This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to events or places or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Image Copyright: http://www.123rf.com/
profile_Vladmir Sladek/ 123RF Stock Photo
Copyright 2011 by Gary Whitmore
It was a beautiful early cloudless day in May in New Castle, located in the western area of Pennsylvania.
On the eastern outskirts of New Castle is located a new housing development being built by the Hanson’s Construction Company. This new development, the Highland Estates, contains thirty new homes with plans for a lovely woodsy country landscape.
At the entrance of the construction site, just past the fenced gate, is the office for Hanson’s Construction, which consists of a single-wide old trailer.
The owner of this company is Mike Hanson, of average height and average-sized potbelly for men of his age group.
Mike is still a handsome man with a sprinkle of gray hairs that peek through his full head of brown hair. Mike inherited the business from his father, Ernst, who founded it in 1960.
It’s four-thirty in the afternoon. The music of power saws and air hammers ceased, indicating the end of another workday.
Mike stepped out of his office trailer, watching his workers return to their cars and pick up trucks parked in the dirt parking lot. They were all smiles, as most planned to meet for a few beers before heading home.
“Great progress today, guys. See you tomorrow morning bright and early,” he praised the workers while they got into their vehicles.
A few of the workers acknowledged Mike by waving or nodding their heads.
“We’re going out for a few beers at The Pounding Hammer bar. Mike, want to join us?” one of his workers offered.
“Nah, I have tons of paperwork to finish, you know, paychecks,” Mike responded. “Thanks, anyway,” he added.
“Well, then, I think you should get back to work,” another worker joked, then got inside his pickup truck.
Mike went back inside his trailer and walked over to the coffee pot. He poured a cup of coffee and then walked over to his desk, scattered with paperwork and a checkbook.
He frowned while staring at the large checkbook and hated office work. Sometimes, he wished he was pounding nails into two-by-fours. He took a sip of coffee and returned to his duties.
The trailer door opened, and entered foreman Russ Gates.
Russ is a tall and lanky man whose skin had seen years of working construction out in the sun. Russ was hired by Mike’s father back in 1975 and has continued to be a valuable asset in helping Mike’s company make a comfortable profit.
“Progress is looking great with the units,” Russ reported while removing his hard hat and then sat at his desk.
He kicked his black steel-toed boots up on his desk. His fingers of his right hand through his thinning gray hair while he yawned.
“Good. Are there any concerns with making our August deadline?” Mike queried, then sipped some coffee.
“No indications yet,” Russ replied, then placed his boots on the floor and stood up. “I’m going out for a few beers with the guys at The Pounding Hammer. Want to join me?” he offered.
“Thanks, but I need to get the payroll finished,”
Mike answered, then sipped some more coffee. “Well, don’t stay here all night,” Russ replied, then walked to the door.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, then stepped out of the trailer.
Mike went back to work, writing out paychecks for his workers.
Russ walked over to his Chevy Silverado pickup truck.
Twenty feet away, a mangy-looking female reddish-haired terrier mix mutt named Ginger snuck out of the construction site through a hole she dug under the chain-link fence.
Russ got into his pickup truck and drove out of the construction site and onto the two-lane country road.
Ginger moped away from the fence and headed toward the two-lane country road.
Fifteen minutes later, Mike exited his trailer and locked the door.
He walked over to his Ford F-250 pickup and got inside.
He started it up and drove out of the construction site. He stopped, got out of his truck, and locked the fence gate to the site. He returned to his pickup and drove off down the two-lane country road.
A little while later, he turned on his radio, and the Aerosmith’s Walk This Way song played.
Mike sang along with Steven Tyler and played some air guitar while he steered with his knees. He felt like a rock star.
Then he spotted Ginger while she moped down the right side of the road. An evil smirk grew on his face while he accelerated his pickup. He raced after the stray dog.
Then, the second the front of his pickup was by Ginger, he blew his horn.
Ginger jumped off the road and landed in a big mud puddle on the side of the road.
Mike glanced in his rearview mirror, seeing Ginger while she stepped out of the puddle, soaking wet.
She shook off the water and then moped down the road.
He chuckled and felt proud of himself. “Stupid ugly mutt,”
he snarled, then returned to his song and sang along with Steven Tyler while he drove down the road.
In Mike’s neighborhood, down on Kiscoe Avenue, was Louise LeBlanc. She had long white hair with purple-dyed streaks down the side.
She walked down the sidewalk with a limp and a hand-carved wooden cane. She was a spooky woman from New Orleans who spoke with a thick Cajun accent. A monstrous black Mastiff dog named Boodro, connected to a leash, walked alongside Louise. He leaves a trail of drool down the sidewalk.
Louise and Boodro walked across Mike’s driveway.
Mike pulled his pickup into his driveway and blew his horn.
Louise felt threatened by his pickup, so she bolted across his front yard, dragging Boodro by the leash and choking him.
She stopped and glared back at Mike with her hatred in her eyes. “I hope that stupid Boodro didn’t use my front yard as a bathroom!” Mike barked the second he got out of his pickup and walked to his front door.
“You shouldn’t treat your neighbors that way!” Louise scolded Mike with her right index finger.
“I don’t consider a dog or a weird voodoo lady neighbors.
I would give him to that new Chinese restaurant down the street if I had my way. And deport you back to New Orleans!” Mike snapped.
Louise hissed at him like a mad cat.
Boodro snarled and showed his teeth. “Give me five seconds alone with him. Just five seconds,” Boodro quietly dreamed while growling.
Louise walked Boodro across Mike’s yard to her light purple-painted house next door.
Mike walked to his front door.
The Hanson home was nicely furnished. The living room had a mahogany wood entertainment center with a 60-inch HDTV on a stand, a lovely expensive beige couch, and a plush La-Z-Boy boy chair on oak wood floors.
“I want that voodoo queen and her ugly mutt to stay off my grass!” Mike barked the second he stepped foot into his living room.
Jenny Hanson, Mike’s young daughter, rushed into the living room. “Daddy!” she joyfully cried out with a huge smile.
Then Chris Hanson, Mike’s young son, rushed into the living room after Jenny. He had a baseball glove in his hand.
Mike knelt and hugged Jenny the second she rushed up to him. “Daddy, will you have a catch with me?” Chris asked while he held up his glove and baseball with hopeful eyes.
“Daddy, will you join my tea party?” Jenny asked with a gleam in her eye.
“Maybe another day, kids. Daddy’s exhausted from a hard day at work,” he wearily replied while he walked over and plopped down on his LazBoy chair. He grabbed the remote from a small table beside the chair and turned on his TV.
Debbie Hanson, Mike’s lovely blonde-haired wife with soft brown eyes, entered in a jogging outfit and stood at the archway.
Chris and Jenny moped out of the living room rejected.
Debbie watched while Jenny and Chris moped down the hallway and went inside their bedrooms.
“What did you say to them, Mike?” she asked, a little concerned.
“That creepy voodoo lady,” he cursed.
“Her name is Louise LeBlanc, and please don’t make her mad,” Debbie quickly interrupted him.
“Whatever, anyway, she had her huge ugly dog in our yard again,” he informed her while surfing the channels.
Debbie eyed the hallway. “I’m not asking about her! I want to know what you said to Chris and Jenny to upset them?”
she demanded but knew the answer.
“They wanted to play, but I’m too exhausted Debbie,” he replied while stopping on the ESPN channel.
“You better get some energy before the kids are all grown up and will eventually want nothing to do with you,” she snapped.
“I hear you,” Mike replied, but he couldn’t care less, as all he wanted to do was relax and watch TV.
She rolled her eyes, knowing she was fighting a losing battle against his thick head. “I’m going jogging; I’ll make dinner after my five-mile run. Try to get up some energy and give them some attention,” she ordered, then walked to the front door and went outside.
Mike kicked back in his LazBoy chair the second the front door closed. He and watched the ESPN channel.
A little while later, Mike sat in another LazBoy chair in their fourth bedroom, his playroom.
On the wall of Mike’s man cave were pictures of his life.
They were mainly construction jobs he was proud of
completing. One was the first house he helped his father build.
Another image was of Mike when he was a lad. That picture was a fond memory of Mike with a hammer in hand and a grin.
He was in the process of building a dog house and was nailing on the roof planks. Over the opening was painted “Scruffles.”
While in his LazBoy chair, Mike banged the rhythm to Aerosmith’s Train Keep A Rollin song on his pristine, pride, and joy Sunburst Les Paul guitar. He was an accomplished guitarist with cherished memories of twenty years ago when he played in the band called The Rockers. It was during high school, and they thought they were the tops.
Debbie entered the den all sweaty in her jogging outfit.
She glanced over at Mike and frowned. “I guess you’re not too tired to play your guitar?” she mocked.
“When’s dinner?” Mike inquired, ignoring her question while he banged out that rhythm.
“After I shower and hopefully in twenty minutes if I’m not too tired,” she imitated Michael.
She walked away, upset with him.
Mike couldn’t care less while he continued to bang out his rhythm song on his Les Paul.
Later that evening, the Hanson family sat around the dining room table and ate their spaghetti with meatballs dinner.
“Chris has a little league game this Saturday, and Jenny has a ballet recital,” Debbie told Mike.
He frowned while he sipped his iced tea. “I can’t, Debbie, the crew’s working Saturday. I could get a nice bonus for finishing this project early,” Mike beamed, then munched on a meatball.
“You’re always working on Saturdays. Can’t you spend a weekend having some fun with the family for once?” Debbie, in a raised tone. He knew all too well that he was in trouble.
“I’m sorry, honey, somebody has to work to pay for our lifestyle,” he quickly reminded her, then looked at Jenny and Chris. “So kids, how was your day at school?” he asked to get Debbie off his back.
“Carey Whitestone barfed in class, so we had to stand in the hallway while the janitor cleaned the room. It stunk!” Jenny gagged, then slurped up some spaghetti noodles, adding lipstick to her tomato paste.
“Don’t use the word barf, Jenny. Just say Carey got sick in class,” Debbie corrected.
“Joey Brooke showed us his new puppy. Can we get a puppy?” Chris asked with hopeful eyes.
Mike frowned at his request. “You know how I feel about dogs. All they do is use the house as a bathroom and chew toy.”
“But Mommy talked with Uncle Kenny, and he has a new puppy at the shelter,” Chris added with a gleam at the prospect of playing ball with a puppy.
Mike gave Debbie a stern look. “I don’t think so; they waste precious money.”
“But they’re so cute!” Jenny added.
“Remember Scruffles?” Debbie asked Mike, knowing this would touch a sore spot.
Mike ignored everybody and continued to eat his dinner.
Debbie discreetly winked at Chris and Jenny.
They both smiled and knew what her winks meant.
It was another beautiful morning in New Castle.
The Hanson household woke up, ate breakfast, and then Mike was off to work.
Debbie did her usual routine of getting the kids ready for school. After that, she was off to her bank teller job.
Mike wore his hard hat at his construction site while walking with Russ down the main street of the new neighborhood. The music of nail guns and saws filled the air while the workers worked on the homes in various phases of completion.
“Looks like our load of plywood for the roofs of units twenty-five through thirty will be arriving a little late,” informed Russ. “When will it arrive?” Mike asked, a little concerned.
“In five days,” Russ cringed.
“Five days? I can’t wait five days,” Mike worried that the excellent progress would slow, then no bonus.
“I know.”
Then, something caught Mike’s attention when he glanced at a framed house after they headed down another street.
While he looked at this framed house, he didn’t notice the white Chevy government car parked at one of the homes down the end of that street.
Mike walked Russ to the framed house, and they saw Ginger in the living room. She’s munching on part of a sandwich on the plywood floor.
“Get out of here, you ugly mangy mutt!” Mike yelled at Ginger while running over to the framed house. He picked up a sawed-off piece of 2x4 board and ran through the framed front door opening.
They didn’t notice the government Chevy driving down that street and then turning onto the main street.
Ginger saw Mike with the board in his hand, and she knew this meant trouble - again. She snatched the sandwich and ran between the openings of the framed outside wall.
Mike ran back through the front door opening and ran across the dirt yard after her.
He threw the 2x4 piece of board, which bounced inches behind Ginger’s running rear paws.
Mike returned to Russ, who stood in the front yard and saw the event.
“Tell the crew I don’t want them leaving food around the site. And check the perimeter fence for any gaping holes in or under it,” Mike ordered while watching Ginger run away to the perimeter fence. “Also, have someone check the property to ensure the dog is gone,” he added.
“Got it, boss,” Russ replied while he saw a worker walk out of the framed house. “Hey, Jack, boss man wants you to check the perimeter and ensure that stray dog is gone. Then check it for holes in the fence or under it,” Russ called out.
“Okay, Russ,” Jack replied, but he was the one who had been leaving Ginger food. He’ll pretend he fulfilled his order from Russ.
Mike and Russ returned to the main street and headed toward the office trailer.
A few minutes later, they returned to the trailer where that white government Chevy was parked.
“This is just great. OSHA is here,” Mike cursed as he recognized the car from previous visits.
They walked to the trailer with some hesitation.
Mike and Russ entered the trailer where Danny Malone, an OSHA Compliance Officer, sat at Mike’s desk writing on a pad that contained a government form.
Danny saw Mike at the door of the trailer. “Good morning, Mister Hanson,” Danny said while he stood up and tore off the form from the pad. “I found four of your employees not wearing eye protection when using some power saws while cutting two-by-fours,” he explained, then handed Mike the citations. “I saw this three months ago and gave you a
verbal warning,” Danny scolded, then walked to the door and left the trailer.
