Everyone got out of the vehicle, but Jared had to wait until father and daughter had exited and Daisy's father opened the door for him to leap out of the vehicle. After the long ride, he wanted to stretch his four legs.
Jared tried to shy away from the little girl. He wanted to think straight, and Daisy's constant petting him and scratching his ears were not actions conducive to focused thinking.
"Now, you have homework, young lady," her father said.
"But I want to play with Fauntleroy," Daisy whined.
Both her father and Jared cringed inwardly at the unwelcome name.
"Daisy, there will be time enough for that after dinner and once you have done your homework," her dad stipulated. "Besides, your dog will need time to acclimate himself to his new home."
Daisy didn't look persuaded, but she turned and walked into the huge mansion behind her. Her father then turned momentarily to Jared.
"All right... boy..." He simply didn't care for his daughter's choice of a name for the dog. "You've got the run of the entire estate. Knock yourself out."
Jared could hardly believe his ears. Would it really be that easy?
As soon as the man entered the house, Shaggy raced back toward the gate. He came to an abrupt halt at the barred gate. The bars didn't even offer enough space for him to shove his head through, let alone his entire body. Jared whimpered and looked at his surroundings. Beyond the spacious lawn were fields and woods. He also saw a tall brick wall. He guessed the wall might be eight or ten foot high. He wasn't going to simply scramble over the wall and escape.
"The whole place cannot be surrounded by a wall," Jared thought to himself as he bounded across the lawn and through the field. He made his way toward the woods. He entered the woods but he had walked only a short distance when he encountered the wall again. He began to feel uneasy as he examined the imposing brick barrier. He followed the wall. He found himself eventually at the back of the huge estate. The wall truly enclosed the entire estate!
"I can't be trapped!" Jared whimpered and sniffed along the base of the wall with his ultra-sensitive canine nostrils. He needed to get home to his real family.
Doing so might just be more difficult than he had anticipated.
And then...