The Christmas Card: A Sue Sharp Snippet

          The old English Mastiff, Zeus, just wanted to go take a nice, long nap, but his master had put a red, velvety hat on his furry head and told him to stay by the pine tree that had curiously been brought indoors.  Stranger still, his master had covered the tree with pleasingly soft lights and all manner of shiny, little baubles.  In his salad days, Zeus might have thought such little trinkets would be fun to steal and chew, but those years were long since past.  His master did this strange tree thing every year.  It was all beyond weird, but it was not annoying.  What did annoy him was his master’s new puppy, Button.  In addition to looking very weird and smelling funny, she was beyond stupid!  That afternoon she seemed extra dim.  Despite his master being extremely clear what his intentions were, Button couldn’t seem to figure out what she was supposed to do. 

          Button scrunched up her nose and glared up at Master as she feebly batted away his hands for the third time.  A so-called “runt,” her extra-petite, little body was milky white and completely hairless. The hair on top of her head was done up in stubby, raven colored pigtails tied off with large, red and white candy cane striped bows.  She also wore two pointed doggy ears clipped to the top of her head in the style of a Pomeranian embellished with tiny, jingling silver bells. 

          She was nearly naked, save for her additional Pomeranian-inspired pet gear.  Her hands and feet were locked in fluffy, padded, cream colored paws with pink pads on the bottoms.  A fluffy tail extended from a plug firmly nestled in her tight rear entrance.  Attached to the base of the tail, there was a c-string “modestly” covering her smooth, perpetually balmy “puppy parts.” Normally the c-string was blank, but for the holiday, Master had placed a sticker across it that read in big bold letters, “Do not open until X-mas.”  Also supposedly for the sake of propriety, her pink nipples were covered in heart-shaped pads that matched the rest of her ensemble. 

          Finally, and perhaps most importantly, she had a sturdy, pink pleather collar around her slender neck with a little bone-shaped tag that identified her, her address, her vaccination status, and her owner, Robert Jericho, with an imperative on the back to: “Return if found.”     

          “Button,” Master wagged his finger at down at her.  Normally Button kind of liked it when he laid down the law, but this was not one of those times.  “It’s just a quick picture for a Christmas card.”  He pointed at Zeus who was sitting motionless next to the Christmas tree like a stone statue of some lost emperor. 

             My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!  Yeah, right…

          “See how cooperative your big brother is?” 

          Button was still struggling with the idea that a dog, a real dog, had the role of her “big brother,” and that as a boy dog, Zeus was higher up in the house hierarchy than her.  Having Master present Zeus as a role model just made her angrier.  There was no way that she was going to wear those stupid reindeer antlers and red nose!  As a puppy girl she didn’t exactly have a lot of dignity to spare. 

          All I want for Christmas is some dig-ni-ty…

          “Now come on, be a good girl…”  Master cupped her chin and reached down to remove her clip-on dog ears to replace them with the antlers. 

          No!  I hate Rudolf and I hate you!

          Even without the extra indignities, Button found it difficult to bear the idea of a Christmas card that would be sent out to friends, family, and even former co-workers.  All of them would be looking at it and making fun of the pathetic, little puppy girl she had become!  What if he sent the card to her parents?  She couldn’t bear it.  She wouldn’t bear it!

          Button pulled back, and without thinking, she nipped at Master’s fingers.  She didn’t even break the skin, but his eyes still grew wide and he yanked his hand back in surprise.  The petsitter system, which was integrated into parts of her pet gear and governed her behavior, clicked on.

          The robotic voice filled her ears as it admonished her, “Bad puppy!  We do not bite!”   A powerful shock ran through her collar, her tail plug, c-string, and nipple pads.  With a strangled yelp, Button collapsed and her half-full bladder released onto the recently mopped hardwood floor. 

          An uneasy silence hung in the air as Button made a lukewarm puddle beneath her.  Master glared down at her and the regretful, little puppy girl looked back up at him beseechingly. 

          Why the Hell did I do that?  Please, Master, I’m sorry!  I’ll be good!  I promise!

          Master put down the antlers and the red nose slowly and purposefully.  Then, in a flash, he grabbed the back of Button’s head and pressed her nose into her own mess.   

          “Bad puppy!”  He scolded her.  “Bad puppy!”  His words echoed those of the sitter, but coming from Master, it had much more of an impact. 

          Zeus huffed in amusement from his place by the tree.  He was glad to see his master finally showing the errant, little pup the what for!  Imagine not being properly housebroken after months and months!  She was so dumb!  Given how his master was so indulgent of her, the old dog had become concerned that he was going to have to give Button the business the next time they were alone together, but of course she was so damned ugly and smelly he found the idea quite objectionable!