Mike slammed the form down on his desk. “Now I have to deal with these OSHA citations. Can my day get any worse?” he complained, very upset. “I want a meeting right now with everybody,” Mike demanded Russ in a raised tone.
“Yes, boss,” Russ replied, then walked to the door and left the trailer.
Mike ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
Ten minutes later, Mike had his entire crew out by the trailer and gave them a proper chewing out for violating safety rules. He dismissed them back to work and returned inside the trailer with Russ.
Fifteen minutes later, the trailer door opened, and Howard Langley, a fifty-year-old homeless man with long, stringy, dirty hair and a long beard, stepped inside.
Howard reeked of body odor, as his clothes were filthy and tattered. He stood by the door with a dirty old brown Fedora hat in hand.
“Excuse me, good sir. I’m Howard Langley, and I’m looking for work. Any work, even if it’s picking up trash,”
Howard begged with hungry eyes.
Mike and Russ glanced over at Howard.
Russ cringed the second Howard’s body odor flowed into his nostrils.
Mike couldn’t smell due to some sinus problems twenty years ago.
Mike got up from his desk and walked over to Howard, a little sickened by his appearance.
“Like I’ve told you before, we don’t have a job suited for you. So you better get off my property, or I’ll call the police,”
Mike glared at Howard.
“Sorry, sir, and bless you,” Howard acknowledged, opened the door and stepped outside.
Mike walked over to his desk and sat down.
“Man, it’s a good thing you can’t smell. That was some strong body odor,” Russ gagged.
The phone on Mike’s desk rang. “Hanson’s construction,”
he answered the call.
“Hi, honey. How’s your day going?” Debbie asked from the phone.
“Lousy, OSHA was just here and left me a fine,” he whined.
“That’s too bad; listen, I was talking with Kenny and was curious about your decision to help him expand his animal shelter?” she asked.
Mike frowned at her request from the phone.
Inside Kenny’s I Luv Animals shelter, Debbie sat by Kenny at his desk.
Kenny Hamilton was Debby’s thirty-seven-year-old younger brother. He held Rascal, a one-year-old white-haired Weshi puppy with a unique patch of brown hair on his left side, in his arms. Kenny looked hopeful while Debbie talked into her cell phone.
“I can’t ask my guys to work for free on the weekend,”
Mike replied from her cell phone.
“You write it off as charity,” she instructed while she petted Rascal’s head.
“I’ll think about it some more. I gotta go,” Mike replied, then disconnected his end of the call.
Kenny looked at Debbie with hopeful eyes.
Debbie shook her head and indicated Mike would not build his expansion.
“Oh well,” Kenny replied, very disappointed.
Debbie looked at Rascal in Kenny’s arms, and her eyes lit up. “He sure is adorable,” she smiled while petting his head.
“His previous owners left him in the woods when they didn’t want to care for him. So the little guy needs a good loving home,” Kenny said, then kissed Rascal’s head.
Debbie looked at Rascal and smiled while she had an idea, as she could not resist his adorable brown eyes.
In Mike’s trailer, he got up and walked to the coffee pot.
He poured another cup of coffee.
“Another request on expanding Kenny’s shelter job?” Russ asked while Mike sat down at this desk.
“I need to come up with a good excuse to get out of it forever,” Mike replied, then sipped his coffee.
“I think we could handle a little charity work,” Russ quietly replied while he returned to ordering some lumber.
Mike ignored him and went back to his paperwork.
It was later that evening, and Mike pulled his pickup truck into his driveway. He frowned when he had to park behind Kenny’s Toyota Prius.
“I just don’t feel like dealing with him tonight,” Mike chided while he exited his truck.
He walked across the grass and headed to the front door.
Then his face suddenly cringed when something didn’t feel right. He looked down at the bottom of his right boot and saw dog poop smeared all over the bottom. “That stupid voodoo woman!” he cursed while wiping the bottom of his boot on the grass.
After cleaning his boot, Mike went inside his house and didn’t notice Louise standing by her front door.
She heard his mean comment about her and went inside her home, furious.
“I’m home,” Mike called out while he closed the front door. He heard the laughter that came from the bedrooms. He smiled at the thought of Jenny and Chris having fun.
Then Rascal raced into the living room. He stopped five feet from Mike and wagged his tail. He ran up to Mike, jumped on his legs, and wagged his tail. “Get this dog out of here!”
Mike barked.
Rascal raced out of the room, scared, with his tail between his legs.
Jenny and Chris ran into the room.
“Daddy, you scared Rascal,” Jenny scolded her father.
“Rascal? Why is there a dog in my house?” Mike fumed.
Kenny and Debbie entered the living room.
Mike frowned. “Kenny, don’t bring your animals to my house. Keep them at the shelter where they belong,” he scolded.
“But daddy, Uncle Kenny gave us Rascal,” Chris told him.
Rascal poked his head around the wall from the hallway to see if it was safe. He gave Mike the sweetest brown eyes he could muster. He crawled on his belly at Mike to become friends.
“I told you, I don’t want a stupid dog, as dogs are useless!”
Mike yelled while he glared down at Rascal on his belly.
Rascal sensed his hatred and got up on all fours. He quickly turned around and ran out of the room and down the hallway.
“How could you not want a beautiful dog like Rascal?”
Kenny questioned, upset with Mike.
“Jenny and Chris, go play with Rascal in one of your rooms,” Debbie told them while she glared at Mike.
Jenny and Chris ran out of the living room and down the hallway.
Debbie was furious with Mike when she walked up to him,
“What’s wrong with you? You had a dog when you were a kid,”
she reminded him in a raised tone.
“Yeah, and the stupid thing got rabies, bit me, and I had to get all those shots along with six stitches,” Mike replied. “Then Dad shot it,” he sadly recalled.
“Not all dogs get rabies, Mike,” Kenny said and felt sorry for Mike feeling the way he does about dogs.
“Did you see how much those kids love him?” Debbie asked.
“He’ll stink up the house,” Mike quickly replied.
“You can’t smell; besides, this is my decision, and Rascal stays!” Debbie stated, glaring at Mike, signifying she wouldn’t back down.
Mike opened his mouth to say something but immediately closed it when he saw Jenny, Chris, and Rascal poke their heads around the hallway with hopeful eyes.
“That thing can stay, but under my conditions. One, the mutt sleeps on the back porch,” Mike stated.
“Ahh, Dad!” Jenny and Chris replied in unison from the hallway.
“As I said, he sleeps in the back porch. Two, you’ll clean up any mess he makes in the house or my yard. Three, you’ll feed and give him water, as I won’t. Four, he’s not allowed in my den, and I emphasize not allowed. And five, he’s not allowed in the kitchen. If any of these rules are violated, the mutt goes out the front door,” Mike stated, meaning business.
Jenny and Chris jumped up and down in excitement.
Rascal joined along, not knowing why they were happy, but it appeared to be a good thing to do then.
They ran down the hallway, and Rascal ran after them.
Debbie and Kenny smiled.
“I better go,” Kenneth said, then headed to the door.
“That would be nice,” Mike stated under his breath.
Debbie opened the door for Kenny, and he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and then went outside. She closed the door and looked furious with Mike.
Debbie glared at Mike. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt for you to be nice to my brother, for once!” she scolded him, then stormed out of the living room.
Rascal inched his way back into the living room. He looked at Mike, who lunged at Rascal.
Rascal ran away, scared down the hallway.
Mike puffed out his chest while sitting in his La-Z-Boy boy chair and turned on the TV.
Debbie snapped a digital picture of Rascal with Jenny and Chris a little while later. She emailed it to her mother in Orlando, Florida, who quickly replied a little while later, stating Rascal was adorable.
It was later that night and quiet in the Hanson household.
Mike and Debbie slept in their bedroom. Then Rascal was heard crying and howling from the screened-in back porch, scared of being alone on the dark porch.
Mike woke up and heard Rascal. He nudged Debbie’s sleeping body. “Shut that mutt up,” he cursed, then rolled over.
Debbie placed her pillow over her head and ignored him.
After a few minutes of Rascal crying and howling, Mike couldn’t take it any longer and got out of bed. He placed his feet on the floor, and his face immediately cringed and looked disgusted. “That mutt vomited on the carpet,” he yelled at Debbie, who was asleep and didn’t hear him.
Mike hobbled out of the bedroom with one foot off the floor, then hobbled into the bathroom.
After he washed the bottom of his foot, he rushed down the hallway.
Louise entered her back porch with a Homes For Sale magazine for the New Castle area and a glass of wine in her other hand.
She sat down and opened up the magazine, then sipped her wine. Boodro entered the back porch and lay down next to Louise.
She heard Rascal cry and howl from Mike’s back porch.
She curiously peeked over her magazine.
Boodro jumped up on all fours and looked at Mike’s back porch when he heard another dog.
“He got a dog? No way,” she said while she continued to hear Rascal cry.
“Shut up, you ugly mutt!” Mike was heard when he stuck his head into his back porch.
“Yep, he got a dog,” Louise smirked.
“That dog’s a whiner,” Boodro said while he looked at Mike’s back porch.
Louise looked down at Boodro. “I can arrange for you to sleep outside!” she threatened him.
“On second thought, poor guy,” Boodro replied.
Boodro and Louise stared at Mike’s porch while Rascal got quiet.
It was the next morning, and Mike didn’t speak to Debbie or the kids while he got ready for work.
Later that morning, Russ reviewed blueprints at his desk in the office trailer.
Mike entered with bags under his eyes. He was exhausted, and Russ noticed. “You look awful.”
“I didn’t sleep a wink last night?” Mike yawned while walking to the coffee pot and poured a cup.
He walked over to his desk and plopped down in his chair.
“Playing the guitar all night?” Russ figured.
“I wish, but no, that stupid dog was crying all night,” Mike replied.
“The Voodoo neighbor dog?”
“No. Debbie got the kids a puppy,” Mike cringed, then sipped his coffee.
Russ looked at, unsure he heard correctly. “Did you say that Debbie got the kids a puppy?” Russ verified he thought he heard correctly.
“Yep, an ugly mutt,” Mike cringed, then drank some more coffee.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I’m not, but it won’t last long,” Mike claimed while drinking coffee to get motivated for the workday.
“Why do you say that?”
“I laid down some rules, and I know in a couple of weeks, they’ll break them,” Mike smiled, knowing the puppy would be gone soon.
“It would do you good to have a dog. Dogs are man’s best friend,” Russ stated while he got up from his desk and walked over to the coffee pot with his cup.
Mike glanced out his window and saw some workers at a nearby house feeding Ginger in the dirt front yard. He jumped up from his desk and ran over to the door.
“They’re also like,” Russ said, then slammed the office door while Mike ran outside and stopped him. “Family,” Russ finished while walking over the windows and watching Mike bolting to that house.
Mike ran to those workers who fed Ginger.
“Quit feeding that thing! It might have some strange life-threatening disease!” Mike screamed at his workers.
They scrambled back to their work locations the second they saw Mike running mad at them.
Ginger saw Mike and ran away as fast as her little paws could.
Mike walked back to his trailer and went inside.
“All I need is that mutt getting hurt on my site, then I’ll have those SPCA and PETA freaks picketing outside my gate,”
he bitched while he walked back and sat down at his desk.
Russ rolled his eyes and returned to his work, knowing it would be pointless to discuss this further with Mike.
It was 6:00 p.m., and Mike drove his pickup home, fretting seeing Rascal.
Mike pulled his pickup in the driveway and parked.
He got out with a newspaper and went through the front door.
The second Mike entered through the front door, he saw a puddle on his lovely, expensive wooden floor. He instantly got mad. “That dog of yours made a mess on my floor. It’s going to ruin it,” he yelled. A few seconds later, Rascal poked his head into the living room from the hallway.
Mike saw Rascal and immediately rolled up his newspaper.
He ran after Rascal, who quickly ran down the hallway.
The second Mike stepped into the puddle on the floor, his shoes went out from under him, and he landed on his butt, landing in the pee puddle.
He cringed when the puddle began soaking through his pants.
Debbie walked into the living room with a rag and cleaning solution to eliminate doggie odors. She saw Mike when he got
up from the puddle, seeing the huge wet spot on the seat of his pants. “I guess I don’t need the rag,” she chuckled.
Mike fumed. “If this keeps up, that dog will be out of here,” he replied, then stormed out of the room and went to his bathroom to change pants.
Debbie shrugged off his comment while she got on her knees and wiped up the remaining puddle deposited by Rascal.
Later that night, Mike sat barefooted in his La-Z-Boy boy chair while he watched the ESPN channel on his TV.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rascal while he zoomed down the hallway toward the kitchen. Jenny and Chris laughed while chasing him.
Mike got irritated. “No running in the house!” he scolded, then he returned to watching ESPN.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw Rascal run back down the hallway toward the bedrooms. Jenny and Chris were hot on his tail.
“I said, no running in the house!” Mike yelled a little louder. Then he heard a splash from the bathroom, and he got mad. “What are you doing in there?” Mike yelled louder.
“We’re giving Rascal a bath,” Debbie yelled back from the bathroom.
“In the house? That’s what the outside hose is for,” Mike yelled out.
“No, Daddy! Bathtubs are for baths,” Jenny corrected him from the bathroom.
Mike rolled his eyes and then heard more splashes and giggles from Jenny and Chris from the bathroom.
“No, Rascal! Come back!” Debbie yelled out from the bathroom.
Rascal raced, slopping wet, into the living room. His paws slipped from under him, and he slid across the floor. He slammed into Mike’s feet and came to a stop.
Rascal stood up, shook himself, and sprayed water all over Mike. He got furious with Rascal. “That dog is getting the wooden floor and me wet!” he yelled.
