Everything was so new. He wanted to stop and sniff everything on the way back home. He nosed a discarded fast-food wrapper that hadn’t quite made it into the public trash can at the park. The lingering scent of the cheeseburger permeating the paper tantalized him and activated a Pavlovian response that resulted in a copious amount of dog drool dropping into puddles on the sidewalk.
At an impatient tug on the leash, he reluctantly began moving again. His stomach rumbled. The scent of the greasy burger had made him hungry. Sometimes his owners would share some of their food with him.
He looked back and raised his shaggy head. He had an odd sensation looking at the holder of the leash.
“What is it, boy?”
Jared whimpered, feeling uncertain and confused. He felt a hand reach down and scratch behind his ears.
“I’m sure it is a lot to take in.”
The leash holder spoke to him, but Jared didn’t recognize any familiar words, like HEEL, SIT, GOOD BOY.
The holder of the leash kept looking at the world, his eyes darting in various directions as he took in the multi-hued environment so different than the one that had been the boring norm for him.
“But I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”
Jared cocked his head. He shouldn’t like this person, but he sniffed the air and the scent seemed familiar.
The creak of the back gate provided another familiar touch that spoke to the sheepdog that they had arrived home.
“Jared!” Kevin’s voice shouted from the back door onto the lanai.
Both the leash holder and the dog turned their faces in the direction of the voice.
“One sec,” the new Jared said. “Let me re-fasten Shaggy.”
Shaggy wasn’t his name. He knew it almost with a certainty. His name was…
“Jared, hurry,” Kevin urged. “I found out some stuff about the amulet.”
Kevin’s brother re-attached the collar to the lead. “There you go, Shaggy.”
No! His name wasn’t Shaggy. It was…
“Jared, come on already,” Kevin insisted.
Jared was his name. Kevin was his brother. So, why was he being chained in the backyard like…
Oh yeah.
He was a dog now.