He had wanted a dog of his own for a long time, but as the situation spiraled out of control, Kevin wondered if he was really cut out for having a dog, even if the friendly canine was, in fact, his magically transformed brother.
"Shaggy, stop!" Kevin yelled as he saw the gray and white sheepdog in hot pursuit of the bully, Dale, who had precipitated the situation. "Jared, please stop," his brother yelled, trying both names in the hope that the dog would respond to one of them.
For Jared/Shaggy, running at a fast lope was exciting. "Run, run, chase, chase!" Simply remaining in motion, freed of any restraints, was his primary goal.
That, and perhaps taking a bite out of the bad human who had threatened his owner. "Get him!" He thought, closing the gap with the fleeing 12-year-old bully. "Get him!"
Dale, now screaming as the shaggy dog closed on him, might have evaded the dog if he hadn't tripped.
Fortunately for him, the mayhem had attracted the attention of a park security officer.
Trained to deal with off-leash dogs causing commotion, the large man grabbed the collar, stopping the sheep dog's lunge toward the boy.
The sudden stopping of his forward momentum surprised the transformed boy-turned-dog.
By then, Kevin had caught up and immediately claimed his brother with a declaration that the dog belonged to him.
Dale, now recovering from his fright, walked closer. "That dog attacked me!"
"Did not!" Kevin retorted.
"Tell it to someone else," the big man in the security uniform said in a grouchy tone. "Your dog was not on a leash."
Kevin gulped when the man punctuated the statement by pointing at a large black-and-white sign. "Can't you read?"
"I had him on a leash, but he broke free," Kevin tried to explain. He even produced the now useless leash, which had snapped.
"Sorry, son," the man said. "I am going to have to call animal control. They'll sort it out."
Shaggy's tail had been wagging as the man scratched his ears with one hand while keeping a tight grip on his collar with the other hand. But a few words began to filter to his human brain.
The import of the words brought Jared back into the foreground in the struggle for control of the canine body.
"Do something, Kev," he tried to plead, but only produced some unhelpful whimpering.
The man tugged the sheep dog over to the door of the small utility shed that also served as his office. He pushed the dog into the office, and then closed the door. When he turned back to Kevin and Dale, he took out his phone and hit speed dial.
In a moment, he summoned help to take the mess out of his hand. "Yeah, I've got a dog over here at the park. Not on a leash and was chasing a kid."
He listened, and then ended the call.
"You'll need to get your parents to sort all this out at the shelter," the officer said.
"But…but he's my dog!" Kevin protested.
Inside the shed, loud howls protested his imprisonment. Jared looked around for another way out, but saw nothing. He wanted to yell at Kevin for being so reckless, but that wouldn't do any good.
He just needed to stay calm and figure out his next move.