Mike jumped out of his chair and quickly grabbed Rascal by the scruff of his neck. Rascal yelped in a little pain from Mike’s grip.
He stormed out of the living room and into the kitchen.
Rascal looked terrified as he dangled from Mike’s hand.
Debbie, Jenny, and Chris entered the kitchen and saw Mike with Rascal.
“Where are you taking Rascal?” Chris asked and got worried while Mike headed to the kitchen door that had a large window at the upper half.
“Outside where he belongs!” Mike said while he got to the door.
Jenny looked concerned. “But he’ll get fleas.”
“That’s not my problem,” Mike said while opening the door and dropping Rascal on the porch floor.
He slammed the door shut and locked it.
Jenny and Chris ran over to the door and looked out its window. They looked ever so sad when they saw Rascal, who sat on the porch with the most sorrowful puppy dog eyes.
Debbie looked furious with Mike; then she stormed out of the kitchen.
Jenny and Chris’s eyes welled up while they watched Rascal, who had just sat on the back porch, whining about wanting back inside the house.
Mike walked out of the kitchen smiling and wiped his hands on his pants.
Later that night, everybody in the Hanson household was sound asleep.
Then, the sounds of Rascal crying and howling from the porch were heard through the house.
Mike and Debbie were sound asleep in bed.
Mike woke up and realized it was Rascal he had heard.
“Will someone shut up that dog, or else?” Mike called out.
That woke up Debbie, who looked mad at Mike. “It’s your fault since you stuck him out on the back porch. You live with it!” Debbie snapped back, then put her pillow over her head and went back to sleep.
Mike placed his pillow over his head to drown out the sound.
Jenny poked her head out of her bedroom doorway and looked up and down the hallway. The coast was clear, so she stepped out in the hall and tiptoed down the entrance to the kitchen.
She tiptoed through the kitchen and up to the door.
Outside on the porch, Rascal immediately wagged his tail the second he saw Jenny at the window in the door.
Jenny unlocked the door and opened it, and Rascal immediately rushed into the kitchen. He jumped on Jenny’s legs and wagged his tail, so happy to be with her.
“Be quiet, Rascal,” Jenny whispered in one of his ears. She picked him up and tiptoed back through the kitchen and down the hallway.
Jenny tiptoed into her bedroom while Rascal licked her face. Once inside her bedroom, she placed Rascal on the floor, closed her door, and left it cracked open about an inch.
She walked Rascal over and set him down on the edge of her bed. He wagged his tail, so happy to be inside the house.
She walked over and grabbed a book off her bedside table.
“I’ll read you a story if you stay quiet,” she told Rascal while she got under her covers.
Rascal ran over, lay on the bed, and put his head on Jenny’s leg. He closed his eyes while she read him a story.
It was hours later, and Jenny was sound asleep with her book in her lap.
Rascal woke up and looked around the room. He got curious when he spotted the cracked door opening.
He got up and walked to the edge of the bed. He jumped down and walked over to the door.
He used his paw and opened up the door.
He walked out into the hallway. He sat down and glanced up and down the hall.
He got up, walked down the hallway, and poked his head into Chris’ bedroom.
He walked farther down the hallway and poked his head into Debbie and Mike’s bedroom. He wagged his tail when he saw them sleeping in their bed.
He walked into their bedroom and jumped up on their bed.
He lay down between Mike and Debbie, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep.
The sun rose in New Castle to start another day.
Mike and Debbie were still sound asleep, and Rascal slept inches from Mike’s face. Rascal woke up and licked Mike’s cheek, and he smiled. Rascal licked Mike’s lips, and Mike kissed back with a smile.
“Mmmm! What’s the occasion, honey?” he said while opening his eyes in anticipation of Debbie kissing him. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Rascal’s sparkling brown eyes that admired Mike. “Ahhhh!” Mike screamed and jumped out of bed.
Debbie jumped up in a panic looking around for the emergency. “What happened?” she asked, surprised Mike screamed.
“That ugly mutt kissed my lips!” Mike yelled while pointing at Rascal, who cowered in fear on the bed.
Debbie saw Rascal and laughed. “Come here, boy,” Debbie called out to the dog.
Rascal quickly ran to her and wagged his tail. “Get this dog out of my room,” Mike yelled out, then frantically wiped his lips with his tee-shirt sleeve.
Debbie chuckled some more while she took Rascal out of their bedroom.
Later that morning, the Hansons sat down for breakfast.
Jenny and Chris ate a bowl of Cocoa Krispies at the kitchen table.
Debbie cooked some scrambled eggs and bacon for Mike on the stove. Rascal sat on the floor near her and watched with a vigilant eye, hoping she would accidentally drop food on the floor.
Mike entered the kitchen dressed for work and looked disapproving the second he saw Rascal. “We need to talk. I’ve just about had enough with this dog,” Mike told Debbie while he crossed his arms.
“About what?” she replied with a tone that made her feel she knew what was coming next.
“About what? I’ll tell you about what. This dog broke the rules I established,” Mike snapped back with a raised tone.
Jenny and Chris looked upset while they glanced over at Mike.
“Lighten up. He’s only a puppy. He doesn’t mean any harm,” Debbie said while she scooped up some eggs and placed them on a plate.
Mike walked over and grabbed Rascal by the scruff of his neck. Rascal yelped in pain.
“Daddy, you’re hurting, Rascal!” Jenny cried out, concerned.
Mike ignored Jenny’s concern. “As I said, he’s not allowed in the kitchen,” he snapped while walking over to the kitchen door. He opened it and dropped Rascal onto the back porch floor, then slammed the door closed and locked it.
Rascal stood by the door with the saddest brown eyes, wanting to be inside with his new family.
Jenny and Chris exited the table and rushed to the door.
They were upset when they saw Rascal, who looked so sad.
“You’re a meany, Daddy!” Jenny called out and ran out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and to her bedroom.
“Yeah, a meany!” Chris joined in and ran out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and to his bedroom.
Debbie looked at Mike with his plate of eggs and bacon in her hand. She glared at Mike, then walked over and opened the cabinet under the sink. She dumped Mike’s breakfast into the trash, then set his plate in the sink.
“What are you doing?” he asked her.
“Make your own breakfast, meany!” she said in a raised voice at Mike, then walked over to the kitchen table and grabbed the kid’s cereal bowls.
Mike walked out of the kitchen, knowing he better leave for work.
Debbie walked over and set the kids’ cereal bowls in the sink. She waited for Mike to leave the house.
After a few minutes, she heard Mike leave through the front door. It was safe, so she walked over and opened the kitchen door.
Rascal ran inside and jumped up on Debbie’s legs, wagging his tail.
He ran out of the kitchen and down to the hall. He wanted to be with the kids.
Thirty minutes passed, and Mike entered his office trailer with a Burger King bag in hand.
Russ reviewed some blueprints and looked up at Mike while he sat down at his desk, looking upset.
Mike opened the bag and removed a Sausage Egg and Cheese Butty sandwich and a large cup of coffee. He took a bite of his breakfast sandwich and stared out the windows in deep thought.
Russ knew something was wrong and waited a few seconds while Mike chewed. “What’s bugging you? That OSHA citation?” Russ asked, a little concerned, then he sipped his coffee. “When do you meet with them?” he added.
“Tomorrow morning at eight, and I want you there. And I’m not worried about them,” Mike replied.
“Then what’s eating you?”
“It’s that dumb dog. I have to find a way to get rid of it,”
Mike said, then took another bite of his sandwich.
“What’s wrong with having a dog?” Russ asked.
“He’s ruining my home life,” Mike replied, then sipped some coffee.
“That’s too bad, as I said before; a dog is known to be man’s best friend.”
“Not this man! I hate dogs with a passion,” Mike replied, then took another bite of his sandwich.
Russ rolled his eyes, knowing it would not be worth his time to argue against Mike’s thick head.
Mike stared out the window while he sipped his coffee.
He noticed some scrap plywood and 2x4 boards on the front dirt yard of a nearby house. His eyes widened with an idea. He got up from his desk and rushed over to the door.
Russ watched while Mike rushed out of the door.
He looked out the windows and saw Mike rush over to that house with the scrap wood.
A few seconds later, Mike returned from that house with one of the carpenters, and they walked over to the scrap wood.
He watched while Mike removed some cash from his wallet and gave it to the carpenter, who shoved it into his pants pocket.
“What is he up to?” Russ asked while watching Mike strut back to the trailer and the carpenter picking up some scrap wood.
Russ quickly sat down at his desk and returned to reviewing blueprints.
Mike entered the trailer and sat back down at his desk with a smirk. He started working on his paperwork.
Later that evening, Mike returned home from work and backed his pickup truck into his backyard.
In the back of his pickup was a dog house built from scrap wood.
From her back porch, Louise watched while Mike manhandled the dog house out of his pickup and then moved it to under a shade tree.
Mike returned to his pickup and got a four-foot piece of re-bar and a sledgehammer. He returned to the dog house and pounded the re-bar into the ground.
From her back porch, Louise shook her head in displeasure with the sight of the dog house.
From the back porch of Mike’s house, Debbie, Jenny, and Chris watched while Mike connected a dog chain to the re-bar.
Rascal sat and watched and looked curiously at Mike.
“Why is he putting that little house in our backyard?” Jenny asked curiously.
“It’s called a dog house, and I think it’s for Rascal,” Chris replied upset.
“Rascal can’t live there! He lives with us inside our home.
Right, mommy?” Jenny said, then looked up at Debbie with sad eyes. Debbie looked at Jenny, then looked upset with Mike.
“Let’s go inside and eat dinner,” she told the kids.
They all went inside while Mike got inside his pickup and drove out of the backyard.
A little while later, Mike entered the dining room, where Debbie and the kids ate dinner.
“What’s with that dog house?” Debbie asked but knew the answer.
“That mutt will live outside, starting after dinner. Starting this weekend, I’m going to fence in the backyard so the mutt can run around and play with the kids all they want,” Mike replied while he sat down at the table.
Jenny and Chris gave him the cold treatment while they ate dinner.
Later that evening, Debbie, Jenny, and Chris watched while Mike chained Rascal to his chain on the re-bar.
“Mommy, Rascal will die out there. He needs to be inside here where we can care for him,” Jenny cried while her eyes welled up.
“Don’t worry, honey, he won’t die out there,” Debbie assured them.
Mike walked away from Rascal.
Rascal ran toward the house. He was quickly jerked back by his neck the second the chain reached the end of its length.
During the rest of the evening, Mike played his Les Paul guitar in his den since the whole family gave him the cold shoulder. He didn’t worry because he believed they would come around a few days after Rascal got used to living outside.
While Mike played his guitar, Jenny and Chris watched Rascal still chained up from the back porch, and they looked ever so sad.
Debbie walked up to the kids and felt so sorry for them.
“Don’t worry; we’ll bring him inside when Daddy’s not around.
It’s our secret, okay?” she said, then winked at them.
They left the porch and ran through the backyard to be with Rascal.
Debbie left the porch and went back inside the house.
She walked into the den while Mike played his Les Paul.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked while she stood in the doorway with her arms crossed.
“What do you mean?” Mike responded while he stopped playing his guitar.
“How could you keep Rascal outside in the elements?” she asked while glaring at him.
“Dogs belong outside as nature intended,” he replied.
“I don’t believe you!”
“Sorry, but the rules I established were broken, and he’s never allowed in the house. That dog’s closer to being off my property for good,” Mike promised, then returned to playing his guitar.
Debbie stormed away in a huff.
It was later that night, and everybody was asleep in the Hanson household and quiet in the neighborhood.
The screen door to the back porch opened, and Jenny snuck outside in her pajamas over to Rascal’s dog house.
Rascal ran out of his house, happy to see someone since he was lonely.
Jenny unchained him and picked him up. “You have to be quiet inside the house while Mister Meany’s there,” she whispered in Rascal’s ear.
He licked her face, so happy to be with her.
Jenny went back inside the house and quietly walked into her bedroom. She closed her door.
The sound of thunder was heard outside while a storm approached New Castle.
The rays of the sunrise peeked through the window blinds of Mike and Debbie's bedroom.
Mike woke up to the sunshine. He realized it was morning, and he tapped Debbie on her shoulder. "Time to make breakfast for the kids," he said, then yawned.
Debbie woke up and glanced at the alarm
clock. She noticed that it flashed "3:00." It took a few seconds for it to sink in, and then she panicked. "The power went out last night!" she yelled, grabbed her watch off the bedside table, and checked the time.
It was 7:30 a.m., and they usually get up at 7:00 a.m. "The kids are going to be late for school!" she cried in a panic while jumping out of bed.
Mike closed his eyes for some extra sleep. Then it dawned on him what she said, and his eyes widened in a panic. "I'm going to miss my meeting with OSHA!" he yelled and jumped out of bed. He raced into their bathroom while Debbie raced out of the bedroom.
Down the hallway, Rascal poked his head out of Jenny's cracked bedroom door to check out the commotion. He saw Debbie race into Chris' room.
"Wake up, Chris. You're going to be late for school!" she called out to Chris from his room.
Rascal sensed something was wrong, so he returned to Jenny's bedroom and quickly crawled under her bed.
Debbie rushed into Jenny's bedroom. "Wake up, Jenny.
You're going to be late for school!" she called while she shook Jenny in bed.
Debbie rushed out of her bedroom.
From under the bed, Rascal saw Jenny's feet touch the floor. Then he watched while Jenny moped out of the bedroom, still half asleep.
Rascal waited a few seconds and slowly crawled from under the bed when he felt safe.
