"That dog doesn't have a care in the world," Mr. Webster remarked as he walked past the sheepdog, oblivious to the fact that the dog was really his eldest son in canine guise.
Jared, occupied with the peanut butter treat, barely registered his father's words. But, as his dad left him in the yard to return to the house, the situation took on more seriousness and Jared regained his grasp on his immediate needs.
"Wait! Dad!" Jared barked. "Don't just leave me like this! I need that collar back."
He couldn't believe that, for the sake of a peanut butter treat, he had just ignored his dire need for the collar his father has so unconcernedly disposed of.
Jared strained against the lead, but it was too secure for him to possibly get free. He whimpered as he realized the restraints now imposed on him.
At that moment, he saw Shaggy walk from the house. "Finally," he barked impatiently.
"Hello," the sheepdog in his two-legged human form greeted him. "Did you have a good night?"
The sound of brakes grated as the large garbage truck came to a stop at the curb, adding a more immediate urgency.
"Never mind that," Jared barked. "You've got to get the collar back!"
Looking down, Shaggy noticed the new collar. "Where did that come from?"
Shaggy cast a fur-obscured glance toward the street. A big man in gray coveralls had lifted the Webster trash can and dumped the contents into the back of the truck.
"Shaggy!" Jared wailed. "The collar... quick... Dad tossed it into the trash."
Finally, the former sheepdog recognized the reason for Jared's urgency. He might have intervened, but at that moment Mrs. Webster called from the back door. "Jared, breakfast's ready!"
The city employee had finished the task of dumping the Webster garbage and placed the plastic trash container back at the curb before he got back aboard the large truck before the vehicle lumbered toward its next stop.
Jared whimpered as he felt a sick feeling in his belly and a tight tingling in his groin as the truck left with the collar and disguised amulet. "Shaggy, do something!"
Shaggy started to walk toward the street. "Jared, did you hear me?" Mrs. Webster called from the door again. "You'll be late. In here now!"
Shaggy felt the pull of her command. She was his Mistress. "Sorry, but I must obey her," he informed the sheepdog.
Jared went nuts with barking. "Obey me! I'm your master, too!"
Shaggy shook his head sadly. "I am sorry, but you're a dog now," he said.
"What difference does that make?" Jared barked.
"Your commands don't seem to require that I any longer need to obey them," he said with a bit of a shrug of his shoulders.
"But this is your fault!" Jared wailed.
Mrs. Webster stepped onto the lanai. "Jared, now! Get a move on or you'll be late for school." She frowned at the sheepdog's noisy antics.
"Sorry," Shaggy whispered to the dog and stepped toward the back door. Mrs. Webster frowned as she saw the sheepdog straining against the lead. She had always felt a sheepdog was too much dog for the small backyard.
Jared couldn't believe it. Shaggy had let the garbage workers take the collar and amulet. Without them, how was he going to get back into human form?