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A Night at the County Fair (Part I)

By Shalion

It was an amazing whirl of colored lights. Music, the chimes and bells and whistles of games, laughter and screams filled the night and brought life to things overpriced and typically of low quality. Mechanical arms turned, lights buzzed, coasters raced, popcorn spilled and goldfish swam round and round in tiny cups while having ping-pong balls launched inexpertly at them. It was the once-in-a-lifetime experience that happened only once a year. It was the county fair.

Rascal dug feverishly at the hard, oil-stained dirt at the base of the chain-link fence. Despite the cover of dark, he lifted his head every so often to check for anyone who might stop him and then he resumed digging. No one was going to keep him from this, not this year...

Coughing for the terrible smell of the polluted soil, Rascal's long, bushy black and white tail waved back and forth when he thought the hole was finally big enough. Then he got down on his elbows and scrambled for all he was worth. The bottom of the chain-link fence tore at his back, but he forced his way through, his thick coat of fur and loose skin protecting him from the metal points. With a final tug, the fence gave way over his hindquarters with a snap that sent the whole fence shaking. He was in.

As the two-year old border collie breathed in the smells of the fair, he realized that this was going to be even better than he'd been anticipating during the last few months. Last year seemed like a lifetime ago and the young canine had learned a lot since then. This year, he'd scheduled his departure on Aunt Lista's birthday when he knew that the family was going to be out all night. Jumping the front yard fence, running the mile-long trek across the corn field separating Rascal's suburban complex from the county fair and then digging the hole into the fairgrounds themselves was all much easier since he'd filled out his previously skinny yearling frame with sleek new muscle. Now, as the smell of grease, batter and sizzling meat suffused his nostrils, he was wise enough not to tear off down the fairway and get himself caught like last year. Hunching his shoulder, Rascal slunk forward into shadows between the stalls.

The cable strewn alley between the stalls was the veritable haven he had imagined it would be. Set up and then forgotten, the shadowy confines would have been cramped for a human, but were just the right size for the 45 lb dog. Within three minutes, Rascal had found a discarded corn dog shell. A half full carton of popcorn went well with a large blob of ketchup left on the concrete floor below the dispenser. The lights and smells were almost enough for Rascal to lose his cool, however, as he discovered the hard way the first time he heard a balloon explode from a nearby game where small humans shot water into the decapitated heads of larger humans.

It was as if a bomb had gone off, the sudden bang made Rascal embarrassingly wet himself a little and he tore off away from the explosion. One second, he was in the comfortable shadows between a ball pitching game with stacked milk bottles and a mini-doughnut shack, the next he was fully exposed amid a torrent of human legs and flashing lights. People immediately noticed him and though he wasn't a very large breed, mothers grabbed their small children away and voices rose as fingers pointed to the small form of Rascal with his tail between his legs. The border collie dove for cover on the other side of the fairway and a woman shouted, "Hey, there's a dog!" Rascal's heart pounded faster and his stomach sank as behind the next row of concession stands was not a safe, dark corridor, but a well lit picnic area. Changing direction, he fled behind a large outdoor air-conditioning unit next to a stand just as a few humans in striped clothing and white painted faces stepped around the stall.

Panting, and chest heaving, Rascal cowered behind the unit as the horribly colorful men looked about the tables. "Ah, he could be anywhere by now. Let's get back to the ring Paul, I feel ridiculous out here..." When the men left, Rascal slumped in relief, but soon found that he had stumbled across a treasure trove.

Each table concealed a secret goldmine of discarded food. There were potato chips, globs of chili, melted ice cream and half full cups of soda galore. Rascal had more curly fries than he had ever had in his entire life. Twice, he found a whole, untouched corn dog. However, as he lay under a table, gnawing on a roasted corn cob, a family came and sat down. Rascal scooted away from the feet, but he overheard an interesting conversation. A female voice said, "Honey, why did you get that?"

"What?" asked a male voice innocently.

"You know what. That's so gross; it's got to have a million Calories."

Laughing the male voice replied, "Fried bacon does not have a million Calories. Besides it's the fair."

"Being at the fair is not an excuse to eat like a pig." chided the female.

"I haven't even gotten anything to eat yet!"

"You know what I mean."

"Well what do you want me to do with it?" said the male voice incredulously.

"Toss it."

"Come on, that's a waste of money." pleaded the man of the family.

"You should set a good example for the children. Toss it."

Grumbling the male human did as the Alpha-female commanded, however, he simply tossed the food away over his shoulder and it bounced off the rim of the nearby garbage can. Rascal's nose followed its trajectory as it flew by and landed in the grass. After the family left, the border collie crept forward. The lumpy fried clumps on a wooden stick smelled deliciously familiar and yet totally new at the same time. 'Deep Fried Bacon?!' thought Rascal with zeal; he would have never thought to take his very favorite food - other than straight butter - and batter and deep fry it, but suddenly, it seemed like the best idea in the world. Putting a paw on the stick and ripping off a greasy clump with his teeth, Rascal was immediately met with the canine version of nirvana. The world seemed to stop as his senses were overloaded with the fat-filled, oily, bacony goodness. Rascal pressed the lump to the roof of his mouth and the grease seemed to fill his mouth at the same time as that salty, savory, meaty and slightly sweet flavor overrode all his other sensory intake aside from the smell of the bacon and the batter. The rubbery texture of the bacon didn't matter, Rascal chewed and chewed, savoring every moment of it, every moment of Deep Fried Bacon. The border collie couldn't get the rest of the fatty lumps off the stick fast enough.

