The Life of Teddy

Part 1: I was quietly waiting for Ben, my human, to come home. It would be a long time. So I was chewing my collar that says my name, Teddy, when I got a whiff of a strange scent. I got excited and started whooping for joy, because that strange scent was Ben! He was coming home early! But then I got caught off guard when I sniffed, and a certain scent was no longer there. I excitedly waited for Ben to walk through the door, but when he did, he did not seem happy to see me. 

When he took me out of my crate, I could tell something was wrong. Usually he likes to throw the ball, and he’s too lazy to get it himself so I bring it back for him. Today he did not want to throw his ball. He also almost forgot to feed me.

Then I waited by the door for Katy, Ben’s human, to come. But she did not come. And the next few days happened like this. 

I realized that Ben came home early every day. And he ate a lot. He even shared some with me. It was food that I never knew existed, like ice cree, or ham-buggie and frice. But as he ate, his tum-tum got bigger and bigger!

I really enjoy the attention I am getting. He takes me on these things I like to call Goose Chase. He pulls me on this rope that always catches me when I run from it. Then when we go around the lake, there are these gooses that make horrible honking noises when I chase them. They are always scared.

But one thing that I would trade all the attention for is Katy. I miss her so much. She would always rub my tummy. Every day I would wait for her. And I think Ben misses her too. He is always not happy. I had to bring her back.

When the mailman came the next day, the door opened wide. I took the chance and I ran so fast down the street. Ben shouted my name, but I didn’t care. I stopped and sniffed the air. It was very musty today. But I caught a faint scent of her and I ran and followed it. It led me to this old building that was high. When I ran up the stairs on the porch, I waited till someone opened the door, and then I bolted inside and up the stairs. I followed the scent up two stairs and I ran to the door that her scent was in. I scratched on the door and whimpered until she opened the door. I went inside and nuzzled her.

Just then Ben came running up the stairs. He must have followed me. He put a rope on me, and no matter how hard I barked and pulled, the roped held onto me. Then I was put in a cage in the car, and we drove home. That night was very upsetting. I waited by the window to count the birds. Then a strange car drove up. I started yelling and whooping, because it was Katy. She was back! How happy I was, to know that Ben was happy, Katy was happy, and I was getting my belly rubs once again.

Part 2: Things were great with Katy and Ben back to normal, and everyday was just the same. I woke them up, they put me in a crate and left, I played with myself, and they would come home.

 But one day, I noticed how large Katy’s belly was. Every day it grew larger and larger, until one day, they came home early, dropped me off at the Cat Lady’s (Otherwise known as Aunt Sarah) house, and left. They did not come back for a few days. 

Then one day they came to get me, and there was a strange thing Katy was holding. It was alive, like a human, but it was very teeny weeny. And he did not know how to speak. By the way Katy was holding it, I could tell it was fragile. When we got home, Katy let me sniff it. It was a her. When I gave her a kiss, she made a squealing sound, like she was happy. I immediately loved this thing.

Over the weeks I began to notice that this thing was called a baby, and her name was Avery. At night she always woke me up with these horrible screaming sounds, then she would go to sleep again. It happened every day like this. And also I have not been played with. It’s like this baby took my place. But I don’t mind. I still love this little thing.

When it got older, it started trying to talk. It could walk now, of course. I taught her. She would say things like Mommy and Daddy. What’s a Mommy? But then she said my name. She said Puppy! Every day she would say Puppy, and I would run to her and give her kisses all over. I love this little human. I wonder what I would do without her.

When we both got older, Avery and Katy and Ben would leave all the time. Avery could full-on speak now. She was, my guess, 36 years old. In human years, she was about 5. She would leave all over again, every day. I missed her so much. But then she would come home, and I would be happy. She would sit at the human table now, not on an over-sized chair. I despised the chair. She would secretly hand me a bit of human food. We would play this little game that she called dress up. She would put an itchy collar on me that stretched over my whole body. It was sparkly. Then she would “make-up” me and put stuff on my eyes and mouth. I never licked it off because I knew she liked it. I would always go and find one of her toys and bring it to her because she might want to throw it, but I always got spanks. 

Then when she got old enough, she would leave for a long time. She would go to a wretched place called Kindergarten. But she would always come back. No matter how much I missed her, she would always come back and give me cuddles. I love her and Ben and Katy so much. They are my pack, and I must protect them all from the wretched Kindergarten.