BarkingProse

Mom likes wine, dad likes gin, I prefer toilet water. But after I watched Jack wrap his tail around a bottle of scotch, I decided it was time for me to have my first drink.

I hopped up on a stool and put my paws on the bar. Cody’s mom was in the kitchen. She asked me what I’d like.

I didn’t want to look like a fool, so I was trying real hard to remember the name of some fancy drink when Jack came up behind me. “He’ll have bourbon and water in a bucket with lots of ice,” Jack said softly. Wow. How did Jack know what to order? “Drink it slow, Ash” he said, “and be careful when you get off the bar stool.”

I never had alcohol before. I don’t like how it smells. I was beginning to wish I had minded my manners and kept all four paws on the floor. Cody’s mom was looking for the bourbon. I was wishing I had my nose in some nice cold toilet water. Jack knew I was looking for a way off the bar stool. He suddenly barked real loud and ran out the kitchen door. That was our signal. Cody and I jumped down and went flying out after him with Tess right behind us.

There wasn’t anything to bark at. Jack just did that to help me save face. I told Cody’s mom that after all that barking I didn’t feel like a drink anymore. She said that was fine and poured some nice fresh water with ice cubes in our bowl. It tasted really good.

Later that night I thanked Jack. He said not to worry. He feels he owes me plenty for all the times I’ve helped him out. I don’t feel he owes me anything. We’re pals. That’s what matters. Think about it. Gotta run.

It was a strange weekend. There were dogs and people coming and going. It rained real hard and mom got tired of wiping our muddy paws, so we had to stay in the house for a while.

On Sunday my pal Cody and his mom came to see us. They decided to babysit us dogs while mom and dad went to a friend’s house for dinner.

Well, one thing lead to another and the next thing I knew Jack was having a drink. He said he wanted a scotch, so Cody’s mom served him up some Johnny Walker.

That got Jack to thinking about his past and he got a little teary eyed. Me and Tess sat real quiet while Jack talked about where he used to live. He told us about getting hurt in a fight and nobody caring that he was all torn up. That’s why his face is scarred.

Tess had always wondered about his lumpy ear but had been afraid to ask. He said he got his fat ear from a hematoma that didn’t get treated. It hurt pretty bad at the time but doesn’t bother him now. He talked about the animal police taking him away and not knowing whether he’d get out of the shelter alive.

Jack said he tries not to think of the past, but sometimes it just catches up with him. He told me and Tess to be grateful that we hadn’t seen the really tough side of life. Even though Tess was in the shelter, she got out in a couple of days cause she was young and cute. He said a lot of older dogs like him never make it out.

That’s when Cody barked in. He told us there are two kinds of dogs – those who have done shelter time and those who haven’t. I was starting to feel guilty. Out of us four dogs, I’m the only one with no shelter time. That really made me think.

By now Jack was feeling tipsy. He’d done enough talking for the night and wanted to take a nap. We left him alone with his thoughts. I’m still thinking about what he said.