Macs and the Great Beyond

When he woke up Macs found himself in a magnificently large and dark room plastered in minuscule speckles of white, faint blue, red, orange, and yellow lights. He felt lighter than usual. His paws almost floated over the cool floor. The slightest step propelled him forward further than what he was accustomed to. The air around him was frosty but the cold did not bother him. It was as if a gentle ball of perfect coolness shielded him from discomfort. He heard the echoing clicks of his claws and the jingle of his collar name tag as he made his way toward a door. The faintest light calling him forward outlining a magnificent door.

Macs was lost, but not scared. He was intrigued, but not anxious, wondering how he got to this mysterious room. Before he knew it he reached the door. Instinct told him to knock. So he extended his paws out, using his body weight to push against it and slide his claws down the door making a rolling scratch sound. He waited a few seconds and the door opened. A blinding light consumed the dark room. But Macs could stare into it and didn’t even have to squint. He was greeted by an unfamiliar voice.

“Hey come on in!”

Macs walks into the lightroom. A tall Greyhound kicks the door closed behind him. And asks.

“What’s your name, fella?”

Macs looks around the room. He sees the light is coming from a lamp in the corner. A pack of dogs of different breeds lounge about the room. One is sprawled out on a sofa. Another watching T.V on the chair next to him. One on the floor reading a magazine. Another smoking a cigar by an open window. One chewing a bone on top of a breakfast bar. Another eating a steak with a fork and knife next to him. Macs licks his chops at the sight of that juicy steak.

“My people call me Good Boy.”

“Let’s look at your collar tag.”

After a quick glance at his shiny blue dogbone-shaped name tag.

“Macs it is! I’m Pete, I’m a greyhound!”

“My parents were a Scottish terrier and a west highland terrier, But I don’t remember which was which.”

“I don’t remember my parents either but I think they were both greyhounds. I used race other greyhounds! Let me introduce you to the crew and then you should eat something.”

Pete's tail wags as he walks towards the sofa. Macs scurries behind him.

“Hey everyone we got a new club member! His name is Macs with a (CS) instead of an (X) he’s a Scoland Terrier!”

Macs sits next to Pete feeling a bit shy and slightly embarrassed.

“That’s Charles, he’s a border collie. In the chair next to him is Oscar, he’s a dalmatian. That’s Chloe reading the magazine, she’s a cocker spaniel. That’s Rafa, hey Rafa thanks for cracking a window but I can smell that cigar way over here! Rafa’s an English bulldog. On the counter over there is Henry, he’s a boxer, And the one with the steak is Mr.Fluffy and we think he’s some kind of English sheep dog but he insists that he is an Afghan hound.”

“I am an Afghan hound.”

Mr. Fluffy mutters with a mouth full of food.” Pete looks at his fur-covered eyes.

“Ok, you’re an Afghan.” Pete shakes his head looking and Macs. He smiles.

“So Macs do you want something to eat?”

“Yes, please! What do you have?”

“Literally anything and everything you could imagine. All you have to do is jump up on a chair at the breakfast bar, or on it. Right, Henry? And just imagine any food you want. Even people food, but we got dog food too if you get nostalgic.”

Without question, Macs jumps up to the counter and poof! Cheeseburgers, hotdogs, a side of gummy bears. Macs picks up the burger with both paws and takes a mouth-watering bite.

“That’s not all. There is this door and we can make it nighttime or day time, we can make the outside be a park, or a beach, or a forest, or a field! Anything we want. We can run and chase squirrels or tennis balls or each other! We can take naps or play all day. You know how fun car rides are? Well, here we can drive the cars. Not just that, yesterday Oscar drove a motorcycle into a swimming pool and Charles was in the sidecar. It was wild. Look at them, they’re still laughing about it. We have a lot of fun here, we’re a pack!”

“This is incredible!”

Macs stuffs his face and hops down off the stool. Tail wagging.

“This club is great my people will love this, they love food, and tv, and dogs, and just hanging out! I got to go get them Pete which way do I go? Pete thank you my people are going to love it here!”

Pete looks down. The other dogs glance over. Pete looks at Macs.

“That’s the thing Macs, the only catch. This club, like many others, is just for dogs.”

“What do you mean? I can’t see my people ever again?”

