Chapter 30: A Debate Of The Soul! Can Dogs Truly Feel Sad?


Alex was back at the carnivore dorms, heading to room 701. It was more like a suite than a room, to be exact. Collot had brought his TV and DVD system from his home, and something about the canines at room 701 always brought a smile to Alex's face.

It wasn't just Legosi there that made Alex happy. In the time since he and Legosi had agreed to work together on the investigation, Alex had begun forming bonds with all of the canines there. Voss, Miguno, Durham, and Collot had gladly accepted Alex as a new member of their pack.

Alex had never been much of a pack mentality kind of wolf, but for some reason he felt happy when Collot and the others yelled that he was a member of their pack now. The only one of the 701 boys that Alex hadn't really connected with was Jack.

The Labrador retriever always was a little distant with him. Alex thought that might be because Jack resented him for taking his best friend away from him.

Right now, Jack and Legosi were out on the balcony staring at the moon. At least that's what Alex thought they were doing, as he was looking through his notes on the investigation. All of a sudden, he heard Legosi clearing his throat. Alex looked up from his notes and saw Legosi staring at Alex. Something was troubling the gray wolf.

"What's wrong, Legosi?" Alex asked worriedly.

"Alex, I need your help. It's Jack," Legosi told him.

Alex was mystified. Legosi was Jack's best friend, yet Legosi was turning to Alex for help? "Jack? He's your best friend, not mine," Alex curiously said.

"I know, but… This is the kind of problem that you have more experience with. It's um, an emotions problem," Legosi explained.

Alex nodded. "Tell me," Alex insisted.

"Jack's been having trouble feeling sad or something. I was a little confused by what he was saying… I think you have the best chance of helping him solve this problem," Legosi replied.

Alex walked to the balcony and saw Jack staring at the moon. "Legosi tells me you've been feeling sad lately, Jack. What seems to be the problem?" Alex asked.

Jack sighed, his tail drooping. "It's not that I'm feeling sad, it's the fact that I can't feel sad," Jack elaborated. Alex was intrigued. "What do you mean, you can't feel sad?" the wolf wondered, his curiosity piqued. "You probably know this already, but dogs weren't naturally created. They were-" Jack began.

"Created, due to the result of breeding after the predator/prey war about two hundred and fifty years ago," Alex interrupted. Jack looked a little taken aback.

"You know the real history of the world? Only the top students in the special class are taught this stuff!" Jack gasped.

Alex frowned. "In Zootopia, we don't create fake history. We accept history for how it is," Alex replied. Alex wasn't too surprised that Cherryton Academy only taught the full history of the world to the smartest animals in the school.

Although the information was easily accessible to those who looked for it, and it was offered as an elective course in most colleges, Alex understood why Cherryton omitted certain parts of history from the standard courses. The information taught in the full history class was not for the underdeveloped mind. It was serious business, and sometimes it was better to keep certain things out of the public, like how the Lionheart administration had tried to keep the Night Howler incidents under wraps.

Jack nodded, absorbing that information. "Well, you see… dogs were bred with specific purposes in mind. We're meant to be smarter than most animals, but… it's like we're robots, made only to accomplish whatever task is given to us," Jack explained. Alex's head bobbed up and down, motioning for the Labrador retriever to continue.

"That's not the worst part of being a dog, though. The worst part of being a dog is that we can't feel sad," Jack sorrowfully said.

Alex was shocked by this idea. "Dogs can't feel sad?!" Alex repeated.

Jack abashedly nodded his head. "We can't feel sad, and we can't cry. We can't hate anyone either," Jack sadly continued. He brought out an onion that he had kept in his pocket, and Alex was horrified at the sight.

Consuming an onion was basically the equivalent of eating cyanide for a canine animal. He snatched the onion away from him and tossed it out into the streets. "What the hell are you carrying onions with you for?!" Alex scolded.

"Because I like cutting them! They make me cry, and they're the only way I can really feel sad!" Jack cried out.

