It was a nightmare. First, his secret had been discovered by his rival Cy Whalen, who had promptly convinced the impostor to hand Jared over to him. Just when he thought he would have to become Cy's dog, his rival had been upstaged by Cassie's oddly precocious brother. Jared felt he had finally found a refuge that would provide him a safe space where he could figure out what to do next while taking clandestine advantage of the situation to spy on Cassie.
He did feel some twinges of guilt about doing that to her, but she also produced some twinges in other locations for the horny teenaged boy trapped in sheepdog form. That was murky and confusing territory and he would figure it out later.
But for now, Mr. Henderson had completed the installation of the electrified fence. In conjunction with the bulky plastic collar now fastened around Jared's neck, a system of small stakes formed a barrier around the entire yard. If Jared placed so much as one paw across that barrier, the collar gave him a nasty shock.
The teenager was glad he had the wherewithal to learn his lesson much more quickly than a real sheepdog. Mr. Henderson even commented on Shaggy's almost immediate avoidance of the border. "It's like he already understands," he remarked.
His wife and children standing at hand for the unveiling agreed.
"I told you Shaggy's a smart dog," Alex said.
"Well, he can pick up some other lessons, too," Mrs. Henderson said and asked her husband to hand over the remote. After studying it and finding it not all that complicated, she smiled. "Now, if he causes a problem with his barking at night, we have a means to put a stop to that, too."
Jared almost growled at her. "Look, lady, I just wanted a place to hang until I can figure this out," he thought bitterly. "Such a bitch."
It wasn't the most charitable way to think about the mother of the girl he had a huge crush on.
Speaking of, Cassie spoke up with a question of her own. "Are you sure it doesn't hurt him?"
"It's just a mild shock, and he will soon learn to avoid it," her father assured her.
"Mild shock!" Jared whimpered in protest. "More like a finger in a light socket if you ask me."
"Well, I suppose it's better than him running into the street and getting run over," Cassie said.
Alex bent and hugged the sheepdog's neck. "Nobody wants that, do they, boy?"
What could he do? Jared responded with a lame "arf" and everyone laughed at him.
"So, I guess Shaggy has a new home," Mr. Henderson said.
"Well, not so fast," his wife said. "There are still some conditions..."