Hello All:
We go deep into the archives for today's short story, all the way back to 2012. It's quite a bizarre fantasy game for someone to play, and I wonder if people actually do this sort of thing.
Lost Dog
When Sally was a little girl she wished so badly for her own puppy. But Mother and Father would not let her have one. For you see, caring for a dog was too much of a responsibility for the family. And although a puppy might look small, cute and easy to care for; they typically require more work than a full grown dog. You have to consider things such as housetraining and even dealing with the home being destroyed because of separation anxiety. Little Sally was made to understand these things.
But it wasn't necessary for Sally to have strictly a puppy. She would have gladly accepted a simple dog; maybe a small one that was not only cute and fluffy with nice markings on its fur, but well behaved and already housetrained.
Such a dog would probably show up at her front door one morning. Maybe the dog was lost and couldn't find his way home. Or maybe the dog's owners no longer loved him and kicked him out of the home. That would be okay for little Sally. She would bring the dog in the house and make it a part of the family.
One morning, little Sally's dream came true! Shortly after getting out of bed, she rubbed her eyes while gazing out the bedroom window and took sight of black and white dog with a white stripe on its head; half of his neck black and white; white tips on its paws and a white tip on its black, fluffy tail. It was a border collie, nervously pacing the fence lined perimeter as-if lost. Somehow the dog must have found its way into Sally's backyard and couldn't escape.
In Sally's belief the dog was just as good as had! It was in her yard and lost. Apparently the owner no longer cared for the dog. She ran out of the bedroom and into her parents' room. "Mommy! Daddy! There's a doggy in our backyard! He looks lost like he has no home. Can we keep him, huh?"
Annoyed to be woken up so early, Father stretched and yawned while Mother patted his shoulder—an indicator to check out what little Sally might have been talking about.
"Doggy, huh?" commented Father. "Let's see what we have outside." He staggered down the hallway and to the back door. Sure enough there was a border collie running around the yard. "Awe jeez..."
Just then, Mother came in the kitchen. "What kind of dog is it?"
Father next announced, "The Hendersons' dog escaped. I'll have to give 'em a call."
Uh oh! This wasn't good for little Sally! Her dream of a lost dog coming to her house was about to shatter into pieces. "Daddy, no! He's our doggy, now! Can't we keep him?"
"No, that belongs to the Hendersons ." Father picked up the phone and dialed it. "Good morning; Mr. Henderson...? I think your dog is in our backyard."
In the meantime, little Sally's lip quivered as the tears ran down her face. Why was life so cruel? The doggy she wished for so long had arrived, but about to be taken away. She sobbed and threw a near tantrum while observing mean, rotten Mr. Henderson enter the backyard in his pajamas and bathrobe. He took little Sally's doggy.
This incident only fueled more fantasies for Sally. At night she would lie in bed and imagine a dog that was far, far away—maybe a thousand miles away. Somehow he escaped the owners' backyard and ran down the street, soon to get lost. While searching for a way to get back home, maybe the dog became confused and somehow ended up on a freight train and couldn't get off until it stopped at little Sally's town. Not sure of where he was, the dog continued to run down the neighborhood streets until reaching little Sally's house.
Now what could Mother and Father say? The dog didn't belong to any of the neighbors. He was dirty, hungry, tired and in need of help. Even worse, the poor dog didn't have a collar with a tag.
Mother and Father let the dog stay with Sally with the understanding that it was only temporary until someone answered the "Lost Dog Found" ad in the paper. But the owners were a thousand miles away where they didn't receive the local paper.
The dog was so cute and friendly. He looked just like Mr. Henderson's dog, except better. With no one answering the ad, Mother and Father had no choice but to keep the dog.
***
All grown up, Sally now has her own dog; a border collie like the one she always wished for as a little girl. But she can still recall a bittersweet magic behind those childhood days of wishing so badly for a dog. All those fantasies pent up in heart leads Sally to regularly go out and play the game of Lost Dog.
