The End:

Furrowing her brow, Janey stepped back worriedly. Still kneeling, I tried to formulate the words to explain who I was and how I had came to be here in her Mom’s living room, but right before I got the chance a man came galloping down the stairs Janey had just came from. When he got to the bottom I brought myself up, stepping in front of Shirley while looking for something to use as a weapon to defend her and her daughter. He smiled at me, his long hairy tail bushing out behind him, and said, “Hi there buddy, I’m Phillip.” Then, turning his gaze to Shirley he asked, “Is this him?”

Gently stepping around me, Shirley’s tail brushed against my hand making me shiver in disgust. “This is him.” Phillip’s smile brightened as Shirley said something else my ears couldn’t quite grasp, nor make sense of, causing me to try to shake the confusion out of my head once again like a bout of swimmer’s ear.

“What is going on her?” I asked, trying to get some clarity on what I maybe had misinterpreted. I began to figure he was her brother or something. Nobody answered me, instead opting to continue talking about me as if I wasn’t there listening. My legs began to slowly backtrack to the front door behind me.

Squealing gleefully, Janey ran towards me and wrapped her arms around my leg, slowing my escape attempt. Looking up at me, her eyes gleaming, her tail wrapping around my hand, she said, “I can’t believe you got him for me!”

Shirley and Phillip embraced and kissed one another. Like an animated love story, their tails seemed to intertwine and form a small heart shape next to them. “Shirley, it’s incredible moments like these that make me fall deeper and deeper in love with you.”

Smiling and blushing slightly, she looked at him coyly, responding, “Only in incredible moments?”

They both chuckled and turned to me and the little girl with her arms completely wound around my right leg and her tail vines around my hand. My other leg was mid-step towards the front door. She asked, “Can I keep him? Can he sleep in my room? Can we bring him to Grandma’s house tomorrow for cake and ice cream?”

Reaching out and giving Janey’s hair a tussle, Shirley said, “Yes, my little sweet pea, I brought him home for you. Your very own loyal good boy for your seventh birthday.” Janey laughed and giggled as Shirley continued, “His name is Travis. You are going to have to make sure he takes a bath each morning, gets fed three times a day, and that his bedding and clothing are cleaned and washed each day. He will also need to go on a few walks, but take it slow because he is a bit older and didn’t exercise much in his old home. If you want him to do tricks, he responds well to cannabis-filled treats.”

I looked at them in confused horror. “I’m not a fucking dog.” Trying to push the girl away, I failed to notice Phillip stepping forward until it was too late as he put a metal square against my throat that expanded and wrapped completely around my neck forming an unbroken circle. It wasn’t uncomfortable, nor was it painful, as it began to gently pulse to the rapid beating of my heart. As the pulse of the metal ring slowed, so did my heart, until a deep calmness settled over me. Fatigue taking over I garbled, “Not a pet. Shirley.”

As sleep started to overtake me I heard Shirley say, “Here’s his leash Janey, now take him to his new bed so he can get some rest. You can play with him in the morning.”

My eyelids fluttering, fighting to stay open and awake, I felt myself being pulled along the floor. The voice behind me, Phillip I think, “She loves him, and I can’t wait to take him hiking with me. You always know what is best for our family.”