Zee Pug Knows It

Huffing and puffing, we made it to the Alaska Airlines service desk.

"I heard we have a top secret message!," I said, panting. "It's from my nephew Adele and my niece Owen. I mean my nephew Owen and my niece Adele!" The man working at the counter looked at me from behind the smallest round  glasses I'd ever seen. Behind the tiny glasses, his grey eyes were huge.

When he saw Snuffy put his little cowboy-boot-clas paws on the counter, the man's grey eyes got even huger while the glasses seemed to grow smaller.

"Is zat a pug?" he asked with a strong French accent. "J'adore les pugs!" Then he started petting Snuffy and whispering things in French into Snuffy's little black ear.

I often noticed that strangers would talk to Snuffy and not me.  For example, if we were going for a walk, strangers would come up to us, bend down, and start chatting with Snuffy - saying things like "Oh, aren't you cute!" or "What's your name?" All the while they wouldn't say a word to me.

Usually it didn't bother me. But today I was very impatient to know what the secret message from Owen and Adele was!

Snuffy, meanwhile, was wagging his tail. He seemed to be listening very carefully to what the man with the tiny glasses was saying. After a few minutes, Snuffy finally said "Merci beaucoup!" with a very bad French accent. I was so shocked that my mouth fell wide open. I had no idea Snuffy knew how to speak French.

Then Snuffy turned to me and said, "Allons-y! I mean, let's go! We have to hurry!"

"But--" I looked back and forth from Snuffy to the man with the tiny glasses - "We didn't get the secret message from Owen and Adele."

The man behind the counter winked at me with one of his large grey yes. "Oh yes, you did," he said. "Zee pug knows it!"

I looked back at Snuffy. He was so excited now that his cowboy hat was askew. "Well?!" I said impatiently. "What is the message?"

"It's top secret!" he said. "But if you follow me, I'll take you to them! Then he leaned over and whispered in my ear. "I'll give you a hint. They didn't arrive by air. They arrived by water -- under the water!"

A mysterious message from Owen and Adele

 Flashbulbs whirred. Shutters clicked. It was as if Snuffy were a movie star the way people were taking pictures of him!

The photographers showed no signs of stopping either, even though we were now 15 minutes late to get Owen and Adele.

"Would you like my autograph?" I heard Snuffy say.

Suddenly I had an idea.

"Hey everyone," I said, "there are the famous movies stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and their six children!"

"What?" "Huh?" All the people taking pictures of Snuffy turned to look at me. "Where?!"

I pointed in the direction of a large family who had their back to us, walking toward their car with lots of suitcases.  "There!" I said.

Poof! All of a sudden the photographers were gone. A cloud of dust rose up behind them as the chased after the large family.  Then I snatched Snuffy up off the ground and ran.

We ran all the way through the parking garage, then down an escalator, then up an escalator. Then we ran through a long hallway into the airport terminal. I stopped at the big sign to see where Owen and Adele's gate was.

"Yeehaw!" said Snuffy. "Giddyup!"

"I'm...(gasp)...not...(gasp)...a horse!" I tried to say, but I was too out of breath.

Just then, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Would Aunt Becky and Snuffy please report to the Alaska Airlines service desk?"

Snuffy and I looked at each other.

"We have an important, top-secret message for you from Owen and Adele. Repeat, Aunt Becky and Snuffy please report to the Alaska Airlines service desk immediately."

Say "cheese!"

 Finally Snuffy and I made it to the airport and parked the car. We were five minutes late.

"Let's go!" said Snuffy, who was wearing his now cowboy hat and cowboy boots. He leapt out of the car. "We're late because you were driving so slow!"

I didn't bother telling Snuffy we were late because of his unplanned shopping trip. I was too worried about finding Owen and Adele and making sure they didn't wait too long. It was their first time flying anywhere by themsevles! "Can you walk a little faster?" I said to Snuffy.

But he couldn't walk very fast because of the new cowboy boots. Snuffy had bought not just one, but TWO pairs of cowboy boots, so he could have a boot on all four legs!  Now he was walking very, very slowly because of it.

People walking by with their suitcases turned and stared at Snuffy. They had never seen a pug in a cowboy hat and boots before. One lady in a puffy blue jacket stopped as she walked by and said, "Oh, that is the most darling thing I've ever seen! Do you mind if I take a photo?"

"Well, we're kind of in a hurry - " I started to say, but Snuffy interrupted me.

"Yes, of course you can take a photo!" he said. "Let me just strike an interesting pose. My left side is my best, you know. My nose doesn't look quite so flat on that side."

"But Snuffy," I said, "We're late! Owen and Adele are waiting! We need to get to the dude ranch!"

Snuffy didn't hear me because he was busy posing. And before I knew it, he was surrounded by people taking photos of him. Cameras whirred and clicked. The crowd closed in around Snuffy. I couldn't even see him anymore!

"Wow!" "Have you ever seen anything like that!" "Is that pug a professional model?" I heard people say.

I looked at my watch. Now we were 15 minutes late to meet Owen and Adele! I didn't want them to get scared or lost in the airport. I had to do something, and I had to do it quickly.