BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SNUGGLER
Mom likes the tv show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and when she learned that a friend had named her TT Buffy she just HAD to write this story.
In every litter there is only one. She alone must stand against the forces of evil, the vampires, the demons, the UPS drivers. She is the Snuggler.
Buffy and her two best friends met after obedience school as usual. Catalina, a blonde cocker spaniel, tossed her flowing ears gently and said, “So what are our plans for the weekend, girls?”
Mamie, a Jack Russell Terrier, growled lightly. “My humans have a trip planned, and they’re leaving right after they get me to my human grandmother’s house. I won’t get to do anything fun. Gram just likes to knit and listen to music, and sometimes she lets me out in the yard alone but usually she watches me like a hawk ‘cause she thinks I’m going to tear up her rosebushes.”
“But you ARE going to tear up her rosebushes,” Buffy pointed out. A young Tibetan Terrier, Buffy tempered her curiosity and adept thievery with a good dose of practicality. She shook out her black and blonde fur and giggled. “And your Gram will just complain a bit and then laugh. You know you can do no wrong as far as she’s concerned.”
“And what are you doing this weekend, Buffy?” asked Catalina, unwilling to give up her theme.
“Nothing,” Buffy replied. “But it’s so close to graduation, I want to do something fun. I mean, we’re almost to the point where we’re gonna have to act like grown-up dogs. No more adolescent puppy stunts, know what I mean?”
“Wow, what’s got into you?” Mamie asked. “All serious all of a sudden.”
“I do not contemplate the future,” Catalina said with a defiant flip of her head. “I know what I want and it’s all I’ll ever want. I want to finish obedience school, mate with Wishbone, and retire to a life of leisure with my litter.”
“Which Wishbone?” Buffy asked, referring to the many Jack Russell Terriers who portray the PBS book-reading hero in various guises.
Catalina sighed impatiently, then spotted her family waiting for her at the door. Pulling away from her handler, she yipped, “Look! It’s my human brother back from school! I knew it was gonna be a good weekend! See you two!” And she raced ahead of them, hauling her poor handler along by the leash.
“She is just so impetuous,” said Mamie, in a conscious and wholly silly imitation of Buffy’s elder aunt, a Tibetan Terrier named Heidi. The two puppies giggled, and then Mamie spotted her own family. “Gotta scamper,” she said. “Maybe next weekend you and I can go sniff hydrants together and make the boy dogs feel like fools…See you Monday!” And she set off toward her own family.
Left alone, Buffy scanned the families still waiting for their puppies, trying to spot her human. She didn’t see them, but suddenly she felt the presence of another dog beside her. To her surprise, her handler now held two leashes. At the end of the other was an older Tibetan Terrier, a dignified male with an air of intellect about him. “Who the heck are you?” she asked, mildly alarmed.
“My name is Cody,” the older dog said, speaking with a New England twang to his bark. “I’m your Watcher. Hurry, now, too much time has been wasted and you have to begin your training.”
“Training? What are you barking about, fella?” Buffy asked and she started to tug on her leash in an effort to locate her humans.
“Oh, that’s right, you weren’t told,” Cody said calmly. “You are the Chosen Pup, the one who will defend the rest of the litter from the forces of evil and darkness. You must have noticed that you are faster and louder than the other puppies in your obedience class.”
Buffy had noticed this, but had assumed it was the result of her good Tibetan breeding. “You mean no one else in my family can do all this?”
Cody smiled gently. “No, but your Step-Mummy Stella was once the Snuggler. The torch has now been passed to you.”
“Oh.” Buffy was no closer to understanding what this strange older dog was saying to her, but if her Mummy Stella had done whatever he said she herself was to do, then it couldn’t be all bad.
The following Wednesday night, after a weekend of intensive training under the tutelage of the enigmatic (yet diplomatic) Cody, Buffy was deemed ready to go forth and defend. The night was dark and damp. The lamplighters were out lighting the gas lights and the sounds of passing pedestrians was muffled by the encroaching fog. Cody impatiently snapped off the television. "It's time, Buffy."
The smaller dog sighed heavily. "But we were just getting to my favorite part!" she complained. Finding no sympathy coming her way, she flounced to the door and barked to be let out. In a moment, she and Cody were walking through the pleasantly cool dark night towards the back fence.
"The forces of evil and darkness hover under and around large bushes, trees, and other such obstacles. You must be ever vigilant in defending your home," Cody reminded her. "But remember, sometimes our greatest weapon is compassion."
Buffy went directly to a low evergreen and growled menacingly. A quick rustling noise indicated that the denizen of evil was leaving the yard to avoid the Snuggler's wrath. Prancing with pride, Buffy strolled to a rosebush. A rustling in the leaves was her only hint that there was something hiding in there."Come out, come out, whatever you are," she hissed.
Something raised up Buffy's fur and made her shiver. The rose bush seemed to vibrate and radiate scariness. She gulped as she realized she might be facing something really dangerous. Gathering her nerve, she yelped and barked. "Hey, you! I'm the Snuggler, and you better get out here and face me!"
More rustling ensued. Buffy tried to leap into the bushes and pounce on her foe, but the thorns proved too difficult to penetrate. As she continued her now-frenzied barking and whining she noticed that similar sounds were coming from the other side of the bush. Her barking became even more excited, as did that of whatever it was she was barking at. After a few minutes of this, and the accompanying shouts and yells from the neighborhood humans, and Buffy found her throat drying up. She glanced wildly about the yard, looking for Cody for advice. She couldn't see him, and gradually her barking grew less and less frenzied as she slowly lost her voice. Panicked, she barely noticed that the creature she had been barking at was also growing quieter.
Finally there was silence. "W-what are you?" Buffy managed to croak. Then she saw a pair of eyes peeking out from behind the rose bush. It was another dog!
"I'm lost and scared," the other dog whimpered. "I was chasing a cat and jumped a fence and found myself stuck here. Then I heard you and I thought you were another cat. But you're not, you're a dog just like me. Can you help me, please?"
Looking more closely, Buffy saw that the dog was just a puppy, a mixed breed with long fur. "What's your name?" she asked gently as she carefully pulled the puppy's fur from the thorn with which it was tangled.
"My humans call me Muffin," the puppy replied. "And I'm so glad you found me, 'cause I was really scared."
Muffin was freed from the rose bush and followed Buffy back to the back door of the house. Standing in the open doorway were her human and Cody. Her human knelt down to see Muffin's tags, then went inside to call Muffin's humans. Cody smiled at Buffy. "Sometimes," he said, "we must use abilities other than sheer strength or volume. Sometimes, we have to hunt with love."
"And sometimes the forces of darkness attack other dogs' yards," Buffy observed. "I'm glad I could help Muffin. I hope if any of my brothers or sisters is ever in trouble, there will be a Snuggler to help them."
Cody nodded sagely, but behind Buffy's back two of her littermates made gagging noises and fell over giggling. With dignity, the Snuggler strolled away, towards a well-deserved snooze in her basket.
THE END
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