Ash
It rained all day yesterday. I was out of sorts and didn’t know what to do with myself. My Labrador pals went home so it was just us house dogs.
I was tired and bored. Mom doesn’t like to play ball in the rain because the ball gets real heavy, and she worries when I slip on the wet grass. Every time I tried to bark her into playing ball with me she said no.
Mom was starting to feel sorry for me when she got the idea to read to me and Jack. She took us out to the studio where she likes to write.
Mom had this book she’d been wanting to read for a long time. She thought me and Jack would like it since it’s told by a dog. It’s called “The Art of Racing in the Rain” and some guy named Garth Stein gets credit for being the author.
The narrator is a dog named Enzo. He thinks he’ll come back as a person in his next life. Mom said maybe he had it backwards. Maybe people come back as a dog if they’ve tried real hard in this life. Anyway, it was a fun story. I loved hearing about Enzo and his adventures.
Jack tried his best to stay awake while mom read to us, but the sound of her voice put him right to sleep. Mom didn’t mind. She said Jack enjoyed being with us and that’s all that mattered.
Jack
When mom finished reading we talked about Enzo and what happens after this life. She said it’s real hard on people who love their dogs because dogs don’t live as long as humans.
Mom said she still misses Codie something awful and even though Jess has been gone for nearly twenty years, she misses him too. Then she started looking at me real serious. I knew what she was thinking; one day I wouldn’t be here with her and she’d be missing me.
Some people say they’ll never get another dog because it hurts too much when their dog leaves them. Mom says the more you love someone the more you miss them when they’re gone.
I could tell I had to do something to get mom laughing again, so I jumped up on her lap and started washing her face. That didn’t quite do it, so I grabbed her book and ran off.
I ran out the door into the rain and suddenly I felt like Enzo. I was racing in the rain and mom was chasing me. We were wet and laughing and having the best old time. I finally let her catch me and I gave her back the book. She hugged me and called me Enzo. I barked in her face so she could feel my dog spit. We both knew – sometimes life just doesn’t get any better. 