Chapter 32: Imperfectly Normal

Laying his head down once again on his corgi paws, Felix sighed heavily. Exhaustedly, he looked around the room as the others -his fellow animals and even the humans- were acting as if everything was perfectly normal.

And to an extent, everything was. The usual loyal 'customers' were making their usual rounds in the pet shop- patrons who never actually adopted an animal but always loved to come into the local pet shop and play with the animals nonetheless. Gene, being an 'adorable' favorite to these regular guests, was soaking up the love as usual with a smirk planted firmly on his squished up face.

A few actual customers were getting their large bags of dog food, cat food, hamster food, and practically any other kind of animal food. Normal mishaps of accidental animal food spilling were happening here and there, along with the usual quick clean up from the more-than-eager-to-help dogs who acted like vacuum cleaners and immediately rushed over to eat up the food.

Yes, everything appeared to be per the norm.

But, in his little anxious corgi mind, Felix knew everything was far from normal.

He nervously eyed Mr.Litwak's teenage niece, Stefanie, who was manning the ship at the cash register- as she usually did while her uncle was busy out and about. Usually, Felix was ecstatic when the girl would step in and help his owner; he was often found running over to her throughout the day and wagging his little stubby tail happily...

And even when she'd have one of her 'episodes', as she called them, the sympathetic corgi was always right by Stefaine's side, giving her gentle licks that calmed the girl ever so slightly...

As would Ralph...

But today, things were just different.

It honestly felt raw and slightly unsettling to see the young teenager helping take care of the customers instead of it being Mr.Litwak. Abnormal...strange...

Weird- something Felix didn't fancy all too much.

Maybe it was the reason why she was here that upset the corgi so much- because she was here while her uncle was out, trying to find... well...

Instantly washed over with guilt for the millionth time that morning, Felix gulped and forced his mind to trail off. He was thankful for the distracting sound of dog food accidentally spilling out all over the floor yet again.

As he forced himself up onto his paws and grudging over to help vacuum up the mess, Felix' ears twitched slightly when they picked up on a conversation taken place in the bustling petshop.

Able to hone in on the chat, the pooch winced- recognizing that it was a discussion that had already taken place several times that morning. It was as if the conversation was taken place again and again just so it could be replayed for his mere torment, adding yet another layer of guilt.

"Hey, kiddo," a man began as Stefanie placed some extra change in his hand from the cash register. "Where that big 'ole guard dog that usually out front all the time?"

Guard dog...

"Oh, Ralph?" The girl answered him with shrug. "He apparently ran off last night and Uncle Litwak went out to find him."

Ralph...

Ran off...

The man shoved the change into his pocket and whistled in empathy.

"Aw man, what a bummer. He's such a good guard dog," he mused as he waved at the young teenager before departing out the door, his bag of cat food in his arms. "Sure hope he turns up from being missing soon!"

Missin'...

More like purposely missin'...like going-Turbo kind of missin'...

At his thoughts, Felix felt his corgi ears flatten even more against his head, sighing in shame. He couldn't even continue eating up the spilled dog food before moping off back to his little dog bed to sulk.

The guilt he felt, the pain in his gut... The overwhelming fear and remorse and frustration...

The corgi could only hope it would go away soon and not become a normal part of his life.

-O-O-O-O-O-

Felix was still moping around when Mr.Litwak came back in through the door of his pet shop an hour or so later... and he practically wilted even more when he saw his owner was once again with an empty leash.

"Still didn't find him, huh?" Stefanie asked disheartedly as she helped a little girl reach up and grab a hamster water dish that was on sale.

Her uncle shook his head despondently, a nervous, saddened look on his face.

"Nope, not yet," he answered her tiredly as he hung Ralph's worn out leash back up on a hook by the door- right where it belonged. "I looked everywhere for him. Where on earth could he be?"

The man shook his head and eyed where the infamous doggy door hole once was- now a makeshift patch over it. He sighed and came to lean against the countertop Stefanie now stood behind.

"I still just don't understand why Ralph would run off permanently like that, anyway," he muttered, more to himself than to his niece. "He has never done that before. Sure, he probably wanders off during night, but he's always right by the door in the morning..."

Still in his place on his bed, Felix gulped, feeling more numb by the second.

"It's almost like something happened to him...," Mr.Litwak wondered out loud, scratching his balding head in slight confusion and worry. "Like he just disappeared or something. .."

At his owner's words, the shiny collar Felix wore now felt like it was about to strangle him. It was once something he was so proud of- but now he wanted nothing more than for it to just be gone.

Snorting slightly, Stefanie helped check out the little girl's hamster bowl.

"It's kinda hard for a dog Ralph's size to just disappear, Uncle Litwak," the teen pointed out with a shrug. "Someone could spot him a mile away."

