It was just a grooming, but he was not the same. Nope, not the same dog that left a few hours ago. He felt as if he were someone else’s dog. Did they switch him with a look-a-like? They held him in a big mirror so that he could see himself. He started barking and growling at that dog in the mirror. He was a “cute little curly haired pink-bellied sweetie”. That’s what they always said about him. In the mirror someone was holding a naked mole rat, not a dog. He had seen them on that cartoon he watched with his boy. “He had to be shaved down low like this because his fur was matted in some places,” the groomer said when they brought him out. He was profusely licking everybody that came in contact with him just like before; they smelled the same but he smelled different. Where was that “puppy’s been outside too long” odor? The face of the dog in the mirror seemed bigger, almost too big for his little teeny tiny body.

He started jumping around as if he were in a daze. He had no reason, no pattern for the jumps he was making. He was running around chasing his tail in between jumps. He was biting at those naked mole rat legs. He was scampering around hiding under tables and stools. And why didn’t they just trim his entire tail? Every time it curled up and over and touched his shaved back, it made him think that another dog was too near him. He would scamper and run every time he felt it slightly brush him. He just needed some hugging and petting maybe. Maybe the newness would be gone and he could get back to being himself once his boy held him.

In the car he slept. He didn’t even wake up while passing McDonald’s. McDonald’s was his favorite and he could smell it a mile away. Today, though, it seem like he didn’t care too much. He jumped from the car and quickly ran inside trying to outrun the touch of that tail on his naked and unprotected back. Inside he barked at every miniscule sound. He growled at feet walking toward him. He didn’t even want to play with his favorite chew toy. He just wanted to be left alone. This was a lot to take in. He had to get used to this new look, this new dog. He wanted to drink water, and lots of it, but it would mean being exposed. He was cold and he just wanted to curl up on his pallet in the kitchen corner and sleep. It’ll be better at next light he thought. He drifted off to sleep.
“This will certify that the above work is completely original” Kellie G. Richardson