Watch Dog

Atticus and Bailey were at home sitting on the couch and laughing at the silly faces their newborn was making.

“I think we should get a dog,” Atticus said.

“I’m not against getting a dog, but the additional expense might be a bit much right now. We have to make sure we have enough to take care of Sofia,” Bailey said.

“True, but I did just get a promotion. And I feel like a dog would be good for us, he could watch out for intruders and help keep Sofia Safe,” Atticus said.

“Fine. If you really want a dog, let’s go to the shelter. But don't assume the dog is a he,” Baily said.

"Hey, as long as we get a dog, I could care less about the gender," Atticus said.

Atticus and Baily took Sofia to the car, buckled her in the car seat and drove to the shelter. They spent the next half hour deciding which was just the right dog.

"I'm feeling a strong connection to the Golden Retriever," Atticus said.

"Me too," Baily said.

"I'm glad you guys said that. She's been here the longest. The poor thing's just been sitting in that cage. I think she feels the same way about you, too," The shelter worker said and the dog jumped up and barked twice.

They smiled, signed the necessary paper work and took there new dog home.

They went to the couch and sat down. The Golden Retriever jumped into there laps.

"Whoa, girl. You're a big dog," Atticus said.

"What should we name her?" Baily asked.

"My name's Morax," the dog said.

"Whoa, you can talk?" Atticus said.

"What kind of name is Morax?" Baily asked.

"The dog can talk, honey. Who cares how weird the name is?" Atticus said.

"It's Latin, thank you for asking. And yes, I can talk. I scared my last so called owner so bad he abandoned me at the shelter. Said I was possessed or something," Morax said.

"We'll, I'm not scared. I think it's cool," Atticus said.

"Thanks. I am pretty cool," Morax said.

"You can warn us if anything is going to happen to Sofia," Baily said.

"Yah, sure, I'll just bark," Morax said.

"Or you could just call us," Atticus said.

"I think Morax was being sarcastic," Baily said. Morax smiled.

The day went on and Morax got hungry.

"Hey Atticus, got any food?" Morax asked.

"That's what we need to get, dog food," Atticus said.

"In the meantime, want some of my vegan chicken?" Baily asked.

"Vegan chicken," Morax repeated.

"Yah, it's made of tofu and it's chicken flavored," Baily said.

"No thanks. I only eat real meat," Morax said.

"Well, that's a shame. Now you have to wait for us to go to the store to get some dog food," Baily said. Morax grunted.

Sofia started crying.

"Sofia's upset," Morax said.

"We'll take care of it in a minute. We're just finishing eating," Atticus said.

"Wow, ok. You guys are not only horribly unprepared dog owners, you're horrible parents, too," Morax said.

"Excuse me," Atticus said and gave Morax a look.

"You heard me. You should have gotten dog food on the way here. And ignoring your baby after claiming you want her protected crosses a line," Morax said.

"Hey, watch it. It's cool you can talk and all but you need to respect us," Atticus said.

"I don't need to do anything. You guys were probably going to abandon me anyway, just like all the other owners," Morax said.

"What the hell are you talking about," Atticus said. Morax's eye's started to glow red. Morax jumped on the table and grabbed Atticus by the throat, ripping out his Trachea. He chewed the Trachea and swallowed it. Atticus slumped to the floor.

"Now that's good eating. Better then any dog food or fake chicken you guys would have given me," Morax said. Baily started screaming.

"What's the matter, honey, you never seen a dog eat a man before. I do it all the time. Right after my last owner said he didn't want me anymore because I ate his spoiled brat kid, I ate him too," Morax said.

"I'm calling the police," Baily said. As she got up and turned around, Morax jumped on her back and started chewing on her neck.

"You taste just as good as your husband," Morax said when he finished eating Baily.

Sofia was still crying.

"Don't worry, Sofia, I'm coming. It'll all be over soon. I'll bring you with me to my next family to guilt them into adopting us quicker before I eat you," Morax said, then smiled.

Copyright © 3/02/2023 by A.H. Mittelman. All rights reserved.