For a long while Rascal lay in a daze, his corn cob utterly forgotten as he methodically licked every trace of grease from his white paws. He had to concede now forever that humans were indeed the superior species. Whoever could think of Deep Fried Bacon was indeed a god. However, the border collie was in for an even bigger shock later that evening as he finally wandered out of the picnic area and back to the food stands.

His belly literally bulging for all of the fair food he had found that evening, Rascal was no longer settling for corn dog shells or ketchup stains. He was a dog on a mission now. It was about 9:30 pm and he had been shadowing a likely target for the past fifteen minutes since she left the dessert stand with her parents. She was a five year old girl with chocolate smeared over half her face and she held hands with her parents as they made their way to a small stage to watch a band play. However, Rascal's target was not the girl per say, but the deep fried confection in her chubby little hand. 'Deep fried Twinkie with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream...' Rascal's mouth watered at the thought, but he waited for the opportune moment. It came when the little girl set the almost untouched treat onto the empty seat next to her. The border collie's legs were pumping before he actively decided to strike. He kept his body low to the ground and under the seats whenever possible. Snaking his head around the forward lip of the seat, Rascal seized the creamy confection in his teeth and darted away. He was behind the speakers and licking his chops clean of whipped cream by the time the crying of a small human brat reached his ears.

Rascal tried not only deep fried Twinkies that evening, but deep fried Oreos and deep fried Snickers as well. He found a deep fried pickle smothered in chocolate once, but that was too much even for him and he left it untouched by the side of the garbage. By 10:45, Rascal was sure he'd seen pretty much everything the world had to offer, but then he found a very special food stand. It was the only one in the park and it only had one person in front of it. Rascal, whose stomach was not feeling too hot by now, would have passed it by if he hadn't heard the magical words.

"...fried butter?" Rascal's ears turned and he crept around the side of the stall to eavesdrop.

"Yeah." said the vendor. "We freeze a cube of butter on a wooden stick, dip it in batter and flash fry it."

"Uh-huh..." said the man unsurely, "Is it any good?"

"I think it is." And then the vendor leaned forward, "Here, if you buy one, I'll give it to you half price."

"Umm... Alright sure. Gimme one." said the man. Rascal's nose lifted in wonder as he detected the unmistakable odor of fresh butter and then heard the hiss of the fryer. The sides of his mouth were stained as the saliva refused to be contained. 'Fried Butter! FRIED BUTTER!! These humans are insane, how is that even possible?!' But it was possible, and more than that, it was reality as humans continued to push the boundaries of fair food technology. Rascal simply couldn't sit still as his favorite treat was combined with the ultimate food preparation technique that could make anything taste good. Luckily there was hardly anyone about the stand to see the border collie almost dancing on his paws. The man took the fried butter on a stick from the vendor and cautiously took a bite. "Ugh... Oh, god, that's disgusting. I can't believe I bought that." And the heretical human tossed away the golden battered gift from heaven. Rascal, however saved it from being defiled by the ground, catching it in midair and darting away. "Hey, was that a dog?"

Later, Rascal realized he had not known pleasure until he had tasted deep fried butter. Looking like a giant fish stick on the outside, on the inside was divine pleasure as the batter, fried in grease was saturated from the inside by the melting butter. The core was still firm and buttery, but the flavor was altered somehow by the frying process. It was like nothing Rascal had ever tasted, it was a completely new food category. The experience was all too brief.

Rascal chewed on the end of the stick as he explored where he now found himself. He was on the far side of the fair now, having dashed away to the first dark place he saw to eat his secret treasure in privacy. Instead of the smell of grease and soda, the odor of manure perfumed the air. There were animals all about in pens, most of kinds Rascal had never seen before. A huge animal that was black and white like himself towered even over the humans brushing its short coat. It chewed grass and had a very large belly with a simply enormous pink, fleshy sac dangling between its hind legs. There were other grass eaters that were the same size as Rascal and numerous small animals in cages on tables, each with a slip of paper in front of it. Humans came by in lines and seemed to examine the strange creatures, while children ran about and pet the noses and coats of every animal big and small. There was less cover here, but nobody seemed to pay Rascal any mind as he wandered about, stepping carefully over a stream of urine or a pile of dung here and there. One human child, a boy in blue overalls whose head hardly came up to the border collie's shoulder, even grabbed his tail once with an exclamation of "Doggy!"

Rascal pulled his tail forcefully away and managed to escape before the child crinkled up his face and started bawling. Following more cables on the ground brought the border collie to a fairly enclosed space where he could rest a bit. He stayed there for several minutes because his stomach had started gurgling oddly. Rascal banged his chest with a paw as he felt a burning sensation in his chest, but felt better after a nice big belch. Patting his belly, Rascal was surprised at how much he had eaten and felt the reverse in the curvature of his previously trim and flat stomach. Rather than feeling horrified, however, the young dog felt rather a sense of accomplishment, in the whole of his life up until today he'd never eaten this much good food. Coming to the fair tonight had been such a good idea!

Peeking out beneath the floor level curtain of his tiny hiding place, Rascal saw several stands that were different from any of the ones he'd seen before. For starters, the stands were widely spaced and most had a large trailer attached. Outside each stall were signs with letters big enough for even Rascal to understand. They read things like: "World's Smallest Horse!" and "World's Largest Alligator!" or "World's Heaviest Bull!"

