Kevin and a still nude Jared looked down as the large, shaggy dog crawled from beneath the bed.
"It's Shaggy!" Kevin exclaimed happily.
Jared got the chance to see the sheepdog in a way that, for someone who had been an occupant of that form not so long ago, was like looking in a mirror. "Is it really Shaggy?"
Kevin looked closer at the tag, formerly the amulet, attached to the collar. "It even says so right here!"
"Well, I am glad that nightmare's over," Jared said, perhaps too quickly. He moved to his dresser for a pair of underwear and at least did something about his nudity although, strangely enough, he hadn't really felt all that self-conscious about it.
He had no sooner slipped into the shorts than their mother showed up at the door to the room. "Boys! What's Shaggy doing inside the house?" Mom asked pointedly.
"Can't he just stay?" Kevin whined, but Jared forestalled their mother's response by quickly agreeing to take Shaggy out to the pen in the backyard.
"Give him a bedtime snack, too," she instructed.
Jared finished pulling on some clothes and then prepared to obey their mom.
"At least you still have a dog," Jared said to cheer up his sulking brother.
"Give him two treats for being such a good dog," Kevin suggested.
Jared laughed but on the way through the kitchen he grabbed two of the biscuit from the jar on the counter near the door. Once he had Shaggy inside the pen, he fastened the gate and told Shaggy to sit. Shaggy sat. Jared then tossed the expectant dog a biscuit. As Shaggy munched on the milkbone-shaped treat, Jared stared at the extra biscuit in his hand. His mouth watered as the meaty scent of the biscuit reached his nostrils.
Without any conscious thought on his part, he lifted the biscuit to his mouth and chomped down on it. He crunched happily at the biscuit as Shaggy inside the pen worked on his own treat.
Shaggy barked, announcing he was ready for the other treat in Jared's hand. Shaggy worried as more of the tasty biscuit disappeared.
The bark broke Jared's trance and he saw the half-eaten dog biscuit in his hand. He felt like gagging and spit some of the biscuit crumbs out of his mouth. "What the hell was I doing?" Jared asked in distress.
In disgust, he tossed the rest of the biscuit to Shaggy, who happily accepted the biscuit although in his doggie brain he kept seeing his two young humans sharing flat, orange-dusted squares they pulled from a colorful bag. He didn't know the squares were chips, but he remembered grabbing one that Kevin had dropped. It had been so tasty! Shaggy wanted more chips! He would gladly give up the half a biscuit for one of the tasty chips.
Jared walked back into the house, bothered by his consumption of half a dog biscuit. What bothered him more was that feeling of craving another one as he passed the jar in the kitchen.
He decided to go to his room and spend time on his computer before bed to take his mind off the weird craving.