Coming Home

The drive was full of twists, turns, bumps in the road, and odd loud noises. She gazed out the window only once. The blur of colours and noises rushing by made her belly go into spasms. She couldn’t stop shaking. She noticed a sour taste in her mouth along with a pooling of saliva in her cheeks. Her stomach began heaving up and down like a piston until it finally erupted spewing her entire breakfast.

            Without hesitation she gobbled up the thick clump of regurgitated pinkish kibble.

            The humans in the big moving machine all talked at the same time while waving their hands until suddenly the motion stopped. She heard a big creak as a cool breeze caressed her nose—which felt dry. Arms picked her up, then dropped her down into a grassy area. A long rope was attached to her neck. She didn’t know where she was. The aromas were unrecognizable—she couldn’t find the scent of her mother or siblings. She sniffed around finding quite a few pee-mails. It felt good to connect through her piss. The humans crouched down baring their teeth as she squatted to urinate.

            They lifted her back into the machine. The noise and movement started again. Worn-out, she decided to curl up in the warm, but scratchy material on the seat, surrendering to sleep.

            When she woke up, the humans were all talking in high-pitched, excited tones. Again, she was held high above the ground. Where were they going? Who were these humans? Her nose twitched taking in odours that overwhelmed her smell receptors. She was put down on a hard, slippery surface that didn’t feel at all like the kennel floor. This place was nothing like the kennel. It was a wide-open space. No gates or fences. She moved around cautiously, tail between her legs while inhaling the room. The humans kept repeating the same short sound while patting her head. She hated having her head stroked. It blocked her vision. She sunk her teeth into the human with the long black fur hanging down from their head. Ahh, that felt good— spongy and warm. The human howled loudly. She’d never heard a vibration like that before. Terrified, she looked for an escape. She saw a human with no hair on their head sitting on something raised from the floor. She scurried into the opening beneath the furless person. The ground was covered with pleasant, plush material. She scratched vigorously catching whiffs of meat, smoke, perfume and sweat glands.

            She crouched into position and produced a perfect brown turd. Finally, a familiar smell.