"Who told you that dogs can't feel sad?! Because you're acting awfully sad right now!" Alex growled. This gave Jack pause. If he couldn't feel sad, then why did he feel like crying? He knew he couldn't actually cry without the help of onions, due to his biology. But it didn't stop his emotions from wanting to cry.

"Can I feel sad?" Jack thought out loud.

Alex put a paw on Jack's shoulder, causing the labrador to turn and face Alex. The wolf stared into Jack's eyes, and the yellow dog felt as if the white wolf was peering into his soul. "Your species of animal doesn't deprive you of your right to happiness… or sadness for that matter. Jack, I'm going to prove to you that you can feel sad," Alex told the dog.

Jack was intrigued by Alex's statement, staring at the older wolf with curiosity in his eyes. "How are you going to prove that?" the puppy wondered.

"By asking you a series of questions," Alex answered. Jack straightened up, curious to know what sorts of questions Alex would ask.

"First question. Legosi told me that his pet beetle died a couple of days ago, while he and I were out saving Haru. Is this true?" Alex began. Jack was confused by the question. "Yes, Kabu died a few days ago. But how does that question pertain to me being sad?" Jack pondered.

"I'll get to that after we finish. Next question. Now, how did you feel when you found out that Kabu passed on?" Alex continued. Jack contemplated this for a minute before giving a response.

"I was pretty bummed out. Legosi really cared for that beetle. He's so compassionate about bugs. He's got a special connection with insects, it's almost as if they listen to him," Jack answered.

Alex took that in for a few seconds before continuing. "Good, good. Now, I know for a fact that you and Legosi have known each other since you were kids. Were you Legosi's friend when his mother died?" Alex resumed.

Jack got a little uncomfortable. It was almost like Alex was grilling him for information. He remembered when Leano (Legosi's mom) had died and the cops had come to Legosi's house. They asked Jack a ton of questions, trying to be gentle, but were insensitive.

Alex was like that, only he was a lot more gentle and kind with his questioning. He had a sneaking suspicion that Alex was a cop. Ever since he had met the white wolf, Jack knew there was something off about him. His suspicions had only deepened when Legosi had told the labrador about how Alex had a Night Howler antidote.

And the way Alex carried himself didn't match with behavior normal for most wolves his supposed age. Alex acted like a fully mature adult wolf, and Jack wasn't too convinced that this demeanor was simply because Alex had grown up as a homeless kid on the streets of Zootopia.

"Jack? Hey Jack! Please answer me," Alex called out, breaking Jack's train of thought.

"Sorry!" Jack apologized before returning to the question. "I was heartbroken when I found out that Legosi's mom had passed away. I felt really sorry for Legosi too," Jack said.

Alex clapped his paws together. "That right here is proof that you can feel sad. Leano's death, Kabu's death… and the fact that you're so upset about the idea of not being able to cry. Crying does not equate sadness, you see, although they are linked together. You don't have to cry in order to feel sad, and you don't have to feel sad in order to cry." Alex told Jack.

Jack gasped. Alex was right! He didn't have to be able to cry in order to feel sad! His tail started to wag happily. "Thanks, Alex. You were a big help," Jack thanked the white wolf, before tackling him in a hug. Alex smiled. The labrador pup was back to his usual happy, cheery, and bubbly self.

"You're welcome, Jack. Maybe we can be friends," Alex replied.

"Of course we can be friends!" Jack giggled, hugging Alex tighter.

Legosi watched the two of them embracing each other like old friends, and smiled. Now, all of the 701 canines were truly a pack together. For the first time ever in his life, Legosi was compelled to howl at the moon. This astonished Jack, as he had never heard Legosi howl in all of the years that the labrador had known him. "Alex… Legosi… I'm glad the two of you are my ancestors," Jack thought to himself.


Sheila makes a call to her father about a certain animal that she's fallen in love with, after some encouragement and supporting words from Alex. Next time, on BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 31: Calling Clawhauser! Cats And Dogs CAN Get Along!