He slowly walked to the door and poked his head into the hallway.
He heard a commotion in the bathroom. He heard a commotion in the kitchen.
He heard a commotion in Mike's and Chris's bedrooms.
Mike's playroom appeared quiet, so Rascal quickly ran into the hallway and into that room. Rascal looked around Mike's playroom and was curious about all the stuff.
He walked over and sniffed the Marshall amplifier. "That's not very interesting," Rascal thought.
Then he walked over to the Les Paul guitar on a stand. He sniffed the guitar, then his nose touched one of the strings, and it sang a tune. Now that's interesting! Rascal thought to himself while he sniffed the guitar some more.
"I'll eat breakfast later," Mike called out from the hallway.
Rascal felt threatened by the sound of his voice and looked for a place to hide. He spotted the La-Z-Boy boy chair and hid behind it.
"Hurry up, kids; your breakfast is ready. Come eat so I can get ready for work," Debbie called out from the hallway.
"I'm off to work," Mike called out from the front door, and then he left the house.
Jenny and Chris scarfed down breakfast while Debbie got ready for work.
Then Jenny and Chris rushed into their bedrooms and got dressed for school.
From behind the La-Z-Boy boy chair in Mike's playroom, Rascal heard more commotion and ran up and down the hallway. He heard a door open and closed, then heard the garage door open.
He heard their vehicle start up in the garage.
He heard the garage door close.
Rascal walked out from behind the La-Z-Boy chair. He waited and listened to make sure it was safe. The house was still quiet, and he felt safe.
He walked over to investigate that interesting Les Paul guitar.
He ran a paw across the strings, and they sang out. He liked that sound and ran his paw across the strings again. The guitar strings sang out louder.
He jumped up on the guitar. It swayed. The Les Paul fell off the stand, and the headstock snapped off when it smacked the amplifier's top.
This scared Rascal, and he ran out of the room and into the hallway.
He sat down in the hallway and listened to the quiet house.
He headed down the hallway to the living room, where he spotted the couch, which looked so comfy and playful.
He ran over and jumped on the couch.
He rolled over and scratched his back on the seat cushion.
It felt so good!
He got up on all fours. He looked at the seat cushion, and it looked playful. He frantically scratched on the seat cushion, and it ripped open. He scratched the inside of the cushion, and stuffing flew everywhere. "This is fun!" he thought while he scratched the stuffing out of the couch cushions.
He sat down, looked around the living room, and wondered what he could play with next.
He jumped off the couch and headed to the hallway.
Later that day, Mike sat at his desk and looked depressed while he stared out the window.
Russ looked up from his paperwork and noticed Mike.
"You okay, Mike? Are you still upset with the meeting with OSHA this morning?"
"The kids hate me. Debbie's mad at me. That dog has completely ruined my life!" he pouted.
"I don't know why dogs bring joy to a family. All of our dogs were just like one of the kids," Russ replied.
"I'm sorry, but that's just way too weird," Mike replied, staring out his window.
"You don't know what you're missing."
"I know what I'm missing. A good life without a stupid dog is what I'm missing!" Mike replied and silently cursed out Kenny for giving them Rascal.
Russ got irritated with Mike's attitude. "I'm going to inspect some units," he said, grabbed a pad of paper, got up from his desk, and walked out of the trailer.
Mike continued to stare depressed out the trailer windows.
He watched Russ walk over to one of the units. He started thinking about Russ's comments and wondered if he was correct.
Later that evening, Mike arrived home before Debbie and the kids.
Mike entered the living room, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw the ripped couch cushions and cushion stuffing all over the floor.
"Debbie!" he called out and waited. The house was quiet.
Mike walked down the hallway and headed to his bedroom.
"Debbie," he called out again. The house was quiet. He turned around and headed to the kitchen, thinking they might be outside with the dog.
He took a glance at this playroom while he walked down the hallway. Then he stopped in his tracks. Something felt weird, so he returned to his playroom and stepped inside.
He looked around his room, then his eyes widened in shock when he saw his beloved busted guitar. He did a double-take to ensure he saw correctly, then slowly walked over and picked up his broken guitar.
"My Les Paul!" he quietly cried. "Someone broke my precious Les Paul!" while studying the broken headstock.
In the hallway, Rascal was slowly walking out of the kitchen when he heard some noise. Rascal barked at the commotion in Mike's playroom.
Mike stepped out into the hallway and noticed Rascal in the hallway.
Rascal sensed the danger the second he saw Mike, turned around, and bolted down the hallway toward the living room.
Mike ran furiously after him, knowing Rascal had broken his guitar.
Rascal ran on the couch, and Mike ran after him.
Rascal ran to the end of the couch and across the side table. He knocked over Debbie's favorite lamp, which shattered on the floor.
He ran over and jumped on Mike's La-Z-Boy boy chair.
"Get off my chair!" Mike yelled out.
Rascal jumped off the La-Z-Boy boy chair and ran toward the 52-inch HDTV.
"Stay away from the TV!" Mike screamed in a panic and bolted after Rascal.
Rascal's paws went out from under him, and he slid into the TV stand.
Just before Mike got to the TV, he slipped on a puddle made by Rascal just before he got home. Mike slid into the TV
stand and then fell on his butt.
The HDTV rocked and fell over. Mike saw it coming and quickly moved out of the way just in the nick of time while the TV crashed on the floor.
Mike was red-faced, furious, while he stood up. Rascal raced down the hallway.
Mike jumped up on his feet and ran after Rascal. He ran into the hallway and saw Rascal while he ran into the bathroom, thinking that it was a safe place.
Mike ran into the bathroom and slammed the bathroom door closed. He looked around and didn't see Rascal.
He looked in the bathtub, and there was Rascal.
Rascal shivered with fear while Mike reached down and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
Mike opened the bathroom door and walked Rascal down the hallway.
He walked Rascal through the living room and to the front door.
Mike went outside with Rascal in his grip.
Mike stormed Rascal across his front yard to his pickup truck. At the same time, Debbie pulled her Honda Odyssey mini-van into the driveway.
Debbie, Jenny, and Chris watched while Mike stormed over to his pickup with Rascal by the scruff of his neck.
Debbie quickly got out of the mini-van, along with Jenny and Chris.
"What are you doing?" Debbie yelled out while she ran over to Mike.
Jenny and Chris ran over in a panic.
Louise walked Boodro down the sidewalk and stopped to watch the commotion at Mike's house.
"Daddy, what are you doing to Rascal?" Jenny cried out, upset.
"I've had it! Someone left him inside the house all day.
How did that happen?" Mike yelled while he glared at Jenny and Chris.
Jenny looked away, guilty.
Chris shrugged his shoulder to indicate he did not have a clue. Rascal looked so sad while he hung by the scruff of his neck. "He broke my Les Paul. My four thousand-dollar Les Paul is ruined! And I decided I'm not having our backyard look like a redneck's yard, with a dog living out back," he yelled out.
Mike opened up his pickup truck door and set Rascal inside. He got inside, slammed the door, and started his truck.
"I hate you, daddy!" Jenny yelled out and started crying while she ran to the house.
"I hate you, Daddy!" Chris yelled out; then he ran to the house after Jenny.
"What are you doing?" Debbie yelled at Mike.
Mike ignored her and backed his pickup down the driveway.
Debbie looked furious while Mike drove his pickup down the road.
Louise glared at Mike's pickup while it drove down the street. Her hatred for him increased two-fold the second she
saw Rascal looking so sad out the rear window. Then she got an evil thought and rushed Boodro back to her house.
Debbie stormed to the front door.
She stepped inside her house.
She immediately saw the mess made in her living room and her couch.
"My couch!" she cried out, as it was her favorite couch.
Later that evening, Mike pulled his pickup off on the shoulder of a two-lane country road five miles south of town.
Mike drove down this road and passed by Howard and Ginger as they walked south along the side of the road. Mike was too pissed to notice them on the road.
"I sure hope I have better luck down south, my little doggie friend," Howard spoke to Ginger and had always loved her company.
She looked up at him. "I hope I can find a family down south," she said, knowing he didn't understand a word she barked out.
Howard and Ginger continued down that two-lane country road. About a mile farther down the road, Mike pulled his pickup off the side of the road. He got out of his pickup and held Rascal by the scruff of his neck.
He dropped Rascal in the dirt.
"Git!" Mike yelled and kicked some dirt at him. Rascal ran off scared with his tail between his legs. Mike got back in his pickup and turned it around.
He headed back home down the country road. Rascal stopped and whined when he saw Mike's pickup drive away. He terribly missed Debbie, Jenny, and Chris.
Rascal looked around the scary woods and shook with fear.
It was quiet in the night in New Castle except for the thunderstorm coming way off from the west.
Louise sat with Boodro on her porch. She used a pair of scissors and clipped off some of his hair. She dropped his hair into a small bowl.
She went back inside her with a smirk on her face.
Twenty minutes later, Louise, dressed in a black shirt and pants, entered her back porch with that bowl in hand. Inside the bowl was a greenish-looking concoction she made.
She walked out of her porch with her cane and quietly rushed through her yard and Mike's backyard.
She walked over to Mike's back porch. She opened up the screen door and stepped inside Mike's back porch.
She waved her hand across the handle of the kitchen door, and it magically unlocked.
She quietly opened the door and hesitated to ensure the coast was clear. It was safe, so she stepped inside Mike's kitchen.
She walked through the kitchen and stood in the hallway.
She started down the hall but stopped when she heard someone stir in the living room. She looked and smiled when she saw Mike asleep on the couch. He slept there because Debbie kicked him out of the bedroom and even talked about leaving him. Louise quietly tiptoed into the living room and went up to the couch. She removed a small pair of scissors and set the bowl on the floor. She clipped some of Mike's hair and dropped it into the bowl. The concoction inside the bowl fizzed the second his hair came in contact with the liquid.
Louise cautiously grabbed Mike's right hand and slowly moved it to the floor. She set his fingers into the concoction, where it also fizzed.
She waved her hand across the bowl, where the liquid bubbled and turned bright yellow.
Mike's body twinged a little in pain while he slept with his fingers in the bowl.
She cautiously removed Mike's hand and placed it on his chest. She then removed a spoon from her back pocket and scooped up some of the concoction out of the bowl. She cautiously poured the liquid into Mike's opened mouth. His body twinged a little in pain, like he was having a nightmare.
He woke up and looked at Louise in a daze.
"Go back to sleep. You're having a dream," Louise whispered to Mike and snapped her fingers.
She tiptoed out of the living room with an evil smirk with the bowl in hand.
She tiptoed through the kitchen and out through the kitchen door.
She stepped out on the back porch and closed the kitchen door. She waved her hand across the handle, and it locked.
She opened up the screen door and left the porch.
Louise rushed through Mike's backyard to her porch, where the thunder was getting louder as the storm approached.
Ten minutes later, Louise was inside her den, where various Voodoo items hung on the wall.
There was a bookcase full of small bottles with cork tops that contained strange-looking liquids, other Voodoo items, and old books with potions.
Lit candles were in a circle around Louise on the floor. She dropped more of cut Boodro's hair into another bowl with a bright lime green liquid. Her eyes rolled back in her head.
She slowly waved her hand over the bowl, which ignited a flame. "May you wake up in one year living a dog's life," she said.
She looked at the bowl on fire with an evil smirk, knowing her job was done.
Fifteen minutes later, Mike still slept on the couch. Then thunder and lightning were heard from outside. He tossed and turned on the couch. He started sweating, and his face cringed, indicating pain.
After a few seconds of Mike crying out in pain, Debbie rushed into the living room.
Then, the second she stepped into the living room, a bolt of lightning crashed through the window and came in contact with Mike.
Debbie watched in horror while he glowed for a few seconds.
It was a year later in the backwoods of central Alabama.
It was another beautiful morning in March, and the birds filled the air with a beautiful song.
Five miles in the country east of Sylacauga, Alabama, was the five-acre home of Lester and Agnes Simpson.
Lester’s backyard was a total shambles. An old rusty Chevy S-10 pickup, a Chevy Cavalier, a Chevy Vega, and a Chevy Chevette cluttered the yard. There were also a few old toilets, washing machines, a boat trailer, a rusty barbecue, a broken jet ski on a trailer, and other miscellaneous broken items.
In the center of the backyard was a pole with five dog chains attached to it so they could move in a circle.
About twenty feet from the pole was a twelve-foot wide, fourteen-foot long, and six-foot-high caged kennel under a tin roof with a concrete slab.
Inside the kennel were four ugly, unkempt dogs: Brutus, Clyde, Tiger, and Bubba. They were all pit bulls, and all spoke with Alabama southern accents. Each of the dogs had big black leather collars with a name tag.
Then, at the other end of the kennel was a smaller one-year-old mutt puppy named Peewee with long, matted hair.
Brutus, Clyde, Tiger, Bubba, and Peewee were all sound asleep. But Peewee tossed and turned in a little pain as something strange was going through his little body. Mike Hanson was, in reality, becoming Peewee, as Louise’s Voodoo potion and the bolt of lightning turned Mike into a dog.
Then, at the other end of the backyard, a Rooster gave out a loud cock-a-doodle-do.
Peewee woke up at the sound of the rooster that filled the backyard. “Don’t tell me that voodoo lady got a rooster. She probably uses it for rituals,” Peewee said while he stood up and stretched like a dog.
He looked around, getting baffled.
“Why am I in a cage? Was Debbie that furious with me that she put me in a cage?” he looked around in a little bit of a daze. Then, his eyes widened in fear. “Oh, my God! There’s something wrong with my eyes! I’m color blind!” Peewee worried. He sniffed the air. “Phew! It smells like a cesspool.
