You Were Supposed To Be My Best Friend
Another Daily Prompt app competition short story. I didn't win (7th place) but as a huge animal lover, this is very close to my heart. The prompt was about betrayal... And we, humans, very often betray our four-legged friends.
You Were Supposed To Be My Best Friend
I heard their buzz far away even though those people were right there next to me. They were fighting for my life, unaware that I didn’t want to fight for it. I couldn’t tell which was worse: my body pain or my soul pain. All I knew was that I didn’t want to survive because I’d never again be able to trust people.
———-
Just a year before I had been handed to the local kennel. I was a nice Christmas gift but, of course, after a few months I grew up and, like the pup I was, I chewed everything around me. The little humans liked playing with me but every time I chewed something, the big humans hit me with a newspaper or a shoe. That was how I eventually understood they didn’t like me chewing slippers, clothes, the furniture... But by the time I got it, it was too late. They handed me to the kennel where I was placed in a small enclosure. I missed the children but, perhaps because I was still a naive pup, I believed someone would love me again and take me out of there.
When the lady visited the kennel and spent a few moments staring at me, I stuck out my tongue and wagged my tail like the good boy I thought I was. She smiled.
“What a lovely doggy! I’ve always loved Rotties.”
I was head over wheels. After a few days, she was allowed to collect me and I got into the car with her. I had no idea of what had happened during that time, but apparently the humans who worked at the kennel believed she was going to take great care of me. I readied myself for a nice spot by the fireplace and was already dreaming of chewy, squeaky toys and yummy food when things took a weird turn. When she stopped the car and let me out on a leash, this big man approached. I didn’t like him. He didn’t smell nice and something about his aura told me he was up to no good.
“This dog will be a good bet.” I heard her say. “What do you think?”
I didn’t know what a good bet meant; I was just a young dog. All I knew was that I wanted to get out of there.
“Yeah, he’ll be worth good bucks if you prepare him nicely. We need to keep looking for more though.”
After a few more words, she left with me much to my relief. But home was not what I had dreamed of. I was tied to the doghouse all day, all alone. My freedom was dictated by the chain I had hooked to my collar. Food was not yummy at all and I wasn’t allowed inside even on the rainiest or coldest days. She never petted me nor had a kind word for me. One day she even started beating me. I couldn’t find a reason why. I had not chewed anything but the few tasteless pellets she had placed in my bowl. She was furious though, hit me with a newspaper, shouted at me... I was confused, so confused. And above all, I was petrified.
The day came that changed my life forever. Maybe I shouldn’t have done what I did but when she approached me with a stick and hit me, I lost my mind. It hurt me so much and I thought it was so unfair that I started barking furiously at her and even tried to bite her. I wanted her to stop. But she kept hitting me.
“Good boy, get furious, get mad at me.” she hissed. “The more aggressive you become, the more money you’ll make for us.”
I understood nothing. Why did she want me to be aggressive when I could be such a loving companion to her? However, every time she came with that detestable stick I’d bark at her. It just hurt too much.
Then the horrible man came. He tried to beat me too so I defended myself. He put a muzzle on me and the two of them pushed me into a cage and into a van. I was so frightened I didn’t dare bark or yelp. I had no idea what was going on nor where they were taking me but I definitely didn’t like it. We arrived at a really dark place in the middle of nothing I could name. It was a kind of arena surrounded by a wooden fence. A few people were behind it, staring at me still inside my cage. The sound they made was deafening to my ears. They seemed under some kind of spell, shouting and staring fixedly at me, their fists clenched. I understood nothing, all I wanted was to get out of there. When my cage was pushed into the arena, I saw another one coming from the opposite side. Another dog like me. He was barking and foaming as if I was some kind of devil. What was going on? What had I possibly done that made everybody so furious?
The two cages were opened. The other dog sped towards me, triggering my survival instincts. He bit my throat and pulled me down. I bit him back. We grappled on the dusty ground and those people kept shouting as if in a frenzy. After a while I heard a sound in the distance. I recognized it. Humans called it the police. Everybody around started pushing each other to run away, clearly afraid of them. I was lying on the ground bleeding and too weak to react even when somebody picked me up.
———-
I think I’m back to the same kennel I spent part of my puppyhood. I don’t believe there’s any hope for me now. I don’t trust people and that’s why I don’t want to survive. Please don’t save me.
__________________________
Enjoyed this story? Check my previous ones:
Fluffy, the Spiteful Cat
Behold the Brave New World
Or my Werewolf Stories, which I post every Full Moon:
Officer Brooks' Creepy Blue Eyes
Midnight Shift at the Zoology Museum
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