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.

On the way to the airport

Finally I'd gotten my suitcase all zipped up and Snuffy and I were in the car. We started heading toward the airport. 

Snuffy and I were both very excited for our dude ranch vacation with Owen and Adele. I even had a secret plan for something we were going to do at the dude ranch that I hadn't told Snuffy about.

"Wait!" cried Snuffy, as we got closer to the airport.  "Turn here!"

"What do you mean? That's not the turnoff for the airport!"

"I know that," said Snuffy. "Do you think I'm dumb? We're going to Renton Western Wear so I can get a cowboy hat!

"Oh - right," I said. And I was just barely able to turn off the freeway without causing an accident. Several horns honked at me.

"You should be a little more careful," sniffed Snuffy.

"Excuse me, you're the one who told me to make that turn at the very last minute! Besides, I'd like to see you try to drive."

"Pugs don't drive."

"I'm sure there's a good reason for that," I muttered.

"Wait!" cried Snuffy. "Turn here! This is the way to Renton Western Wear!"

Again, I made the turn quickly and several cars honked at me. Honk honk honk HONK!

"You're going to get us killed," said Snuffy.

"Are we almost at Renton Western Wear?" I said, exasperated. Because we're going to be late to pick Owen and Adele up at the airport!"

"Yes, yes, we're almost there - WAIT - turn HERE!" yelled Snuffy. The tires screeched as I swerved into the parking lot. An old man in a cowboy hat and fancy leather boots shook his fist at us.  I couldn't hear what he was saying but I knew that whatever it was, it wasn't nice.

Snuffy rolled down his window. "Sir, I'm very sorry about that," he said. "Aunt Becky is a terrible driver. That is why I wear my doggie seatbelt at all times - to protect myself in case of an accident. Will you forgive her for almost ending your life prematurely?" Snuffy looked at the old man with his big brown eyes.

The old man just stared at Snuffy. After a few seconds, his mean frown went away. All the extra wrinkles in his forehead disappeared. Then, before I knew it, he smiled at Snuffy. Not only that - he reached into his pocket and brought out a doggie treat.

As he held his hand out to Snuffy, he looked at me sternly. The smile went away. "Young lady, you better watch your driving. This here is a very cute pug and you want to be careful, you hear? Plus, you almost ran right over my new boots."

"Yes sir, I'm very sorry," I said. I didn't even bother trying to explain to him how it was all Snuffy's fault that we practically ran over his new boots.

Snuffy just scarfed up the treat with a very loud chomping noise. CHOMP CHOMP SLURP!

 "You take care now," said the old man, patting Snuffy gently on the head and smiling again. Then he walked away, admiring his new boots.

"All right," said Snuffy, unbuckling his seat belt. "I hope you brought your wallet, because it's SHOPPING TIME!"

A Pug needs a cowboy hat

"OK," said Snuffy, "I am almost ready to go the dude ranch." He zipped up his small, tidy suitcase.

"Great," I answered. "I'm packed too! In an hour, Owen and Adele will be getting here on the airplane and we can go to the airport to pick them up." Then I tried to zip my own suitcase, which was very big and messy, with clothes spilling out every which way.

"An hour? But that's not enough time!" said Snuffy.

"What do you mean?" I sat on my suitcase to see if that would help me zip it.  "I thought you were ready to go."

"I said I was almost ready to go," said Snuffy. "There's a big difference between being ready and being ALMOST ready.

"Oh?" I said in a distracted way. I pulled and pulled on the zipper of my suitcase, but  still, it wouldn't zip. I had too many things in it.

But what would I take out? I had seven pairs of underwear, six t-shirts, five pairs of socks, four pairs of shoes, three pairs of pants, two dresses, and one sweater. I needed every single one of those things!

"Your suitcase looks a little full," said Snuffy in a very superior voice. "You need to learn to pack light - like me." 

"Well, I said, it's a little easier when you're a pug - you don't wear clothes!" 

"You might be right about that," said Snuffy. "But pugs do wear cowboy hats!" 

I looked at him in astonishment. "They do? How do you know that?" 

"I saw it on the Internet," he said, as if it were obvious. "And now, before we pick Owen and Adele up at the airport, we must go find one for me! Please hurry up and get your suitcase zipped because this is very important." 

Photo courtesty of hgtv.com