Sheila
The Frightened Little Beagle
By Debra Eliassen
Copyright 2013 Debra Eliassen
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Chapter 1
My name is Sheila.
I live with my step-brother, Kinder, who is my best friend. We’re beagles. Mommy said Kinder came from a shelter. She said that about a year later Daddy found me wandering the neighborhood all by myself and they couldn’t find where I came from. I honestly don’t remember living anywhere but here with Mommy, Daddy, Kinder, and The Cat.
We live in a nice home with very nice neighbors. We get to bark at dogs and people walking by from our own private yard. It’s a good life.
Sometimes, though, things frighten me. That’s when Mommy calls me Scaredy Cat and tries to tell me everything is OK. But there are some terrifying things around here.
Once in awhile Daddy holds on to a big growling machine and walks all over the carpets with it. When it comes out and growls, I jump up on the couch and shake. Mommy hugs me to comfort me, but I think she’s kind of scared too. Then it goes away for days. But it always comes back.
The Cat is a little frightening too. Her name is Sassy. I don’t know why they had to adopt her. We were fine before she came to live here. I don’t think she likes me. She sneaks up on me so quietly I don’t even realize she’s coming. Then I have to snarl at her, which Mommy and Daddy do not like. They say she won’t hurt me, but I find that hard to believe.
Lately she started to snuggle next to Daddy when the family is watching TV. Mommy said there’s room for all of us on the couch, but I just don’t trust that cat. She makes the strangest sounds. She doesn’t go outside to potty. She has breakfast and dinner in a private dining area where Kinder and I aren’t allowed. And she can jump from her perch to the kitchen counter where Daddy makes sandwiches. Yet she never likes what’s up there. It’s food! Doesn’t she know that food is always good, no matter what it is?
One of the best things in my life is going for walks. I love to take Mommy or Daddy for a walk. Daddy usually comes home first and walks with Kinder. They leave me all alone for a long long time. Sometimes I think I’ll never see them again. But then Mommy comes home. We play and kiss for a little, and then she says, “Let’s go change our clothes.” That means we run up the steps together, stopping at the landing for a quick kiss and then up the rest of the way. We jump on the bed, and laugh and play, and she says, “Oh Sheila, this is my favorite time of the day,” and I know she means it. We can sense that stuff, you know.
After she puts on her comfy pants, we get to go for a walk. There’s a park near our house, and sometimes there are other dogs there. I get really excited when I see other dogs. But when I get closer, I become frightened. I roll over onto my back and piddle. If they don’t back away, I try to scare them back by jumping up and growling. That doesn’t seem to work too well either. So Mommy usually just pulls me away from other dogs. She says it’s just easier that way.
Sometimes, when there’s lots of snow on the ground, Daddy and I go on long walks. He knows how much I love to romp in the snow. Snow walks aren’t at the park. We go a different way. It’s very exciting. Different smells and all. All in all, I have a pretty good life.
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Chapter 2
One day, while Daddy and I were on a snow walk, we had a terrifying experience. A very scary dog growled and jumped at the fence of his yard. Daddy jumped, I piddled. It was very scary. Later, I heard Daddy telling Mommy that the dog was called Pit-bull. She suggested that Daddy and I go a different way for snow walks.
A few days later, Mommy and I were on our regular walk in the park, when suddenly I felt her nervousness through my leash. I lifted my head up from my sniffing, and there he was… Pit-bull – with no leash. We didn’t know what to do. We both were frozen in fear. Finally Mommy backed up slowly, we turned to walk away, but I peeked back and saw that Pit-bull was starting to run towards us. I started shaking and running back and forth on the path. There was nowhere to hide. And then, just as fast as Pit-bull appeared, he was gone.
We told Daddy about our scary experience, so he went to the park looking for Pit-bull. He wanted to try to find where he came from. That made me very nervous because that’s how I came to live here. Pit-bull was very scary and I didn’t want him living with us.