Did that Voodoo lady let her dogs loose in my backyard again?”
he sniffed the air again.
It dawned on him when those smells filled his nose. “I can smell it! How’s that possible?” he questioned while he sniffed the air again.
“Now, I know why I was glad I lost my sense of smell.
Yuck!” he said while he looked around the yard. “ Wait, this isn’t my backyard. I never had all this junk scattered around my yard.
And that’s not my house,” he said while he saw Lester’s shabby two-story wooden home.
Peewee sniffed the air again. “Phew, somebody has horrible body odor!” he added.
Peewee looked around the kennel and saw the other four pit bulldogs sleeping on the concrete. He jumped back, scared, and slammed into the kennel fence. “Where did those dogs come from?” Peewee freaked out.
Bubba woke up and looked over at Peewee. “Shut up, we’re trying to get some shut-eye,” he yelled, then placed his head back on the concrete.
“Oh, my God! It’s a talking dog!” Peewee said in disbelief.
“Of course, I talk, you dummy. That’s what dogs do. They talk to each other,” Bubba replied while he placed his head back on the concrete and went back to sleep.
“Dogs? What did he mean by dogs?” Peewee asked curiously, and then he looked down and saw his two front paws on the concrete slab. “What’s with these paws?” he asked himself, bringing one paw to his mouth and then sniffing it.
Peewee saw a shiny silver water dish on the other side of the kennel. He walked over to it and looked down.
He saw his reflection in the water, the face of a mutt dog with long, matted hair. Peewee winked an eye. The dog in the reflection winked the same eye. Peewee stuck out his tongue.
The dog in the reflection stuck out his tongue. Then it dawned on him. “I’m a dog?” Peewee cried out in a panic.
Then his eyes widened when he figured something else out.
“And I’m naked!” Peewee cried out, then his eyes crossed, and he fainted.
Later that morning, Peewee was still passed out on the kennel floor. His eyes slowly opened, and he looked around. “I hope this was just a nightmare,” Peewee said while he got up on all four paws.
He looked around and saw the kennel, the messy backyard, Elmer’s house, and he still saw everything in black and white.
“Crap! It’s not a nightmare; I’m a dog!” he cried in a panic.
Brutus, Bubba, Tiger, and Clyde all laughed at Peewee from the other end of the kennel.
“Of course, you’re a dog. What did you think you’re a cat?” Clyde said.
“Meow!” Bubba jokingly added, imitating a cat.
Brutus and Bubba high-fived with their paws while Tiger and Clyde laughed.
Peewee’s eyes widen in a panic. He quickly turned around and saw Tiger at his backside.
“Why are you sniffing my butt?” Peewee yelled. “Stop that!”
Tiger walked past him. “That’s what dogs do. They sniff each other,” Tiger said while walking over to Bubba and Brutus.
“Gross!” Peewee called out while he backed his rear end to the kennel fence for protection.
“Are you feeling okay, Peewee?” Bubba asked and walked over, concerned.
“Oh, great! My name is Peewee! What a stupid name!”
Peewee said.
“What’s wrong, little buddy?” Brutus said, concerned, while walking over.
“Listen - about this Peewee name. From now on, call me Mike,” Peewee said.
“Okay. Your name is Mike, if that makes you feel better,”
Brutus said while he sat down by Mike.
Clyde, Tiger, and Bubba nodded in agreement and sat down near Mike.
Mike looked sad, and then he paced around the kennel.
The other dogs watched.
“How is it possible I became a dog?” Mike asked while he paced around the kennel. Then it dawned on Mike. “That creepy Voodoo lady! She was in my house and put some Voodoo spell on me!” Mike cried out while he frantically paced around the kennel.
The other dogs watched and thought Mike was loony.
The back screen door of the house squeaked open. All the dogs looked and saw Lester, a fifty-year-old obese redneck with long dirty stringy hair, and he wore nothing but stained jean coveralls.
Lester walked over to the kennel with four dog dishes filled with cheap canned dog food in hand.
Lester slid the four dishes through an opening at the bottom of the kennel by the door. “Breakfast, boys,” Lester said. Mike looked at Lester while he walked away toward his house. “Excuse me, sir. But do you know a Louise LeBlanc?”
Mike asked Lester.
Lester turned around and glared at Mike because he heard only Mike barking. Lester got mad, stormed over, and banged the kennel cage with his fist. “Shut up, you stupid mutt!” he yelled at Mike.
Lester walked away toward his house.
“Sir. Please help me! I’m a human; I’m not a dog,” Mike yelled.
All Lester heard was Mike barking back at him, which got him mad. He picked up a brick in his yard and hurled it at the kennel.
It banged the cage six inches from Mike’s head. Mike ran to the other side of the cage, startled.
“Why is he mad at me? I’m only asking simple questions,”
Mike asked, a little concerned.
All the dogs laughed at Mike.
“You dummy! Humans can’t hear us,” Clyde said.
“Yeah. We can understand them, but they only hear woof, woof, bark, bark when we talk,” Brutus said.
“Enough of this human stuff, let’s eat. I’m starving,”
Bubba said while he ran to the food dishes.
Brutus, Tiger, and Clyde immediately munched down their food. Mike walked over and looked at his bowl of nasty brown stuff. “I’m supposed to eat this garbage?” he said while he stared at the food.
Brutus looked over at Mike. “What’s wrong with you? You love this stuff,” Brutus replied with a mouthful of food.
Mike sniffed it. “Ewe! It stinks,” he said. Mike took a small bite and then immediately spat it out. “That’s awful!” he said, walking over to the other side of the kennel, sitting down and looking sad.
The other dogs glanced over at Mike.
“I think our little buddy is flipping out,” Clyde said while he gulped down the rest of his food.
The other dogs nodded in agreement while they munched on their food.
Mike’s stomach growled in hunger. He tried to ignore it, and then it growled again. “Man, am I hungry,” Mike said while his stomach growled.
Mike looked at his dog dish on the other side of the kennel. “I can’t believe I have to eat that stuff,” he said. Then his stomach growled, and he couldn’t stand it any longer.
He got up and walked back over to his food dish. Mike nibbled at the food, and he gagged. He nibbled some more and gagged a little. He nibbled some more, then went for it all, took a huge bite, and immediately swallowed.
It was later that afternoon, and Brutus, Bubba, Tiger, and Clyde were sound asleep.
Mike paced around the kennel, pondering his dilemma.
“This life stinks!” Mike said repeatedly to himself while he walked around the kennel.
Mike saw Lester walk into the backyard. He stuck his nose through the kennel fence. “Ah, sir, excuse me. Can you let me out of here? I need to get home to my wife and kids,” Mike yelled at Lester.
The other dogs woke up and looked over at Mike.
“Sir, I don’t belong here. I have a nice house and a construction company,” Mike yelled at Lester. All Lester heard was Mike barking, and that got him mad. He rushed over, picked up an empty five-gallon plastic can, and threw it at Mike.
The can whacked Mike on his nose while it banged into the fence. “Ouch!” Mike yelled out, then stepped backward.
The other dogs laughed hysterically.
“I have a home,” Bubba cried out while he laughed.
“I have a wife and kids,” Clyde cried out while he laughed.
“I own a construction company,” Tiger cried while laughing.
They all continued to laugh hysterically at Mike.
“Well, I do!” Mike said then he lay on the kennel floor and looked depressed. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
It was later that afternoon, and Mike woke up to find he was still a dog and got even more depressed.
Lester walked out of the back of his house and approached the kennel. He opened the door.
“Come, Brutus,” he said.
Brutus walked over. Lester grabbed him by his collar and walked him to the pole with the chains. He connected his collar to one of the chains.
Lester walked back and did the same to the other four dogs. A few minutes later, Brutus, Bubba, Clyde, and Tiger all walked around, and they each had fifty feet of freedom.
“I need to get back home!” Mike said while he sat down in the grass at the length of his fifty-foot chain. He saw the dirt driveway of Lester’s home and yearned to get back home.
Mike suddenly got a look of discomfort, and he crossed his hind legs. “Not now!” squirmed, then looked at the other four dogs that stared at him. “Hey guys, can you turn around while I go to the bathroom?” he begged.
“Turn around? Are you joking with us, Mike?” Tiger asked.
“I can’t go in front of everybody,” Mike replied.
Bubba walked over to Mike. “Mike, I’m worried about you,” Bubba said with concerned eyes.
Brutus, Clyde, and Tiger walked over.
“Yeah. Did Lester hit you on the head and scramble your brains?” Tiger asked with concerned eyes.
“Guys, I need to get out of here. Can you please help me?” Mike responded with pleading eyes. “Please!”
The dogs couldn’t resist Mike’s pleading eyes. “Okay, Mike.
We’ll help,” Brutus said.
“Yeah, plus, we’ll turn our backs so you can go to the bathroom,” Clyde offered while looking at the other dogs, who all nodded in agreement.
They turned their backs on Mike, who squatted and strained while he went to the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later, Mike and the other four dogs stared at Lester’s back door while they waited for him to come outside.
“Does everybody remember what to do?” Brutus asked the others.
Bubba, Clyde, and Tiger nodded their heads in agreement.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Mike told them.
“Don’t worry about it, little buddy. That’s what friends are for, helping each other out,” Brutus replied. “Are you sure you want to go?” Bubba asked.
“I have to. I don’t belong here,” Mike replied.
“But we have it made. We get two meals a day,” Clyde said.
The back screen door of Lester’s house opened, and he walked outside.
“It’s showtime,” Tiger said while they watched Lester.
All five dogs just walked away from Lester while Mike walked closer to ensure he was the first one disconnected from the chain.
It worked as Lester approached Mike and disconnected the chain from his collar. Then Clyde, Tiger, Brutus, and Bubba raced over to Lester, ran circles around him, and wrapped their chains around his legs.
“What are you doing?” Lester yelled at his dogs. Then the four dogs jumped up on Lester, and he fell on his butt, wrapped up in the chains.
Mike saw his opportunity, and he bolted toward the dirt driveway.
Lester saw Mike run away.
He got up and tried to run after Mike, but the chains around his legs caused him to fall flat on his face, bringing the four dogs down with him.
“Peewee, get your butt back here!” Lester yelled. Then he looked worried at the sight of Mike running away. “Agnes will be furious with me for losing her precious Peewee!” he worried.
“It feels good to get away from those smelly boneheads!”
Mike said while he ran down Lester’s dirt driveway.
Mike got to the two-lane country road and ran off without any clue about the direction he was headed.
Five minutes later, Mike stopped running and was out of breath. He looked back down the road and saw that the coast was clear.
“I don’t recognize this road being near New Castle,” Mike said while walking down the road. After ten minutes of walking, he saw the Alabama Highway 148 sign along the road. He stopped and looked at the sign in disbelief. “I’m in Alabama? Oh, that’s just great. It’ll take me forever to walk home,” he said, then continued to walk down the road.
Twenty-two minutes later, Mike slowed down while he walked down the road.
A pickup truck with four teenage boys in the bed raced after Mike.
Mike stepped off to the small shoulder just as one of the teenagers threw a soda can, and it smacked Mike’s hindquarters.
“Ouch!” he yelled out in pain.
He saw the teenagers laugh at him while the pickup truck raced off down the road.
“That’s not funny!” Mike yelled at the kids. He saw a rock and tried to pick it up with a paw. He couldn’t pick up the rocks with his paw. “These paws are useless,” he said while he looked at it. Then Mike recalled him throwing a beer bottle at a stray dog ten years ago. “I guess that was payback,” he said while he stepped back on the road and continued walking.
Mike walked down the road and moved to the shoulder while an occasional car drove by.
Mike walked for another thirty minutes, and he was exhausted.
He walked off the road and into the woods. He stopped and sat down in the dirt.
He yawned and lay in the dirt.
He closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep. Sixteen minutes later, Mike dreamed of remembering the family trip down to Orlando, Florida, where they visited Sea World.
After hours of visiting all the exhibits, they went on the Journey to Atlantis ride. They had a blast, reached the bottom, and were splashed by water.
Mike woke from his dream and felt more water drops, and he thought he was back on the ride at Sea World. He heard thunder, and then it poured. Mike realized he was back in Alabama and was still a dog alone in the woods. He was soaked to the bones within a few minutes.
Rain, lightning, and thunder filled the air. He was scared and shaken from being cold.
The morning’s rays from the sun peaked through the trees.
The birds sang at the start of another day.
Mike woke up and looked around the woods. He got up on his paws, and his stomach growled. “I would love some scrambled eggs, bacon, and a huge cup of coffee,” Mike wished while stretching.
He walked out of the woods and headed down the road with his head hung down and was depressed. His stomach continued to growl while he moped down the road.
A couple of hours later, traffic on the road increased. Cars would drive by and blow their horns while they passed by Mike.
He was too tired to get startled or step off the road.
Then, twenty minutes later, Mike walked into the outskirts of Sylacauga, Alabama.
Mike walked down numerous streets, pondering how he would return to Pennsylvania.
“I don’t have a map,” he said while turning down another street.
After Mike walked farther down this street, he stopped when he smelled something good. “Hamburgers! That’s the smell I missed,” he said, wagging his tail for the first time since he realized he was a dog.
He soon entered a fast-food hamburger restaurant called Fantastic Burgers and stopped when he smelled hamburgers.
His stomach growled with hunger while he looked at the outdoor cafe-style tables out front where some people sat and ate their meals.
“I could kill for a hamburger!” Mike said while his stomach growled.
He walked down the driveway into the burger place.
He walked into the area with the outdoor tables and then over to a table where a young man and woman ate their juicy hamburgers. His stomach growled again and was louder.