Rascal was stuck by a large wooden frame depicting a border collie. The sign next to it read: "World's Fattest Dog!" Rascal's ears cocked back in surprise and interest and he knew immediately that he had to meet the world's fattest dog.

Now Rascal hadn't met very many other dogs in his two years of life, but he had a sense that he was a little different. He wasn't neutered - Thank Goodness! - but when his nose had led him to bitches in heat in the past - well, it was just the one, but it only took once to figure it out - the young, randy border collie failed to proceed once he'd actually found her. She had been young, feisty, and eager for a little naughty fun. The sight of her lean muscled body and bouncing tail had not elicited in him the sort of reaction that Rascal had been expecting, however, and at once he'd known that he needed a bitch with much more substantial assets. He'd been chased away by the jealous owner of the dog for his trouble anyways and forever more he was scorned by the hussy dog and made fun of by her friends.

Rascal made his way carefully across the path when the passing humans' backs were turned. Cut into the large wood sign was an opening which led into a curtain lined passage. Although Rascal would have been shooed away if he'd been spotted, he got around this by simply slipping between the curtains on the far side from the entryway. Visitors were made to turn right upon entering and then walk up a small set of stairs. From a raised patio, onlookers then observed the "world's fattest dog" in a pit in the middle of the patio before walking down another set of steps back into the fair. Rascal walked in right at the steps and cautiously climbed, keeping his head low. At the top, he realized he didn't need to be so cautious as no one was visiting the "world's fattest dog" at the moment. Crawling forward almost on his belly, Rascal's heart pounded with anticipation as he approached the metal hand bars which kept humans from falling into the pit set in the raised floor. 'Please, oh, please let it be a girl...' He wished fervently, he really needed to know for sure that this was what he liked. Looking over the edge, his worries were immediately set at ease by the captivating sight.

Sinking his chin to the wooden lip, Rascal observed a phenomenally obese border collie reclining in a large padded bed surrounded by fluffy stuffed animals. She had a lot more white on her than Rascal, who was completely black save for his "socks," chest, and throat. Black lumpy shoulders seemed to devour the upper portion of the dog's front legs while supporting a magnificent white collar which traversed all the way around her neck from her "collarbone" to the base of her skull. The collie had three white socks, though they reached to the elbow rather than the ankle. Rascal was not sure about the fourth leg because he couldn't see it in the position the dog was lying for its gargantuan belly. Huge, distended and pink, the thick, dark nipples lining the dog's abdomen gave away her gender before he was able to catch her scent. Lying on her side, the dog's belly unbelievably came down past her knees. She seemed to be sound asleep, but Rascal thought he could have watched her breathing deeply and evenly forever. He noticed that her collar was, in fact, two collars attached end-to-end, which wasn't surprising since surely no normal collar could have encircled the girth of her neck which Rascal imagined was greater around than his waist; well greater around than his waist was before he'd gorged himself on fair food. Oddly, the female collie wore a large earring in one floppy ear and a similar piece hung from her collar along with her tags.

Steps on the stairs interrupted Rascal's reverie. "Hey! Gi'outta 'ere mutt!" Rascal yelped as something heavy struck him on his bottom and he leapt from the platform and into the dark surrounding the exhibit. He didn't go far, however, he wasn't done with the "world's fattest dog" just yet.

Seeing a dog like that made Rascal feel like he'd never felt before. That was the spark he'd been missing all through his adolescence. He now understood longing and a male's hunger. He couldn't leave without speaking to that huge, fattened female or he'd regret it for the rest of his life. He didn't go up the stairs this time, besides, he could see from a distance the owner of the exhibit's head observing the raised platform surrounding the fattened collie. This time, he snuck under the patio itself. It was a little tricky finding a slot in the wood that he could squeeze himself through, and it was even trickier trying to get his stuffed belly past the narrow opening when he did. Light came through the gaps between the boards overhead as the collie crawled forward, ducking here and there under diagonal support beams. When he got to the fat collie's pit, he saw that what had looked like a solid wall from overhead was actually only wood planks with wall paper on the interior. Rascal made his way to the side where he estimated the female's bed to have been and held his breath.

Taking a deep gout of cleansing air, the border collie steeled himself. He wasn't going to make a fool of himself this time. The thought that they were just going to talk helped calm the young dog as well. She shouldn't be expecting anything from him. It'd be enough if she just talked back. Rascal scratched at the wood and waited...

Nothing happened. Rascal tried scratching more vigorously and this time he heard something heavy stir on the other side of the thin wall. There was a soft tap and Rascal thought that a paw was placed against the other side of the wall. He scratched again. "Is... is someone there?" asked a throaty, but unmistakably female voice.

Rascal could hardly contain his glee, there was a huge female just inches away on the other side of this wall. "Uh... Y-yeah. I'm here." answered Rascal awkwardly. The collie immediately thumped his paw against his forehead and was glad that no one could see.

This time, the voice was much more sure of herself, "And who are you, exactly?" Rascal was sure he heard her sift her weight again.

"I'm... er... just a local dog. I'm here for the fair." Cripes, why couldn't he stop making himself sound foolish!

There was a ripping sound and it took Rascal a moment before he realized that it came from the wallpaper. The gap between the wood planks was pretty big and bending his head down a little, Rascal was suddenly met with a dazzling blue eye between the wood. He heard her sniffing behind the wall as well. The border collie could only gawk at the sliver of her fine face that was visible as she examined him. "Well... you're pretty cute..." she said finally.

"Great!" exclaimed Rascal and behind him his tail wagged madly, "Cute is good. ...Er... right?"