After a little while, Daddy came back alone. Whew, I was relieved. But I guess I kind of worried about Pit-bull being lost.
Everything went back to normal for awhile. Mommy and I walked in the park. Pit-bull was nowhere to be found.
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Chapter 3
Before long, it was spring. The weather started getting warmer, which made Mommy very happy, and our walks got longer, which made me very happy.
I forgot all about Pit-bull… until that Saturday afternoon. Just after Kinder and I had our walks, Daddy came walking through the door with Pit-bull on a leash. Oh no, this can’t be, I thought. Pit-bull looked even scarier than I remembered. I ran up the steps to the landing where Mommy and I do our quick kiss and did not move – except for the shaking. I could not stop myself from shaking. Mommy came up the steps and tried to calm me, but I just couldn’t stop shaking.
She went back down and talked very gently to Pit-bull. As Mommy spoke, he did something that really surprised me. He rolled over onto his back and piddled, just like me! Maybe he was scared too.
I stayed at the top of the steps for a long time watching what went on. Mommy and Daddy took turns petting him.
After a little while, Kinder walked over to Pit-bull to sniff him. Pit-bull stood very still and did not make eye contact, which is the proper way to be sniffed. Then Kinder allowed Pit-bull to sniff him too. All of a sudden both of their tails started wagging. I could not believe my eyes. They liked each other. What about me? If they become friends, maybe Kinder won’t want to play with me anymore. Who will I play with? I love playing with Kinder.
Oh what a bad day it turned out to be. I was not only afraid, but now I was feeling all alone too.
Kinder and Pit-bull played until they were too tired to play anymore, like Kinder used to do with me. They both jumped up on the couch to take a nap. I decided it would be a good time to come back downstairs. Mommy was in the kitchen, so I ran in to see her. She was very happy to see me. She told me I was being very brave. And she took out a bag of treats to give me one for my bravery. Unfortunately, Kinder and Pit-bull heard the bag and came running in too. My first thought was to growl at Pit-bull, but Mommy stroked my head and said, “Good girl, Sheila,” like she does when she doesn’t want me to growl at The Cat. So I kept quiet, and just shook. Besides, I was about to get a treat. Mommy decided to give all three of us treats. Funny thing about us dogs. As long as we’re all getting food, everyone behaves.
Just then the phone rang. Daddy talked for a few minutes, hung up and said that he just talked to Pit-bull’s daddy. It turns out Pit-bull was not his name. His name was actually Snuggles. What a strange name for such a scary dog. Snuggles’ daddy was away and someone was apparently not doing a very good job of watching him. He asked if we could keep his dog at our house for a few days. Mommy and Daddy said that was fine with them. Kinder didn’t seem to mind. The Cat was asleep, so she didn’t get a vote, but what about me? No one asked how I felt about Pit-bull, I mean Snuggles staying with us.
I ran over to Mommy and tried to tell her that I thought it was a very bad idea. But she didn’t understand. She just kept saying, “Yes Sheila, Mommy loves you.” How could she not know what I was trying to tell her?
I remained cautious the rest of the day, trying to stay out of Snuggles’ sight as much as I could, w
hich meant I stayed at the top of the steps watching. When it came time for supper, Mommy brought my food up to me. She kept saying that Snuggles was a very nice dog and there was no reason to be afraid, but I was having a hard time believing her.
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Chapter 4
I must have been at the top of the steps a very long time because I suddenly felt like I had to go potty. I didn’t want to go in the house. I’ve seen how upset Mommy gets when Kinder sometimes does it. I had to get someone’s attention to let them know I had to go. I began with my usual whimper. Daddy came by, petted me, and left. Since the whimper didn’t work, I moved on to my pitiful cry. That usually gets them. I heard Mommy say the word potty, so I knew she figured it out. Good girl. She came up the steps with a leash. Why would I need a leash to go in our private yard?
