The Runner And His Friend

Colt was an excellent runner. He never passed a chance to run around his father’s backyard. 

Even when the rain came down hard, or the snowbanks reached his chin, Colt would always race around his dad’s property, feeling the rush of wind under his ears.

 His brother would run after him, trying to catch up, but Colt was fast, the fastest one of them all.

 His brother, Chris, exclaims how one day when he’s a little older, he’ll beat Colt in a race down the neighborhood. But until then, no one could beat him at his skill.

 You see, Colt is a dog; a large Golden Retriever of soft cream-colored fur, with the most infectious smile, and a heart bigger than his family combined.

 He was a sweetheart who was always down for a walk, games or just lazing about with his family in the house. He had Chris, a 7-year old boy with one of his front teeth missing.

 His baby teeth had started falling out, and every time one did, Colt was ready to go hunting for the perfect spot to bury it.

 Little did he know, the Tooth Fairy would be taking care of Chris’s teeth. Then there was Maggie, the boys’ mother. 

A short-haired Veterinarian with a soft spot for Golden Retrievers. Maggie rescued Colt from an animal hospital down the road when she was still dating Dom, her now-husband. 

A quiet man, Dom displayed affection through his words and body language. You could tell he was in a good mood if he swayed with the music as he made breakfast. 

This was Colt’s family. They loved him very much, and only he could get certain reactions from his family. Whenever Chris is being naggy, he turns to Colt to help him feel better. 

Sensing his emotions, Colt comforts Chris and gets his mind around what’s bothering him. After a long day’s work, Dom takes Colt out for his daily walk.

 Dom looks forward to these walks cause it helps him unwind and get his mind off his long day.

 His family doesn’t know it, but he only ever speaks to Colt with a high voice when they’re playing alone. And if ever there was bad news, Maggie always found Colt sitting beside her, his head on her lap, looking up at her with his beady black eyes, somber. 

He feels her pain with her, and its welcome company. Despite the life that he has, sometimes it gets lonely. 

When Chris is in school, and his parents are busy with work, what’s there to do if no one is around to play with? Who’ll go frolicking with him in the yard on the fresh patch of snow? 

Indeed, it gets lonesome occasionally. It wasn’t until late winter when hope was in the air. On the outskirts of Georgetown, Canada, where they live, new neighbors were arriving at their new home. 

He couldn’t quite place the scent, but Colt could tell there was another dog nearby. He rushed out the door to meet the newcomers, hoping to spot the source of the smell. 

His neighbors were friendly, happy even, to be greeted by the excited dog. As he circled the two individuals enthusiastically, taking in the scent of the nearby dog, he noticed the scent died off the farther away he got from them. 

It didn’t make sense. These weren’t dogs, they were humans like his family. How come? It just so happened that Dom had just arrived home. 

He waved at his new neighbors and walked over to introduce himself. Happy to see his dad, Colt ran up to him and yelped in joy.

 There’s a new dog around here, can you help me look? Colt knew his dad would understand him, and he did. Unable to understand what was being said, Colt could tell everybody was getting along very well. 

He had a feeling Dom asked about the dog because everyone was looking at Colt quite inquisitively at one point. 

After a few moments, the two parties waved goodbye, and Colt was being led back home with Dom. His confusion continued, but so did his excitement. 

He couldn’t tell why, but he felt the excitement in his dad, too. When the rest of the family came home, there was animated chatter amongst them. 

The air was electric, everybody was thrilled, lively, just like a spark, He couldn’t quite tell why everybody was speaking to him so joyously, but he had a hunch.

 Over the coming days, the new neighbors would arrive early in large cars. Colt was first out the door to greet them, smelling that familiar yet elusive scent on them.

 They seemed to be going in and out of the house frequently, carrying items in, and coming out empty-handed. Dom had told him not to get in their way. He understood what exactly his dad meant when he tried to follow the newcomers in and was escorted out one too many times. 

Finally, after many days of only human arrivals, Colt smelled it. The scent was much stronger. It shook him out of his laze. It thrilled him to his core. 

Could it be? Could the dog finally have arrived? Once again, he bolted through the door to greet his neighbors and was elated to see what stood before him: a furry white and brown dog, a Husky roughly the same size as him, running towards him. 

The two were ecstatic! They pranced around each other, sizing each other up, barking and yelping in pure joy. They ran around both properties, outpacing the other, playing tag.

 Behind them, the two families were conversing delightedly. He could hear their elation as he swerved in and around them with the new dog. 

In all his excitement, Colt managed to stop for a moment and looked at his parents as they beamed at him, and he knew what that meant. 

He turned to the Husky and ran off in the opposite direction, starting a race. The other dog followed suit and started catching up. In the cold of winter, running as fast as he can, Colt felt it. 

He had never been so happy. Finally, he found somebody who can run as fast as him. Finally, he found a friend.

Written by: Suhaila

More Short Stories: Walter The Hero

Do you have a Dog Story you would like us to share?  You can find more information at https://everythingbigdogs.com/submit-a-dog-story/