The very obese collie laughed lightly and Rascal leaned a little closer to the small hole. "Yes, cute is good, my handsome little trespasser." Rascal was unsure what to think when she called him that; well he was unsure in general. "What are you, one and a half? Two years old?"

"Yes two." admitted Rascal. He was frantically thinking of something to say, but asking the female's age, while foremost on his mind would probably be disastrous to ask.

Luckily the fat collie continued. "Hey, why don't you come around after the fair closes? It's been a long time since a stray's come and visit. You can tell me all about what's going on in this hick town."

"Well I'm not a str-" started Rascal, but then his brain caught up to what this female was offering and bypassed a stupid correction. Who cared if he wasn't a stray, she was inviting him to talk with her later! Rascal would be an acrobatic cannon dog if it would mean she'd stay and talk with him tonight. But he had to be smooth... "I mean I... I'll catch you later then. I've got so many stories about this hick town you wouldn't believe."

The collie on the other side of the wall laughed again as if Rascal had told a joke. When she stopped, she wiped away a tear with the back of a paw and said, "Ok, meet outside my trailer at half past midnight. I'll make sure I'm let out around that time."

Rascal nodded vigorously as his tail continued to wag, "At half past midnight, right."

The female's eye disappeared from the slot then, but Rascal heard her say, "My name's Rose by the way."

The border collie couldn't believe he'd forgotten to tell her his name, "Oh... oh! M-my name's ... Rascal?"

"Good to meet you Rascal." said the collie from behind the wall softly as if she were already nodding back to sleep.

Rascal nodded - to whom, he didn't know - and he turned to crawl back out of the space under the patio when he heard from behind him, "It's usually good to start with names... For next time, darling."

A broad smile appeared on Rascal's face. She'd called him 'darling.'

Rascal didn't eat at all during the hour and a half that he waited, though that wasn't very hard to do. He'd been having more heart burn and his belly started making some very unpleasant noises. Nestled under the truck hooked up to the trailed for the "world's smallest horse," Rascal watched as the human patrons all eventually left as the night deepened. One by one the lights were turned off and doors were closed and things were put away. They didn't put away everything of course, there was another busy fair day starting again in the morning. Around midnight, however, things became very still and quiet, almost ghostly after all of the lights and noise up until closing time.

It was after a very bad case of gas that Rascal noticed a solitary light come on in the place he had been watching for over an hour. The border collie made his move. His paws made nary a sound as he sneaked through the dead night towards the source of light, movement, and mild cursing.

The human was short, balding and fairly wide. He wore nothing but a plain white undershirt and boxers as he emerged from the door to his trailer directly beside the exhibit for the "world's fattest dog." He moved stiffly down the set of three stairs, but the reason why was obvious, he was carrying a very heavy burden.

"Sonofabitch's heavy." muttered the man in strange fluid accent that Rascal had never heard before. He groaned and put both hands to his back which popped when he stretched backwards. Putting a hand to his retreating grey hair, he looked down at Rose on the ground and said. "Gitchu busy Fattog. M'be back." And without further ceremony, the older human climbed back into the trailer, leaving Rose perfectly alone.

Rascal wanted to surprise her, but her head turned about in his direction the moment the door closed. "Hello Rascal." She looked him up and down, "Good to see you."

Rascal's head was cocked as he tried to take in Rose's vast figure and struggled with his own reawakened and juvenile lust. Rose was still lying down, but she was facing away. The first thing that Rascal noticed as he walked towards her was the curvature of her back. Rose's back was more like a geometric curve swelling outwards than a correct anatomical shape. It was smooth all the way down from the dual hills of her shoulders and belly to the floor where it bunched up in a thick roll. There was no space at all between the elbow she used to prop herself up and her torso. But more than anything, Rascal took in her face. It was so well sculpted, so feminine and at the same time, her cheeks were marvelously full and radiant, the shiny fur catching stray moonlight as he watched. Framing her face was her fleshy neck, the white and black only enhancing her features rather than distracting from them. Below her chin was a thick, low hanging wattle; bifurcated down the center, it wavered and shook as she breathed and talked. Her blue eyes were entrancing and exotic, the uniqueness was enhanced by her ear piercing as well. Who had ever heard of a dog with an earring? "Wow..." he breathed.

"What was that?" asked Rose and she shuffled a bit to the left to better face him. Her body quaked like a bowl of flan as she did so.

"Er... I meant, wow, what a night." Rascal finished lamely. He sat down in front of Rose. "It's the first time I've ever been to the county fair." He elaborated.

Rose sighed, "Well, it's the same night and same day for me pretty much every day." The obese collie wore a very bored expression as she said this.

Alarmed at the turn the conversation had taken, Rascal amended, "I do suppose that it would get boring after a while..."

Chuckling, Rose said, "Hon, you don't have to agree with everything I say."

Rascal turned his nose away, embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry, I'm just very nervous." he admitted

Rose's voice was full of life and vigor, "Ah, you don't need to nervous around an old fat duff like me. I don't bite... unless you're made of pork."

The female collie smiled as Rascal laughed. Rascal said, "They have such amazing bacon here! I never get bacon at home."

Still smiling, Rose said, "I thought you were a stray..."

Rascal panicked, "I- I, that is to say... yes. I..." Rascal wilted under Rose's knowing gaze. The male border collie leaned forward and walked his lower body down to the ground until they were both lying and facing each other. Rascal sighed, "I'm a house pet."

"I thought as much."

"This is the first time I've been out of the yard since I tried coming to the fair last year."

