A Story for Dogs
It had struck Jamie that his human could not see what he was going through. The child and his parents had loved Jamie, that beloved golden retriever for many years. Mr and Mrs. Davidson had loved and cared for that animal but their thirteen-year-old son due primarily to his love of video games and cartoons at the expense of everything else. When he was thoroughly engrossed in the world of pixels, Frank had an unfortunate tendency to forget about the rest of the world, including the dog's existence. This current situation would definitely qualify as one of those times.
"Now Frank, we're going to be away from you for a meeting for just a few hours. And that means that you must keep track of Jamie. And remember he can't hear," his parents would say but the boy's mind was like a sieve. He was playing a video game at the time and glossed over the part that said that Jamie must be taken care of. So in the hot Arizona sun, Frank oblivious to all but the images on the screen left the dog outside. After five minutes to relieve himself, Jamie needed to go back in feelings pangs of discomfort from the hot sun. He scratched, which was his only way of getting his human to answer the door but that was not going to work. So enthralled was Frank with his television program that even if the Second Coming of Christ should happen that very day, with trumpets of joy and a procession of the righteous, Frank would have never even lifted an eyebrow from that screen.
The heat was oppressive, as it always is in Phoenix and that Jamie had a fur coat did not really help matters at all. The retriever desperately needed to get inside, a desperation which grew stronger and louder each minute but lacking the opposable thumbs to open the door, he could only hope to find what little shade remained in that backyard. Barking and scratching were just no match for the racket from the television of that young boy's bedroom. Not that Jamie would have known that- as a result of his old age he was now stone-deaf in both ears
ﾃ｢竄ｬﾋ廛amn that television and damn those games. If only there was a way to make him know that I am suffering from this heat' the sun-baked dog thought to himself as he lay under the shady awning which even though it did provide some shelter from the sun, was still much too hot for Jamie, or anyone else for that matter. He would lie on the cement of that veranda which though sheltered from the sun still was rather hot and cry and whimper for someone, anyone to let him inside from the heat. How many times would Jamie lick the child and play fetch with him and frolic and be a good dog for him? And this was his repayment- being neglected out on this hot September day, because Frank simply preferred the company of television to a flesh-and-blood companion? Before this day, Jamie and Frank were friends, as close as a dog and his human could be- both would have gladly laid down their lives for the protection of the other but this... this was a betrayal. How could Jamie have ever trusted Frank after this? Jamie had never thought much about mortality- dogs do not occupy on such things as humans often do but he realized he could very easily die in this heat, a victim of the heat and an inattentive human.
The dog was crying incessantly and nothing seemed to work- he cried like he had never cried before- hoping for liberation from this blistering day but nothing would work. Jamie was in desperate need for attention and salvation but his desires would not be met. The thanatophobia had set in- ﾃ｢竄ｬﾋ彗m I actually going to die in this heat?' as Jamie panted and then, when the heat had taken its toll on him completely exhausted, he fainted out on the concrete of the veranda. Would anyone save the golden retriever?
Jamie thought back (or maybe he dreamed but in that heat and with that sunstroke it was hard for him to tell) to all those times when the two trusted each other. He would play fetch, all the times he chewed those doggie toys, all the times he would swim in Lake Havasu, running through sprinklers... wait, sprinklers. The sound was so real and the feeling of wet coolness on the dog's body was too real to be a dream. Miracle of miracles, the sprinklers had been set off to go and they had succeeded in revitalizing the dog from death's door. And as he looked up through the glass in the door, he saw Frank get up and amble slowly towards the kitchen before he ran to the door. He had remembered his dog and Jamie would be saved from this heat, after all. He might not be the world's best dog owner but in the end, he had come just in time to save his friend. Frank could be trusted after all. Maybe this love and trust was warranted.
"Iﾃ｢竄ｬﾋ徇 so sorry! I left you outside and then I completely forgot about you", Frank said, wrapping himself around his canine friend, before preparing a bowl of water and a plate of dried kibble after that ordeal in the desert heat. The home was nice and cool with a strong air conditioning unit and the dog knew he was safe even though he could not hear anything the boy was saying for his deafness. Jamie was safe and that was all that mattered.
With thanks to the work of Sub Level 03.