Respect Your Elders
A Homeward Bound One-Shot
Too old.
I remembered Shadow saying that once. At the time, Sassy and I thought he was never going to get out of the hole. But he surprised us. That old man was full of surprises.
He surprised us again when we got lost in the city. Shadow pulled Sassy and me through that—he did. Shadow had always been there for us, especially me. So, naturally, I tried to return the favor the day I found him lazing about in front of the fireplace.
"Shadow, man, c'mon!" I urged. He seemed to ignore me. "Shadow, can't you hear me? It's a beautiful day! C'mon, let's hang out! We never hang out anymore!"
"Chance," He sighed from his resting spot, "I'm old. I want to rest. Let me rest."
Nosing his neck, I persisted, "Shadow, you aren't that old!"
Behind me, Delilah nudged me. "Chance, maybe you should let him sleep."
I looked at her. Delilah was never wrong. Well, mostly never wrong. I glanced back at Shadow; already he was asleep again, snoring softly. Reluctantly, I followed Delilah out for a game of Chase the Squirrel. We played for a long time, but I kept thinking about Shadow.
What was old? Shadow always acted younger than he was, even when he tried to excuse himself due to his age. Why now? Why was the excuse back?
-BREAK-
The next morning I snatched a donut from the counter for me and Delilah to share. We sat down under the kitchen table to enjoy our breakfast just as Sassy walked in. Immediately, I detected her worry. After all, why else would she not chastise me for "acting like a no-good puppy"?
"What's up?" I asked as she passed.
Her cool gaze fell on the donut. "Acting like a puppy again?"
I grunted, and Delilah softly laughed. "Yeah, I am. So what!" Her tail flicked with annoyance, and I watched her prance away. With another snort, I muttered, "Guess I was wrong."
"About what, Chance?" Delilah implored, licking her jaws of the donut glaze.
"I figured something was wrong, but Sassy acted like her usual, prissy cat-self after all," I answered, resting my head on my paws. "So I guess I was wrong."
Delilah nuzzled me. "I doubt it. You have good instincts, Chance."
I wagged my tail in amusement. "That's because I have Shadow. He's taught me how to have good instincts."
-BREAK-
Later, when the snow began to fall and cold set in, Delilah and I went to rest by the fire. Shadow was there again, snoring and whimpering in his sleep. We stood, watching his twitching paws and ears.
Delilah whispered, "Maybe we should go somewhere else. Let him rest."
I heard her, but my thoughts were elsewhere. There was something different about Shadow. Something... on his face. His fur around his nose and mouth was colored different. Instead of the sandy-gold color of the rest of his fur, that patch was gray. Almost white.
"Has his fur always been that way?" I asked aloud.
Confused, Delilah cocked her head. "Huh?"
"Around his mouth. His fur. It's... gray."
Sassy's voice piped up, startling us as we caught sight of her on the mantel. "He's getting old."
Glaring, I growled at her, "He's not old. And don't say things like that!"
Annoyance showed in her thrashing tail. "Chance, I'm not saying it to be cruel; it's true. Shadow wasn't young when you got here. And now... He's old. He's fourteen-years-old. Almost fifteen. For his breed, that's pretty old."
Contemplating her words, I studied Shadow. Other than the gray patch on his muzzle, he looked the same. He was still Shadow.
"Che," I muttered, "he isn't old."
Without saying bye to Sassy, I nudged Delilah out of the living room.
-BREAK-
Jamie came home from school the next day with a lot of excitement. He ruffled my ears and stroked Delilah's chin briefly before running to Peter's room, shouting for him. I watched him go and yawned before nuzzling into Delilah's neck. She licked my muzzle comfortingly and fell asleep again. I waited until her breathing was nice and heavy before sneaking off.
As usual, or so it seemed nowadays, Shadow slept in front of the fire. Hope read in the recliner, glancing at me when I came in.
She greeted me quietly, "Hey, boy." Then, with a smile at Shadow, she went back to reading.