“I didn’t say that. This is kind of like, I don’t know how to put it, a club where you have to wait.”

“Like daycare?”

“Yes! Like doggy daycare only instead of for a day, it’s for, like, a lot of days. A lot of a lot of days.”

“Do my people not like me anymore? Did I do something wrong?”

Macs Cries.

“No buddy that’s not it at all.”

“Then why would they leave me here!”

"They didn't leave you here."

"Yes, they did! They brought me here and left me!"

“They didn’t leave you Macs!”

“What?”

“They didn’t leave you, you left them.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It was just your time.”

“My time for what? You’re not making any sense!”

The other dogs come close to Macs.

“I was hit by a car.” Said Charles the border collie.

“I drank something blue off the garage floor.” Said Oscar the dalmation.

“A heavy bookshelf fell on me.” Said Chloe the cocker spaniel.

“I got attacked by a mountain lion.” Said Rafa the english bulldog.

“I fell from really high up”. Said Henry the boxer.

“I chewed through a power cord.” Said Mr. Fluffy.

“And I had a heart attack after a race. Macs, I’m really sorry but you died.” Said Pete the greyhound.

“Ha! I didn’t die! I went to the vet, took a nap, and woke up outside in that dark floaty room with all the colorful little dots. Then I scratched on the door.”

“You were old Macs. Were you in pain before you went to sleep?”

“Yeah I was but the shot was medicine.”

“Were your people with you?”

“Yes.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“Were they crying or sad?”

“Yeah, but that’s just because they don’t like going to the vet.”

“Macs, they were crying because they had to say goodbye to you. They loved you so much that they had you put to sleep. After a certain age, no other medicine can help us canines. You were old Macs, really old.”

“Not anymore.” Said Chloe holding a little mirror to Macs's face.

“Wow, no white hairs on my face, all black, my cataracts are gone too!”

“Did you notice that there is no pain anymore?” Asked Pete.

“Well, now that you mention it, I’ve felt great since I woke up.”

“Welcome to the club Macs!” Said Oscar.

“The dead dog club!” Laughed Rafa.

“Wow, how about that, I’m a dead dog. But Pete, when will I get to see my people again?”

“Truthfully, I don’t know when. One of your people will definitely pick you up sooner or later. There is no doubt about that. But, for one of them to get you they would need to pass through the great beyond to get here. Like you.”

“That door you came through, can only be opened when either a new member joins or an existing member’s person comes to pick them up.” Said Charles.

“You’ll know the difference too. When it’s a new member you hear a scratch at the door. When it's a member’s person, you hear a knock.” Said Pete.

“We’ve been waiting years and years to be picked up.” Said Boxer.

“I miss my people terribly, already I love them so much.”

“We all miss our people terribly. That’s what makes this chapter of the club so special.” Said Chloe.

“What do you mean?”

“Macs this chapter has a name.” Said Pete.

“What is it?”

“The Most Beloved.” Said Rafa.

“That’s right everyone here was one of the most beloved and missed pet dogs. You’ve got to be happy about that new member Macs.” Said Pete.

“Wow, it almost makes me miss them even more knowing that.”

Macs stands a little taller.

“Don’t feel too sad about missing them or worry about waiting, most of the time we are having so much fun it makes time go by faster.” Said Chloe.

“Speaking of fast, remember Toby the poodle?” Said, Charles.

“Oh yeah, kid’s scratching at the door one minute, then we hear a knock on the door before Pete can even explain what happened to him.” Said Mr. Fluffy.

“That’s crazy.” Said Macs.

“Yup. So, anyway, we had a little thing planned that we were going to do before we turn on the sun in the playroom and I think you should join us. It’s kind of a weekly thing we do.” Said Pete.

“Sure. It’s not anything weird is it?”

“No, no, no, we’re just going to sit around a green felt table and play cards.”

The pack walks to the game room and each takes a seat. Boxer pours Mr. Fluffy and Chloe a glass of scotch. Pete shuffles the cards.

“Have you ever played poker?” Pete asks.

“No. Can’t say I have.” Said Macs with a slight chuckle.

“Don’t worry, you’ll learn as we play along. I’ll teach you the basics. First…”

There’s a knock at the door.