The brothers made different resolutions after their afternoon spent
playing baseball and frisbee.
Kevin felt impatient for the next time his brother could transform into "Shaggy" and spend some quality time as the dog his younger brother had always wanted. He went to bed thinking of more cool things he could do with his older brother when Jared settled into sheepdog form.
By the next morning, however, his older brother came to a decision.
Jared had decided changing into "Shaggy" posed too great a risk. He
glanced over at the mangled jock and cup on his nightstand.
He still could not summon any memories of his time spent on all four
paws, and that bothered the teenager. "Does that mean I am completely
canine when I am the sheepdog?" Jared wondered to himself.
He didn't like the uneasy feeling his "doggy amnesia" stirred in the back of his human mind.
"It doesn't matter," he said aloud. "I'm not going to change again."
To make certain, the teenager decided to get rid of the medallion and
collar.
But, when he looked around his room, he could not find them.
He groaned and grabbed his compression shorts and pulled them on. He
walked across the hall and pounded on the door to Kevin's room.
"Kevin, let me in," Jared ordered in his loud voice. He knew their
parents would have already left for work by now.
Kevin, already dressed, opened the door and grinned. "Morning, Shaggy,"
he said, his hands held behind his back.
"Cut that out," Jared snapped. "I am not going to be Shaggy again."
Kevin's grin disappeared. "Why not?"
"I don't want to discuss it," Jared said. Because, thinking about it,
his entire body tingled and he found himself wanting to slip back into
the body of the English Sheepdog.
"Where's that collar and medallion?" Jared asked his brother.
"You mean these?" Kevin asked.
While his brother remained open-mouthed in surprise, Kevin used his
gloved hands to transfer the collar and amulet into Jared's bare hands.
"You little sneak!" Jared cried in surprise as the tickling sensation
spread from his hands to his arms. His entire body began to itch as the
thick fur of a sheepdog spread out.
Once again, the collar magically left his hands and fitted itself
around his neck as if it naturally belonged there.
The transformation took place much faster than on the previous
occasions. Jared slipped back into sheepdog form almost
instantaneously.
He wiggled his hindquarters out of the now loose shorts.
He produced a low growl of irritation with his brother.
Kevin grinned and scratched behind his ears. Shaggy forgot all about
being tricked.
"You like that?" Kevin asked.
He laughed when he saw his brother's canine tongue roll out of his
muzzle. Shaggy began to pant as an expression of contentment.
"I picked today because school's out for the holiday," Kevin said. "We
can have fun all day!"
Fun. Fun with Kevin. Fun with his friend.
A fleeting image of a gruff human face and a volley of shouted abuse
cowered Shaggy. "Wait! I've got practice. I can't miss practice. The
coach will kick my ass!"
Kevin listened patiently to a brief volley of "Woof! Woof! Bark, bark."
"Yeah, that's right," Kevin said, scratching behind Shaggy's ears. "You
get to be my dog all day long. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
His tail wagged to affirm he felt every bit of his younger brother's
excitement.
"I want to take you down to the park," Kevin said. For the first time,
he produced something else. He attached the long leash to the collar
holding the medallion around Jared's neck.
Shaggy sat back on his haunches and waited patiently for Kevin to
fasten the leash. Then, he leaped onto his four paws and strained on
the leash.
Go! Go! Go! His doggy mind wanted to get outside and feel grass and
pavement under his paws. He began panting eagerly.
WOOF!
He betrayed his eagerness with one and then another loud bark.
WOOF!
Kevin laughed and patted the dog's head. "Hold on, boy," the younger
teenager said.
When they arrived at the park, Kevin led Shaggy toward one of the walking trails when...