"And how did that turn out?" Rose asked.

Rascal hid his nose, "Not very well..."

"I see..." drawled Rose. Pushing with her legs, she scootched forward into the give of her fat spread out across the ground and licked Rascal's nose in a friendly manner to lift his head up. Settling backwards, she sloshed a bit before finally coming to a rest.

Seeing that, Rascal couldn't help but smile. He said, "So... you're the world's fattest dog."

"You're an observant one." Rose teased. More seriously she said, "I seriously doubt I'm The World's fattest dog. Do you really think that the world's actual smallest horse and the world's actual biggest pig are right here in Chapel Hill Tennessee?"

"But the signs..." said Rascal unsurely. He really wanted to believe that Rose was the world's fattest dog.

"All for publicity, my friend. How many people do you think would show if it said, 'Come see the unusually large alligator'?"

Rascal cocked his head and smiled, "You're still pretty big." Seeing Rose's eyes widened, he added quickly, "And I like that, I really do. You're lovely."

Rose stretched her front paws out before her, wriggling the pads in the dirt. "I'm not sure a dog over eight years old can be 'lovely,' but thanks anyway."

Rascal sat up straight, "I'm serious." Rose looked up into his blazing eyes, "I've been looking for a dog like you all my life. I've been ridiculed and made fun of by my friends, but I knew that I was looking for something different. The moment I saw you, I knew you were the right kind of bitch for me."

A delightful smile spread on Rose's face. "You know I'm very glad that we met tonight. You really know how to sweet talk an older dog." Rose grunted and she started pushing up with her forelegs. Rascal was alarmed, but Rose waved him off with her nose. "No, no. I'm fine. Just tired of lying down. I've been lying down all day."

Rose's belly seemed to flood forward as she lifted herself. Muscles tensed under the loose flab and the globules of cellulite around her shoulders and elbows shook profusely as she worked. Rose's belly was surprisingly pink and devoid of fur. Rascal had never seen an older female before, but from the size of her nipples, he had to guess she's seen her share of maternity in the past. She rotated her hips to the side to let more room for her belly, but her gut was so massive it took all the space and more between the ground and her undercarriage, so much so that her front legs were bent slightly outwards over the forward curve of it. The morbidly obese collie lifted her patched head straight up and stretched her back. She groaned and Rascal could hear the disks popping just like her owner's did. "Getting old is a bitch, kid; especially when you weigh as much as I do."

Rascal's ears lifted and his tail twitched to the side as he saw the opening, "And if you don't mind me asking, do you know how much that is?"

Rose barked a laugh. "As if I can forget. The jerk in the trailer weighs me twice a month. Now I'm up to 162 pounds."

'One-hundred and sixty-two pounds!' Rascal's mind railed. That was almost four times what Rascal himself weighed. But looking up from Rose's protruding tummy, the male collie realized that she was several inches taller than himself despite slouching. She was very large in stature for a collie. "That..." fumbled Rascal, "is a really big number."

Rose grinned, "Don't I know it." She agreed, "I could do with losing one of you, I think."

Rose's wattle swung left and right as both dogs laughed. When they stopped, the male border collie leaned a little closer. He said quietly, "Have you ever thought of... um... dropping any weight?"

The fattened canine barked a harsh laugh, "All the time. Problem is my owner puts me on a strict hamburger and bacon diet whenever I so much as drop a pound." Rascal's eyes widened in shock, "He's a dead beat. I make him more than half of his income and he can't have me getting any slimmer."

Rascal grinned, "Well, at least you're the star of the show."

"That I am." Said Rose with a true smile. One of her hind legs lifted as if to scratch her shoulder, but it just wiggled around in the air, even as she scrunched to get her torso closer to it. "Ugh... bad habit. Would you mind, my skinny friend?"

"Oh not at all!" Rascal said, all but bounding forward. The collie could scarcely believe this massive and gorgeous female was actually going to let him - no, asked him - to touch her. He sat down next to Rose's expansive hide and lifted a paw cautiously, the acres of flesh before him seemed to spread before his eyes, drawing him in.

"There, on the shoulder please. Oh, that does itch!" Rascal shuddered as he put his paw on her and felt it sink more than a little into her soft bulk. She was so soft! It would have been impossible to hide his arousal. The consistency of Rose's fatty tissue under her thick skin was utterly intoxicating. Unformed and unprofaned by muscle or bone, the dense flesh gave way under pressure from his paw. Turning his claws inward, he began to scratch and was surprised as the loose skin followed his nails.

"Harder!" commanded Rose, and Rascal complied. Square feet of plump, rounded skin shuddered as he got to the sweet spot. The muscles under the skin tightened and the female collie leaned into his nails.

"Ooohhhh..." she moaned, "It's been so long since I've had someone scratch me there. Thank you."

As he continued to move his paw back and forth across her fatty hide, Rascal began to feel more at ease; especially since Rose was looking ahead and not directly at him. He asked curiously, "Don't you meet a lot of other dogs? You travel the country don't you?"

"Ah, that I do. County fairs and State fairs; by the time we get down to the other side of the country, it's time to start again from the top. Oh, a little higher now... Ahhh..." She relaxed and seemed to melt a little into her own weight. But she continued, "Nah, not a lot of dogs come to visit." She shifted her weight and then used a free paw to prod at a heavy bunch of belly fat. "Most dogs aren't too fond of looking at all of this."

"Well I'm different." Rascal assured her. "I cannot say how much I really like being here with you."

"Mmmm..." agreed Rose.

