edelweiss pirate
04-10-2009, 06:47 PM
Right by your side.
She would be home soon, soon. She would be home in a moment and then it would be as if she had never gone at all. She would be there for a short eternity and then in the morning she would be gone again. Probably. She might be there but it was unlikely and if so it would be a pleasant, though confusing surprise. Meanwhile all she could do was watch and wait until she was awakened by that feeling that she was there without being there and then in a few minutes she would hear the sound of the car and the sound of her chatting to herself and the rattle of keys and the door would open in a blaze of light and life would be complete.
There was a sound outside, she sat up and turned her head to listen to the approaching footsteps which conveyed a high voice and a low raucous one. The sound drew nearer and nearer and she felt an unbearable tension mount in her stomach and without a thought she sprang up ran to the large open bay windows and started barking angrily. A round face turned to her as it moved along by the front fence and snarled, a small disembodied voice twittered up from behind the fence.
“Doggie!” it said.
“Stupid animal” the man said looking straight at the dog, causing the ferocity of its bark to reach a new height. She continued barking long after the man and his daughter were out of sight, it was best to be prudent as the world was full of enemies, one had to be strong to maintain ones position of top dog.
Satisfied that the danger of the man and his daughter had gone, she looked around for any more enemies, pricking up her ears and sniffing the air. She turned away from the windows and looked at the room from her vantage point on the armchair, she heard the belated muffled bark of Pebbles the Yorkshire Terrier as he wagged his tail outside the French windows at the other end of the long room, and then she heard Rusk the black Scottish highland terrier yapping from the upstairs bedroom, Mandy, the German Sheppard cross however, continued to doze with one eye open, on the long comfortable sofa, disdaining such a vulgar display of noise. Sooty jumped from the armchair and gave Mandy a sniff, Mandy closed her eye and went back to sleep.
Sooty knew she was top dog, but it was a full time job necessitating a keen eye and a good powerful bark, she had the best and loudest bark in the house and she could easily drown out the other three dogs’ barks combined. She always got the best food and was always cuddled in the evening when, coming home tired and cold, her master Penny would lie down on the settee and Sooty would lie down on her stomach. Penny would totally ignore the others. She was the favourite.
Sooty went to check on the other dogs and put them at ease concerning the man and his daughter who had just passed, it’s true that the man had barked some words at her but she had barked back and sent him away. She was always sending people away, all day people would walk down the street up to the house and she Sooty would bark and they would walk away. She found it a very exhilarating life, it was safe though because no one ever refused to cede. Sometimes other dogs tried and they stood in the street barking, sometime looking at her sometimes they couldn’t even see her because they were too small and yet they barked all the same. They were the stupid dogs.
As Sooty left the room Mandy opened a languid and disinterested eye and promptly closed it. Sooty was always troubled by Mandy’s aloofness, it seemed that she wasn’t interested in the same thing as Mandy herself was. For example she would never ever bark, even when the very nasty and big dogs went past the window for their daily walk on the beach, nor would she bark when the children shouted in the street and put glass bottles in the road for the cars to run over. It seemed to Sooty that Mandy wasn’t much of a dog anymore, she had lost the taste for it. However she had learnt at her cost not to discount the ferocity of Mandy, she was still capable of terrible things. Once, one of the rare times Penny had paid any attention to her and had thrown a ball to her. Mandy had gone over to it but Sooty felt jealous because she was the favourite and only she should play the games with the ball. She had barked at her, several times, Penny had been confused and didn’t understand what the problem was. Mandy had looked at Sooty with such a look, a look that made her feel like there was something she really didn’t understand so she had snapped at Mandy. In a flash Mandy had gone wild, not barking but simply lunging with a wide open mouth and biting her. Sooty had been very lucky, she had not been hurt but she treat Mandy with a weary respect.
Mandy didn’t even go outside either which was strange, nor did Pebbles for that matter, they stayed in the house all the time, it was good for Sooty because she didn’t have to feel intimidated by their smells in the garden.
Pebbles still went outside though but she never could find her smell in the garden. Once Sooty had followed her out to see where she went but she couldn’t find anything.
Sooty went into the room upstairs were Rusk was. Rusk was wagging her tail and seemed very excited about something. Suddenly there was a sound from downstairs and the front door opened. She was home. Rusk had foreseen it before Sooty and she ran past Sooty and headed downstairs, Sooty barked furiously that she’d been piped by silly little Rusk.
Sooty ran downstairs into her masters arms.
“Okay mummy’s home mummy’s home!”
Sooty felt wild with excitement and she jumped up to lick her masters face.
“Okay darling, settle down!”
Rusk bounded about excitedly at her feet too but she was totally ignored as usual.
Mandy didn’t even trouble herself from her place on the sofa.
Pebbles scratched soundlessly at the French windows.
“Settle down Sooty!” As usual the entreaties to calm excited the dog still further.
“Settle down y’bloody mad hound! We never had this trouble from poor old Rusk or Mandy.”
Rusk pricked up her ears at hearing her own name mentioned and wagged her tail madly, Mandy had heard Rusk’s name mentioned and came languidly into the hallway out of curiosity. They had hoped that perhaps, for once their master would stroke them, or look at them, or feed them or play with them, or acknowledge their existence for once, but it didn’t happen.
“Rusk and Mandy were good dogs, not like you y’bloody ratbag,” she said as she stroked Sooty’s neck. The two dogs heard their names again and looked at Penny but she didn’t see them, she hadn’t seen them for years, not since they died.
They would never leave their owner’s side; they were faithful to the end, all they could do was wait until many years from now, and she would be able to see them again.