“Could you please spare a piece of hamburger? I’m starving,” Mike said.
The man heard Mike barking at him, and he got mad. He crumpled up the bag from the hamburgers. “Get away, mangy mutt!” the man yelled at Mike while throwing the bag at him.
Mike just sat there while it bounced off his head.
The man got up and ran after Mike, who suddenly realized this man didn’t appreciate dogs.
Mike ran to the back of the restaurant.
He sat by the row of hedges at the rear of the restaurant property.
His stomach growled louder while he sat by the hedges.
“Are you hungry?” a female’s voice called out from behind the hedges a few seconds later.
Mike looked around to see who was talking.
“I said, are you hungry?” the voice said again, then Ginger, the dog Mike previously treated poorly back home, walked out from behind the hedges.
“I’m starving!” he replied the second he saw Ginger.
“My name is Ginger,” she said while she walked up to him.
“My name is Mike,” he replied.
Mike stared at Ginger, and something about her seemed extremely familiar. “Where have I seen you before?” he asked while he looked Ginger over.
Ginger looked at Mike. “I’ve never met you,” she said, then walked over and sniffed him, which made Mike a tad nervous.
“Or smelled you before,” she said, then stepped away from him. “I have this feeling we’ve met before,” Mike stated.
“Maybe there’s another dog that looks like me out there,”
she said, then sat beside Mike.
His stomach growled while he stared at the restaurant, and his tongue hung out of his mouth.
“I’m also hungry. Why don’t we get something to eat,” she offered.
“How? I don’t have any money,” he replied sadly, wondering if he would starve.
Ginger chuckled. “Money? People use money; we use our speed and wits,” she stated while looking at the restaurant.
“Speed and wits? How?” he asked curiously.
Ginger looked at Mike. “I take it you’re not from the streets. Maybe you’re a house dog? Or maybe you’re from an outside kennel?”
“Born and raised in a house,” he answered while his stomach continued to growl.
“Watch and learn, my newfound friend,” she said while getting up and then walking away.
Mike got up and curiously followed.
Mike followed Ginger while she walked to the garbage dumpster, where it overflowed, and a couple of trash bags were on the ground.
Mike watched while Ginger ripped the bag open with her nails. “Ewe gross!” he gagged while Ginger dug into the trash bag for food.
“What’s the matter?” she questioned while digging through the trash.
“You’re eating out of the trash?” he replied disgustingly.
“Who cares? I’m hungry, and trash is an excellent food source,” she replied while she dug through the trash and found a hamburger made yesterday and wasn’t sold. She ripped open the wrapping and bit into it. “Mmmm! This tastes so good!” she beamed with a mouthful of burger.
Mike sniffed the air. “Something smells better like a freshly made hamburger,” he said while the aroma of cooking charcoal burgers on the grill came from the opened back door.
“Hamburger has been one of my favorites,” she beamed while munching on more of the day-old burger.
“Nothing better than a burger off the grill,” Mike replied while his stomach growled.
“You better start liking trash food, or you’re going to starve,” Ginger stated, then took another bite of burger.
Mike’s empty stomach was too hard to resist. He swallowed his pride and walked over to the trash bag. He peeked inside the hole she made and dug around with his paw.
He found another day-old burger wrapped up.
“I can’t starve,” he rationalized, as it would be okay since it’s wrapped up. He dug at the wrapping, exposing the burger on the bun. He dove in and took a bite. “Mmmm!” he said while he ate the burger, which made his tummy happy.
It was later that day, and after, they each ate three hamburgers and lay by the hedges of the restaurant.
“That sure filled my stomach. Thanks!” Mike said to Ginger, and then he sat up and got curious. “How long have you been on the streets?”
Ginger sat up. “Pretty much my whole life. My mother gave birth to me and my brother and sisters in these human houses. The humans gave away my brothers and sisters but couldn’t find me a home. So they left me in the woods one afternoon, saying I was too much of a burden. What kind of mean person does such a horrible thing?” she told Mike while her eyes welled up when she recalled that horrible day.
“I wouldn’t know,” Mike replied and then felt terrible for leaving Rascal out in the woods, but wasn’t about to tell Ginger.
“How long have you been on the streets?” she asked curiously.
“One day.”
“What happened?” she curiously asked.
“It’s a long story, and I don’t feel like talking about it,” Mike replied with sad eyes.
“I’ve been on the open road, traveling from Florida up to Pennsylvania, then back down to Florida,” she said.
Mike’s ears perked up, and his tail wagged. “Pennsylvania?
That’s where I’m from. I need to get back there and be with my family,” he told her.
Ginger thought for a second. “If you’re from Pennsylvania, how did you make it down to Alabama?” she curiously asked.
Mike thought for a few seconds for a cover story. “Well, my family drove down to Orlando, Florida, for vacation and to visit a relative in Alabama. They stopped for a break at a rest stop. They left me inside the car while they went to eat in a restaurant. I had to pee so bad that I crawled out an open window. I ran to some trees, and when I returned, they were gone. I guess they didn’t realize I wasn’t in the car,” Mike lied, giving her fake sad eyes.
Ginger felt sorry for him.
“I need to get back to Pennsylvania,” he added.
“What town?” she asked curiously.
“New Castle.”
Her eyes lit up. “I know that place. The last time I was there, a dog pound guy caught me while I was on the streets.
Then, they almost put me to sleep at the shelter forever, but I was too crafty and slipped away. So I’m not sure I want to head back to that city,” she stated, then looked at Mike’s sad eyes.
“Rats!” Mike stated with sad eyes.
She stared at his sad eyes for a few seconds. “You know, you are kinda cute in an ugly way. Since you’re unfamiliar with the streets, I’ll be pleased to take you back home. I normally head up that way for the summers and spend the winters in Florida. I was planning on going to Ohio this time, but I guess I can head back to New Castle,” she said, then licked Mike across the side of his head.
“Gross! A dog kissed me!” Mike thought to himself and didn’t want to say that out loud, as he didn’t want to get her mad. “I would love the company,” he told her, knowing his life depended on Ginger.
“Super! We will have a good time, and I would love some company. After I drop you off at your home, I’m heading to Ohio,” she replied.
Then, one of the short-order cooks stepped out of the restaurant’s back door. He sat down to relax and drink a Coke; then he saw Ginger and Mike. He frowned at the sight of the dogs. He picked up a rock by the back door. “Get out of here!”
he yelled while he threw the rock at Ginger and Mike.
The rock landed inches from Mike, and he jumped up, startled.
“Welcome to life on the road,” Ginger said while she turned around and bolted through the hedges.
Mike turned around and bolted after her through the hedges.
Ten minutes passed. Ginger and Mike huffed and puffed while they ran down the sidewalk.
Mike stopped and sat down.
People walked around him.
Ginger walked back to Mike. “Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.
“I need a rest. I’m not used to running like that,” he breathed heavily.
“House dogs are way too pampered,” she said while sitting beside Mike. Then she looked down at the sidewalk. “I would love being pampered,” she quietly to herself.
Mike heard her comment and felt a little sorry for her.
Ginger’s eyes widened in fear when she saw the city dog pound truck.
“We better get out of here really fast,” she warned him while she kept an eye on the truck.
“What’s wrong?” he asked while he looked in the direction she looked.
“Dog pound truck,” she warned, then jumped up and bolted down the sidewalk.
Mike jumped up and bolted after Ginger. She quickly turned down another sidewalk. “If they catch us, they’ll put us in the pound, where we stand a good chance of being put to sleep forever,” she warned while she ran as fast as she could down the sidewalk.
“How do you know this?” Mike asked, out of breath, while he ran up to her.
“My experience up in New Castle,” she stated while glancing behind her for the truck, noticing it driving down the street after them.
“Oh yeah,” he replied when he remembered her story.
They ran between some people’s legs, almost causing them to fall on their butts.
Ginger saw a residential area up ahead down the sidewalk.
A few minutes later, she made a sharp right turn and ran through someone’s backyard.
Mike made a sharp right turn and ran after her.
The dog pound truck’s male driver stopped, got out, and stood in the street. He looked at the yard where he saw Ginger and Mike run through, and they were nowhere in sight.
He looked disappointed when he returned to his truck and slowly drove down the street, searching for the two dogs.
The dog pound truck made a right turn down the residential street. He slowly drove down that street in search of the two dogs.
A few minutes later, Ginger and Mike poked their heads out of a bush they ducked under to hide.
“The coast is clear,” she informed Mike, exiting from under the bush.
Mike came out from under the bush.
They walked back down the street, down the sidewalk to another main street.
Ginger stopped and looked around the area. “We need to cross the street so we can head north,” she stated.
Mike looked around and looked lost. “How do you know that?” he asked, totally lost.
“This is my normal path to the north,” she said.
“Well, let’s cross the street,” Mike said and got up and walked to the curb.
He set one paw on the street, and Ginger immediately chomped down on his tail and pulled him back.
“Ahhhh!” Mike cried out in pain. “What are you doing?”
he said the second a car whizzed past him, and the wheels missed him by inches.
“The streets are jam-packed with danger. You could get hurt if you don’t look for cars,” she scolded.
Mike was shaken, knowing a car tire had almost flattened his head. He sat down on the sidewalk. “Thank you,” he said.
“Just be careful, as I don’t want to lose you,” she said, then licked the inside of his ear and snuggled next to him.
“I hope in doggie land, this doesn’t mean we’re married,”
Mike quietly said.
Some people walked by and smiled at seeing two dogs snuggling together.
“Let’s go before that pound truck comes this way,” she pointed out.
She walked to the curb and looked both ways. The coast was clear. “Now,” she said, then she bolted across the street.
Mike got up, and he got to the curb. He cautiously looked both ways and then he bolted across the street.
Later that evening, the sun sunk fast below the horizon.
Mike and Ginger finally walked to Highway 280 north of Sylacauga.
“You see, eating out of the trash isn’t a bad way to dine,”
Ginger told him after dinner at the dumpster behind McDonald’s.
They were only one mile north of the Merkel Field airport of Sylacauga when Mike stopped and stepped off the road.
“What’s wrong?” she asked while she walked back to him.
“I’m not used to all this walking, and I’m exhausted,” he panted.
She looked up at the sky. “It’s getting dark, so we might as well sleep in these woods,” she remarked, then walked off into the woods.
Mike followed her.
They found a spot twenty feet from the road a few minutes later. Mike curled up and closed his eyes. He was asleep in minutes.
Ginger curled up next to him, closed her eyes, and was asleep in minutes.
An hour later, Mike woke up. He felt something on his back. It took a few seconds for him to realize that Ginger rested her head on his back. “Again, I hope in doggie land this doesn’t mean we’re engaged,” he quietly worried.
Ginger opened her eyes. “No. We’re just friends. You’re not my type anyway. Sleeping like this will help keep us warm tonight,” she reassured, then closed her eyes.
Mike felt embarrassed. He closed his eyes.
It was another morning in Alabama.
Ginger woke up and saw Mike was still asleep. She got up and licked Mike’s face.
“That feels so good, Debbie,” Mike moaned while dreaming about his wife.
Ginger got jealous and nudged Mike. “Wake up,” she yelled out in his ear.
Mike jumped up, scared, and ran five feet away from Ginger. He looked around in a daze, and returning to him took a few seconds. He looked at Ginger. “Why did you do that?”
he asked, a little upset.
“I’m sorry. I tried to wake you, but you didn’t move,” she replied, then looked at him. “You were talking in your sleep.
Who is this Debbie person? Is she another dog from up there in Pennsylvania?” she curiously asked, being a tad jealous.
“She’s my. .” Mike replied, then stopped before he said the wrong word. “She’s my owner,” he pretended.
Ginger walked over and stared into Mike’s eyes for a few seconds, and then she believed him. “Okay. We better hit the road,” she stated, then walked away.
Mike got up and followed her to the road.
After a long, exhausting hour of walking on the hard asphalt, Mike stepped off the road and sat in the dirt.
“What’s wrong?” Ginger asked while she stepped off the road and sat beside him.
“I’m tired, and my paws are killing me,” Mike said in a tired tone. “I take it. You’re a greenhorn when it comes to walking?”
she joshed.
“I guess you can say that. I always rode in a pickup or a mini-van,” he said while remembering those days.
“I had many friends killed by those dangerous things. But you sure can get around quicker with them,” she remembered
getting sad about her old friends from her past. “But I remember when I was a puppy riding in my owner’s car, the window was down, and I stuck my head outside. The wind blowing through my face felt so good,” Ginger recalled with sparkling eyes remembering that day. “Then, a few weeks later, I took another ride, and they dumped me off in the woods,”
Ginger growled, remembering her owners.
“I’m sorry to hear about that,” Mike replied, then looked at the road. “Well, we better get moving, or we’ll never return to Pennsylvania.”
They walked off down the road.
Ginger looked curiously at Mike. “Are you sure your owners will take you back?” she asked.
“Of course. The kids are named Jenny and Chris, and they love me,” Mike beamed.
“I just want to make sure,” Ginger replied, but she wanted to stay with Mike longer.
They walked for another hour, and their tongues hung out from being hot.
“I’m thirsty,” Mike said.
“Me too,” Ginger replied while she looked around. She spotted a puddle from last night’s storm in this area.
She walked over to the puddle and slurped up some water.
Mike got grossed out while he watched her drink from the puddle.
She looked over at him. “Come get a drink,” she called out. “I can’t drink from a puddle. That’s gross!” he gagged.
“Die of thirst if you want,” she said. Then, after she took a few more slurps from the puddle, she walked back to Mike.
