The "Change"

The smell of cooking bacon pried my eyes open. Dad must be cooking. Since we moved in with Dad, Mom doesnt cook bacon anymore. That suites me fine, as Dad always makes a floor piece and pets my back while I eat it.

Dad isn't my original dad. His muzzle looks nothing like mine. His hair is much lighter around his mouth and on the top of his head than mine. But his voice is gentle when he talks to me, and he takes care of my Mom and the human pups.

I love my little pack. Dad, Mom, Ryan, Scotty, Bailey, and me.

"Coop? Cooper, c'mon boy! Come 'n' get it!" Dad calls. I notice he isn't as excited as usual, but my legs fly underneath me nonetheless.

Ow.... Why does my paw hurt? I sprint toward my floor bacon, my tongue slapping my nose as I bound down the hallway. I'm going so fast I almost hurtle past it, and have to scramble my paws accross the slippery floor to slow myself down enough to snap it up on my way by.

The sweet, saltiness of the meat crunched gloriously under my teeth. Within a couple of short chomps, that little morsel of paradise slid down my thoat, flooding me with euphoria. Oh heaven, thy name is Bacon.

I looked up at Dad longingly. I put on my pleading eyes, I know he has more up there, he MUST be willing to share.

I heard a happy-growl (I think they call it a laugh...) come out of Dad's mouth, and then he said "Nope, sorry boy. <something, someting> for now. Mom says you're on a diet."

Diet. Oh, how I hate that word. Every time my humans use it, it means I don't get the tasty food they eat anymore, and I am relegated to the bowl-crunch they leave in my dish on the floor.

In a look I try to tell Dad You can't do this to me. Please?

No luck. He's setting out the flat bowls on the table for Mom and the two-footed puppies. I look at a dad like a traitor, but he ignores me. At least I know Bailey won't finish her bacon. She always leaves it on the table when she's done, but I have tricks to get it when they stop looking.

They go on eating and chatting in that language I can only pick up sometimes. I know what some of the noises mean, but mostly I just watch their face.

Dad is saying something and mom looks concerned and attentive. She keeps looking over at me every once in a while. She looks sad. I wonder why, usually in the morning everyone is smiling and laughing while they eat, or Mom and Dad are giving commands like they do to me sometimes. Like telling me to "Come" or "Get in". Mostly, I don't know what they mean, but on those days after food, everyone gets up and starts doing stuff and then they all leave until its almost dark.

Today, everyone looks... sad. And then I see something shocking. Dad has tears in his eyes. Immidiately, I shove my head under his hand. He always feels better when he scratches the itchy spot behind my ears. I try to pick up some of the noises.

"My mom, your grandma <something, something> passed on. <Something, something> Accident. <Something, something>"

Suddenly, everyone is sad. The other pups are crying. Mom is crying. Dad is Crying. And I can't be everywhere at once! I cry too. I just want to help my pack, but I can't help everyone at once...

My whimper makes Dad look at me. "It's okay boy. Thank you. You're a good dog." His half smile is unconvincing witht the tears still running down his cheeks. But he scratches my neck, and pats me on my shoulder anyway. I love when my humans call me "good boy" or "good dog". It makes me feel so full of love. And they always seem happier after they say it too.

"This change is going to be hard for him, Rodger." Mom says. Looking at me. She calls Dad "Rodger" or "Babe" most of the time. I don't get how he has so many names, but I guess its like "Coop" "Coop-y" and "Cooper" for me.

Dad does some of those noises, and it's clear he agrees with her.

"Change". That's a noise I know. I don't like that one. Everytime my humans start using that word, something happens. Last time, Mom used that word talking to the kids, and we moved all of our stuff to Dad's house. I didn't like it at first, because all the smells were new and I didn't know where anything was. It took some getting used to, but to be honest, it's been a little better since that "change".

Some of them haven't been like that though. The time before, was when our old Alpha, my original Dad, "Bob", left the pack. I haven't seen him since before my muzzle started to grey, but I still know his scent. That was a bad "change".

The lonely nights, when Mom would be sad didn't end for a long time. Eventually, the sadness went away and Rodger-Dad started coming to Mom's old house. That had been years ago.

I was suddenly very apprehensive of what this "change" was going to be. I don't want Dad to leave the pack like "Bob" did. He's a good Alpha.

When Dad left, I thought my worst fears were coming true. I whined at the door, but Mom called me over to the couch and said "Don't worry, he'll be right back." I know that noise too. Every time they make that noise, it means even if they leave for a long time, they aren't gone.

I laid down and let Mom pet me for a while.

Eventually, Dad did come back. I smelled him before he got to the door, and I smelled something else.

Noooooo....

He couldn't. He wouldn't. HE CAN'T!

Outside the door, I smelled not one, BUT TWO other Dogs. Two other Dogs I knew. Foofie and Daniel. The two hellspawn from Dad's Mom's house.

Instantly, I imagine them stealing my toys, and digging up my crunchies in the back yard.

"HOW DARE YOU BRING THEM HERE!!" I shout toward the door!

"COOPER! No. Be good." My Mom yells at me, I know she wants me to stop shouting, but I won't. I shout and yell at the door until dad opens it and walks in with my detested nemeses in tow.

But then I see them...

They don't look like Foofie and Daniel at all. Sure, it's clear they're the same dogs, but their tails are low. Their heads are down. They look.... Broken....

"Foofie? Daniel? Are you guys okay?" My ire fades instantly. Foofie lays on the floor and sighs long and deep before she tells me "It's my Mom, Cooper. She.... went away, and never came home."

"Oh.... Oh, no..." I say. I look at Daniel, but his slumped posture is even worse.

"I don't know what happened. She said she'd be home... and I waited.... and I waited. But she never came back. And then your Rodger, brought us here." He whined.

That must be the "change". Dad's Mom.... Daniel and Foofie's Mom.... She must be.....Gone.

"C'mon. Follow me." I led them to my favorite spot in the living room. Right under the window, where the sun made the floor warm on my belly when I laid on it.

They laid down togther right where I showed them. The humans were talking, and I saw dad bringing in their bowls and beds. He put them right next to mine. And I finally understood.

They were my pack now, too.