Taz

Tiny is adorable, so cute 
drawing attention from 
perfect strangers, pleasing the
admiration-focused owner
no end, the little creature
manageable, but oh dear, so
very frisky, alert, not the
passive lapdog she intended
it to be, demanding instead
to be cared for, exercised,
cleaned up after; in short, a
whirlwind nuisance. Which
explains how Tax ended up, 
surrendered to the welfare of
others, a forlorn puppy still wearing
the pink rhinestone-studded collar 
reflecting the disappointment
his owner experienced. Now,
Taz is the companion of an
elderly, overweight man with
arthritis and a cane, who never
misses a day taking his faithful
little companion on long
woodland strolls where Taz
flashes through the undergrowth
after squirrels no larger than
he is, stopping now and again
to cast adoring glances at the
old man who discarded that
collar and regards the Chihuahua
with love and relief, to himself
escape the formidable trap
of boredom and entropy.