Her uncle waved half-heartedly as the little girl and her mother excitedly left the pet shop seconds later.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," he nodded in agreement. "And it's not like someone could just pick up up a dog that size on the side of the road to take home, either."

In response, Stefanie adjusted her large pink glasses up on her nose and chuckled.

"I doubt anyone would want to do that anyways, though. Most people take one look at Ralph and run the other way..." she mentioned before her smirk fell a bit. "They don't realize how much of a gentle giant he really is..."

Shaking her head to clear it of sad thoughts filling it, the teen eyed where Felix miserably laid.

"But that little pooch someone would take in a heartbeat," she joked as she motioned her head down at the corgi. "Felix is such a good boy..."

Looking over at the mascot of his pet shop, Mr.Litwak saw his little corgi laid shaking. His half-lidded, mournful eyes emptily stared at the floor in front of him, causing concern to his owner.

"Speaking of Felix," Stefanie continued as her uncle walked over to where the pooch laid, "he hasn't been himself at all today, Uncle Litwak. He hasn't wanted to play or eat much. He's just been laying around pretty much all day."

As he scooped him up, Mr.Litwak found Felix' normally happy, relaxed, wiggly body was now fairly still and stiff at being picked up. His ears hung down and his eyes stayed unhappy and dark as he shook.

"In fact," the blond girl continued, her voice more filled with worry by the moment, "when I thought I was about to have an episode, he was no where to be seen."

Biting his lip, Mr.Litwak remained silent for a moment- although his eyes revealed he was clearly worried as well.

"You don't think... he's getting sick, do ya, Uncle Litwak?" Stefanie finally asked, her voice weak and wobbly.

She couldn't bear the thought losing two dogs she loved so much...

The man across from her found his eyes softening instantly- and he couldn't even help but chuckle at his niece's concern.

"Nah," he affectionately assured her as he gently ruffled the pup's head- although a hint of worry seemed to linger in his voice. "He was acting like this when I came in first thing this morning. I bet he just realizes Ralph's gone and doesn't know what to think about it all."

'Realizes Ralph's gone'? The corgi thought in absolute agony. I'm one of the very reasons why he went Turbo!

"Hey, I know what'll make you feel better, Felix," Stefanie suddenly brightened, fishing around in a small cubby underneath the front desk- before pulling a bright blue, brand new collar. With happy, shiny tags hanging on the side...

Made especially for a now horrified, gulping Felix.

"Here you go, boy. Your brand new collar," the teenager cooed as she unclipped the corgi's old collar and set it aside. Gently, she clipped the new one around his neck, it's shiny tags nearly blinding the guilty corgi's eyes.

Instead of wiggling happily at the sight of his new collar as he done in times past, Felix seemed to wilt even more. He had completely forgot about getting his new collar- and maybe even semi-forced himself to pretend like he wasn't getting it the first place. It had been part of the reason why Ralph left in the first place, after all...

As he wretchedly stretched his neck a little in order to get more adjusted to the new collar, Felix sighed miserably. He didn't know if it was just his guilty conscience stabbing at him again or not, but this new collar felt way too restrictive around his neck, feeling like it was going to choke him to death.

aanum"What's wrong, Felix?" Mr.Litwak ask softly, holding the uncomfortable corgi up a little. He wiggled his corgi's collar around a bit, making sure himself that it wasn't too tight on the small dog's neck. "You don't like your new collar?"

His blue eyes screaming out the answer more than he ever could, the corgi gulped and just shook slightly.

"Yeah, I bet you're right," Stefanie suddenly mused as she reached over and patted the obviously depressed dog's head. "I bet Felix is just very troubled that Ralph is gone. It really does feel weird not having a guard dog out front. It makes the pet shop feel..."

Unsafe? At risk? Felix whimpered in his head, eyeing her in fear.

"...Empty, somehow?" Mr.Litwak finished for Stefanie, earning a solemn nod from her. "Yeah, having a great animal missing from your life can do that to ya."

Despite still being worried, the man suddenly smirked, eyeing his niece with light, joking eyes.

"That's why I still can't believe you don't have a pet of your own, Stef," he joked, preaching over to gently ruffle her blond hair. "Especially something like a service dog."

The teen returned the smirk with an eye roll and pushed his hand away, a little taken back by the change of conversation. It was one that she had often with her fellow animal-loving and gentle uncle, who always teased her about not having a pet of her own- especially since she may very well needed a trained animal around.

Normally, the discussion would slightly annoy the girl... but today, both her and a silent Felix were happy for the sudden, light-hearted shift in conversation.

"Yeah, well, I'm still waiting for that one perfect animal to come along to adopt," Stefanie answered her uncle, scooping Felix from his arms to rub noses with the corgi. "You just haven't brought them into this pet shop!"