Taterskin & The Eco Defenders: Book 2, Chapter 1
Book 2 ("Tell It to Future Generations"), Chapter 1
It had been two years since we returned to Zenia from our adventures in Australia, India, and Africa. I was now the proud papa of quadruplets: Dab, Fona, Goldie, and Panny. Their legal names are Jehonadab, Xylophona, Goldilox and Paniagua, but Rovette and I almost always call them by their nicknames.
There is one thing I want to relate about one of the pups. I was extremely proud of Dab when he headbutted me one day, not long ago — he headbutted me in earnest, I mean: He wasn’t simply wrestling with pops; he was most assuredly trying, with all his heart and all the strength he could muster, to stop me from doing what I was doing. Yes, and that was the thing that made me the most proud of him I’ve ever been. Up until then, anyway.
Why do I say that? Well, this is what led up to the headbutt: his mother and I were playing around, pretend-fighting, with growls and snarls and such (you see, even though we’re not puppies anymore, sometimes Rovette and I get in a playful mood).
Anyway, when Dab saw us doing that, he thought that we were fighting in earnest. At first he froze, looking at us with a shocked and scared look on his face. But then, almost immediately — to protect his mother (so he thought) — he put his head down, charged me, and rammed me in the chest with all the force he could muster.
As I said, I have never been more proud of Dab than when he did that. He was no match for me in size or strength, but he didn’t care about that or give that a thought. All he was thinking of was doing whatever he could to protect his mother. I put my right forepaw around his shoulders, smiled down at him, and reassured him that his mother and I had only been playing around, and that everything was fine. Rovette then put her left forepaw around his shoulders, too, and let him know that I would never deliberately hurt her. That was a great relief to him, and he felt a little sheepish about the misunderstanding, but was satisfied, content, and happy. And so was I. That took real courage, and love, for an animal of his size to attack a much larger one. And to do it in defense of his mother (as he thought he was doing) — what could have been a better motive?
Yes, I am truly a proud papa. I’m proud of all of my pups, not just Dab, but that is the event that stands out most in my mind so far.
Taterskin & The Eco Defenders (in paperback, kindle, or hardcover) is available here.