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She would be home soon, soon. She would be home in a moment and then it would be as if she had never gone at all. She would be there for a short eternity and then in the morning she would be gone again. Probably. She might be there but it was unlikely and if so it would be a pleasant, though confusing surprise. Meanwhile all she could do was watch and wait until she was awakened by that feeling that she was there without being there and then in a few minutes she would hear the sound of the car and the sound of her chatting to herself and the rattle of keys and the door would open in a blaze of light and life would be complete.
There was a sound outside, she sat up and turned her head to listen to the approaching footsteps which conveyed a high voice and a low raucous one. The sound drew nearer and nearer and she felt an unbearable tension mount in her stomach and without a thought she sprang up ran to the large open bay windows and started barking angrily. A round face turned to her as it moved along by the front fence and snarled, a small disembodied voice twittered up from behind the fence.
“Doggie!” it said.
“Stupid animal” the man said looking straight at the dog, causing the ferocity of its bark to reach a new height. She continued barking long after the man and his daughter were out of sight, it was best to be prudent as the world was full of enemies, one had to be strong to maintain ones position of top dog.
Satisfied that the danger of the man and his daughter had gone, she looked around for any more enemies, pricking up her ears and sniffing the air. She turned away from the windows and looked at the room from her vantage point on the armchair, she heard the belated muffled bark of Pebbles the Yorkshire Terrier as he wagged his tail outside the French windows at the other end of the long room, and then she heard Rusk the black Scottish highland terrier yapping from the upstairs bedroom, Mandy, the German Sheppard cross however, continued to doze with one eye open, on the long comfortable sofa, disdaining such a vulgar display of noise. Sooty jumped from the armchair and gave Mandy a sniff, Mandy closed her eye and went back to sleep.
Sooty knew she was top dog, but it was a full time job necessitating a keen eye and a good powerful bark, she had the best and loudest bark in the house and she could easily drown out the other three dogs’ barks combined. She always got the best food and was always cuddled in the evening when, coming home tired and cold, her master Penny would lie down on the settee and Sooty would lie down on her stomach. Penny would totally ignore the others. She was the favourite.
Sooty went to check on the other dogs and put them at ease concerning the man and his daughter who had just passed, it’s true that the man had barked some words at her but she had barked back and sent him away. She was always sending people away, all day people would walk down the street up to the house and she Sooty would bark and they would walk away. She found it a very exhilarating life, it was safe though because no one ever refused to cede. Sometimes other dogs tried and they stood in the street barking, sometime looking at her sometimes they couldn’t even see her because they were too small and yet they barked all the same. They were the stupid dogs.
As Sooty left the room Mandy opened a languid and disinterested eye and promptly closed it. Sooty was always troubled by Mandy’s aloofness, it seemed that she wasn’t interested in the same thing as Mandy herself was. For example she would never ever bark, even when the very nasty and big dogs went past the window for their daily walk on the beach, nor would she bark when the children shouted in the street and put glass bottles in the road for the cars to run over. It seemed to Sooty that Mandy wasn’t much of a dog anymore, she had lost the taste for it. However she had learnt at her cost not to discount the ferocity of Mandy, she was still capable of terrible things. Once, one of the rare times Penny had paid any attention to her and had thrown a ball to her. Mandy had gone over to it but Sooty felt jealous because she was the favourite and only she should play the games with the ball. She had barked at her, several times, Penny had been confused and didn’t understand what the problem was. Mandy had looked at Sooty with such a look, a look that made her feel like there was something she really didn’t understand so she had snapped at Mandy. In a flash Mandy had gone wild, not barking but simply lunging with a wide open mouth and biting her. Sooty had been very lucky, she had not been hurt but she treat Mandy with a weary respect.
Mandy didn’t even go outside either which was strange, nor did Pebbles for that matter, they stayed in the house all the time, it was good for Sooty because she didn’t have to feel intimidated by their smells in the garden.
Pebbles still went outside though but she never could find her smell in the garden. Once Sooty had followed her out to see where she went but she couldn’t find anything.
Sooty went into the room upstairs were Rusk was. Rusk was wagging her tail and seemed very excited about something. Suddenly there was a sound from downstairs and the front door opened. She was home. Rusk had foreseen it before Sooty and she ran past Sooty and headed downstairs, Sooty barked furiously that she’d been piped by silly little Rusk.
Sooty ran downstairs into her masters arms.
“Okay mummy’s home mummy’s home!”
Sooty felt wild with excitement and she jumped up to lick her masters face.
“Okay darling, settle down!”
Rusk bounded about excitedly at her feet too but she was totally ignored as usual.
Mandy didn’t even trouble herself from her place on the sofa.
Pebbles scratched soundlessly at the French windows.
“Settle down Sooty!” As usual the entreaties to calm excited the dog still further.
“Settle down y’bloody mad hound! We never had this trouble from poor old Rusk or Mandy.”
Rusk pricked up her ears at hearing her own name mentioned and wagged her tail madly, Mandy had heard Rusk’s name mentioned and came languidly into the hallway out of curiosity. They had hoped that perhaps, for once their master would stroke them, or look at them, or feed them or play with them, or acknowledge their existence for once, but it didn’t happen.
“Rusk and Mandy were good dogs, not like you y’bloody ratbag,” she said as she stroked Sooty’s neck. The two dogs heard their names again and looked at Penny but she didn’t see them, she hadn’t seen them for years, not since they died.
They would never leave their owner’s side; they were faithful to the end, all they could do was wait until many years from now, and she would be able to see them again.
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