I don't own YA.
A Boy & His Dog
Chapter 1 - The Puppy Years, aka "Mom"
My name's Teddy. It might actually be something longer, and sometimes it's shorter, but that's what I'm called the most, so I'm Teddy. I'm an Old Sheep, or something like that. I'm not really good with big words.
I live with my mom. She's a very pretty lady who smells nice and is very kind to me. She feeds me and pats me and takes me out on long walks in the park. She lets me run and bark as much as I want so long as I play nice, and when we get home, she gives me a treat. I always want more, but then she holds her finger up and that means trouble, so I hide under the cupboard (she laughs and says I won't be able to do that for long - I wonder what that means).
It's ok, though, since she'll give me another one next time. I'm a good boy.
My days are spent in what's called "the office". It's where a lot of people walk around, dressed in clothes that look like mom's but in various shades of gray (mom calls it other colors like red and blue. I guess she's color blind, the poor thing, but I love her anyway).
Everyone's really nice to me and play with me a lot whenever mom's busy. One of them, Klark, I think, said something about "dognapping". Mom keeps telling him to stop joking like that, but I don't see why.
I'm a dog, and I do like to nap.
Some days, though, mom doesn't take me with her. I have to either stay with "the neighbor", or, if she'll only be gone for a while, she leaves me home alone. I don't like it when mom's gone. It's very boring and quiet, so I bark more loudly. Maybe this way mom'll hear me and come back.
I'm not allowed to do much more other than that. One time I was really hungry, and chewed on those things she wears on her feet. Shoes, she calls them. Boy, was she mad. I've never seen her this mad before. She shoved my head in what was left of her shoe, kept going "bad!".
I don't like being bad, I was just hungry - I think mom knew I didn't mean anything by it, though, because she was back to nice, later. But I'm not allowed near her shoes anymore. I'm actually not allowed to do a lot of things, like get up on the couch, or be on the bed on my own.
I don't mind. I'm a good boy, after all, so I go by the rules even when I'm alone. Even if I don't like being alone.
I always feel nervous, and get really excited when mom comes back. She's really happy when I get like that, which makes it all the more fun. But I rather she just never leave me. I'm not clingy or anything (well ok, maybe a little), but I don't know much about the world out there. Only that it's filled with people and things that cough out smoke and other dogs. That can't be a safe world, right? She could get hurt, or sick, and won't be able to take care of us anymore.
She always came back so far, though, so I try not to worry about it too much.
I mean, mom can take care of herself, right? She's big and strong and can bring food and keep a house and shows the people at "the office" who's top-dog, so she's bound to keep coming back. Again, and again, to keep me from being alone for too long. And again, and again—
Until one time she didn't come home anymore.