A Dog's Tale.

There's something crazy going down in the human's world. Maurice, my master cupped my face in his hands and said " Cooper, we're going to be spending lots more time together, won't that be fun?" I wag my tail. "There's a virus that's killing people, so I'll be working form home." I wondered what a virus was? Whatever, I get to see more of Maurice. He's been my master for two years and he's the best. You've probably guessed that I'm a mutt, a golden retriever to be exact.

We settled into our new routine and I loved it. Man, this was good, lots of attention, lots of playtime, and, and this was the best bit, two walks every day. Used to be I got taken out in the evenings, when Maurice got home from work. Now, we go out before Maurice has his breakfast and again after dinner. Our route is always the same. We head down along the path by the river and follow it for a while until we arrive at this wide,grassy expanse. Most of us dogs are let off the leash here and we run around for a bit, chasing,, jumping and doing other doggy things. Then we get together to exchange news. I've made so many new friends, dogs I never met before though I recognised them by scent. The morning dogs are different, not as friendly. They don't trust me yet. There's this really cute collie, goes by the name of Sheeba, I think she likes me. I really, really like her. I've caught her staring at me from a distance as I was looking her over. Her mistress, now she's beautiful, in human terms of course. Maurice is smitten with her, judging by the look in his eyes when they chat and that happy whistling he does afterwards. In the evenings I noticed that some of my old buddies were missing, Jasper the German Sheppard, Pearl the stuck up Poodle and Lucky the Jack Russell. I'll never figure out how his master could call him Lucky, he's missing a leg, blind in one eye and has a big bald patch under his throat. The humans were acting weird when they met. They didn't get close,like they normally do, they didn't pet each other's dogs and they didn't hang around chatting. About a week ago I noticed Sheeba was wasn't around. The morning gang seemed subdued. I walked up to them, stood a bit back and gave a polite bark. They looked at me."Pardon me, do any of you know where Sheeba is?" There was silence while they looked at each other, then Duke, the boxer said, in a deep, doleful voice," Sheeba's gone." "Gone?" "Gone where?" I asked, stupidly. There was no need for words. The sad look in their eyes said she was gone to that place of no return. It took me a minute to grasp this terrible news. "What happened to her?" They sensed my sadness and gathered around me. Duke said," I got it from Tara the terrier who heard it from Goldie the corgi. Sheeba was chasing a cat from her garden, jumped the hedge and ran into the road. The car didn't brake in time...We're real sorry Cooper. I heard her mistress Angela is broken hearted. I nodded my head and slunk away with my tail between my legs. I don't know what facebook is, but it's been keeping Maurice busy most nights. I try to get his attention,bringing my ball and dropping it in his lap. "I'll only be here a short while Cooper," he says but after facebook, it's emails and we never do get to play. He's so apologetic later and there's a dreamy far away look in his eyes as he pats my head or rubs my tummy. The trouble with Maurice is that he's single. He's single because he has woman trouble. Putting it bluntly, Maurice goes for the wrong type, believe me, I've met them all. As males go, he's a handsome guy,in a rugged way, he's tipping forty, has an athletic build, wavy brown hair and soft, stone grey eyes. He lectures in history at the university. Maurice likes jazz music. He can turn it on by talking to a gadget called Alexa. I think she's a robot. One night after spending hours on his laptop, Maurice got a call on his mobile. I could tell he was happy by the tone of his voice. There was laughter too, genuine and just a teeny bit edgy like he was nervous or shy. He walked around the kitchen talking on his phone. I happened to be sitting on the couch, across from his laptop and noticed the frozen photo on the screen. I recognised that face. Was she the reason for this facebook and email marathon every night? We were confined for a long time with this virus, so long that I couldn't remember life any other way. I'd forgotten what it was like being alone all day, stuck in the back yard, chasing cheeky cats and out of pure boredom, scaring the birds away. On return from our evening walk Maurice said that the virus had run it's course and it was safe for people to be out and about again and wasn't that fantastic? He was going back to the university. He said he's miss me a lot, though he didn't seem too sad. He said he was sorry that our morning walks were over, but if I was a good boy, he's take me to the park at the weekend. Maurice knows how much I love the park. Next morning, we said goodbye in the yard, me whining and wailing as Maurice locked the back door and disappeared. The following night he was expecting company. How did I know? He cooked something that smelled delicious, put wine glasses on the table and tiny scented candles around the room. Then, he took a shower and got dressed up, well, casually dressed up. He asked the robot to play some light jazz. I spotted a bouquet of red roses in water under the counter. This was serious. Who ever she was, I hoped she was worth it. When the doorbell rang Maurice led me out to the yard. The Nerve! Really! He'd never put me out for any of the other women, so I barked and barked in protest. Then I walked to the window. By balancing my paws on the sill I could just about see in. Was I imagining it or was Maurice kissing the beautiful Angela? My throat was dry from all that barking so I took a long drink from my water bowl. I was so excited, I paced the garden impatiently. I didn't understand why he kept me away from Angela. I knew she liked me, and she wasn't scared that one time when I got a bit boisterous and placed my big soft paws on her chest. It seemed like ages before Maurice came to let me back in. I couldn't wait to say my doggy hello to Angela. Maurice gripped me by the collar and looked me in the eye. "I've got a surprise for you Cooper. there's someone I want you to meet, someone very special. He paused. " I guess I'm only realising now how lonesome you must be every day, all alone in the yard. I'm sorry Cooper." I let out a small whine. Maurice led me indoors.I sniffed the air, there was a strange scent. "Hey Cooper, C'mere boy." I heard Angela's words but I was staring at the chocolate brown Labrador at her feet. My heart was beating so wildly in my chest I thought it would burst right out. This was one gorgeous lady, sleek shiny coat proud bearing and gentle brown eyes. "Come and meet Coco, your new buddy." said Angela. Coco and I, we had a good sniff of each other and we both agreed that we liked each other. Maurice and Angela laughed as we chased around the kitchen.