"Happy birthday, Cara!"
I sit under the chair. The baby sits on the chair and she's covered in sweet smelling food. I want so badly to lick it off but I can't reach. There are toys everywhere but they're not for me. The man let me have the shiny paper and boxes to play with instead. They're so much fun! There are balls of air all over the floor! I kick them and push them with my nose! Sometimes they explode and it scares me. But they're so big and fun! They fly when I push them! I want to grab them with my teeth!
"Too bad the guys couldn't be here. I know they wanted to."
"That's okay, I don't mind a small party."
I must bite these things! They keep getting away from me! I yelp and scurry away when it explodes! I hide under the table. The humans laugh and look at me. I don't see how it's so funny. It's horrible, the sounds they make! But I want to play with them, they're so much fun!
"How's the cake, Cara? Is it to your likin'?"
The woman smiles. "It's delicious. Have some."
The humans spread food all over each other's faces. They laugh and smile. It smells delicious! I want some! Why don't I get any? I whine! "Ya' don't get chocolate, Charlie, sorry." The baby is covered in it! Why don't I get any? Maybe they can't hear me whine. I'll bark! "Hey, Charlie, knock it off! You'll get a little somethin' later."
Why can't the humans see I'm starving?
**********
The yellow stuff on the ground is gone. It's cold outside. Now I know for sure we're back home. The man isn't though. He's gone again. The woman takes me and the baby outside for walks. There are tons of babies out here. I don't know how I never noticed them! They're everywhere! They're all being pushed around in tiny cars. There are plenty of dogs too. They all sniff me and I sniff them. Some bark at me and the woman escorts us away. Sometimes the baby starts crying and the woman feeds her. Human babies don't realize how good they have it!
At home I try to nap on the floor. But the baby comes and hits me. She doesn't mean to hurt me, but it hurts all the same. And I have to get up and find somewhere else to sleep. She's walking on her feet now. She makes noises that sound almost like human speech. Like a primitive form. She's a lot faster. Sometimes she falls and starts crying. I scurry away so the woman won't think it was my fault. She never scolds me. But she picks the baby up and coos at it. The baby stops crying.
She sleeps less too. She doesn't get put in the crate as often as before. I seem to be sleeping more often nowadays. I love sleep. I could just lie on the couch all day and snore....
**********
"Happy birthday, Charlie!"
I hear him! That's the man! That's my human! He's in the telephone again! I wag my tail and lick it! It's him, it's so good to hear him!! I want him to come home! I want him home with me and my pack! We all miss him so much! We love him! I love him!
"He's excited to hear you. Ah, Charlie!"
I lick the woman's face by accident! But I don't care, I'm too excited to care about anything but my human! I'm the happiest dog in the world!! I must bark!!!
"How's my little girl doin'?"
"She's stopped eating her peas, for one. Thrilled about that."