I considered just watching Shadow sleep, but I really wanted to talk to him, so I crawled over and nudged his ear. He groaned in response, still sleeping. I tried again. Same response plus a twitch of his other ear.
"Psst," I hissed, "Shadow! Wake up!"
Slowly, he opened his eyes halfway and peered at me. "What do you want, Chance?"
His grumpy voice puzzled me, but I replied cheerily, "Let's hang out! C'mon! Enough sleeping!" My tail was wagging as I pushed his head in an attempt to urge him on his feet. What happened next shocked me and startled Hope.
Shadow snarled at me. He lurched at my face, teeth bared. I whimpered and backed off. Hope quickly descended upon us, holding Shadow against her chest, whispering soothing words to him. He visibly relaxed, but his next words, harsh and cold, struck me hard:
"Leave me be, Chance. Have some respect for an old dog."
-BREAK-
I told Delilah of the occurrence. She sympathetically nuzzled me and invited me to play in the snow after our daily walk. For once, I could not become motivated to play. Declining her offer, I opted to sleep under Jamie's bed. Delilah frowned and pleaded with me to come out, but I stayed. When Jamie came to take us for our walk, I persisted in staying put. A few failed attempts to entice me out later, Jamie relented and took Delilah out alone.
My next interruption came in the form of my pesky housemate Sassy. She reluctantly crept under the bed, making a remark about the lack of hygiene in Jamie's room. Perhaps she was expecting a response. When I gave her none, she sighed heavily.
"Chance, I heard about what happened."
"Why would he do that, Sass?" I demanded, lifting my head slightly. "What's the matter with him?"
She tilted her head and said, "I told you before, didn't I? Shadow is old. He's tired, he aches from arthritis constantly, and he knows... his time is limited."
My ears perked. "'His time is limited'? What do you mean?"
Sassy shifted her paws uncomfortably. "Do you remember the neighbor's dog, Chance?"
"Old Man Bleu? Yeah, sorta," I murmured, quite vividly remembering the hobbling Heeler. "Why?"
"Do you remember when he... disappeared?"
I bobbed my head. "Yeah. You and Shadow said he went on a trip or something."
Hesitantly and with astounding gentleness, Sassy nudged my face in an awkward nuzzle. She whispered, "Well, Chance, Shadow is going to be making that trip... A lot sooner than anyone would like."
-BREAK-
Two months later, Sassy's prediction came true.
I went down to the living room, intent on at least getting in a conversation with Shadow. Maybe even one where he didn't try to bite my face off.
He was there in his spot. Which it was. The rug in front of the hearth was his spot officially. No one argued that.
Inhaling sharply, I walked over and leaned my head down. "Shadow? Hey, Shadow, can we talk?"
Nothing.
"Please, Shadow? I really want to talk to you... I promise, I'll leave you alone right after."
Silence.
"Shadow, pleeeease," I begged and pawed him gently in the shoulder. Still no response, not even a grunt. A bad feeling warped my gut, and I questioned louder, "Shadow? Shadow, man, wake up."
His stillness scared me. Panic arose in my throat in the form of a yelp, a noise I hadn't made since I got stuck by a porcupine. But I did. I yelped. And yelped. And howled. Footsteps, rapid and frantic, came down the stairs, yet I couldn't stop. I kept whining even as Delilah pushed me away to make room for Peter and the rest of the family. Sassy sat silently on the couch as Bob and Peter both tried to wake Shadow.
To no avail.
Peter was in tears. Jamie, Hope, Laura, and Bob were, too. Delilah looked away as Peter picked up Shadow and held up in a stiff embrace. I wished I could have looked away also, but my eyes were glued to Peter and Shadow.
Time ticked by slowly. In a heartbroken whisper, I heard Peter sob, "H-Happy fifteenth birthday... Shadow."
A/N: I do not own Homeward Bound.
I apologize if I made anyone sad. If it makes you feel better, I cried a little writing this.