The Big Chihuahua Read Online Free

the very end of the retractable leash.
    I nodded. This was typical. Pepe always surged ahead of me on our daily rambles. Lately he had taken to impulsively dashing across the street in search of ever more tantalizing aromas, which is what worried me and made me ask for Felix’s help.
    Felix was an animal trainer. He grew up in L.A. in a show business family and went to school to learn how to work with wild animals on TV and movie sets. When he moved to Seattle (in search of a quieter life, he said, but he had never told me exactly what he meant by that), he went into a more domestic line of business: as a dog trainer, which he said usually involved training the human more than the dog.
    “That means Pepe considers himself the alpha,” said Felix. “He’s scoping out the scene for danger before you enter the picture.”
    “Do not worry, Geri,” said Pepe, whose sensitive long ears had picked up our conversation. “I will protect you.” We turned right when the road hit the lake and walked along a street lined with blackberry brambles on one side and parking lots for the houseboat residents on the other.
    “How thoughtful,” I murmured.
    “Not really,” said Felix, with a little frown. “ You need to be the alpha. He should feel certain that you will protect him from harm, not the other way around. It’s our job to provide safety for our dogs.”
    We were heading for a small pocket park on the edge of the lake. Just then, a cyclist buzzed down the hill and zipped into the parking lot, almost crashing into the leash and possibly causing a fatal accident. I had to race ahead to catch up with Pepe, scooping him up and out of the way just in the nick of time. I was trembling when Felix caught up with me.
    “That was a close call,” Felix said, gathering me into his arms.
    He held me until I stopped trembling, and he never once said I told you so , which is one of many things I love about Felix. I also love his kindness and his patience, with both people and animals. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s so handsome, with his brown skin, his high cheekbones, and his dark eyes. I snuggled closer, taking in the scent of his cologne: something spicy and earthy.
    “Put me down!” said Pepe. “You are turning me into a Chihuahua pancake!” I set him down on the ground, and he ran off to sniff at the base of a tree.
    “So let’s work on getting him to come when called,” said Felix once I had stopped trembling.
    “OK,” I said.
    “Get him to look at you, then call his name,” said Felix. “Like this!” He called Pepe’s name and snapped his fingers.
    Pepe gave him a glance. I could see the disdain in his expression—maybe it was the drooping ears. His ears are very expressive. Then he walked off in another direction.
    “Pepe!” I said. “ Ven aqui .” Sometimes he responds better to Spanish than to English. But not this time. He didn’t even look up but kept his little nose glued to the ground, as if he was intent on some important discovery.
    “Just wait for him,” said Felix. “He will eventually want to know what you’re doing.”
    “I know what she is doing,” said Pepe. “She is listening to bad advice from someone who believes he is the boss of me.”
    “So who do you think is the boss?” I asked Pepe.
    “You are!” said Felix. “You just have to be patient.”
    “I am!” said Pepe. “Do I not understand the wisdom of the Here and Now?”
    “Oh, don’t give me that Dogawandan jargon,” I said to him.
    “Really,” said Felix. “Those people? I don’t think they have the corner on patience.”
    “Oh, I wasn’t talking to you,” I said. “Pepe and I are supposed to go to a seminar taught by a dog. We’ve been researching it, and now he’s rather full of himself.”
    “He’s always full of himself,” said Felix.
    That got Pepe’s attention. He gave a little growl.
    Felix laughed. “I don’t mean that as an insult. These little dogs always act much bigger than they are.