My Three Dogs, page 8
Liam gasped, but there was no time for anything else. The impact was brutal, punching the air out of him. The airbag slapped at Liam’s face, and then his head registered a blow that knocked black bolts of lightning across his vision. He sensed the g-forces as his truck rolled and his neck burst in pain, but he was blind now, numb to sound and sight and even feeling, his body limp and dead.
He thought of Sabrina, of the kiss they just shared, of the way she had felt in his arms. Then he remembered, in one last flicker of consciousness, something else really important.
He had forgotten to feed his dogs.
* * *
Luna was the first of the three dogs to sense trouble. There was an open window in one of the back bedrooms through which evening noises and smells drifted in, and she had come to learn the pace of the night from them, gauging when Liam should be home. As the hours advanced, the noises reduced in quality, quantity, and sound level, until there was a silence, oppressive and worrisome, in that back room.
Where was Liam? Luna paced, and Riggs watched her and felt a rising anxiety himself. Something was happening; Liam was not here, and Luna was agitated about it. For Riggs, the obvious conclusion was that whatever was making Liam so sad lately was keeping him away. Further, Riggs understood, without really comprehending, that it had something to do with Sabrina. That made Riggs a little resentful toward Luna, who so favored Sabrina over their person, Liam. Archie just basically followed the other dogs around, not sure what they were doing, ready to play if asked, but also picking up on their distress.
Eventually, they all settled into a restless sleep in their dog beds.
When dawn came the next morning, lighting up the room, Archie was the first to awaken. With a yawn, he stretched and then padded over to the food bowls. He nudged each food bowl with his nose as if believing a minute adjustment in their positions would result in them miraculously becoming laden with morning dinner. He licked the inside of one and then turned his attention to the water bowl as a substitute. He lapped up water, and the sound awoke both other dogs.
Luna remained alert in her dog bed, but Riggs also stretched and made his way to the bowls. He, too, was disappointed that food had not somehow appeared during the night. He also drank water, noting as he did so that it was nearly gone. When Luna repeated the same process, following the example of the other two dogs, she had almost no water to drink, and she took the last of it.
Riggs looked to Luna as if expecting the smaller dog to explain the absence of their person. Luna’s apprehension had increased to the level where she could not sit still; she paced relentlessly through the house. She kept returning to the back bedroom with the window open, lifting her nose, smelling for Liam. The window was far too high to contemplate climbing out, which would have been a radical choice for them anyway.
They paced, and today, there was no playing with toys, no attacking the stuffed livestock, no rolling on the floor and having fun. Even Archie was subdued, mimicking the mood of the other two. Perhaps to him, still not fully accustomed to the house’s admittedly irregular routine, it did not seem unusual for Liam to be gone. It was true that, in the past, Liam had sometimes been out very late at night, but never without first making sure the dogs were fed their dinner. This abrupt change in procedure was upsetting to Luna and Riggs.
Before long, Archie was panting, not so much from anxiety but from the fact that it had become warmer in the house, and they still had no water. Each of them optimistically checked out the water bowl, trying to understand why it was still empty.
Riggs registered that he needed to squat in the yard. He began looking hopefully out the back slider, expecting that any moment the door might open itself, and then he could go out to relieve the increasing pressure inside. Luna seemed to understand, sniffing pointedly at the spot beneath Riggs’s tail. It was Luna who went to the back bedroom first, squatting there and depositing a pile. Riggs gratefully followed her example, relieving the pressure and feeling like a really bad dog. It had been a long time since Riggs had done this in the house.
He remembered Liam’s reaction when Archie squatted in front of the sliding door, how Liam would snatch up Archie before the poor dog had a chance to commence his business and run the dog out into the yard. Very often, Archie’s confusion meant that, for several minutes, he didn’t do anything but look around the fenced-in enclosure in bewilderment.
That was the proper way for a dog to be, Riggs knew, to go outside in the grass, to lift legs against the fence, and to squat in the yard in a place where Liam would reliably come and clean it up.
When Archie went back to add his pile to that of the other two dogs, the smell reminded him of being at the short end of that chain because now, throughout the house, there drifted the unmistakable odor of dogs having squatted. Archie kept looking to Riggs and Luna. They were the older dogs. They ought to understand that he was thirsty and needed to be fed. He pointedly pawed at his dinner bowl, gazing expectantly at Riggs. Riggs was in charge. Riggs should feed them.
Luna understood that whatever had gone so terribly wrong, it meant that there was no food and, more urgently, no water. Her nose eventually led her to the room with the bathtub, the dreaded bathtub. The scent of water was powerful in an elevated porcelain bowl with a lid, but that lid was shut. When Luna rose gracefully on her rear legs to probe at that lid, it was immovable. She dropped back down in frustration.
Riggs watched all of this from the doorway. He didn’t really want to go into the room that he associated with a bath.
