Walking down the street, Max was on cloud nine. There were so many things to smell! The world looked so much bigger… And he was furry and naked outside. Bliss!
He wondered how many people were seeing him tug on his leash, Rick being dragged along behind. Max was certainly doing the walking here, but of course, no one would realize he was a man-turned-dog on his first walk. They would just see him as the overzealous dog he clearly was.
Rick was enjoying the walk as well, but as the human-in-charge, the pleasure was from seeing his friend so excited. Sure, there were unpleasant parts, like nearly being knocked off his feet when Max turned a corner, or when he sheepishly took a dump in a neighbors yard for the first time and Rick had to clean it up.
Eventually they made it to a big park, one where Max had indicated before transforming was the ideal place to play catch. Rick looked around and didn’t see any other dogs, it was a good time of day for some privacy, apparently. Not like they needed it per se, but being nervous that something would go wrong, Rick always just wanted to be aware of his surroundings.
Max was clearly not concerned. He tugged on the leash and leapt on his hind legs when they got to the park. He wanted to be let off so bad. He wanted to run. He wanted to run around the park. He let his animal side take hold and flowed into total German Shepherd bliss.
“Max! Hold on, boy,” Rick said, pulling his friend/man’s best friend back. He was glad at that moment that his friend’s name was so naturally a dog’s name. Many other park patrons were watching him have poor handle on his dog.
Max continued to leap up, until he heard Rick give him this command. “I’m not letting you off this leash until you sit.” This caught Max’s attention. He immediately obeyed, feeling a bit of humiliation for being put in his place. All that was erased, however, when Rick scratched behind his ears and told him, “Good Boy! Good Boy, Max.”
“Now,” Rick said. “You need to stay close. We have lots of time to spend here, and I don’t want to be losing you. We can explore everywhere eventually.” He unceremoniously unclipped Rick’s collar from the leash. “How about a little fetch to get things started.”
Max flipped around and faced Rick, seeing the ball in his hand. He started panting uncontrollably. He’d finally get to run! Run free! Run like the German Shepherd that he was!
Rick smirked at his friend’s animalistic enthusiasm. He threw the ball as far as he could across the open field of the park. Max was right behind it. He took off with a dash, and almost caught the ball as it fell to the ground. Catching it on the bounce, he turned right around towards Rick.
Depositing it in Rick’s hand, Max jumped up and down in glee. This was so much fun! His fantasy was coming true! He got to act like a dog, have all the stamina of a puppy…he was a pup! It was amazing! He had to fetch again! He barked at Rick, hoping he’d get the clue.
Rick got the clue. He tossed the ball again as far as he could. The same game of fetch went on for nearly half an hour before Rick pocketed the ball. “My arm is tired, boy.” He gave Max a gentle pat. “Maybe we can go and sit for a while.” He clipped the leash on Max’s collar and headed over to a bench. He sat down and Max sat on the ground beside him, panting from all the exercise he’d been getting.
After enjoying a few moments of relaxing in the fresh air, a young girl and her dog came walking up to their bench. “Mind if I join you,” she asked. Rick instinctually grabbed the leash, just in case the other dog started to bother Max. He looked at the Border Collie and sized it up. It didn’t seem aggressive, simply panting the way that happy dogs do. He looked towards Max, as if to gain his approval. Max seemed pretty keen to meet this new dog, he didn’t even return Rick’s gaze.
Rick nodded his head, scooting over to make sure the girl had enough space. Max and the Collie met their heads, gingerly sniffing each other’s noses first, and then each other’s ears, then neck. Rick watched intently, making sure to jump up in case the other dog did something stupid.
“You look like you’ve never seen another dog before,” the girl said. “I promise my Rusty is kind if yours is.” She held out her hand. “My name is Kathy. Yours?”
Rick took her hand. “Name’s Max. I mean… my dog’s name is Max. I’m Rick.”
“Ha! That’s fine.” She turned back to the dogs. “They seem to have taken a liking to each other.”
Looking back at his companion, Max was clearly trying to make eye contact with Rick. Rusty had continuing sniffing up his new friend’s body, his nose now quite close to Max’s tail.
“Uhm, yeah. Max hasn’t met a lot of other dog’s, so I’m sure this is a fun new experience for him.” Rick tried to hold back a snicker as Rusty was clearly trying his best to get to “know” the other dog better.