Today she drove through town in her red pickup truck, moving slowly until possibly finding something that caught her eye. Just then, she spotted a man in the rearview mirror that appeared to be crossing the street. But he disappeared behind a parked delivery car. The only feature she recalled was short, brown hair and carrying a beverage from the local coffee shop.
Quickly making a u-turn at the intersection, Sally stepped on the accelerator with not a second to spare. She reached the other end of the street and turned right where the man was last seen. And there he was, reaching the end of the block and making another right. He casually sipped his coffee beverage as-if not a care in the world.
Oh, but Sally would rescue him. Apparently he was lost and probably very scared. She carefully approached the end of the block as-if not to startle the man. Then she turned and drove forward to slowly pass him, studying very carefully and evaluating the situation. He was so cute and appeared so friendly. Who could have possibly let him out to wander the streets alone?
Aware of being suddenly followed and stalked, John picked up his pace slightly. From what he could see, it was a woman who intently watched him from the pickup truck. If he didn't know any better, the woman was planning to catch him! Maybe she was dangerous.
If his feelings of suspicion weren't enough indication, John watched as the red pickup truck pulled over in a business delivery driveway in such a way to block his path. Then the woman stepped out of the truck and walked around to meet John.
"Are you lost?" Sally asked.
"Uh, no! I work in the area. I'm not lost."
Sally gently placed her hand on John's shoulder as-if to reaffirm that she meant him no harm. Then she spoke with soft eyes locked on his in such a way that one would speak to a child or a frightened animal. "Where are you supposed to be right now?" She patted him while asking.
"I'm on my lunch break. My office is right down the street."
The poor guy; he was so frightened and confused. Sally could take care of him. "Awe... why don't you come home with me? You're lost and scared. I won't hurt you. Come-on, I'm here to help you."
Needless to say, John found the woman's behavior unusual. "No, I'm okay..."
But before he could continue, Sally grabbed his arm and coaxed him towards the back of the pickup truck. "I've got you... Come-on, in you go... No one's here to hurt you." Sally opened the tailgate and coaxed John in.
John hesitated briefly. The woman was clearly out of her mind, but she seemed so nice. After a couple seconds of deliberation, John hopped into the back of the pickup truck and watched as the woman closed the tailgate.
"There, that's not so bad. I'll bring you home."
Soon the truck drove along the city streets with John sitting in the back. His hair tousled in the open wind as other motorists and pedestrians looked up at him while surely wondering why a man in a business suit would be riding in the back of a pickup truck. After some time, he wondered why the woman didn't invite him to sit in the cab along with her. It was as-if John were nothing more than a lost dog being rescued and waiting patiently in the back of a truck to arrive at the destination.
Taking the final sip from his iced java, the pickup truck pulled into a residential neighborhood; soon to thump over the driveway curb of a house. This must have been where the strange woman lived.
Just as John was about to argue that the peculiar game had gone far enough, Sally emerged from her truck and flashed the warmest, most nurturing smile. John was safe and finally home. The woman would take such good care of him.
Sally opened the tailgate. "Okay, out you go."
Remaining quiet, John did as ordered.
"I bet you're hungry. Let's get you inside."
Inside, both Sally and John were greeted at the foyer by an excited border collie that barked and lunged from side-to-side while investigating the newcomer.
"See your new friend?" Sally asked the dog. "I found him out in the streets. Let's give him a bath and then fix him lunch."
Some moments later, John sat in the filling tub with soap bubbles that topped the water. The afternoon was getting to be quite interesting. What did the strange woman have in store for John?
It was only a bath and nothing more. Returning to the bathroom, Sally shut off the water and began to gently pour buckets of warm water all over John. "So, we need to give you a name."
"My name's John."
"John? No, that's not a good name for you. How about we call you Rex?"
"Rex?" asked John "What's wrong with calling me by my real name?"
"Rex is your real name. That's your new name and I'm your new owner. My name's Sally, by-the-way."
"Hi Sally, nice to meet you."
