Zeke Ezekiel

Zeke pulled his parent owner, despite her protests, down their street. People laughed to see such a small, determined dog in charge of an adult. Finally, Zeke was too puffed to breathe through his nose, and let go with a gusty sigh. Immediately his parent owner grabbed him, and looked at him, nose-to-nose.

"What on Earth do you think you are doing, Daniel Ezekiel Daschund?" she asked him. He hated to do it so close to her face, but he knew he had too. He licked her right on her nose with his long, pink, bubble-gum tongue and barked.

"Alright, I can take a hint." And with that, she put Zeke back down on the footpath, and followed after him, he encouraging her with the occasional bark.

Past the Butcher's, past Mrs Ellencamp and a strangely silent Henry Augustus, busy plotting about what he would do to all daschunds if he were King of the World, and around the corner to Ursula's place, where Zeke once again started barking for all he was worth.

Now his parent owner was really confused. She would have understood if Zeke had stopped at the Butcher's, he was, after all, a walking appetite. She would have definitely understood if Zeke had stopped at Mrs Ellencamp, judging by the looks that Zeke and that very large cat exchanged. After all, cats were NOT daschundly. They were lower than dog catchers in the daschie scheme of things.

But no, Zeke stopped in front of large gates that effectively barred the way to a larger garden and an old house.

Zeke kept barking. What was it about this house that had Zeke so excited? Oh, if only they could really understand each other!

Just then, Ursula came running out, tail doing a million circles a minute, eyes bright and barking a return joy. Zeke's parent owner understood. Ursula was Zeke's girlfriend. Not that Zeke's parent owner knew Ursula's name, but some things are as obvious as an iceberg in the desert.

Zeke and Ursula went into a frenzy of licking each other across their pointy noses, as much as they could through the bars of the tall gates.

Zeke's parent owner was staggered! Imagine that, Zeke had a girlfriend - and such a beautiful one, too. Quickly, his parent owner foung the little intercom switch on the side of the gate, and pressed it, waiting breathlessly for an answering buzz.

Next Week: A Meeting of Minds