Chapter Two

It's strange. I've had times when I was a young pup when I would get excited by a ball or a stick and I'd hit a wall or fall into a pond and I would momentarily enter this near-sleep experience but it's been nothing like this. I feel that my body has been moved several times. I remember several different surfaces beneath my body, some soft and others hard, but I don't remember very much. I do remember that I went out. There was pain. So much pain and not just Roger's pain a very real physical pain. Then I remember him holding me in his arms, I used to love Roger's arms when I was just a small pup, I grew too big for him to hold me like he used to when we were both younger. Then I remember my bed back home and different colors but it's all a blur.

I feel something poking my head, prodding it and I feel my ear twitch. I sniff. I know this smell, I smile and manage to open my eyes slowly. I have never and will never see another creature as beautiful as her. She is my precious Perdita. "H-Hey," I tell her painfully and she licks the top of my head, nuzzling me sadly. "Wh-why ar-" it's too painful to say anymore. I just hope that she understands.

"Oh, Pongo," she says lovingly as she slides her body beneath mine, I let my paw rest on the top of her head, feeling that soft part underneath her ear. She breathes peacefully. I really must have had her worried. "I thought, we thought, the way that our pets were talking was as if….oh, Anita. I have to get Anita."

"Ro—Roger?" I ask and Perdie nods, she licks my cheek lovingly as I still feel that I am in some kind a daze.

"He's all right. You saved him, you were his good boy," she tells me and I smile again. She's hesitant, she doesn't want to leave me and I know that but she'll do what needs to be done and she'll make sure that my pet gets to me. He's always taken such good care of me before. Perdie goes to the doorway and starts barking, "Come! Come! Come!" It's one of the only orders that these humans understand.

Perdie looks from side to side as she stands in the doorway and I hear Anita's voice. She goes over to my love and rests a hand on the top of her head however Perdie leads her over to me and barks to get her attention. Anita's not Roger but she is beautiful and caring and she takes care of us. She is the human that I would bestow the second amount of trust in. She checks over my wounds and then grabs one of my favorite treats. Maybe I have the strength to eat it.

"Oh, Pongo," she whispers as she moves her hand close to my mouth. "You're such a good boy. Such a strong boy. Oh, Roger will be so happy," she smiles happily. I'm glad that I was able to find my pet such a suitable mate. I'm glad that I was there to protect Roger's happiness. Anita fills my dog bowl with water and then puts some of the yummy treats in a second bowl, she moves it close to me so that I don't have to stretch out too far. "He'll be so happy."

I look at her and try to move my paws to get up but she pets me and tells me to rest.

"Let's get Roger!" she says, "I'll be right back," she tells us and Perdie comes closer to me again. She knows that I'm not at my best. I feel strange and it's more than just the usual strangeness that comes from a sickness like going on a walk in the rain. It's as if my mind is still foggy and my heart seems restless.

I take slow breaths before my tail starts wagging and I hear heavy and quick footsteps. Roger. It's Roger. Perdie nuzzles me and comforts me, she has her eyes closed but I open mine to see my pet. He's looking exhausted as if he hasn't slept. Did he forget to sleep again? I'm glad that he has already attracted the perfect mate to him because with the way he's dressed right now and the untidy mess of hair, he would have a hard time attracting them right now.

"Pongo," he whispers as he pets the top of my head gently, scratching me behind the ear in a way that no other human knows how to do. A dog will always have such a strong bond to the human that raised them, their pet. I bark weakly and he rubs my back, his hand moves in the way that it used to when I was a younger dog and would get frightened by a storm. I remember that he would always hold me as we listened to the radio together and he would wrap a blanket around me and make sure I wasn't afraid. "Oh, Pongo, you are a good boy. You had us so worried, but you're going to be okay," he tells me and I feel myself relaxed.

I'm still not sure what happened but it seems to be over for right now. Everyone is okay. It's all going to be okay.

….