"Tilt your head back" ordered Sally. Soon she began to dump water on Rex's hair. "So where did you say you were going?"
"To the office. I was returning from lunch break."
"The office? Is that your job?"
"Yeah..."
"What were you supposed to do there?"
"Well I did have a teleconference call scheduled for about now."
"What was the teleconference call about?"
"Eh... not much. Just the customer yelling at me while the boss listens in and yells at me even more."
By now, Sally had shampoo worked into Rex's hair. She immediately stopped massaging his head at the mention of being yelled at. "Well that doesn't sound like much fun. That's almost like abuse. See, no one there loves you. Aren't you glad you came home with me?" Sally began to rinse the shampoo out of Rex's hair. "We're going to get you all cleaned up and then fix you lunch."
"I already had lunch." argued Rex.
"What did you have?"
"Not much... I was kind of in a hurry so I got my iced mocha and a cookie."
Sally shook her head while sighing. "Not eating right, either! We'll take care of that. Once you dry off I'll have a nice, hot Panini sandwich waiting for you. Do you like pastrami and Swiss?"
"Sure..." Actually Sally's lunch didn't sound so bad after all. The cookie and iced mocha didn't go too far. Rex was getting hungry. Then Rex asked, "How about Giardiniera? Do you have any of that?"
"Of course I do! I'll make you a nice lunch." Sally finished giving Rex his bath. It wasn't such a bad afternoon, after all. Considering where he was supposed to be, Rex gladly accepted the alternative. And he couldn't help but feel so loved in that moment, getting a warm bath from a nice, friendly woman who would soon make him lunch. Sally was sure to become a good friend!
***
After drying off and redressing—slacks only worn and his shirt without necktie—Rex strolled into the kitchen with the border collie excitedly trailing behind and barking.
In the kitchen, Sally had lunch prepared for the two of them. A plate had been set for Rex with his toasted Panini and a drink.
"You've got a nice dog." announced Rex as he sat down.
"Thank you!" said Sally. Then she addressed the dog. "See, Zinger, your new friend likes you!"
Rex commented on the dog's name. "Zinger, that's cute for a border collie."
"Uh-huh! I used to like Zingers when I was a little girl. Doesn't he look like a Zinger?"
"Yup, he sure does."
Rex and Sally enjoyed a nice lunch together along with some wonderful conversation. Sally was so glad to have found Rex out in the streets. After some time, she might even wonder who rescued who.
After lunch, Sally, Rex and Zinger went to the local park for a little stroll. There was a field with park benches where the three of them stopped to take a rest. That's where Sally spotted a tennis ball laying under the bench.
"Oh, look at this. Zinger loves to play fetch! Go get it!" Sally whipped the ball some distance away.
Zinger charged after the ball like an energized border collie would, and returned to drop it on the ground before Sally for more.
"Hey, let me see if I can outrun Zinger!" suggested Rex.
As Sally threw the ball, both Rex and Zinger charged after it. But Zinger was much too quick for his friend. Rex was going to have to try harder than that.
As both returned for another throw from their owner, Sally advised Rex that he was a little out of shape. But playing every day would help get off some of the excess weight so that he was just as fast as Zinger.
Rex was able to still play. He waited some distance away so that the three could play a game of interception. As Sally tossed the ball to Rex, sometimes Zinger was able to jump midair and catch it. Zinger was such a smart and talented dog.
After their outing in the park; Sally, Rex and Zinger returned home to crash in the family room before TV. Zinger laid in the fetal position on the floor while dozing off. Rex cuddled next to Sally as she stroked his hair.
Then Rex annoucned, "You know, I should really be getting home."
"Home?" asked Sally. "No, I'm afraid that's not possible. You're lost and a thousand miles away from home. Apparently your owner didn't take care of you. Not only that, I have no way of finding who this person is. You'll just have to stay with me, now. This is your new home and I'm your new owner."
Rex could say nothing. How long would Sally play this fantasy game of Lost Dog?