Instead of opening the door to the yard, Mommy took me out the front door. At first I thought we were going for another walk, but she just walked a few steps and told me to go potty. I looked up at her and tried to tell her that I go potty in the yard or on a walk – not outside the front door. I think she understood, because she said, “I know this isn’t how we usually do it, but it’s only for a little while. I promise.” That made me feel a little better. When Mommy promises something, she always comes through.
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Chapter 5
Evening came and it was time for everyone in the family to settle on the couch or floor for TV time. I worried about how this was going to go. I stayed back and waited to see where everyone would sit. Daddy was already sitting in his usual spot, and The Cat took her spot next to him. I wasn’t sure how Snuggles would be with her. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen The Cat since The Dog came into our house.
Mommy sat down at her spot, near the other end, and Kinder snuggled next to her. What would happen next? Snuggles looked at everyone on the couch, back and forth, he studied the situation. Then he turned away, went over to one of the dog pillows on the floor and curled up there.
I looked over at Mommy who was already smiling at me. She told me to come up and sit on the other side of her. I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. I stood up, hesitated, sat down, up and down. Mommy kept coaxing. Finally, I decided to jump up onto the couch. Just as I started to make a move, Snuggles sprang up from the pillow and started towards me. I snarled and moved on him. He moved on me. Mommy and Daddy both yelled. Snuggles and I stood only a foot apart. I was not going to back down – unless Mommy and Daddy really wanted me to.
Finally, Mommy said, “Sheila, come up here,” and she opened her arms to show me that she wanted me on the couch. I quickly jumped up and snuggled down next to her. Snuggles looked a little sad at first as he went back to the dog pillow, but within a few minutes he was fast asleep. I was pretty sleepy myself.
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Chapter 6
I was enjoying a very nice nap when suddenly I heard a frighteningly familiar sound. I jumped up to see Mommy and Daddy carrying the crate upstairs. Oh no, was I a bad girl? The crate is only for new puppies and bad dogs. Maybe they thought of Snuggles as a new puppy even though he’s a grownup dog. At least I hoped that’s who it was for. I looked at Kinder and he looked at me. We both looked at Snuggles. Snuggles was still asleep.
When Mommy and Daddy came back downstairs, they had some quiet discussion. I was a little nervous. They talked so quietly I couldn’t hear any of the words I knew to figure out what was going on.
We all went out to the yard for our time-for-bed potty, and then ran upstairs. I ran right past the crate that was in the bedroom and jumped up on the bed. Snuggles was about to jump up too, but Daddy stopped him and nudged him into the crate. He looked so sad as he watched Kinder jump into bed and then Mommy and Daddy. The lights were turned off and everything got very quiet, except for the clanging of the crate as Snuggles tried to get comfortable. After a minute or two, he started to whimper. He got louder and louder as Daddy kept telling him to lie down and go to sleep.
Even though Snuggles was a very scary dog, I felt bad for him having to sleep in the crate. I also thought about how he might be missing his daddy. I crawled out from under the covers and peeked over the edge of the bed to take a look at him. He looked right up at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen. I scratched at Daddy’s arm, trying to tell him that Snuggles needed to get out of there. Daddy said that he was in there so he wouldn’t scare me. Oh no, this was my fault? I didn’t mean for Snuggles to be sad. I just didn’t want him here because, well, like Daddy said, I was scared.
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Chapter 7
When morning came and Daddy opened the crate, Snuggles darted out so fast it startled all of us. He started running around, wagging his tail and barking. He was so happy to be free.
The three of us ran down the steps and out the door to the potty yard. Then back in the house for breakfast. I was first to finish. I usually am. Daddy then gave us each two treats for dessert. The sun was shining, so I asked to go back out to enjoy the sunbeams. I love to relax in sunbeams. Mommy says I’m like a cat that way. She doesn’t realize how insulting that is.
As I settled down on my favorite chair in the patio room, the door opened and Snuggles came out. I immediately jumped off the chair. I’m not sure why I do that, but I do it when the cat comes around too.