Rascal moved to the smooth plain where the gap between Rose's shoulder blades should have been and put both front paws into his work. It was hard to keep concentrating on his labor when he was so aroused by touching all that blubber. Rose's back was a fatty canvas that was as wide as he cared to reach in any direction as he sat on his haunches directly behind her. Finally, he had to ask. "Still..." he began cautiously, "Do you really think it's all your owners fault?" Rose lifted her head up and twisted it so she could look at Rascal with one eye. The male collie continued, "You... probably like to eat a lot, am I right?" Coming from Rascal, it was really a question.

Rose's sides contracted as she huffed a quick laugh. "Well, what dog doesn't like to gorge themselves now and then? The only difference is that I do it as part of my day job."

Rascal continued rubbing his paws up and down where he approximated Rose's spine to be. However, he wasn't going to just leave it at that. Being a bit more adventurous, he said, "I don't think a dog could get quite this big just by stuffing yourself now and again." He lifted his paw and removed a stray hair from the side of his snout, "I bet you have an interesting relationship with food."

Rose chuckled again and her body shook, "If by interesting, you mean dysfunctional." She relaxed her head back to facing forward, "I guess there's no harm in telling you that I really do like eating a lot more than I should. I must go through almost five pounds of kibble a day" Rose reached down and patted the side of her tummy again, "And then there's the hamburger and bacon diet occasionally. You know, the jerk will sometimes put me on it even if I haven't lost any weight." Rose lifted her head one more time and looked straight at Rascal with her one eye, "But you know, I kinda like the bacon and hamburger diet."

Rascal laughed and pushed a little harder into Rose's flab. "I know I would!"

Settling back down her head, Rose said, "Ok, now a little lower now... yes. And if you could, break up the mats as you go along, don't be afraid to tug a little..."

A little later, Rascal asked, "So, have you always done the 'world's fattest dog' thing?"

Rose laughed from deep in her throat, the sound modulated by her load of chest fat. "Oh no! I've only been very heavy for the last three years and I've only actually been fat enough for the show for two. Before that, I didn't even belong to the smelly guy in the trailer."

"Oh." Said Rascal, his rampant curiosity peaked, "What were you before then?"

Rose lifted a paw to her chin, again shifting her weight to free a paw. Rascal grew very excited as her round flank moved towards him. "Well..." she reminisced, "I think I was born a stray, but I'm not sure, I spent my early days in a laboratory."

"Whoa, a laboratory?" That scared the young canine. A laboratory was pretty much the equivalent of a canine death camp. "How on Earth did you get out?" he asked, his voice shaking a little.

"Well actually, that's really interesting. I remember I was very sick in my kennel for a long time - something they were giving me, I don't know - but then I remembered a pair of hands picking me up and putting me in a cardboard box. I thought I was going to be put into another sort of test box, but the next thing I knew I was let out onto a green lawn. I'll never forget the smell and the touch of grass."

"What happened?" asked Rascal, hanging on every word.

"Well later I found out that the lab had been raided by another group of humans called P.E.T.A."

Rascal cocked his head and his paw stopped moving, "Isn't that some kind of sandwich?"

Rose's whole body shook as she laughed. She straightened up a bit with her forelegs and said, "No! P.E.T.A. a bunch of crazy humans who, like want humans to leave animals alone. And keep scratching, there on my left shoulder now."

Rascal moved to Rose's other side. "Well, humans leaving animals alone. That doesn't sound too bad."

"Maybe, but P.E.T.A. doesn't believe in people keeping pets either. No more free food, no more pats, no more warm house to sleep in at night. Do you think the world would be better if every dog was a stray?"

"Well, when you put it like that, no, it doesn't sound very good." said Rascal. It was difficult imagining himself a stray. He loved his home and he loved the people who lived there. He didn't remember his mother, other than her scent and the feeling of warmth, but he remembered human hands holding him and the faces of those who cared and loved him back. "Did you have a home then?"

Rose yawned widely and nodded, "Yes, for a little while. There were children and they loved playing with me, but they got older and played with me less and less..." Rose's eyes were distant. "Then one day they started putting all of their things into big boxes. Big trucks came and took the furniture away too... but they didn't take me."

Rascal faltered but kept scratching. 'Her family moved and left her behind?' He couldn't imagine the heart ache she must have felt.

Rose shrugged off the gloominess by raising and dropping her wide shoulders, "It took me three days to figure out how to get out of the yard, and then I was on my own. I was a stray for quite a while. Wandered all over the place and I finally came across a small band of gypsies."

"What are those?" asked Rascal with innocent curiosity.

"Traveling humans basically. Very pleasant to be around, they're almost like dogs." Rose shook her head a little and the earring in her left ear chimed a sweet note. "One of the girls put this in my ear and said I was pretty." Rose joggled her neck where the two collars lay, "This is it's mate. She gave me both, but I think I look better with just the one, don't you?"

Rascal was mesmerized by the volumes of neck fat practically covering her collar and hardly noticed the large decorative earring, but quickly agreed. His breath was a little hoarse as he noted the sheer breadth of her neck and the dual lengths of the collars required to traverse it.

"Back up for a moment, hon." Rose said and Rascal got to his feet and gave her more room. His eyebrows raised as Rose began to rise. It was a little difficult to watch, the young border collie could tell it took more than a little effort for the morbidly obese canine to get up. The knees in her hind legs in particular creaked as she rose. "Ugh, Trust me, Rascal, carrying around this much weight for a few years really hurts the knees."