          Master grabbed a nearby newspaper while continuing to rub Button’s nose in her fetid puddle.  The sound of the paper rustling as Master rolled it up made Button tense just moments before he brought the roll down on her upturned backside.  The little puppy girl howled as tears sprang to her eyes.  It was hard to focus on what he was saying as he spanked her.  One thing was certain, she was a very bad girl, she was supposed to piddle outside, and she certainly was not supposed to bite.  Then she heard the words she absolutely dreaded he would say the moment she’d had an accident in the house. 

          “Clean up your mess, Button.”

          Her face still smashed to the ground, she whined.  Though it had been difficult in its own right, part of the reason she’d managed to come to terms with peeing outdoors at the end of a leash while Master watched was because the alternative was to have an accident indoors, and then having to clean up said accident in the only way a helpless little puppy could. 

          “Clean up your mess, Button!”  Master repeated more-firmly and gripped her hair just a little tighter for emphasis. 

          Not wanting to make things worse for herself than she already had, Button timidly extended her tongue and licked the floor.  The petite puppy girl shivered in disgust from the acrid taste and tried to keep her mind off the reality of what she was doing.  She tried to force herself to start lapping in earnest, but it was Master’s hand suddenly becoming gentle on the back of her head that got her through the disgusting duty. 

          When she’d finished, Master allowed her to sit back up.  Though Button couldn’t see her messy appearance, she certainly felt it.  Her eyes were puffy from crying, her face wet with her own tears and urine, and her hair was mussed from being pulled. 

          “Now, can we be a good girl and co-operate, Button?” 

          Master was annoyingly patronizing, but Button was so eager for his praise and approval after being punished that she replied with a high-pitched bark that was much louder than she’d intended.

          “That’s my girl!” 

          Master’s smile was reassuring as he put the antlers on her head and the fake red nose over her “snout.”  After thoroughly washing his hands—she was still a mess after all—he guided her by her leash to her own spot underneath the tree, next to Zeus. 

          The dog wrinkled his nose and looked almost disapprovingly at her.  Button hung her head a little sheepishly.  For once, she didn’t blame her “big brother” for looking at her that way.  Master put the end of her leash in Zeus’ mouth, then arranged Button so that her bright red bottom was visible to the camera.  She tried to look cheerfully over her shoulder just like Master wanted, with her mouth open and upturned, and her drooly tongue lolling out.  It was irksome to know that her little rebellion had accomplished nothing.  It had, in fact, made things far worse.  Instead of just looking a little extra silly for the photo, she looked completely pathetic with tear streamed cheeks and a punished posterior.  Master took his place behind both of them and after a countdown there was a blinding flash.   

          Later that evening, Robert sat at his desk as he typed a message to accompany the card.  He didn’t fancy himself much of a writer, but Button was “assisting” him through the process from her spot under the desk.  Her busy little mouth and tongue slurping and sucking weren’t really helping him concentrate, but they were making the process a lot more fun. 

          Her hot breath tickled his sensitive skin.  Robert groaned a little when she moved to lap at his balls.  Her muffled, hungry, little whimpers from under the desk only enticed him more.

          Robert gritted his teeth and tried to type again.  “Button has to be the first version of Rudolf with a tail that glows as brightly as her nose…” 

          He gripped the chair arms tightly as Button took the head of his cock into her hot, wet mouth and sucked on the end like it was a piece of candy for a few moments before slowly working her way down the shaft.  She only managed to make it halfway down before she choked and pulled back to the head. 

          “Ah, the Hell with it…”  He mumbled down at Button who paused her clumsy, but delightfully greedy sucking.  Her mouth was full of him and her big brown eyes were moist with tears from briefly choking herself on his girth.  She looked up anxiously.  “I hate writing, and you, baby doll, are not making this easier!” 

          The uncertainty in her eyes switched to mischief as her energetic, little tongue massaged the bottom of his head and she resumed her bobbing.   

          Robert gasped from the sudden sensation of his puppy girl’s eager service.  He deleted whatever nonsense he’d written before and then quickly typed, “Happy Holidays from the Jericho Household,” and then hastily clicked, “send.” 

          He pulled Button out from under the desk by her pigtails.  Her slightly parted lips were still connected to the head of his cock by a string of spittle and pre-cum making her look more-pathetic and more-enticing than usual.  He reached down and pulled away the c-string covering her puppy parts. 

          Before tossing it carelessly aside, he regarded the warning about not opening before Christmas and smirked.  “Christmas is going to come early this year, I guess.”      

          Button barked happily and presented herself to him with her face down and her tail up.  Master hadn’t mated her since the first of December when he’d put that stupid sticker on her c-string.  At first she’d thought it was a joke, but she soon realized he was serious.  Going two weeks without a good knotting had been agony for the poor little puppy girl.  She was overjoyed to be getting her present early, and her drippy, twitching puppy parts surely showed Master her gratitude better than klutzy words ever could.   

          Just call me Christmas!