Max had forgotten how dogs greeted each other. Although there was a big part of him that was shocked to have another dog so close to his balls, the smaller animal-brained part of him was telling him to… return the favor? He leaned into it, not wanting to seem rude to the other dog, sniffing the dog up and dog, including near Rusty’s tail.
“I haven’t seen you at this park before. Did you just get Max?” Kathy said to Rick, turning her attention away from her pet.
“Oh, I guess so, yeah,” Rick replied. “I’ve…had Max for a while, but this is our first time out since I took ownership of him.” He liked the way he was able to tell the truth and keep it completely normal-sounding.
“Rusty is a pretty social dog. We’ve been looking for other dogs to play with for a while,” Kathy replied. “Maybe I’ll see you around here more often? I like to come in the mornings on and off. You know, when I can.”
Rick could tell the statement was genuine, but could also sense a bit of flirtation. He thought of a good way to let it slip that he was gay and also not hurt her feelings.
“That might be possible. I’ll have to see how Max here is feeling about it,” Rick replied.
Max barely heard their conversation. He was having too much fun learning the scent of his new friend.
“Would you be okay if I let Rusty off the leash? He likes to run around without me.” Kathy pulled her Collie in to her.
“Uh, nope, that’s fine,” Rick said. “I imagine that I could let Max run while we are watching them.”
Max perked up at the word about being let off the leash. He dashed over to Rick so he could be unclipped. Rick did so, and the two dogs went bounding into the large field in front of them.
“They should be okay,” Kathy said. “Where did you get Max from? Rusty came from a shelter a few years ago, he was already two years old then. It looks like yours is pretty grown up!”
“Uh, yeah, he’s about two years old now,” Rick replied. He tried to think of a not-lie to tell Kathy. “He, uh, just came into my life I guess. Found him…online. Already had the name, just kept it cause I felt it fit him well.”
“That is nice,” Kathy said. “I just guess I haven’t seen a lot of dogs around here with their balls still intact.”
Rick did a double-take. Did she just comment on Max’s testicles? Was this her way of flirting?
“Uh, well, I guess I haven’t gotten around to taking care of…that. He hasn’t been aggressive at all, and I keep him mostly indoors. I guess it just slipped my mind.”
“It happens! I didn’t have to think about it for Rusty. The shelter pretty much takes care of that for you,” Kathy concluded. “I know a good vet if you needed a recommendation.”
“Uhm, sure. I’ll take his name,” Rick said. He obviously had no intention on using the pet doctor, but he didn’t want to seem rude. He looked down at his phone while Googled the name that Kathy gave him.
-
Max was, once again, having the time of his life. He couldn’t understand a single yip or bark that Rusty was making, but his animal instincts picked up enough to know what he was suggesting. The two good dogs ran back and forth, wrestled playfully, even tugging at a toy of Rusty’s for a while.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when Max realized he was no longer in the same field that they started out in. He and Rusty must’ve gone behind a few bushes after Max had accidentally tossed Rusty’s toy behind them.
Max gathered his thoughts. He could already smell the trail of scents that let back to where they had come from. He looked towards Rusty and gave a small bark to get his attention. Rusty was by the side of the road, and looked like he was about to prance into the middle of the street.
Surely enough, Max saw a car coming, on track to hit Rusty if he didn’t move quickly. Max ran to the side of the road and started barking, trying to tell Rusty to get back.
Thankfully it worked. Rusty realized the car that was coming near and bounded back. He had plenty of time before the card passed by, but Max was proud he’d caught it before something bad happened. He sniffed his new friend, welcoming him back. Max was able to use his combined human brain/dog instincts to avoid a disaster. A small feat, but one that was very pleasurable for a dog who was a human just hours before.
Suddenly, Max felt a ring of ropey metal pull him back. He yipped in surprise. It took him a moment to realize he was at the end of a rod, being pulled now to the road once more. Max watched as Rusty ran off through the bushes, no doubt back to Rick and Kathy. He hoped he’d be quick enough to stop this man at the other end of the pole.
Despite his best efforts, Max was being pulled back to the car that he’d saved Rusty from moments before. Except he realized now it was no ordinary car. It was Animal Control’s truck. And Max was getting loaded in for his very own ride.