A bit of orange fluff runs by and then suddenly stops, whiskers twitching. He wheels around, runs full speed at the door, slams on the brakes, up he goes and begging for a bite of cookie.
Chubbs is a character worthy of his own stories, full of mischief and antics that only a youngster can muster. He is by far the youngest of the group and he stays busy most of the day while the others nap or groom lazily in a corner. I watch him pester Boo, onto Fergus, a nip at Wembles. Its usually Vroo that will indulge his playfulness. I watch my gentle giant nibble his ears and then stop at the youngsters squeals of protest. Chubbs is off like a shot, but he is back seconds later to see if he can get Vroos attention again.

My “kid” will snuggle under the pile, cozy and warm with the older boys. He bruxes like mad when one of then grooms him in the hammie. He squeaks soft protests when the warmth leaves him to run greet me for breakfast platters. He will often wait and watch as I rub heads, play with whiskers. Its been lately that he tends to wait for the others to finish before he crawls out for a taste. Most mornings are rice cereal with crusts of toast, others are soft fried eggs. He is a careful eater, no longer gobbling food up in the babyish way he once did. He has developed a fine tuned palate( well as fine tuned as any rats) and will turn his nose up at once loved dishes. He likes the olive oil and bread, warm baked squash of all varieties, soy and rice milk soaked kibble. I have seen Chubbs completely ignore a sweet for something more savory.

I see my baby is growing up and before long he will have grown into his full adult size. He has a broad head, with nice ears and a beautiful coat. The color reminds me of Fall and the beauty of that time of year is my favorite color palette. He is good sized, well into the 600 gram area.The whiskers curl around his tiny muzzle in a perpetual smile that often makes me laugh.

I am wistful today looking at the boys, they just grow up way to fast.