My Special Friend

The smell of bacon wafts in the air and instantly I feel my mouth begin to water. The smell of the grease and bacon fat leaves me in a mode that is altogether robotic. I mean I'm a dog, more specifically according to my family… "a fat corgi" so what kind of self-control do you expect me to have? I jump up from my corner in the bedroom. My dad rolls over in his bed as I run out the door of the bedroom. I can feel the vibrations of the house shaking as I clickety clack down the hallway and through the dining room to where I know mom is throwing that beautiful and succulent slice of meat in the air. Maybe just maybe she will miss the metal dish she's always cooking it on and I'll get lucky with an early morning treat.

My older brother is already there, he's a dark behemoth of a dog that is about as useful as the old cat they've had since forever. I push his towering body out of the way, he looks down at me sadly but does what I force him to do. Mom smiles down at me when she sees me looking up at her, I can barely contain my excitement as she picks up a piece of bacon and drops it down in front of me. I pick up the bacon faster than they can count to one and it's gone. The flavors burst on my tongue and for a second I forget where I am.

I hear from down the hallway the two little humans my parents call their kids drag themselves out of bed. They are two little girls and one of them in particular eats as much as I do. I jump onto my mother's leg and she tells me to get down. Ugh can't she understand what I want! Come on mom, send some more of the beautiful and scrumptious bacon down here. The two girls trudge to the table attached to the hot burning surface and in no time at all they begin begging for a plate of bacon.

"Mommy please let us have bacon, we are hungry!" the oldest one whines.

The little one starts up as well, "Please please please mommy!" she yells at the top of her lungs.

"Girls, you know that today is a special day, I'll get you both cereal, but the bacon is for our Freddie and Hank."

For me?! I can hardly contain my excitement! She said my name, and she said it in the same sentence with bacon! It's all mine!! I bark at the thought of it.

"Shhhh Freddie, you know dad is still in bed!" she tells me, snapping her fingers at the same time.

Their paws are some of the weirdest things I've ever seen… anyways I try to quiet down, but it is so hard.

It doesn't take long for the girls to start eating their cereal and the littlest one has the worst problem with dropping those little pieces of sugary goodness. I catch two or three of them falling to the floor before mom demands that the oldest one take both me and the big lug outside. I stop to think if I really want to do that but then, how could I not? There are all sorts of sights, smells and sounds out there to keep me occupied.

I rush past my brother Hank as the oldest one opens the door and down the stairs onto the yard.

The joy I feel at the lush grass beneath my paws, the sun shining down on me leaves me feeling euphoric. I take multiple laps around the yard as the old dog watches me while he does his business. Man, that scent is strong. I need to take a closer sniff. I run over to him and he grumbles at me as I take a sniff. Good grief, it reeks of age, dehydration, and some distant relation to week-old soup. I shake my head and move to find a spot I can get rid of this pee I've hung onto since last night. Heck while I'm at it I might as well mark some new spots. The big tree in the center of the yard is a good spot, as well as the gate to my walls. Soon I'm feeling very good about myself. This is my property, my castle. How many other dogs can say they have walls to their kingdoms? I hear the oldest girl yell at me and my rickety brother.

"Freddie! Hank!! It's time to eat!" She yells loud enough to let the neighbors hear.

But then I remember that Mom has bacon for me! I run as fast as I can, beating Hank to the steps, and I knock the girl out of the way to see Mom bending down putting that wondrous meat into my bowl.

I would love to say that I enjoyed that wondrous breakfast, but I ate it so fast that the faint memories of its greasy and tasty goodness leave me wanting more, and somewhat bummed that I didn't think to eat it more slowly.

"Geeze, Freddie, you could've actually enjoyed it instead of swallowing it whole. Today is a big day, buddy. You get to see a special friend, and you will feel like a new dog!"

My ears perk up, new dog? Special friend? Oh no… The last time I saw a special friend and became a new dog was because they removed something that made me feel… less than a dog.

I walk down the hall after breakfast to find Dad getting ready for work. He and Mom spend hours away from the house doing something they call work or job, I can never remember which is which. I know that for the entire day, they will be gone. I find my favorite corner with the bone they tell me I have to share with Hank. Though we both know that isn't going to happen. It doesn't take long before the whole family is gone except for me, Hank, and Sonny, the old cat that I'm still not sure what to do with. Not long after mom and dad leave, Hank finds his youth again and jumps on their bed. I wish I could, but I find my… rather short legs are not up to the task. Though to be honest it really isn't worth it, mom and dad hate that he does it, and he always receives a stern barking from them both for it.

The hours tick by, and out of boredom, I turn to my bone. I haven't made a lot of progress. I don't know where they got this chew toy from; my best guess is a dinosaur, or maybe a cow.

I finally hear the sound of one of the beastly animals they ride in pull up into my driveway. Hank and his sneaking tail jump quickly off the bed. I hear the little humans already fighting, and Dad's gruff voice barking at them to hush. I'm not sure whether it's mom or dad who is bringing home the special friend, so I start jumping against the door.

"Come on, guys, open up!! Open Up!" I bark as loud as I can.

Dad opens the door, and I see nothing and no one in his hands. So I can only deduce that it isn't he that is bringing the "special friend". Soon, I'm back outside where I can do my business and survey my mighty kingdom. The squirrels and the birds are where they belong, though perhaps one day I can deliver justice to their terrible game of barking and climbing out of reach.

I'm happy to spend the next half hour outside as the old man sits on the step, grumbling to go inside. He's no fun… He sleeps, grumbles, eats, and poops. That's about it. The neighboring dogs decide to go to war against my doddery brother and me. They bark and growl at me from their small walled castle. I may be small, but they? They are even smaller than me! How dare they bark at the two of us! I bark back louder, stronger, and more aggressively. They dare to bark back as loud as they can! So I make sure they know who's king of this castle. If only I could break down my walls long enough to show them who's boss. Alas, my parents have built the walls too strongly, and so I must resort to empty threats, but threats I do give them!

Their humans, two old women and an equally old man, yell at them both to come inside. "Haha!" I bark as they retreat indoors to their castle, leaving me alone and once again king of the yards! I stand in the sunlight feeling regal and powerful. I hear the door open from the castle and the oldest girl ruins my moment. I trot across the yard and see my mom's beast moving down the road… SHE'S HERE!! I change from trotting to running across the yard and up the stairs. I once again push the girl out of the way and into the kitchen. I hear her getting off that thing they bark to other humans through and the door shuts to her beast. Oh my goodness…. I can hardly stand it! HURRY UP!!! I bark loudly. Dad tells me to be quiet but how can I? I've been nervous about this all day!

She opens the door and in her hands…

WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?! In her hands is a tiny, nearly formless fur ball. Its eyes look like it's been asleep for nearly a day, and then I catch a whiff of the little creature.

"Freddie, meet your new playpal!" Mom has the audacity to say.

It's a cat, not just any cat, but a tiny, white, and fluffy kitten. I can hardly believe she would do this to me. We already have one pointless cat, why in the world would she get me a "special friend" and it's just a cat!

I walk up to the little fur ball and sniff it. I realize it is a boy and I'm really not sure what she thinks I'm supposed to do with him. I turn to go back into the living room, thinking about the ridiculousness of it all.

That's when I hear the tiny little meow…

I turn to look and he's looking right at me… goodness why? Why me? He's so… cute. I can't control myself as I turn back to him and before I know it I'm bathing the little guy in kisses. He needs a good bath, we gotta get that outdoor smell off of him.