Good Boy

Being a human looks so demanding and painful sometimes. Being a dog is great though. My name is Rocco. I’m an Australian Shepherd and I wouldn’t trade my life for any other. I got a great human taking care of me. His name is Eric and he’s my best friend in the world. We have known each other for almost a year now. I was only a couple of months old when he picked me amongst all the other dogs at the pet store. It was the best day of my life. I knew right when I saw him that I wanted to live with him for the rest of my life. 

We used to hang out together all the time, but things have changed since he got that new job last week. I’m not sure what he does exactly, but I know that it has something to do with numbers and that it’s keeping him very busy. Sometimes, he doesn’t come home until it’s dark outside, but I patiently wait for him to come back day after day. When I hear the keys jingling in the lock, I run for the door as fast as I can. I wiggle my tail and bark a few times to let him know how happy I am. Sometimes he just comes home for a few minutes to feed me and take me out for a stretch before going to Tania’s. She’s his new girlfriend. Before Tania, Eric and I would have the same routine every day when he got home. We still do it when it’s just the two of us. As soon as he’s inside I jump on him and then I show him the tricks he’s taught me. I get a little reward if I do it right. After my performance, he fixes himself dinner and fills up my two bowls with food and water. When we’re done eating, Eric usually pours himself a drink and sits down on the couch to watch TV. Eric loves to drink, I think it relaxes him and makes him forget his stressful job for a little while. Watching movies with him is my favourite part of the night because he lets me up on the couch and pets me. By the fourth drink, Eric usually goes to bed and I get to sleep at his feet. In the morning, we wake up very early and go for a run before Eric has to go to work. Running is a great way to start the day. Since I spend most of my time inside, it’s fun to have an outlet in the morning for all my extra energy. After our run, Eric leaves for work and I’m all alone again. I wait for his return so our routine can hopefully start all over again. 

Of course, some nights Eric invites Tania over to hang out with us. I don’t mind her because she seems to make Eric really happy. The only downside of their relationship is that I don’t get as much attention from him when she’s with us. She gets all the cuddles and I have to find another place to sleep. But other than that, I enjoy having her around. She likes to take a silly voice to ask me “who’s a good boy?”. It’s quite funny because we both know that I am a good boy. At least I try to be. There’s one thing I do that Eric really hates: the barking. Sometimes he gets really mad at me because my barks are supposedly “irritating”. But I am a dog. I just can’t help myself. I don’t know if Eric is aware of that, but my sense of hearing is much more sensitive than his. So it’s my duty to tell him if I hear something nearby. One night, I heard someone lurking around the house. Eric was asleep on the couch but my barks woke him up. When Eric noticed that there was a man in our backyard, he turned on the lights and scared him away. He was so proud of me. I will never forget the look on his face. That’s why I always bark when I hear a suspicious noise. It might be false alarms most of the time, but you never know when it’s going to be the real deal. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him because I didn’t bark.

Eric seems to spend more time at home these days which is amazing! He hasn’t gone to Tania’s in a while. He always comes straight home after work and we spend every evening at home together. Just the two of us. Tania hasn’t been around either in almost a week now. I haven’t seen her since their big fight. There was a lot of yelling involved. Way louder than my barks. Tania yelled about how things had changed in the last month because of Eric’s new job. Eric called her a “bitch” which I have heard is something very hurtful for human females. I don’t really understand why. Last I heard of her, she was on the phone with Eric. I heard something about cheating and lying but I couldn’t understand everything. The word bitch was also used repeatedly. Human relationships can be so complicated sometimes. They used to love each other like there was no tomorrow and now they can’t be in the same room without screaming at each other. I don’t understand what happened to them. I always thought love was supposed to be unconditional. That’s how it is for me. Anyway, I don’t think I’ll see her around the house anymore and that’s too bad. I’ll miss her.

Just like I thought, Tania hasn't come here in two weeks now. Eric has been feeling pretty downhearted ever since. Dogs have this strange ability to know when their master is not feeling alright. He doesn’t smile as much as he used to. But I have never been happier. We’re together every night and it’s awesome. I only wish he could be as happy as I am. Since Eric comes home early every night now, our routine has improved a lot. We don’t really do the tricks anymore but I get my treats anyway. Eric also started drinking and watching TV earlier, so our cuddles last longer. The only thing I miss from our old routine is running. We don’t do it as often because Eric is usually too sleepy in the morning. Probably because he goes to bed too drunk and too late. I just feel like jumping and running all the time. I don’t know what to do with all this energy. 

The greatest thing has happened last week! Eric stopped going to work. I heard him talk to his mother over the phone. He said that after only two months he was “let go”. I’m so glad they let him go because now we get to spend ALL of our time together. I’ve also made my peace with not running anymore. Being with Eric is what truly matters. Besides, I can always run around the house on my own. Not too often or too long though because Eric doesn’t like that very much. He gets a bit moody when he drinks which is almost constantly now. Last morning, I was too loud and he punched me because I had woken him up. I felt really bad because that’s how bad dogs act. I love him so much and I don’t want him to stay mad at me so I’ll try to make it up to him.



These last two weeks were wonderful. Eric and I have never spent so much time together. I lick him and cuddle up to him every chance I have. Whenever he lets me that is. Sometimes he doesn’t feel like petting me so I stay away. He hasn’t hit me since the loud running incident so I think he must have forgiven me. He didn’t give me any food last night, but I don’t think it was to punish me. I just think that all these beverages are making him forgetful. He often forgets to fill my bowls on the nights he drinks himself to sleep on the couch. Last night was the third time this week. I still decided to sleep at his feet and snuggle, but I don’t think he noticed. It’s very early and he’s still asleep on the couch. I think I’ll let him rest for a bit longer.

After a couple of hours, I finally decided to wake him up with a few barks. Not because I was hungry, but because I had heard a strange noise in the front yard. Eric kept telling me to shut up, but I was too worried to stop. I wanted him to make sure everything was fine. What if it was another bad man. Finally, I heard Eric move. When I turned around to check if he was actually going to investigate, I saw a glass bottle fly straight towards my snout. Then everything turned black. Now my head is pounding. I can feel a warm pasty liquid dripping into my mouth. A weird metallic taste mixed with something salty. Salty drops of water. I think Eric is crying over me. I think I made him sad. I wish I had been a better companion. I just love him so much. I must have been a really bad dog this time. I’m getting sleepy now. I can feel myself drifting off. If I ever wake up again, I promise I’ll be a good boy.