Tommy, the little Irish Setter puppy, was staring in the pond in the garden of the house where he lived. He had a comfortable life, all four months of it, but that wasn't on his mind. What was on his mind, was his reflection.
He was a typical Irish Setter pup. He was a little over 10 inches tall, with a square muzzle, soulful brown eyes, and thin floppy ears. He was coated with short, auburn fur, and a thick tail. But his most distinctive feature was his tummy. Tommy had always been the chubby one of the five in the litter, and even when he was born he had a rotund belly. His owners adored all of their puppies, but Tommy seemed, to him, to be their favourite. They loved to stroke and pet his cute flab, as he spent long hours curled up on a sofa, or a bed, with one of the humans who looked after him and his family.
Now it was no different. A normal Irish Setter pup of his age, should weigh about 18-20lbs, but Tommy tipped the scales at two stone in weight. His tummy had stayed the same proportions as when he was tiny, but now he was much bigger, and so was it. He was weaned off his mother's milk recently, and that allowed his owners to fill him with crunchy kibble, wet dog food and occasional table scraps, making sure that he would keep his puppy-fat and pudgy belly.
His red-furred belly jutted out from his flanks about two inches on either side, and it was quite spherical, hanging down beneath him. Tommy lay on his side, to get a better view of himself. The fur on his tummy was actually being separated slightly, so it was thinner, and his pink skin could be seen at close range. He put one of his forepaws to it, feeling his belly. It felt soft, and cushiony beneath him, and moved slightly as he pressed it, his paw sinking in slightly.
Just then, his sister Sarah, walked over to him, looking excited. She was an energetic little puppy, who was beginning to lose her 'puppy-fat', which just speeded her up even more. She looked like an average Irish Setter puppy, except she had longer ears than her brother, and of course, did not have a large belly, but rather a smooth, flat transition from ribs to stomach. Tommy looked his sister's midsection, and felt that her svelte waist was emphasising his podge.
"What're you doing, tummy?" she asked in her chirpy voice. Because of his size, Tommy was frequently given nicknames referring to his roundness. He didn't mind them though, because he knew his belly was giving him extra petting and affection from their owners, but the others weren't jealous.
"Nothing Sarah," replied Tommy. He looked at his sister for a second, scrutinising her comparative wiriness to his round belly. "Sarah?" he asked.
"What, is anything wrong?" she said a little concerned. All of his brothers and sisters were very close.
"Do you, think that this," pointing his muzzle at his belly, "is a little big for a dog my age?"
Sarah was taken aback a little by this, but answered his question.
"Well, I don't think it is," she deduced, "but I'm probably not the right person to ask, you should ask Mummy instead."
"But what do you think?" Tommy persisted.
"I think it makes you look adorable!" replied Sarah, smiling. "Besides," she continued, leaning her head into her brothers tummy, "it makes you so soft and huggable, like a big, furry pillow," and she cuddled up to him, relaxing luxuriously on his belly. She lay there for a few seconds, before she got back up.
"Feel better about it?"
"Yeah, thanks Sarah."
"Tommy?"
"Yes Sarah?" he asked.
Sarah pulled close to him, and pressed a forepaw to his shiny black nose. "You're it!" she whispered, and she ran off giggling.
"Oh no you don't!" Tommy called back playfully, and he got up, and ran after her. He moved quite quickly for a puppy of his rotundness, though his belly did mean that he ran with a gambolling gait. After a few minutes, his other litter mates joined in the game, after hearing the commotion from inside. They were all built along the same lines of Sarah, but all had slightly different features.
Alfie, was the smallest, youngest one, with short fur, and deep green eyes, and looked more like Tommy than the others, as he was slightly chubby, with a little belly, too. But he was nowhere near as husky as Tommy. He was also sprightly, but liked to spend long hours relaxing with his owners, curled up on the sofa with Tommy, and 'their' humans.
Dora was a mirror of Sarah, looking almost identical, and was just as playful and energetic. The only real ways to differ between the two, was that Dora had slightly longer fur on her belly, which she inherited from her dad, and was a little bit thinner than the other puppies, her waist curving up slightly, a trim and perky little pup.
Matt was the oldest of them, and was slightly bigger then all the others, by perhaps one paw width. He was also the most mature of them, but that was easy to be considering they were all still young, and he loved to play with his siblings and run around with them, but he was not always on the go, like his sisters were. He had light brown eyes, a slight belly like Alfie, and had slightly lighter fur on his paws than his litter mates.
They all loved each other, and their parents dearly, who loved them back just as much.
They played tag for a while, and Tommy was usually it, due to his belly impeding his movement slightly, slowing him down, but he was till able to catch the others.
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