Standing, Rose's weight wasn't quite as flattering to Rascal as before because she didn't look quite as obese as had while sitting. On her feet, Rose's belly was just a bit lower than her knees and curved upwards into her low hanging chest. Her lower profile dipped a bit again at her brisket and then shot around her protruding chest until it was at her hanging neck flesh which seemed composed of a dozen vertical rolls. She was twice as wide as Rascal and that was a generous estimate. On top of her hips, at her tail head, two huge fleshy mounds sat like someone had slipped breast implant under the skin to either side of her tail; quite large, they protruded several inches backward, seeming to devour a good amount of her bushy, tail. Contrasting to the rest of her body, Rose's tail was almost solid black, with only a few hairs of white at the end. She walked, or rather waddled forward a few steps and Rascal could not help but noticed she indeed did walk stiffly. Rascal cautioned forward a few steps, "Are you sure you should-"

Rose cut him off, "Walk? Yes, I can walk still. I'm just a bit stiff is all. I really don't get up and move around as much as I probably should." Rose shrugged again and began waddling a bit faster, her belly swaying back and forth as she did, "It's just a hassle, you know."

Rascal, who had never given much thought to the simple act of walking, or even running for that matter, said, "I suppose I can imagine."

Rose chuckled and Rascal could tell her breath was a little heavier now. She turned her head and said with a glint in her eye, "Ah, you'll know what I'm talking about. Anyways, every other day, the jerk takes me out swimming so I'm not completely inactive." Rose laughed under her breath, "And swimming's easier on the joints."

Walking behind the wide, waddling figure, Rascal followed her around the trailer, "Why do you call him 'the jerk'?"

Rose huffed a breath, now her mouth was open as she breathed, "You heard him. All he ever calls me is 'fattog.'" She said mimicking his odd accent. "Fat dog. So I call him what he is in turn: the jerk."

"Oh." said Rascal. He had thought the man was saying "fat hog" but he didn't think it wise to mention this to Rose.

Suddenly she stopped and turned to him, "Now you run along back around the trailer, I'll be back in a minute or two."

"Where are you going?" Rascal asked a little too quickly. He didn't want to leave Rose yet.

"My act back in the trailer wasn't really an act, I do have to go and I won't have some pup eye goggling at me while I'm crouching, so go on and get." Her tone was not unfriendly, but it left no room for interpretation. Rascal trotted away with an easy gait that Rose observed with an odd expression until he turned the corner.

It was several minutes before Rose returned. Rascal didn't think anything of the wait, though. In fact, the idea that she needed a couple minutes to recuperate from the short walk was very pleasant to think about. When Rose returned, however, she was carrying something in her mouth. Sitting down heavily, the heavy border collie landed with a thump that Rascal could feel in his toes. She spat the item onto the sparse patch of grass in front of the trailer and Rascal saw that it was the earring from her collar. The obese canine gestured for Rascal to take it.

Carefully, Rascal took the little treasure in his paw. He'd never held anything more decorative than a collar before and was quite astounded by the intricacy of the piece. Made mostly of copper wire, three turquoise stones dangled from a central, very clear quartz crystal. In each of the three stones was carved a tiny symbol. Rascal looked up and Rose surprised him by being quite close. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Rascal nodded, the fur on his neck billowed in a small breath of wind that flowed over them.

Rose brought her pierced ear around to show Rascal. "Look, this one is the same, but the little symbols are upside down." The young border collie was in over his head. The little earring was far more valuable than he knew what to do with. He felt like if he continued holding it, it might suddenly break or else something worse would happen.

"That is... really neat." said Rascal. He lifted his paw as if to hand back the little earring.

Rose made a face that struck a chord deep in Rascal's chest. "Don't you like it?"

Rascal spoke up immediately. "No. I mean yes, I love it. I just feel like I'll break it or lose it. It's way too valuable."

Rose snorted, "Rascal, I'm a dog. It's costume jewelry. You could probably find the same thing at a flea market."

The male collie wasn't so sure. He'd never really seen jewelry except on the alpha-female of the household, but he got the feeling that the earring meant something to somebody. It'd be awful to lose it. He looked up at the huge border collie, and he thought now that he could see a few qualities indicative of a Labrador Retriever in her face and the texture of her coat; that would explain her larger stature compared to himself. "Rose, why'd you take this off your collar?"

A smile broadened Rose's already broad face, "Well... I'd like you to have it."

Rascal was dumbstruck. He'd already received more than he ever imagined by spending this time with Rose and talking with her. To think that she'd give him a precious gift as well... that was too much. "Rose, I can't possibly-"

The very round collie pressed a free paw to his mouth. "Rascal. You are a very special dog." The male collie swallowed and Rose went on, "You are the first dog to come visit me in over a year and more than that, you're the first person, dog or human, who thinks I'm beautiful ever since I put on all this weight. You don't know how rare that is."

"Rose, I-" started Rascal, but Rose stopped him again.

"You're the person this is for. I can feel it. Please take it and remember me. We won't be able to see each other for another whole year."

"Oh Rose. I'd love to, but I know I'll lose it for sure." said Rascal rubbing the back of his head and looking at the floor.

"I know a way you won't lose it." said Rose.

"How-whoa! Hey!" Rascal jumped back clumsily as Rose took the sharp end of the earring between her pads and attempted to prick his right ear with it.

"Sit still, Rascal. This'll only hurt for a second." said Rose.

