None of his recently learned tricks ( not the sad eyes, not a pleading whimper, not even an offer of a shaggy paw shake) deterred the man and his assistant from their task at hand as they escorted him into a spartan room with a single examination table. Jared sniffed the antiseptic smell of the room, heavy with chlorine, and some other pervasive, unfamiliar, and unsettling scent.
The smell made him want to run. He turned and tried to duck between the legs of the man closest to him. The man responded by seizing his collar. With the help of his assistant, they soon had the hapless sheepdog strapped to the table with some tight restraints.
Woof! "This is all a big mistake."
Despite his barking, the men seemed to ignore Jared. His unease turned to downright fear when he saw the assistant hand off an enormous needle to the man gripping Jared's collar.
Woof! Woof! "Please, you don't understand. I'm not a real dog."
"Too bad we couldn't get him a home," the assistant remarked. "Seems like a decent dog."
Woof! "Not a dog! That's what I am trying to tell you..." Jared stopped barking and began panting wildly as the man brought the needle closer to Jared's shaggy form.
"Don't get sentimental about every dog that comes through these doors," the man said as he probed along Jared's left haunch. "Not every one of them going to walk out."
No! No! No!
Jared finally recognize the scent. It was the smell of fear left by all the dogs before him brought to this room.
He felt the sting of the needle and howled...
And promptly awoke, still curled on the cold, uncomfortable concrete floor. He sent a signal for his stiff body to move and his paws gradually responded and got him onto his feet... all four of them.
He realized that his penis has escaped its sheath, made hard by that fucking scary nightmare?
He panted loudly, drool spilling onto the concrete. It was just a nightmare he kept telling himself. He stared at the clock on the wall and saw the time... 7:15.
Morning, he presumed, which meant he had slept the entire night, penned like an animal.
It's Saturday... the shelter would open in a few more hours to give a brief window for prospective families to come and meet the animals up for potential adoptions.
He walked over to a bowl and lapped at the room temperature water to ease his thirst. Did he stay so thirsty because of all the damn drooling?
Eleven to three. A mere four hours. They represented his last hope. The shelter would stay closed Sunday and on Monday...
Monday would be decisive. Why did he have to have that awful nightmare? Was it some damn glimpse at his future?
No! Even if he didn't get a family to take him home with them, he had possibilities. Kevin might still come through for him.
He whimpered in his throat. "Kevin, where are you?"
Or the shelter staff could decide he deserved some extra time.
He was contemplating these possibilities when he senses the presences of his two cellmates. He turned and saw the Rottweiler and Great Dane.
"Look who is finally awake," Big Guy huffed.
The Great Dane made an indifferent grunt.
"Stand still, bitch," Big Guy ordered.
Jared barked in an attempt to deny the bigger, muscular dog. Big Guy ignored him and mounted him.
Jared yelped in dismay to find himself once more knotted together with the other dog. Big Guy began pounding away at him. He looked with pleading eyes toward the Great Dane, but that did him no good. The Great Dane shook its blocky head and trotted off, leaving Big Guy to his morning pursuits.
At least the Rottweiler was mercifully quick, although then came the awkward interlude while they had to wait for the other dog's knot to deflate.
He kept his eyes fastened on the clock, which had slowly advanced to 7:32. The shelter couldn't open fast enough to suit the impatient transformed teenager.