…

I've now been able to doze for some time and I feel better already. I don't think that I'm going to be up and playing and for some reason they have moved my pups away from me but I'm sure soon I can stand up and not feel so shaky on my paws. Roger has spent most of the time since I first woke up at my side. He usually is concentrating on work or family but he has been talking to me and reminding me of those long hot days in the summer where we both felt like lazing around.

There is a tap on the door and I look up, raising an ear. Perdie isn't here right now, I don't know when or why she left but it's okay. I'm sure that she's safe. Anita would never let anything happen to her. I yawn and Roger helps me sit up.

"Pongo, the vet is just going to have a look at your wound, okay?" he says as he helps me move so that the wound is visible. I feel nervous. My mind goes back to that time when I felt the danger for my pet and his little pup. I don't like strangers. I don't want them near me. I feel my body grow very stiff.

There is a strange man in a white coat with a brown bag. He's got brown shoes on and an odd smell, much too clean of a smell.

"Thank you so much for coming," Roger tells him. "He's a good boy, never been any trouble. I didn't want to exacerbate his condition by moving him too fast." No. My eyes go to Roger and I don't want him near this man. I don't want this stranger here.

"You say that he's been in and out of consciousness for about three days but seems to have made more of a recovery," the man asks him and I don't like this. I don't like them talking about me. This man is evil. He moves towards me. It's a mistake, he shouldn't come closer to me when I'm injured. It's playing dirty.

I growl, lowering my body in a defensive manner. I will knock you down if you come over here. I feel an ice cold grip throughout the inside of my body. No. This isn't the time to be thinking of something like that. The man continues to approach and I hear some deep growls coming out from my body. I haven't been this angry in some time. The man is still challenging me.

The man reaches his hand out at me and I snap at it until he pulls it back. It's at this point that Roger is in front of me and he looks at me in his kind and understanding manner. "What is it, boy?" he asks as he places his hands on each side of my body. I whine, I feel scared, I don't know what's come over me and I press my head into Roger's chest. He's had guests before and they've pet me. I feel like I've been a bad boy and let him down but I don't want to be touched.

"He's never acted like this before," my pet tries to explain and the other man nods but doesn't seem to believe him. "I've got you, old boy," Roger tells me as he holds me closer to his chest. I whine feeling the same fear as when I was a pup. I want this man to go, I want to stay here and not have any one hurt my family.

"We'll have to do the treatment under sedation," the man says and I see the concern in Roger's eyes but he nods and just continues to hold me in his arms. I feel that I've done something wrong but Roger has rarely called me a bad dog before.

…

…

"Mother," Penny asks me as she looks up from her food dish, Patch and Lucky are play fighting outside and running around in circles, sometimes Penny joins them but usually she's more thoughtful and observing a flower or a cloud or something like that. I don't know what to tell her but I heard that a vet has come to check Pongo's injury. He was shot. He was shot defending his pet and it's amazing that he was able to survive. I am worried about him though, he doesn't seem to be the same. "Mother, when will Father be joining us?"

"When his wound is better, I expect," I reply to her although I ask myself the same question. They were thinking that he would die but the mate that I chose is stronger than that, he's stronger than all of them. That is how he is still living right now.

"When will that be," Penny asks and I hear the sound of an angry bark and the snapping of teeth. I share a concerned glance with my daughter.

"Wait here," I tell her and move over to look into the room where Pongo is. The humans aren't paying attention to me which is the good thing. I freeze as I watch Pongo violently snarl at the vet who is here to treat his wound. The barks are low and are warnings that he better not come near him or he will get hurt. I hear the same noises coming from Pongo as from the awful attack dogs that I've met.

Even his facial expression isn't that of the noble dog whom I feel head over paws in love with. He's scared and I feel as if he's going to bite the new man if he does approach. I want to come over to them, put myself in front of Pongo but Roger takes him into his arms hoping to comfort him.

I sigh although my heart is breaking. That is really what you want to see from your pet. Complete loyalty and unconditional love. I just hope Pongo's mind doesn't get worse. I don't know what I'd do if I lost his bravery but most importantly, I don't know how to survive without his unwavering kindness and his love for all of us.

End of Chapter Two

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