They headed down the road.
Fifteen minutes down the road, Mike was parched. They walked by another puddle along the side of the road, and he couldn’t stand it any longer.
He ran over to the puddle and immediately started slurping up water. Dirty water.
Ginger watched from the road and knew he couldn’t hold out forever.
“Feel better?” she asked while he walked back to the road, his chin dripping with water.
“Much,” he replied while they walked down the road.
Ginger and Mike walked the rest of the day, and the sun started to fall below the horizon, and darkness was creeping upon them.
Mike sat down on the road. “I can’t go any farther,” he said, then gave out a big yawn.
Then Ginger’s ears perked up. “You better get off the road now,” she said.
“Why?” he asked in a sleepy stupor.
“Because that motorcycle will cream you,” she warned while quickly stepping off the road and running to a tree a few feet away.
Mike looked and saw a headlight racing at him. Then he heard the sound of a Kawasaki motorcycle that got louder and louder. Mike quickly stepped off the road and ran to Ginger while the Kawasaki motorcycle whizzed by them.
“We better bed down for the night,” Ginger said while she looked around the area, her eyes widened. “I know of a place a little farther down the road. We can stay there if you can muster up a little more energy,” she offered.
“Okay,” Mike replied with a yawn.
They both got back on the road and walked away.
Fifteen minutes later, Ginger stopped when she spotted a small foot trail that led deep into the woods on the other side of the road.
“Here we are,” she said, then looked up and down the road.
There were no cars in sight, so she ran across the road.
Mike ran after her.
Ginger and Mike walked down the woods, and the sky was getting darker and darker.
“Why are we going this far?” Mike worried while other critter noises started to scare him.
Ginger waited a few seconds to respond. “We’re almost there,” she said after they heard the faint sound of voices off to their right.
They walked down a smaller foot trail to their right. The farther they got down that trail, the voices were louder.
They soon walked into a small clearing where other stray dogs were camped.
“What is this place?” Mike asked Ginger.
“It’s a camp we use while traveling. A place where we can hang out and have some company before we move onward. We call it our Bama Camp,” she replied.
Rufus was a black Labrador who jumped up the second he spotted Ginger. “It’s Ginger!” he called out while he ran over to her. “Rufus, long time no see,” she called back at him.
“Hello, Ginger,” a Dachshund mix breed named Tiny called out.
“Ginger!” another mutt called out.
Soon, the rest of the dogs called out a greeting for Ginger.
Rufus licked Ginger’s face.
“So good to see you again,” she replied, then looked at Mike. “Hey everybody, this here is Mike,” she introduced him.
“Any friend of Ginger’s is a friend of ours,” Rufus said then while he walked up to Mike.
Rufus walked up behind Mike and immediately sniffed his backside.
“Not the butt-sniffing stuff again,” Mike whispered while he slowly sat his butt down in the dirt.
Ginger saw a German Shepherd named Hans, a Golden Retriever called Ralphie, and two other hound dog mutts named Abby and Dexter.
They all stood around a Collie mix named Toby on his side in the dirt.
“What’s wrong with Toby?” she asked Rufus, looking concerned.
“Some human hit him with a pickup truck down the road a bit,” Rufus replied, looking worried.
“I don’t think he’s going to make it,” Dexter worried while looking down at Toby, who closed his eyes.
Abby felt Toby’s neck with one of her paws. “He’s gone,”
she confirmed.
All the other dogs walked over, gathered around, and looked down at Toby.
Mike walked over and joined everybody.
“We better bury him,” Rufus told everybody. Mike watched while five dogs walked three feet over and started digging a hole with their paws.
Thirty minutes later, Ginger and the rest of the dogs sat around the dirt mound of Toby’s grave.
“Toby was a good friend and one that needs a good home up in heaven,” Rufus preached while his eyes welled up.
The eyes of Ginger and the other dogs welled up, and then they nodded in agreement with Rufus.
The dogs and Ginger sadly walked away from his grave.
Mike walked over and looked at the grave. He glanced back at the other dogs that sat around with tears in their eyes.
For once in his life, he felt sorry for these animals.
Then, half of the dogs stretched out in the dirt and closed their eyes.
Then, the rest of the dogs joined them, along with Ginger.
Mike lay down and closed his eyes.
They were all soon asleep.
Hours later, the dogs all woke up and milled around for a few minutes.
Misty’s stomach growled.
Dexter’s stomach growled.
Tiny’s stomach growled.
Abby’s stomach growled.
Then, the stomachs of the rest of the dogs growled, and it sounded like an orchestra.
“Can I have your attention?” Rufus called out to everybody.
All the dogs looked over at Rufus.
“By the sounds I just heard, I think it’s time we go get some grub,” Rufus said.
Everybody wagged their tails in anticipation of some food.
“Let’s go,” he said, walking over to the other side of the clearing where there was a smaller foot trail.
Everybody followed Rufus down the trail.
“Where are we going?” Mike asked Ginger while she walked by his side.
“A place where we normally find food this time of the day.
It’s one of the reasons we camp out back there,” she replied.
Ten minutes later, they walked into a dark campsite where twelve people were camped in tents.
Rufus ran up to a trashcan on a stand. He jumped up, the can swiveled downward, and all the contents dumped on the ground.
Tiny, Abby, and Dexter ran over and joined Rufus, and they scoured through the trash for food.
Hans did the same thing to another trash can. Ralphie and Ginger ran over and joined Hans while he scoured through the trash.
“Hurry up before you lose out,” Ginger told Mike, who sat nearby them and looked grossed out.
“I’ll never get used to this,” Mike said while he walked over and picked through the trash.
Thirty minutes later, all the dogs returned to their Bama Camp in the clearing.
“Ah, that was delicious,” Rufus said with sparkling eyes while he lay on the ground.
“You got that right,” Dexter replied, stretching on the ground.
All the other dogs nodded in agreement while they stretched out on the ground.
Mike tried to forget he ate trash again so he would not vomit. He stretched out on the ground and closed his eyes.
Ginger walked over and lay next to Mike.
A few minutes later, all the dogs were sound asleep.
It was another morning in Alabama, and the birds sang a beautiful song from the trees.
One by one, the dogs in Bama Camp started waking once the sun’s rays peeked through the trees.
Mike woke up and saw Tiny and Hans squatting in the woods, going to the bathroom. “I’ll never get used to that.
Never,” he said, and then the urge overcame him. “Ah, man,”
he said while he got up.
He rushed over to a bush and got behind it for some privacy. He went to the bathroom and returned to the camp, where the rest of the dogs were awake.
“There you are,” Ginger said while she rushed up to Mike.
Mike yawned. “Man, I sure could use a cup of coffee,” he said. “Coffee? What’s that?” Ginger curiously asked.
“Oh, just something humans need to get their morning started,” he replied.
“Oh,” she responded.
“Ginger, where are you heading?” Rufus asked while he walked up to them.
“We’re going up to Pennsylvania to a town called New Castle,” she replied.
“What’s up there?” Rufus inquired.
“My owners,” Mike replied.
“Mike was accidentally left in Alabama by his owner. He wants to go back home,” Ginger added.
Rufus looked sad. “My owners left me outside Atlanta at a rest stop. I tried returning home but saw they got a new dog to replace me. So, it’s life on the streets for me,” Rufus wept.
“Where are you headed?” Ginger asked Rufus.
“Hans, Ralphie, Dexter, and Abby are heading up to the mountains in North Carolina. We’ve never been up there before and will stay to see the leaves change color. Then we’ll head back to Florida to avoid the cold,” Rufus told her.
“Well, have a safe trip,” Ginger said.
“You two, my darling,” Rufus replied, then leaned down and licked Ginger’s face.
Ginger giggled. “I never get tired of your kisses, Rufus,”
she purred.
“Come with us to North Carolina,” Rufus offered, then licked her face again.
Ginger thought about his offer, which was tempting, but she looked at Mike and knew he would never survive on the streets alone. “Maybe next year. I promised Mike I wanted to help him get back home,” she replied.
“Oh well,” Rufus responded, then looked at Mike. “Well, my newfound friend, I hope you return home and take Ginger for me. She’s one sweet lady,” Rufus added.
“I will,” Mike replied.
“Good, now have a safe trip,” Rufus said, then walked away, disappointed Ginger didn’t want to join him.
“Bye, everybody!” Ginger yelled out at the rest of the dogs.
“Later, Ginger!” Hans replied.
“Have a safe trip,” Tiny replied.
“See you later,” Ralphie replied.
All of the dogs said their goodbyes.
Later that day, Ginger and Mike trekked down the road and headed toward Birmingham.
Soon, they walked upon the town of Lake Purdy, located southeast of Birmingham. “I’m starving,” Mike told Ginger while they walked down a side street.
Ginger stopped and sniffed the air. “I’m smelling another familiar smell,” she replied.
She took off, running down the sidewalk.
Mike ran after her.
Ginger turned down a street to the right and ran down the sidewalk.
After a few minutes, they found another Fantastic Burgers joint. Ginger led Mike back toward the rear of the restaurant and passed by the outside café area, where a large man walked inside the restaurant.
Ginger and Mike got to the rear of the restaurant while the garbage truck emptied the dumpster.
“Rats,” she commented while her stomach growled, watching the truck drive away with their lunch.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to resort to another means,” she told Mike.
“What means?” Mike replied, not sure he would like her plan. Ginger moved in closer to Mike’s ear and whispered her plan. Mike looked unsure but agreed since his stomach growled.
Ginger and Mike snuck around the corner of the outside café area and waited for a customer.
The large man walked out of the restaurant.
He headed to the outside café area with a large bag in hand.
Ginger’s eyes lit up when she saw him. “This could be the jackpot. Are you ready?” Ginger asked Mike.
“You bet,” he replied while his stomach growled.
“Let’s move,” she said, and then she bolted off to the large man the second he sat down on the concrete bench with tile inlays.
She jumped up on the bench next to the man and quickly jumped on the table.
The large man saw Ginger on his table near his food and got mad. “Get away, you ugly mutt!” he yelled and shooed her away. “Could you please give us some food?” Ginger asked the man. All the large man heard was Ginger barking at him on the table. He jumped up and went after her.
Ginger jumped down to the bench. “Please give us some food,” she said to the man.
All the man heard was Ginger barking, so he lunged after Ginger. She jumped off the bench and looked up at him from the ground.
“I’m starving!” she yelled.
All he heard was her barking, which made him mad. He ran after her.
She ran away.
Mike sprang into action, jumped up on the bench, and then jumped on the top of the table. He quickly grabbed the bag and jumped off the table, down to the bench, and then to the ground.
While Mike ran to the back of the restaurant, the large man chased Ginger to the street.
Mike ran to the rear of the restaurant and hid behind the dumpster.
The large man chased Ginger down the sidewalk, and when he felt she wouldn’t return, he turned around and headed back to the restaurant.
The large man returned to his table. He looked mad when he saw that his bag of burgers was gone. He scanned under the table, and it was not there. He scanned around the area, and it was not there.
He ran to the rear of the restaurant, believing kids stole his lunch and were there munching down on his burgers. He looked around the back of the restaurant, and nobody was in sight.
The man walked pissed back to the entrance and went back inside to buy another lunch.
Ginger snuck down through the drive-thru lane to the rear of the restaurant. She went behind the dumpster.
Mike sat there with the bag behind the dumpster.
“I’m surprised you didn’t start eating,” she said while she sat down.
“That wouldn’t be good manners,” he replied.
“A gentleman, I like that,” she replied, then sniffed the bag.
“Let’s eat,” she replied, licking her lips.
They tore the bag open, and each immediately ripped their wrapped hamburgers open. They munched down on the fresh, juicy burgers.
Twenty minutes after they rested from their meal, Ginger walked out from behind the dumpster.
She looked around. “We need to get to Pennsylvania a little quicker,” she said.
“How? By running?” Mike asked.
“No, watch and learn,” she replied, then walked away and headed toward the drive-thru lane.
Ginger and Mike sat by the entrance of the drive-thru lane.
“What are we waiting for? A taxi?” Mike asked jokingly.
“Patience, my friend,” she replied.
A Dodge Ram pickup truck drove in the drive-thru and passed them, and she saw it had a Kentucky license plate under the down tailgate.
“This one will work,” she said.
“What will work?” Mike looked around, baffled.
“That pickup will get us to Kentucky,” she replied.
Mike looked and saw the license plate. “Good thinking,”
he replied, happy to get off his paws for a while.
Ginger raced to the pickup, jumping on the tailgate and quickly getting on her belly. She saw Mike, who had just sat there nervously.
“Come on, Mike,” she called out.
Mike got up and ran over to the pickup. He jumped up.
“Ouch!” Mike cried out in pain after whacking his head on the bottom of the tailgate. He dropped to the ground.
“Way to go, Grace!” Ginger teased him.
“Sorry, I don’t know how to jump that high,” he said while getting up.
“You’re kidding me?” Ginger replied while she jumped down off the tailgate. “It looks like I have some more things to teach you,” she said while she walked down the drive-thru lane and headed to the street.
Mike followed her to the street.
“Are you sure you’re a dog?” she asked Mike while they ran down the street.
“No comment,” Mike replied.
Ginger ran over to a convenience store. She walked around the rear of the store and saw numerous stacked boxes.
Ginger jumped up on a small box and then jumped off.
“It’s that easy,” she said.
Mike got a running start, and he jumped on the box.
“See, it’s easy,” she replied while she looked the area over and saw some other boxes stacked on each other. “I want you to jump on these boxes,” she said.
Mike walked away and then took a running start. He jumped up and landed on top of the box.