Snuggles looked at me for a little while and then decided to sniff me. I had a feeling this moment would eventually come. It took all the bravery I could muster to hold still and allow him to sniff me. He then turned his head for me to sniff him. I was scared, but I did it. He smelled a little frightened but otherwise friendly.
Then to my surprise, he took the play-with-me stance, head down, tail wagging. I didn’t know what to do. I darted back and forth like I sometimes do with Kinder. The next thing I knew the door flew open, Kinder ran out and the three of us starting running around the room together. The door was still open, so all of us ran into the house, through the living room, into the kitchen, back into the living room, up on the couch. This went on for a very long time until we all collapsed on the floor, panting from exhaustion.
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Chapter 8
After a nice nap, it was time for walks. As usual, Daddy took Kinder first, which meant that Snuggles and I were left at home. Mommy was there. But without Kinder there with us, I wasn’t sure how we would get along. I didn’t do my usual whimpering and whining because Kinder was on a walk and I was left at home. Instead I quietly sat on the couch and waited for my turn. Snuggles jumped up and sat right next to me. We both stared out the window as we waited for Kinder and Daddy to return. Next came my turn with Mommy, and then Daddy took Snuggles.
When all the walks were over, we went back to the patio room to bark at the people and dogs walking by. Life was pretty good again.
Mommy and Daddy even allowed Snuggles to sleep in bed with us that night. It was a bit crowded, but I don’t think anyone seemed to mind.
The next few days were so much fun! We three were becoming very good friends. Snuggles was very funny. He made the silliest noises when we played, and we played for hours at a time.
Kinder and I taught Snuggles a few important things dogs need to know. Kinder taught him how to stare at the refrigerator until someone opened it. I taught him the best way to let mommies and daddies know he wanted to go outside – scratch, whimper and then put on a cute face. He was pretty good at it.
Snuggles was a strange dog. He allowed others to go through doors first. He let me drink from the water dish before he did. He never cried and carried on when Kinder went for walks before us. Mommy said he had “manners.” I guess that’s a good thing.
Once during supper, Snuggle dropped a piece of his food on the floor. Usually I would make a dive for it, but this time I stayed back and let him get it. I was surprised and a little proud of myself. I guess it was because I was learning manners.
So I guess not only were Kinder and I teaching Snuggles things, but we were
learning things from him too.
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Chapter 9
Kinder always liked to go for rides. But rides make me nervous. All that stuff flying by so fast makes my belly feel funny. And I never know where we’re going – the vet, puppy camp, the dog bath? I just don’t like it.
But one morning Daddy said he and Mommy had to go a hardware store and he wanted to know who wanted to go for a “ride.” As soon as Kinder heard the word, he went crazy. Snuggles must have known the word too, because he was acting just like Kinder. But not me. No sir. I wanted nothing to do with any rides.
It turns out the decision was not mine to make. Before I knew it, all three of us had collars and leashes on and we were headed for the car.
Kinder crawled on Daddy’s lap while he drove and within a few minutes he was drifting off to sleep. I was on Mommy’s lap watching everything fly by, feeling yucky. Snuggles was all by himself in the back seat. I think he wanted to be in the front, but since there were no laps left, I guess those manners of his made him stay in the back.
He looked kind of happy back there. So to everyone’s surprise, I jumped between the front seats and onto the back seat next to Snuggles. His tail began to wag, and funny thing – so did mine. It was nice in the back, especially with Snuggles there. I wasn’t afraid. My belly didn’t feel yucky, and things didn’t seem to fly by so quickly.
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Chapter 10
However, the days flew by so quickly, I don’t think any of us realized that it was time for Snuggles to go home to his real family.
I thought back to when he first came to our house and how all I wanted was for him to go away. I didn’t want him to go away today. We were friends. He was fun. He had manners.
But when Snuggles saw his daddy, he jumped so high and squealed so loud, he looked like a puppy. He was so happy to see him again. I felt happy for him. But I also felt sad, very sad that he was leaving.
Sheila The Frightened Little Beagle Page 1