10/27/2021
Part 2 - T H E S H E E T S.
" I remember the first time I met my new humans, they came to take me for a walk. I was on my best behaviour, and I made them laugh at my trick of carrying my leash in my mouth. I knew as soon as I saw them that they were mine. On my back I have a white splash of fur that is the perfect outline of a lake near their house. I was marked with it so that I would know where my place was, even when I was born so far away from it, and it took so much time and effort for me to get home.
Their house was full of cozy things for me, a soft blanket, a new bed, and they showed me what toys were. I didn’t know what to do with everything, and I laid on the floor, exhausted from the months long journey of getting here. They let me have space, and we spent a quiet few nights getting used to each other. At bedtime they brought my bed in next to theirs, but I joined them instead, curled up on the blanket, as small as possible.
I slept a lot those first days with my humans, and I didn’t want to leave their nice house. If they did manage to get me outside, I’d cry and pull the leash away from them and run back to the door. Even though I knew they were mine, I was so scared they’d make me leave. That’s when I learned what “always go home” meant. They told me we would “always go home”, and that I never had to worry about not having humans again.
I hear them tell stories of what a funny dog I was when they first got me, how I didn’t know what toys were, how I didn’t know how to play or relax or have fun or be a dog. But let me tell you, my humans were equally weird. They had two very comfy looking couches that they didn’t let me on (thankfully that didn’t last long), they were obsessed with teaching me boring things like “sit” and “stay”, and they thought they were doing me all the favours by being my new humans. They didn’t know they had it backwards, that I was meant to be their dog all along. And my purpose was much bigger than just being a pet dog.
The first thing I did with them was take over their bed. It didn’t take them long to figure out how easily and quickly I could work myself under the covers. And once under, I’d stretch out as much as possible, so I would get the most blanket. I slept between them, usually with my bum in their faces cause I had to go head first into the blanket. The Soft Human especially loved having me in the bed because she said I took her nightmares away. I’d push against her just like I used to with Red, and if she woke up scared, I’d lick her face til she laughed at me. One time I tried sitting on her chest, but she didn’t like that very much.
The Fun Human would bring me to work with him, which I really liked. I had a special spot under the desk where I could hide from loud noises, and I was constantly making new friends. Sometimes I got to go for rides in big trucks, and I felt so important sitting in the front with the human.
It took a few months for the humans to learn me enough that I could relax as a dog. They learned I hated rain and cold, and bought me lots of nice sweaters to wear to stay warm outside. They learned that every blanket and pillow in the house is actually mine, not theirs. They learned that socks are really the best toys, walks are the worst, and that it was a requirement that they pay the “Hero Tax” with any food they ate. If they didn’t share, I’d give them my saddest, hungriest face and remind them I used to be just a starving street dog. It didn’t work well, they’d just laugh at me and remind me that my belly is always full these days.
Once we got to know each other, we started having so much fun. The humans would take me on adventures, which was really just going to stay in a new house together for a few days. They brought me to giant beaches where I could have the craziest zoomies. And when they came home at the end of the day carrying sad, then I could show them exactly why I came to be their dog.
The Soft Human in particular had a lot of sad. But she knew my powers, and would sit on the floor and let me take care of it, like a good dog does. I’d lick her face, get extra wriggly, bring her my prized possessions, and push against her til all the sad was squeezed out. She’d put her forehead on mine and kiss me between my eyes until she could get up and be a human again.
One of my most important jobs besides being the Nightmare Chaser, was to sit with my humans when they were dark with grief. Grief on a human is very obvious to us magical dogs. Their eyes dull, they become small, their voices go fuzzy, and they get very dim. My humans are both very shiny humans, so the grief they wore was quite obvious to me even when they hid it from themselves.
My humans had grief about my Grand-Paw. I used to love going to see him. He would pay so much Hero Tax, either bringing me special treats or giving me half his plate. The Soft Human would tell him I’d had enough, which just meant we had to be more sneaky. He’d laugh at my play, and would make sure I had the best spot in the house: right next to him on the couch. He was also always very warm, and I love me a warm human to curl up with.
Grand-Paw had a non-human smell that was growing in him. It smelled like dirt and rot and decay. At first I could barely tell, and then it got stronger and stronger. Suddenly I went to visit and I could no longer jump on the couch next to Grand-Paw, he was in a bed that had no room for dogs in it. The Fun Human would lift me up to see him, and I would have to stretch to give him kisses, which made him laugh.
I knew Grand-Paw was gone before the humans did because he suddenly showed up in our house. I thumped my tail at him and he gave me a pat on the head, and told me that my real work needed to start. I had to take over his part of looking after the humans. And my humans in particular needed a lot of looking after.
My humans didn’t like to be inside after Grand-Paw left. And as a dog who doesn’t like to be outside, that was a hard thing for me. But I endured them dragging me out for very long walks and sitting outside because I knew it was the most important time for my work. Now, more than ever I needed to help my humans become shiny again. I needed to remind them that all the good things in this world were still there, like snuggles, tasty treats, and love.
I’d let them smoosh their faces into my wrinkles even though it got my fur wet. I’d put my head on their laps to let them know I was keeping them safe, and I’d always make sure to have a toy nearby to give them. A Grand-Paw’s work is almost as big as a dogs, and it was a tough job to do both. But Grand-Paw made sure I was well-rewarded, even going so far as to knock my treat bag off the shelf into my water dish so the humans would know I needed extra Hero Tax for my efforts.
I try to show the humans that he is still there, even if they can’t see him with their narrow human eyes. People always talk about how good a dog’s nose is, when the real talent is that we can see so much farther into the world than they can. I pass along his messages to them, and they tell me all about their big sads until they aren’t as big anymore.
The humans have learned how despite being scared of most things in this life, I am a dog of great courage, outstanding achievement, and noble qualities. That is why my dog form was named Hero. And every night when the Soft Human tucks me into bed, wrapped in my own special blanket, she kisses me between the eyes and tells me that she loves me, and I’m the “bestest dog in the whole wide world”. I go to sleep knowing I did my job that day, of taking the humans’ heavy sacks of sadness off their backs, and filling them up with love and goodness instead. My time as a dog is not as long as the humans would like, but as I drift off to sleep, I always know that I have done enough, I have shown my humans all of the best parts of life. "
- Written by Sara Ivy, Hero's mom 💙
