Jared looked around the room, which he saw in various shades of black and white, when he opened his eyes. He had to give his head a slight shake to get the fur obscuring his view out of the way. When his eyes focused on the bars of the cage holding him, details rushed back into the forefront of a weary brain.
He remembered the incident that had happened so quickly. "A car..." Jared whimpered. He remembered the impact with the speeding car. Other details remained blurry. He pushed against the bars of the cage with his snout.
"Anybody there?" Jared barked, somewhat weakly, still feeling rather groggy.
When no response was forthcoming, he sniffed the air. His nostrils flared as they detected harsh chemicals, the scents of other dogs, and something else that made him uneasy. He whimpered, a sound heard by the man entering the room. The man flipped a switch and flooded the room with more light. Jared saw some other dogs in cages across from the one holding him.
"So, you made it through the night," the man said. "Guess the doc did a good job patching you up, for all the good it'll do."
Had someone found him and taken him to a vet? He woofed softly at the man.
"Just hold your horses," the man said as he busied himself with a clipboard of paperwork. "We'll get you and the other newcomers into the display pens soon. Who knows? There might even be some people decide to visit and adopt some of you guys."
No! Oh no! Jared realized he hadn't been taken to a veterinarian at all. He had ended up caged at the local animal shelter!
Jared tried to shake off his drowsiness. "Let me out!" Jared barked. "I'm not a dog!"
His barking set off some of the other dogs, which added their own contributions to the noisy chorus of canine barks, yelps and howls. Jared's own head ached from the cacophony he had caused.
"Damn dog," the man said angrily and glared at Jared, obviously blaming him for starting the commotion.
With his rude awakening, Jared realized his impulsive actions might just have made things much, much worse. He was caged, far from home, far from his brother, his parents, and anyone that might care to lift a finger to save him.