Chapter 5: Bad-Dog Affirmation

"Listen, Ralph," Clyde sighed as he turned to face the now completely exasperated mastiff. "We all get where you're coming from, regardless if we feel the same way or not. Trust me, we all want to be called good dogs, too..."

Already shaking his head dismissively as he tuned the terrier out, Ralph hiddenly rolled his eyes- annoyed that not one dog saw things from his perspective.

"...But the point is, we can't change who we are, or who our DNA decides we are," the small dog told him softly, Ralph's ears picking up the tail end of his words. "And the sooner you accept that, the better off your role as a bad dog- and your life in general- will be."

The other animals at the meeting nodded solemnly in agreement, all accepting Clyde's words as they were- all except a certain, still scornful bull mastiff.

"Take it one day at time, Ralph," Zangief advised kindly, nodding at Ralph with semi-understanding eyes. "Is going get better."

At his wise, calm words, Ralph just wordlessly and stubbornly shook his head. Obviously irritated, he allowed their advice to go floating into one ear and quickly out the other.

I knew it, he thought to himself bitterly- the hollow pain in his chest rising. These mutts will never understand what I mean or really get what it's like...what it feels like...

Somehow ignoring Ralph's obviously sour demeanor, Clyde looked around at the fellow mutts and gave an affirming nod to them.

"Alright, gang," he concluded softly, "let's close out with the Bad-Dog Affirmation."

I thought they'd understand, Ralph continued to think irately as he and the others robotically stood up. He numbly followed in suit as the others around him gathered more tightly into their makeshift circle. How stupid was I to think something like that?

With closed eyes and with bowed heads, the bad dogs -from the smallest of chihuahuas to largest of rottweilers- began the affirmation they'd been saying for years on end now...

And one that they almost all believed with everything they had.

"I'm bad- and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be...than me," the dogs chimed out heartily...

All except Ralph, who just listened with dark eyes- and an empty and embittered heart.