Kodak

Early Fall
6: 15 a.m

Today my hooman brought a friend. He was big and furry and smelled like cherries. I like him because he gives me lots of belly rubs and he makes my hooman happy. Now, I lay down at her feet, waiting for her to drop some bits of food for me. She didn’t, but the furry man did. I sneaky crawl under the table to him and gobble up the bacon he dropped. My hooman laughs, but her voice sounds scolding.

“Jack stop, you’re spoiling him with all that bacon”.

I don’t understand what she says, but I hear the word bacon so I crawl over to her side and give her puppy eyes. She laughs again and my tail thumps behind me happily, a piece of bacon falls from her hands and she pats my head. I yip and lay at her feet again and close my eyes.

“I really should get to the chores” my ears twitch towards my hooman’s voice, then towards the furry man as he laughs.

“I’ll help you with that Daisy, don’t worry about it”

My hooman gives a funny laugh and I turn my head towards her. Is she sick? Why did she laugh so high? Like the chihuahua down the lane. Her cheeks are red. I jump to my feet and go to give her a sniff. Her temperature is normal. Sniff. She doesn’t smell like sickness. Sniff sniff. Her heart is fast, like the beating of the hens wings when I chase them. I whine and put my head on her lap.

“I’m okay Kodak”

I hear the words okay and my name. The furry man laughs again, I keep my head on my hooman’s lap and look at him with my eyes. Maybe the furry man makes my hooman act strange. I keep looking at him wearily, but he smiles and makes me feel happy again. My hooman stands and I follow her to the kitchen. I sit and watch her turn on the magic tube to wash her dish. Furry man also comes and puts his dish in the sink. I look up at him, watching carefully. He puts a hand on my hooman’s back and takes it away before I can bark. My hooman wipes her hands on her legs and walks to the door.

“Let’s go heard the sheep Kodak”

I run to the door. I am happy. I want to chase sheep. I bounce and wag my tail energetically. But she is busy chatting with the furry man. What is she doing? The sheep are waiting for me to give chase. I call her and she turns to me.

“Sorry Kody”

She calls me by my baby name, it means she is sorry. I tell her it’s okay and she opens the door. I race outside. The day is perfect. The days are always perfect. I race towards the fields. The wind blows through my fur. It feels nice. I stick out my tongue as I race along the white picket fence that separates our farm from the McPherson’s. The sun is warm on my back. I can smell the earthiness of the soil, the sweetness of the grass. I catch the faint scent of a creature that I know my hooman doesn’t like. I circle around and get a stronger scent. Coyote. My hooman didn’t like Coyote’s. They were bad. They hurt the chickens and scare the sheep. I growl and come to a stop. I will protect my family from these bad dogs. The ground starts to tremble, and I know that my hooman has come on her fast machine.

“What did you find baby?”

My ears twitch in her direction but my nose keeps my head pointed in the direction of the bad dogs. I hear the furry man growl like a big dog. He stands beside me and touches my head gently.

“Coyote’s, eh?”

I whine and the furry man turns to my hooman.

“Sounds like that grumpy old rancher a couple farms away was right” The furry man stomps a foot, “Those darn coyote’s are here”. My hooman sighs and chats and I start sniffing out the bad dog scent in the grass.

“No Kodak”

I stop in my tracks and turn to my hooman. She points to the pasture where the sheep eat grass lazily.

“The sheep need to be moved, please”

I whine once more before abandoning my scent trail and bound towards the sheep. My hooman trained me to herd the sheep after Shep passed away. Shep was her first protector and he was a great herder. After he died, I was trained to take over his job, and I love it. Now it is my job to keep the flock together, to guide them through the lush green pastures and protect them from harm. I am their leader, their shepherd. And I take my duties very seriously. I race towards the flock, circling around them expertly. They try to fight, but it is no use. It was like they were stuck in a strong current. I guide them to a fresh pasture and leave them to graze peacefully.

“Well done Kodak!” The furry man booms as I lope towards them. He pats my head and I stick my tongue out proudly.

“I trained him, after Shep passed” I run to my hooman and she pets me as she speaks. “I couldn’t find a border collie in the pound, my only option was this fluffy little Leonberger”

“You’ve done a spectacular job”

Their voices sound happy. I know I have done a good job. My hooman talks and looks to the barn. The furry man says something and makes her act strange again. I leave them and race to the barn; It’s time for the other chores.

Late Spring
7:00 p.m

For many many days, the furry man visits us. He makes my hooman really happy when he puts a shiny metal band on her finger. Now he stays with us and makes me happy everyday. My hooman puts food in my bowl and leaves to go talk to the furry man. My ears twitch towards the windows suddenly, and I pick up a faint high-pitched howl. I growl and stop eating. My hooman notices and calls to me. It seems that she didn’t hear the howl. But I did. And I knew who it belonged to. I race to the door and scratch at it like I have rabies. I bark and howl and my hooman opens the door for me.

“Grab your rifle Daisy!” The furry man screams as he pulls out his shot gun and follows me. My neck muscles are taunt and strain against my collar as I run towards the pastures. I reach the top the the hill, and then, I see them. Five or six small figures racing to the sheep. My sheep. I howl and run towards them.

“Kodak! Wait!”