As tough as Rascal often imagined himself to be, being impaled by a needle -however small - seemed like a horrifying prospect. His knees shook a bit as he said, "I don't know about getting pierced. I'm a guy after all... And what if my family sees?" The male border collie concocted.

Rose cocked her shoulders. "Don't tell me a strapping young lad like you is afraid of a little prick." Her belly pushed in and out with her deep, steady breathing, "This is just so you won't lose it on your way home."

"But my humans, they might take it if they see me with it." Rascal persisted; he still didn't like the idea of being poked.

"Hide it somewhere safe." said Rose. Looking at Rascal still, she scooted forward on her heavy bottom so that she was right before the slim collie again. Rascal could tell she was looking a little worn out around the eyes for all of the activity so far tonight. She touched a paw to his shoulder. "Come on. Please won't you wear it? They're meant to be shared by two people after all."

Finally Rascal's reserves were broken and he relented, holding his head steady for Rose. "Ok." He said, closing his eyes tightly, "Just tell me wh-" The needle stabbed through the thin part of his ear and he could feel the tiny trickle of warm blood well up on the thin skin of his lower ear. Rascal whined, repeatedly saying, "Ow. Ow. Ow!" He tried to raise a paw to his ear but Rose stopped it.

"No don't touch it. Leave it there tonight, by morning it'll be all better." Rascal continued to whimper like a dog half his age and Rose added, "You look handsome."

The thinner collie looked up at the fattened object of his adoration. He supposed the pain was fading away now. "Thank you Rose."

The heavy collie looked at Rascal with a fond expression. "No, thank you. I mean it."

"I'll never forget you Rose."

"I'm sure you won't."

The two collies shared a long quiet moment together. Being near this huge, beautiful female was almost enough to make Rascal forget about the pain in his ear. Eventually he looked up and back to the trailer. "Hey, when is your owner coming back out anyways?"

Rose waved a paw dismissingly, "Ah, if he hasn't come out by now, he's probably gotten drunk and fallen back asleep."

Rascal's ears perked up, his right ear flinching when it aggravated the new piercing, "But how are you going to get back inside?"

"Well, there is a dog door but..." Rose patted her big belly heavily, causing huge ripples to traverse across its surface, "I can't exactly fit through it anymore."

"So no one's going to let you in?" asked Rascal.

"Well, it's not like it's the first night I've spent outdoors." Rose yawned again and Rascal could see her well worn and yellowed teeth. He frowned a bit as he noticed quite a lot of nasty looking black tarter on several of the molars on the left side of her mouth. Rose didn't notice his expression and said, "Besides, it's nice out and I won't have to be in that smelly trailer."

"I still can't believe that he'd just forget about you out here." said Rascal incredulously.

"Believe it." said Rose. She turned left and then right, stretching her shoulders and back, groaning as she did so. One leg wobbled in the air again as she said, "He knows it's not like I can get very far."

Noticing her leg, Rascal said, "Itchy again?" he was hopeful for another round of back scratching.

"Nah. Like I said, it's a bad habit." Rose yawned again and said, "I think I'm going to have to call it a night, darling. I'm really not used to all this talking and sitting up."

Rascal chuckled and Rose raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like sitting up and talking is a lot of work."

Rose smirked, "Well, let's quadruple your weight and then you can tell me what's a lot of work and what isn't. For the last year, mostly all I've done is lie around, sleep and eat."

"...And go swimming." Rascal added happily.

Rose's cheeks flushed under the skin, "Yes and that."

Rascal leaned in close, "You know that really turns me on."

Rose laughed curtly and pushed his nose away, "I already told you, I appreciate the affections, but I'm way too old for you kid."

Rascal felt his spirits slump. Her rejection stung worse than she knew, but he stayed strong and didn't let it show; even if he really didn't care how old she was.

Rose started strained to get up again and with alacrity, Rascal stepped in and gave her rump a boost with his head. Rose turned her head back and smiled, "Thank, hon."

"No problem." said Rascal.

Rose moved to the side of the trailer to the west. "So I can sleep in without the sun shining on me." She said. With a great release of breath, she threw down her very heavy form and let her belly spread out over the grass as she rolled onto her side. "I really should sleep on my belly for my sleep apnea, but it just doesn't feel right with my knees sorta hanging there to either side of my gut." Rose commented. Rascal had no idea what sleep apnea was, but her description of sleeping arrangements turned him on to no end. Rose tussled and tossed on the grass. "Sometimes the skin gets pinched against the ground or it's too tight on one side or the other, so I have to work out all the kinks before I go to sleep." She explained and Rascal listened avidly as if he were preparing for a test on the proper functioning of a morbidly obese canine. When she was finally comfortable, Rose laid her head down and her thick neck meat drifted up, congesting her chin and cheeks. Rascal continued to sit in rapt observation. Slow, very slowly, her breath began to even out. A little later, she peeked open an eye and asked, "Aren't you going home Rascal?"

The slim collie shrugged, "Actually... I was kinda thinking it'd be nice if I could spend the night with you... if that's alright of course."

There was a low grumbling in Rose's throat and an odd, not too friendly look in her one open eye. "Well, I guess that's alright. I think it will make things easier in the morning anyways."

Rascal was elated and circled around three times before setting himself gently down so that his back was warmed by Rose's soft tummy. Rascal shut his eyes. He realized he was tired too. "Good night Rose." He said, feeling her belly expand and contract against him with her every breath.

It was a few moments before Rose responded. She said with great tenderness, almost regret, "Good night Rascal." Her paw rubbed the side of his head until he fell into a deep sleep.

That night he had a very strange dream...