A Lost Dog

I sniffed around the house at first. I was expecting Tomas to come home, but he was late than usual. I looked at the clock, past 5 PM, yes dogs can read time. We have a brain just like humans. I thought maybe he was just running late. I lay on the floor waiting patiently for Tomas to come. It was past 6 PM now, I ran to the bedroom to look at the window and no sign of him.

It was 8 PM. I heard a car drive by, I looked through the window, and no sign of Tomas. Now I grew concerned, where could he be? He is never late.

I used my mouth to unlock the back door, it took me a few tries but finally got it open. As I stepped out I felt a cold breeze, it was a cold October day. I had to find Tomas, I had to find my friend. What if he’s lost? Or worse, dead?

I sprinted from block to block, sniffing and using my instinct. I tried using my memory when we would go for walks. But I felt scared at times, the houses had some weird orange circles carved up with weird faces, and inside they were lit up like they were on fire. A few strangers would whistle to me, I ignored them. I need to find Tomas. I circled our neighborhood a few times, even went back to the front porch to see if he came home. But the lights were still out.

I came across a junkyard, there were two dogs laying there sleeping.

“Hey” I said quietly.

One opened only one eye, and the other just ignored me.

“What do you want spotted dog?”

“I’m looking for my friend, have you guys seen anything suspicious tonight?”

“No, now beat it” He barked loudly.

But luck was on my side tonight. The other dog was less grouchy. “Wait”, he yawned. “I did see a black vintage Chevy drive quite a few times around our block.”

“Did you see extremely skinny, brown hair, looking nerdy like a man, with glasses.”

“I can’t tell it was dark. But it had an out of state license plate, that much I do remember.”

“You’ve been a great help, thank you.”

I wandered around a few more hours, no sign of an old vintage car. I decided to sleep on the porch tonight, waiting for Tomas to come home, if he comes home.

***

At dawn I opened my eyes, believing it was all a dream. Maybe Tomas is home. Maybe it was all a bad dream. Let me check in his room.

The house was empty, his bedroom was empty, nothing changed, pillows were aligned exactly how he left them.

I went outside and barked a few times, hoping Tomas would come home, listening to my voice somewhere out there, lost.

I’m going to look for every black car, old or new, maybe I can get a lead. I went through every block. The sun changed directions, it was noon. When I looked at the street, I was the farthest I’d ever been. One block down is where Tomas usually takes me for vet visits.

I grew hungry and tired, so I stole a few meats from a butchery. I was chased down by the owner. Yelling at me. But I didn’t care that I hadn't eaten in twenty four hours. I still continued to look for a vintage black car. There was no lead anywhere. As I traveled further I thought of Tomas. Is he dead? Am I just a street dog now? I hope he is okay?

I was near a school, and students were heading out. They were dressed in costumes. It was interesting, they looked scary. A few children started posting something on the polls.

“Mom, look at the dog, it’s a dalmatian. I miss my dog”, a young boy said.

He approached me, pet me and left me food.

As I continued my hunt, I looked at numerous polls. They had pictures of dogs.

MISSING DOG

REWARD IF FOUND

$1,000

PLEASE CALL

I saw dozens of them block after block.

It was dawn and I had to get back home. Maybe he’s home tonight. The walk back home felt endless. Rain began to fall, but I didn’t care.

I walked past the same junkyard from yesterday. The two dogs weren’t there. The gate lock was broken into, their chains ripped apart. I sniffed around, hoping to find them. When an old man with a shotgun came out.

“Get out of here! This is private property!” The old man was coughing. He looked sad and heartbroken. I was startled and hid behind a few cars. “It’s just a dog…if you’re looking for your friends, they ain’t here.”

The old man approached me and pet my head a few times. “A dog like you shouldn’t be out here, especially when all these dogs are missing.” He read my collar, it had my address. “A part of me wants to keep you, but you belong to somebody else. Come on let me take you home before they take you away like my dogs.” Tears fell out of the old man's eyes.

What is going on? Dogs have gone missing?

He had an old Ford F-150, a beige color, with a few dents and scrapes around. He sat his shotgun on the passenger side, while I lay on the back side. He talked to me as if I could respond, but he just missed his dogs.

“They took them away, these damn pigs. And the police ain’t doing a darn thing about it. They have some drunk cop, with a belly hanging closer to the ground patrolling the area.”

I barked a few times. He looked at the visor and smiled. A few teeth were missing, but he meant well. Animals have a sense of danger and comfort, and with him I felt comfortable.

As we approached my neighborhood I saw in the distance the lights from my house were open.

I barked as we approached the front.

“Well there we are”, the old man coughed a few times. “Looks like you can just head straight in, the doors open.”

The door was open, and for the first time in a while I felt danger. I barked a few times to try and get the old man to stay, but he was mumbling and crying. The truck drove away, and I was alone again?

I went in the house and barked hoping for Tomas to come out. There was no answer. Somebody was here looking for something or someone. Pillows were on the ground, all the doors left open. My food was placed all over the house. I barked again and again with no answer. I went back outside the porch. I heard barking in the distance. I sprinted as fast as I could. And as I reached the corner of the block, there I saw Tomas.

***

Tomas shouted in the distance waving his hands to grab my attention. As I drew closer to him, he looked different and felt different. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, and his arms were bruised up. I barked at him a few times.

“Hey there boy! O boy! I missed you!” He hugged me all around. “I’m sorry boy! I’m back now”.

I barked at him again and licked his arms. I felt that sudden uncomfortableness again. I felt something was off.

“Lets get back home. You must be tired.” Tomas hooked me on a dog collar. “Lets walk through the back of the house, I can give you a shower.”

Through the back of the house it was pitch darkness, there weren't any street lights. I noticed Tomas had a strong grip on my collar. As we approached the house. I saw a car parked in front of our garage. It was hard to see, but the closer we got the more I was able to see the car. It was black. As soon as we arrived at the front of the car, the engine raved on, the lights turned on and both our bodies casted a long shadow.

It was an old vintage car. An old man with a grey beard stepped out of the driver's side. He wore a furlong coat. He was as skinny as bones, one would think he was malnourished. That feeling came to me again. I knew I was unsafe, even with Tomas.

I barked a few times.

“Well, well, well. O my you will make a beautiful coat. Mr. Tomas, you have been a tremendous help.” His voice was deep and dark, pure evil.

“And it’s what we agreed upon?” Tomas asked in a quiet tone.

“Yes! Yes! Fifteen thousand dollars”, the man gave Tomas a check.

I barked again, more loudly. Another man came out the car this time with a belt, and gripped my mouth. “Shut up you!” He tightened it as hard as he could. The man dragged me towards the trunk of the car. I noticed the license plate was from California. The trunk popped up. He used rope to tie me up, and I looked towards Tomas. He looked away.

“Thank you for your help today, I’m sure you’re fully compensated.”

“Yes, very much.” Tomas said.

“Boss, are you ready to go? We have a long road ahead of us.”

The trunk closed on me, and around me there was nothing but darkness.

Tomas betrayed me, these people were taking me somewhere far away from my home. I could overhear them talking.

“This dog will breed first, and oh my the beautiful skin! Will make millions!” the man said. I can feel the car moving.

Tomas sat at the kitchen table looking at the check, and smiled.