I ignore the furry man and run to protect my sheep. I make it to the first coyote in seconds. He turns to look at me with his cruel yellow eyes. I’m bigger than him, but there are more of them. Without hesitation I attack. I bite and scratch and bark for the sheep to get away. But they are scared. And their eyes roll with fear as they panic. The air soon becomes thick with the stench of sweat and blood. A sharp pain in my leg makes me howl and reel around. I bite the coyote on his neck and fling him away. But another one pounces on my back. There are more than five of them now. Just when I think that I wouldn’t be able to get away, a loud bang sounds. The coyote’s yip and jump away from me. I hear the roar of my hooman’s fast machine racing towards us. I look, the furry man is with her, his gun points to the sky. I hear one of the baby lambs bleat in distress. I ignore the coyotes and run towards it. There is another coyote and it is snarling at the baby lamb. My hooman yells in anguish and it makes me more angry.

“Hey!” the furry man screams at the coyotes.

Before I reach the coyote and the lamb, the coyote spins to look at something. I look to see the furry man pointing his gun at the coyote. This was not a good idea. I could see the gleam in the coyote’s eyes. He was planning on outsmarting the furry man. The furry man cocks the weapon and threatens the coyote. Everything becomes slow. The furry man shoots and the coyote moves away. I run to the lamb that is cowering there. I pick it up, but before I can go any further, my legs stop working. The lamb and I collapse. The lamp runs away and so do the coyotes. In an instant, they’re gone. The sheep are bleating somewhere nearby and I hear my hooman screaming and shouting at someone. There is a warm sensation in my stomach. It is getting harder to breath. The sheep. Where are they? Are they safe? The ground is thumping. I smell my hooman, her hand touches my head gently.

“Kodak!”

She cries and puts her face near to mine.With all the strength I can muster, I lift my head and lick her cheeks. I don’t know where the furry man has gone, I can’t smell him. My hooman cries and lays next to me. She buries her face in my neck. I try to get up, but I feel a burst of pain in my stomach. I whine and my leg twitches at my effort.

“The sheep are fine” my hooman cries. I hear sheep and fine. I stop fighting myself and huff. My duty was done. My eyes gently close, but it isn’t dark. In fact it’s bright, like when my hooman and I watch the sunrise. Shep! I see Shep waiting for me! He is happy and wags his tail. He yips and beckons for me to come. My tail thumps weakly as Shep barks playfully.

“I love you”

I hear my hooman’s voice, but it seems to be coming from the lush green pasture that Shep stands in. Behind Shep, I see several of the lambs, calves and other animals that passed away in the months and years prior. I feel happy again. I will see them. And play with them…forever…for always.

Mid-Summer

4:40 p.m

I lay lazily at my hooman’s feet on the porch. She is reading aloud to herself. I don’t understand her words, but I enjoy hearing her voice. I look towards the pasture. The sheep are fine. There is no Shep, no long lost friends. They were all in my dreams. My hooman takes me to a lady every week so she can check my bandages and give me medicine. I used to be scared, but after every visit, she gives me treats. Ever since the coyotes, I haven’t seen the furry man. I think that maybe the coyote’s got him. That is why my hooman is so sad. That is why she no longer wears the shiny metal band on her finger. A chicken comes close and hops up the porch stairs. I raise my head and sniff gently. It is not a threat. I put my head down and watch it strut towards me. It picks my ears with it’s beak and I yip at it. The hen runs away, but not because of me. My ears twitch towards the long dirt road. I hear footsteps. I raise my head once more, and this time my tails thumps happily. The furry man is coming! And this time, I know this is not a dream. I look to my hooman. But she does not mirror my excitement. Instead she slams her book shut and stands as if preparing herself to go inside.

“Daisy, please”

The furry man’s voice is low and quiet. He is holding wild flowers and a small white rectangle. I stand and wait for the man to get close. I give him a happy bark and he returns it with a small smile.

“Kodak, who’s a good dog?”

I bark and spin in a circle. I like being a good dog. But something seems different with the furry man today. He looks a bit slimmer, although he is still big and strong. His eyes are sad and his shoulders are a bit stooped. He finally gets close enough to the porch. I lick his hands excitedly and he pats my head.

“What do you want, Jack?”

My hooman’s voice sounds gruff and mean. It’s the same tone she uses when she speaks of coyote’s. I trot over to her and nudge her hand. She pulls it away from me and glares at the furry man.

“I’m sorry about…everything”

I whine at my hooman, but she refuses to look at me. I look at the furry man, his eyes look pained. I walk to him and try to lick the pain away. He pats my head distractedly and tells me not right now. My hooman crosses her arms over her chest and clenches her jaw.

“I’m sorry for hurting Kodak and….” the furry man sighs, “and for the hurtful things I said to you that night”.

My hooman doesn’t say anything. But she looks like she wants to. I don’t understand what the sadness and pain is about. I was the one that got hurt, wasn’t I? But my instincts tell me that they got hurt on that night too. My hooman looks to me with shiny eyes. Then she looks at the furry man, then back to me. I want to go to her, but I stick next to the furry man, because….he was my hooman too.

“Daisy I shouldn’t have let my anger get the better of me. I said some things that I didn’t mean and I’m sure you did too”

“Jack-”

“I love you Daisy Miller” I can sense the weight of the words on the furry man’s voice. It makes me nervous. I stand, then sit again. “I want you to be my wife”

My hooman covers her mouth with her hand and cries. I bark and the furry man climbs the porch stairs. I follow him as he strides over to my hooman. He drops the flowers and the white rectangle. My hooman lets him wrap his arms around her and she hugs him back.

“Will you be my wife?”

My hooman laughs and nods. But why is she still crying? She looks at me. “What do you think Kodak?”

I bark at the sound of happiness on my hooman’s voice. Both she and the furry man laugh. Then, he presses his lips to hers. I cock my head. Maybe it is the equivalent of when I lick her. I bark again and they stop and give me pats and lot’s of love. Later, I watch the furry man put the shiny metal band on her finger again. And I know that all will be well.

The End.