitchen and went into the hall. Just when he slumped over the sofa he heard Diablo’s chew toy squeak. He lifted a cushion to find the toy hidden neatly behind it. He picked it up and smiled. He suddenly missed a noisy house now. He eagerly waited for his wife to return with Diablo.

“Ughhh, he is a monster!” complained his wife while walking in the main door. “He literally dragged me through hell today! Such a brute. Look at my arms” she said while showing him her scratches.

“And look at his now! Peeing all over the carpet! It has been 17 days and he still hasn’t learnt where to pee” she complained.   

Her husband walked to the medical cabinet to get ointment for her wounds.

Diablo, having successfully ruined the carpet, was now trying to lick her face.

“Stop it! I am mad at you” she said pushing him away.

*

He was in the garden watering the plants. Enjoying the chirping of the birds. Suddenly, Diablo shot out of the house, flew over the veranda into the garden and started barking. All the birds flew away. He looked angrily at the puppy. But Diablo wouldn’t stop barking.

He followed the puppy’s gaze. There it was, the reason behind Diablo’s barking, a 5 feet long snake, dangling from a branch, super close to where he was standing. Just as the snake was about to swing and probably attack, Diablo jumped and clawed at the snake. Taken by surprise, the snake slithered up the tree and over the compound wall of the house.

He looked at Diablo who still hadn’t stopped growling. He patted him. “Good boy”.

“Why was that idiot barking so much” his wife asked while stepping out of the house, a pitcher of lemonade in her hands.

Before he could answer, he saw her expressions change.

“Are you kidding me? Uggghhhh! I stepped in his poo. Why the fuck does he not realize that he is not supposed to poo in the veranda?” she said angrily. “That’s it. Come here you rascal, I am going to take you to a rescue center. I can’t take care of you anymore” she said while stepping inside the house to keep the pitcher and grab her car keys.

“No, the puppy stays” she heard her husband mumble.

“What did you say?” she said stepping out in the veranda again.

“I said, Diablo stays. I will do everything, from his potty training to his food and exercise. You won’t have to do anything. We are definitely keeping him.”

“But why?” she asked surprised.

“Because I said so” he said simply.