While Cassie stayed near him, talked to him, petted him, everything was right with the sheepdog's world.
When she left him, returning to her room in the house, the dog felt dejected and lonely. He whimpered for a short time, hoping she would take pity on him and come back.
Time, like words, held hardly any meaning for him. Meals arrived at regularly spaced intervals, and sometimes he sensed when the delivery of a meal, usually by Cassie or Alex, was imminent. He grew excited, pacing around the doghouse, whining and whimpering.
Walks usually followed meals. More often than not, Alex walked him. Cassie walked him, too, but not as often as he might have liked. On occasion, Mr. Henderson walked him. He preferred Alex or Cassie. Mr. Henderson was impatient and too restrictive, refusing to let him follow his nose to explore every interesting scent that took his fancy.
So, he had forgotten about the dreaded date until Cassie walked into the backyard. The sheepdog, which had been wagging its hindquarters to welcome her, stopped abruptly when he noticed she wasn't alone.
"Jared, you remember Shaggy," Cassie said in her normal sweet tone of voice.
The impostor looked down at the sheepdog and searched for recognition in the canine's eyes. Finding nothing, he smiled and confirmed that he remembered Shaggy. "I'm sure he is a good dog."
"He's the best," Cassie said.
The dog recoiled when Cassie's date reached to pet him. "Oh, don't be afraid of me," he said and held out his hand.
The sheepdog sniffed of the offered hand. "See?" The impostor remarked.
An instinct told the dog not to trust the stranger, but Cassie told him it was all right. "Jared's a friend of mine," she said.
"That's right," the stranger said and landed his hand atop Shaggy's head and started petting him.
The sheepdog responded predictably enough, enjoying the attention. Soon, he had forgotten all about his distrust of the stranger, who somehow wasn't a stranger. He seemed familiar.
While Shaggy warmed to her date, Cassie excused herself. "I forgot something," she said. "I'll be right back."
Left alone with the dog, the presumptive Jared took the opportunity to delve deeper into the apparent devolution of his former master.
"You in there?" The impostor asked. "I know. Bark once for yes, twice for no. Do you understand?"
The dog remained silent and sat back on its haunches.
The new Jared chuckled. "I guess the canine instincts won out, after all," he said. "Well, it's worked out for the best. Don't you think so, boy?"
He induced a bit of bliss by scratching that sweet spot behind each of the dog's floppy ears. The dog forgot everything other than the pleasurable sensation of the scratching.
About that time Cassie returned. "Oh, nice. I see you have both become friends."
Jared laughed. "It was easy," he said.
"Well, I know we talked about going somewhere and taking Shaggy with us, but Alex will be home soon. He can take care of Shaggy."
Jared smiled. "Whatever is good for you."
"Well, Shaggy looks tired. There's no reason to drag him along."
So, just like that, Cassie left on her date with Jared, leaving behind a sheepdog that felt puzzled. Something hadn't gone the way it had been meant to go. But the commotion of a squirrel scampering up the trunk of a tree distracted the dog from deeper thoughts.