Please put me down, it's just a sprained ankle, Spot thought helplessly. Being the beloved family pet though, he did not have a good way to communicate this. It was somewhat humiliating to be carried out of the dog park and by the family's smallest child no less. Spot thought of himself as a fierce dog, he was a bulldog after all and didn't their wrinkled faces command some sort of respect? Well not anymore, at least not to the dogs here.
Spot knew he wasn't as young as he used to be, but he thought he still had some action left in him. He'd gotten into a playful scuffle with a dog twice his size and was having a grand old time until the other dog decided to scamper down a hill. Spot followed, but one of his stumpy legs got caught on a tree root, snagging his ankle. Spot yelped, but mostly in surprise and not in pain, but his family didn't know the difference. The smallest child, Bobby, came over and made such a forlorn face as he examined him. The parents of the family looked him over and told Bobby that Spot seemed okay, but he should take it easy for the next day and if he showed any problems, they'd take him to Dr. Jensen.
Spot shuddered a bit at the idea of going to Dr. Jensen. That man was always poking and prodding Spot whenever they went to visit. Yes, there had been that one time that he gave the parents medicine for Spot that made him feel better, but Spot still didn't like him. No, Spot was determined to show that he would be okay.
But Bobby took his parents very seriously, as young children often do. He scooped Spot up then and there to carry him all the way home. Spot knew he'd never make it that far, but he wished that Bobby would have picked a different part of the journey to carry him. Carrying him out in front of all the other dogs made him seem like a spoiled lap dog and Spot tried to be anything but. Yes, his family did love him and spoil him to some extent, but Spot had lived a rough and tumble life before them, he had even spent some time on the street. Spot tried hard to get the respect of the other dogs through play fighting, winning tugs over sticks, and being able to make his wrinkly face look hard and grizzled.
Now this was all undone. He saw that even the teacup poodle was looking at him amused. The audacity of that little pup! Spot tried to wriggle and give a low growl to show he was unhappy with his situation, but Bobby took this to mean that his ankle was hurt worse than it was.
"Dad, Spot seems upset. Are you sure he's okay?"
"He's fine, Bobby. You just gotta be sure you're holding him tightly."
"He is a bit big for you to carry. Maybe we should ask your older sister to carry him," Bobby's mom, Sarah, chimed in.
"No, I'm a big boy. I can carry him," huffed Bobby in a way that made him seem younger than his nine years.
"Okay, but hand him off to me if he gets too heavy," Sarah replied.
Bobby then made a show of walking faster than his parents. This did nothing to help Spot. Now it looked like a young child could carry him with ease and perhaps even that this was something he did often. Spot grumbled again, but Bobby just held him tighter.
Spot wished he could stop all the other dogs from staring at him with those big eyes filled with amusement at his predicament. The only other dogs being carried were puppies or those too frightened of other dogs to have been brought to the park in the first place.
As Spot predicted, Bobby did not make it all the way home carrying him. He was relieved that Sarah encouraged Bobby to see if Spot could walk on his own. Spot happily did so with only a wince of pain. But Spot could see that his family saw the wince.
Once home, Bobby found new strength and scooped him up again. Spot didn't protest this time, his ankle did hurt and there were no other dogs around to see it. Bobby carefully carried Spot to his favorite spot on the couch and then brought him his favorite toy. The two played tug of war and Spot let Bobby win because it made him smile.
In the end, maybe it wasn't so bad if he was thought of as a lap dog. As long as only his family knew his true lap dog nature.
(Prompt sent by Katie Durr)
Spot knew he wasn't as young as he used to be, but he thought he still had some action left in him. He'd gotten into a playful scuffle with a dog twice his size and was having a grand old time until the other dog decided to scamper down a hill. Spot followed, but one of his stumpy legs got caught on a tree root, snagging his ankle. Spot yelped, but mostly in surprise and not in pain, but his family didn't know the difference. The smallest child, Bobby, came over and made such a forlorn face as he examined him. The parents of the family looked him over and told Bobby that Spot seemed okay, but he should take it easy for the next day and if he showed any problems, they'd take him to Dr. Jensen.
Spot shuddered a bit at the idea of going to Dr. Jensen. That man was always poking and prodding Spot whenever they went to visit. Yes, there had been that one time that he gave the parents medicine for Spot that made him feel better, but Spot still didn't like him. No, Spot was determined to show that he would be okay.
But Bobby took his parents very seriously, as young children often do. He scooped Spot up then and there to carry him all the way home. Spot knew he'd never make it that far, but he wished that Bobby would have picked a different part of the journey to carry him. Carrying him out in front of all the other dogs made him seem like a spoiled lap dog and Spot tried to be anything but. Yes, his family did love him and spoil him to some extent, but Spot had lived a rough and tumble life before them, he had even spent some time on the street. Spot tried hard to get the respect of the other dogs through play fighting, winning tugs over sticks, and being able to make his wrinkly face look hard and grizzled.
Now this was all undone. He saw that even the teacup poodle was looking at him amused. The audacity of that little pup! Spot tried to wriggle and give a low growl to show he was unhappy with his situation, but Bobby took this to mean that his ankle was hurt worse than it was.
"Dad, Spot seems upset. Are you sure he's okay?"
"He's fine, Bobby. You just gotta be sure you're holding him tightly."
"He is a bit big for you to carry. Maybe we should ask your older sister to carry him," Bobby's mom, Sarah, chimed in.
"No, I'm a big boy. I can carry him," huffed Bobby in a way that made him seem younger than his nine years.
"Okay, but hand him off to me if he gets too heavy," Sarah replied.
Bobby then made a show of walking faster than his parents. This did nothing to help Spot. Now it looked like a young child could carry him with ease and perhaps even that this was something he did often. Spot grumbled again, but Bobby just held him tighter.
Spot wished he could stop all the other dogs from staring at him with those big eyes filled with amusement at his predicament. The only other dogs being carried were puppies or those too frightened of other dogs to have been brought to the park in the first place.
As Spot predicted, Bobby did not make it all the way home carrying him. He was relieved that Sarah encouraged Bobby to see if Spot could walk on his own. Spot happily did so with only a wince of pain. But Spot could see that his family saw the wince.
Once home, Bobby found new strength and scooped him up again. Spot didn't protest this time, his ankle did hurt and there were no other dogs around to see it. Bobby carefully carried Spot to his favorite spot on the couch and then brought him his favorite toy. The two played tug of war and Spot let Bobby win because it made him smile.
In the end, maybe it wasn't so bad if he was thought of as a lap dog. As long as only his family knew his true lap dog nature.
(Prompt sent by Katie Durr)
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