“Good, now I want you to jump clear of the boxes and land on the other side,” she ordered. Mike ran away from the boxes, got a running start, and raced toward the boxes. He jumped and cleared the top of the stacked boxes. He puffed out his chest after landing on his paws.
“Great grasshopper, you’ve graduated from Ginger’s jump school!” she praised. “Let’s hitch a ride up north,” she added, then ran toward the street.
Mike ran after her and headed to the street.
Mike and Ginger ran back to the Fantastic Burgers and sat by the entrance to the drive-thru window. They watched for pickups with out-of-state plates.
An hour passed, and they still waited.
Then, a Chevy Silverado pickup truck with its tailgate down with Tennessee tags pulled into the drive-thru lane.
“Tennessee will get us closer and save a few days of walking,” Ginger replied, then bolted off after the pickup.
Mike ran after her and headed to the pickup. Ginger jumped up and landed on the tailgate.
Mike jumped up and landed on the tailgate.
“Good job!” Ginger praised him.
“Get off my truck!” a voice yelled behind them.
Ginger and Mike turned around and saw a colossal Mastiff standing at the front of the bed. The Mastiff growled while inching toward Ginger and Mike.
“I said, get off my truck!” the Mastiff snarled, inching even closer.
Ginger knew they were in danger. “We’re sorry,” she cringed, then jumped off the tailgate.
Mike stood on the tailgate, frozen with fear.
“You better get off,” Ginger yelled at Mike.
The Mastiff inched his way closer.
Mike snapped to reality and jumped off the tailgate.
The Mastiff walked to the edge of the tailgate. “And stay off!” he snarled at them, then stepped back and curled up on the bed under the cab windows.
The Chevy pickup drove away, and the driver submitted his order through the drive-through window.
Ginger and Mike walked back and sat down by the entrance to the drive-thru. They waited for more vehicles.
“That also happens once in a while,” she told him.
“That sure takes the fun out of living on the streets,” he replied.”
“Tell me about it,” she replied while they watched the incoming vehicles.
Three hours had passed, and their chances of a free ride looked slimmer.
Then, a Ford F150 pickup with antique furniture in the bed pulled into the drive-thru lane. On the door was painted Jimmy’s Antiques, Charleston, West Virginia.
Ginger saw the West Virginia license plate. “Now that will get us closer to Pennsylvania,” she replied, then ran after the pickup.
She jumped up on the tailgate of the pickup.
Mike ran after her, and then he jumped on the tailgate.
Ginger looked and found a cubbyhole between two pieces of furniture. “We better stay out of view,” she said, then crawled inside the hole.
Mike glanced around the furniture for another cubbyhole.
He found one and crawled inside the hole.
Ginger and Mike hid in the cubbyholes while Jimmy, a sixty-two-year-old antique furniture restorer, bought a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and vanilla shake from the drive-thru window.
Jimmy drove his pickup north of Birmingham on Interstate 59 an hour later.
Ginger and Mike poked their heads out of the cubbyholes and watched while the pickup drove down the Interstate.
“This sure beats walking the asphalt,” Mike called out.
“You know it,” Ginger replied.
They continued to watch the north Alabama countryside drive by.
Hours later, the sun fell below the horizon to the west.
Ginger and Mike sat on the tailgate and watched the passing Tennessee countryside. At the same time, Jimmy drove his pickup truck north on Interstate 75.
Then, an hour later, they watched Jimmy drive his pickup down Exit 383 on Interstate 75 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Jimmy drove his truck to a Super 8 Motel and pulled into the parking lot.
He parked his pickup and got out with a small suitcase.
Ginger and Mike poked their heads out of their cubbyholes and watched while Jimmy walked to the front entrance with his small suitcase in hand.
“Looks like he’s spending the night here,” Mike said.
Ginger got out of her cubbyhole and sat on the tailgate.
Mike exited his cubbyhole and sat on the tailgate beside her. They sniffed the air.
“Something smells good,” Mike said, happy to regain his sense of smell.
“There must be a restaurant over in that direction,” she said while looking toward the smell. “I’ll race you to dinner,” she said, then jumped off the tailgate.
She ran through the parking lot.
Mike jumped off the tailgate and ran after Ginger.
An hour later, Ginger and Mike walked back through the Super Motel 8 motel after eating out of the garbage from the nearby Waffle House restaurant.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to eating out of garbage cans,” Mike said.
“Some of us don’t have the luxury of having a human give us food daily,” Ginger replied while they walked back to Jimmy’s pickup.
Ginger and Mike jumped on the tailgate of the pickup and sat down. They stared up at the stars and the full Moon.
After a few minutes, they saw a shooting star zoom across the sky.
“Shooting star, hurry up and make a wish,” she told him, then quickly closed her eyes.
Mike closed their eyes.
“I wish I could have a human family love me and take me off the streets,” Ginger silently wished.
“I wish I could get my human life back and take care of my family,” Mike silently wished.
They opened their eyes, and then Ginger and Mike yawned.
“It’s been a long day,” Mike said.
“Let’s rest up for tomorrow’s journey,” she said, then crawled back into her cubbyhole.
Mike crawled back into his cubbyhole, and they were soon fast asleep.
It was the next morning in Knoxville, and the sound of traffic on Interstate 75 got louder.
Mike crawled out from his cubbyhole and stretched on the tailgate. He walked over to Ginger’s cubbyhole. “Time to get up,” he said to her.
“Not yet. I want to sleep for another couple of hours,” she quietly said while she lay in her cubbyhole.
“We better hurry up and find some breakfast before our ride takes off,” he said.
Ginger didn’t reply for a few seconds. “You’re right,” she yawned, then exited her cubbyhole.
“Let’s grab some food,” Mike suggested, then jumped off the tailgate.
“I’m shocked you’re in a hurry to eat out of the garbage,”
she replied while she jumped off the tailgate.
“As you said before, it’s either the trash or we starve,” he responded while they ran through the parking lot and headed back to the Waffle House.
Twenty minutes later, Ginger and Mike filled their tummies from the garbage of the Waffle House. Breakfast consisted of discarded toast, muffins, and bacon.
They ran through the parking lot of the Super 8 Motel.
Mike stopped and looked a little lost. “Where’s our ride?”
he asked while he looked around the lot, and Jimmy’s truck wasn’t in sight.
Mike ran toward the other end of the lot and searched for Jimmy’s truck, which wasn’t in sight.
He ran back to Ginger in a panic.
“He’s gone. Now what?” he said when he got back to her.
Ginger scanned the area. She saw a Greyhound bus while it drove down the street in front of the motel. “Don’t worry. I have another plan. Hurry!” she ordered while she ran off in the direction the bus drove.
“Now what?” Mike said while he ran after Ginger but knew she had an idea for a new mode of transportation.
While Ginger and Mike ran down the street, a stray cat slowly meandered ahead of them.
Ginger suddenly stopped the second she saw the cat.
Mike slammed into her backside. “What’s wrong?” he asked while backing away from her furry rear end. “Down the road a bit. There’s a cat!” she said with a snarl.
Mike saw the stray cat meandering down the sidewalk ahead of them.
“So what?” Mike replied and couldn’t care less about a cat.
“Let’s chase it, that’s what,” she said while she kept an evil eye on the cat.
“Why?”
“Because it’s fun, and it’s what dogs do,” she stated while bolting after the cat.
The cat sensed something was wrong and turned around.
The cat’s eyes widened in fear at the sight of Ginger and Mike.
“Dogs!” she cried out and ran away.
Ginger chased the cat.
“Dumb, dumb, and double dumb!” Mike said, sat down, and watched Ginger chase the cat across the street.
Mike waited on the sidewalk for another fifteen minutes, and Ginger finally walked back over to him.
“Now that you’re done playing, can we continue our trek up north?” Mike said, irritated with Ginger.
“Sure,” Ginger said while she looked around the area and got a bearing on where she was in town. “Let’s go,” she stated, walking off the sidewalk.
Mike followed her down the sidewalk.
“Man, was that fun! That cat ran like a scared rabbit,”
Ginger chuckled proudly of herself.
“Dogs can be so stupid,” Mike thought to himself.
Twenty minutes later, they walked down the street through a residential neighborhood.
They walked by a house and saw a boy while he threw a ball in his front yard. The boy’s Golden Retriever ran after the
ball and snatched it up with his mouth. He trotted back and dropped the ball by the boy’s shoes. The boy threw the ball, and his dog chased after it. He snatched it up with his mouth and trotted back over to the boy.
“That looks fun. He throws the ball, you get it, bring it back, and then he throws it, and then you get it. It just repeats and repeats. Duh!” Ginger mocked and rolled her eyes.
“I remember playing ball with my dog as a boy,” Mike replied and didn’t think before speaking.
It dawned on Ginger what he said. “Did you say as a boy?
You might have damaged your brain when you smacked it on that tailgate,” she replied, a little concerned.
Mike faked a chuckle. “No, I meant playing ball with the boy from the family that owned me,” he corrected.
“It must be a stupid guy thing,” she responded, rolling her eyes. They walked down the street and then turned down another street.
Later that day, Ginger and Mike walked to the Greyhound Bus Station.
“A bus? How can we get a ride on a bus?” Mike asked, a little concerned about her new plan.
They walked around the station to the rear area, where the buses arrived and departed.
They walked over and cowered under a concrete bench and watched the busses.
Five hours later, it looked hopeless to use a bus as a ride to Pennsylvania.
“This isn’t working,” Mike said and crawled out from under the bench.
“Where are you going?” she asked, extremely concerned.
“Home,” he said while he walked away.
Ginger hurriedly crawled out from under the bench.
“How?” she asked, concerned.
“Walking,” he replied, then walked away and wasn’t thrilled about spending countless days walking.
“Don’t give up just yet,” she replied while a bus pulled into the area’s entrance. She glanced over at the bus, and her eyes widened. “That bus will work,” she said.
Mike looked and saw a bus with Cleveland on the front marquee. “That would get us north of Pittsburgh, and that’s closer than where we are now,” he replied, quickly crawling under the bench.
Ginger joined him and crawled under the bench.
“So, how can we sneak on that bus?” he asked curiously.
“Just wait, and our opportunity will open up,” she replied while watching the bus.
The door opened, and the driver stepped out. He walked over to the side and opened up the baggage compartment.
He started unloading suitcases while people stepped off the bus.
They walked over, grabbed their suitcases, and entered the station.
The driver removed all the required suitcases and left the baggage doors open. He walked away and went inside the station.
“Let’s roll,” she said while quickly crawling out from under the bench and bolting to the bus.
Mike quickly crawled out from under the bench and ran after Ginger. “What is her plan?” he asked while he chased after her. Ginger jumped inside the luggage compartment.
Mike didn’t question, and he jumped inside the compartment.
“Smart plan, I’m impressed,” Mike said while he followed her to the compartment’s rear.
“This is one of the many ways I hitch a ride,” she said while she sat down.
“You hit the jackpot with this bus. It’ll get me closer to home,” Mike replied, and then his doggie instinct took over, and he licked Ginger’s face.
She giggled, loving his licks on her face.
Then it dawned on him what he did. “I’m turning into a real dog!” he thought and started to worry.
They waited in the compartment.
An hour later, Ginger and Mike started to fall asleep, but the sound of luggage being loaded into the compartment woke them up.
“We’re on our way,” she said while they watched luggage filling the compartment.
Ten minutes later, the compartment got darker while it was filled with luggage. Then, the compartment doors were shut, and it was completely dark inside.
“We might as well sleep to pass the time,” Mike yawned.
Then they heard the bus engine start. “And we’re off and will be in Cleveland before you know it,” she replied, then closed her eyes.
Mike closed his eyes and started to fall asleep.
“The wheels on the bus go round and round,” Ginger quietly sang a kid’s song.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Singing a song. What do you think?” she said. “Come on, join in,” she offered. “The wheels on the bus go round and round,” she sang.
“Let’s not and say we did,” he replied.
“Don’t be a party pooper. Sing along,” she encouraged.
“What if a human up above us on the bus hears us? Then the driver will stop and investigate the barking in this compartment,” he warned.
She stopped and thought about his comment. “You could be right,” she admitted. “It might be better if we just sleep the time away,” she added, then closed her eyes.
“I hate that song!” Mike thought to himself, remembering when Jenny would sing it day in and day out. Over and over again. It was quiet and dark while the bus drove to the north ramp for Interstate 75.
All Mike could think about while he closed his eyes were Debbie and the kids.
About six hours had passed, and it was in the wee hours of the morning. While the bus drove closer to Cleveland, Mike had a dream.
In his dream, Mike returned to his home and was a human again.
He walked to the front door and knocked.
The door opened, and Debbie appeared. She smiled the second she saw Mike and ran outside, where she hugged him.
Jenny saw Mike from the living room, and she ran outside, where she hugged Mike.
Chris saw Mike from the living room and ran outside to hug him.
They whisked Mike inside his home as one happy family.
While Debbie closed the front door, it sounded like tires screeching. Then, the second the door closed, there was a loud crash.
Mike looked around his living room, confused over that sound. Then he heard people scream while his house turned on its side.
Mike, Debbie, and the kids were thrown onto the wall, which was now the floor.
Something invisible smacked Mike in his head. The sound of metal scraping was loud, and the house shook, and it appeared to be sliding.
There was a loud crash and then an eerie silence.
“Mike, are you okay,” Ginger’s voice echoed throughout his house.
Mike looked around in a daze at his house.
Mike woke up from his dream and saw part of the night sky full of stars through the opened luggage compartment door above him. The full Moon provided some light into the compartment.
“What happened?” he asked, confused.