Just as Jared began to accept defeat and almost began to eat the horrible slew of trash that was left before him, he was saved by yet another familiar voice.
Alex came running over, a leash in hand. “Hey, Cassie! Dad says we can take Shaggy for a walk around the neighborhood before sundown! I asked!” Jared heart sang praise towards Cassie’s younger brother, whom Jared thought kept becoming more and more of a saving grace.
Cassie stood up and frowned, her hands in her pockets. “I don’t know, Alex. I want to, but Shaggy needs to eat the food mom made him.” Alex’s eyes widened. “Cassie, you were actually going to feed him that stuff? It’s not good for him!” Jared would have hugged Alex if he could. Cassie stood there, confused. “But, mom put leftovers in the food and fiber pellets and-“ “No! No, no, no! That’s really bad for dogs! It could give him worms or something!” Jared shuddered, thinking how close he had come to not being rescued from the swill before him.
Cassie looked at Jared’s good bowl, and nodded. “Hmmm..... yeah, that makes sense. Besides, you are the genius of the family, so I guess I have to listen to you, squirt”, Cassie said as she playfully tapped his arm. Alex smirked. “Okay. Go tell mom and dad you’re coming too, Cass. I’ll see you at the end of the driveway with Shaggy.”
Cassie smiled and began to head inside, when a thought entered her mind. “Wait, what about him eating? He must be hungry if he’s a stray.” Alex pointed to Cassie’s food. “Just give him that. You’re almost finished, anyway. It’s fresh, and there’s nothing poisonous to dogs in it.” Cassie nodded, and held her plate out for Jared, which he quickly ate off of.
A wave of pleasure washed over his body; it had felt like ages since he had eaten normal, human food. His newfound dog tastebuds only helped to amplify the taste, placing Jared square in flavor nirvana. Cassie chuckled, and went back inside. “Okay, then, see you at the driveway, my two favorite boys in the world!”, she called. Jared melted, hearing Cassie Henderson call him one of her “favorite boys in the world.”
He knew she didn’t know who he really was, but he didn’t care. Seeing Cy get humiliated by a child, being with Cassie, eating good food, and now getting to go on a walk. Jared was very much content with his life.
As they walked out of the garden, Alex tossed the dog bowls contents over the fence, and placed it back on the ground. He rubbed Jareds head, which Jared allowed given how much Alex had been doing for him so far.
“By the way, Shaggy, I was lying. That stuff wasn’t really bad for you. The food mom made you, I mean. I just know what it’s like to have to eat those fiber tablets and leftover vegetables and stuff. I think it’s the least I can do for you on your first day at your new house. Don’t think that vegetables or anything are all bad and not eat them. Just, in the case of my mom’s leftovers, stay away.” Jared wanted to cry with joy. Alex just kept getting better and better in his eyes. He was absolutely positive this kid couldn’t be any more of a saint towards him.
“Oh, yeah, and I talked with Dad. He says you can sleep indoors today. I made up some story about mosquitoes and beetles and stuff, and I got him to feel sorry for you. Hope you’re okay with that. I don’t know if you can understand what I’m saying, but it just feels good to talk with you.”
It was official to Jared. Alex was too good to be real. If he ever got back to his human form, he would make it his life goal to pay back Cassie little brother any way he could.
They reached the end of the driveway, waited about a minute, and Cassie came running over towards them. Once again, Jared’s eyes were magnetically attracted to her bouncing bust, but neither Cassie nor Alex noticed.
“So, Shaggy, what do you want to do?”, Cassie asked.