Luna began a process of revisiting that room throughout the day. Riggs eventually stopped following her. There was nothing to be gained, he realized, by sniffing at the rim of that bowl, despite the seductive smell of water just out of reach. It did nothing but increase his anxiety and frustration. Riggs did look to Luna, though, to figure something out. Luna was the dog Riggs could count on to unlatch the gate that had kept them separated from their person in the other room, the back bedroom where they had now squatted so effectively. Luna just understood more about the human world than Riggs could ever hope to.
When night fell, it came very gradually, but then it was dark. It had now been so long since they had eaten, so long since they’d had water, that they were compelled to think about almost nothing else.
They sniffed everywhere. A pantry door was promising, but none of them could reach the knob, and even if they could, they weren’t sure what to do about it. Riggs felt confident that Luna could get that door open and that there were bags of food in there, but Luna didn’t seem to want to do so. Or perhaps she couldn’t. When she and Riggs sniffed each other, Riggs could smell her desperation and knew if she could think of a way to get into the pantry, she would.
The night was long and sleepless, each dog turned inward to their own hunger and thirst. Riggs remembered swimming in a mountain stream with Liam, biting the water, drinking it in. Luna was remembering tackling the water sprinkler in the yard.
Archie’s thoughts turned to his chain. This was so similar, the ache of hunger, the dry pain of thirst, the odors. This was what people did with their dogs, sometimes. Oddly, though he was the youngest dog of the three, Archie felt the least desperate. Eventually, he knew, humans would save them. It’s what always happened.
The air was still except for the quiet panting of the three canines as they waited for Liam’s return.
13
Light was barely probing the home the next morning when Luna walked to the kitchen and began sniffing with a purpose. Riggs and Archie followed hopefully. She seemed to have a plan, though nothing really happened for some time. Eventually, all her probing examinations took place around the cold box that held wonderful smells. When the door was open, those smells would come rushing out, and now Riggs could remember the succulent odors of meat and cheeses.
Could Luna get in there? Riggs didn’t see how. There was a big handle on one side, but it was well up off the floor. Another handle, lower, ran parallel to the ground. That handle opened a drawer and food smells would flood out of there as well—much colder food smells, but food nonetheless. Riggs watched as Luna sniffed and registered the fact that the Jack Russell was mostly staring up at the big side handle on the cold box. Archie just sat and watched, patiently waiting for someone to solve his problems.
Riggs was panting, partly from thirst, but mostly from fear. This had never happened, and he had a deep sense that something awful was occurring. Perhaps Liam had left them. Perhaps whatever was making their person sad had caused him to abandon his dogs and go somewhere else, perhaps with other dogs, dogs who could manage to make him happy.
Riggs felt now that none of them had done as much as they needed to in order to keep Liam content. Luna gave too much attention to Sabrina instead of focusing solely on Liam. Archie was too dumb and puppylike to be of much value and had been squatting far too often in front of the sliding door. Even though it appeared to Riggs that this was happening less frequently, it still had set the stage for a disappointment in dog behavior that may have led to Liam going away and never coming back.
Both Archie and Riggs perked up when Luna abandoned her searching in the kitchen and returned to the room with the elevated water bowl and the bathtub. There was some sort of purpose, some sort of determination that compelled them to follow her yet again into that small room. Riggs was astounded when, without being forced to, Luna leaped up and over and into the porcelain bathtub. Why would any dog voluntarily enter such a place? Riggs had no idea what she was doing. Archie was even less sure, stuck on the threshold to the room, unwilling to commit to fully joining them.
Luna made her way, her nails clicking, to the dreaded water faucet from which all the baths flowed. There was a lever there, of course, but Riggs had no idea what it was for. He was somewhat astounded to see Luna leap up and thrust her paws and nose at it. It made no sense to him whatsoever. An odd sound began to fill the air as Luna continued her attack. It was a gurgling, high-pitched whine, very faint.
Then it happened: a tiny stream of water flowed out of the nozzle.
Luna’s reaction to this stream was immediate. She lunged at it and bit at the stream, lapping up water. Riggs, intoxicated by the odor, rushed to the edge of the tub and stared at her. Luna was drinking water, and he was not. That is what he registered. She was in the tub, and he was not. There seemed to be a real association. With something approaching resignation, Riggs launched himself into the tub, landing and sliding and then making his way quickly down to the trickle of water where Luna was still drinking greedily. He thrust her face next to hers, and she graciously let him drink as well. The two dogs stayed there slaking their thirst for some time while Archie watched in uncomprehending envy.
At first, Riggs paid no attention to the younger dog, focused only on the blessed relief from having a source of water. When he finally had conquered his thirst, he turned and looked at Archie, who was sitting in distress, now inside the room, but barely. Archie stood up, wagged, stretched, and bowed, and then beseeched Riggs with an imploring look.
Riggs thought about it. What Archie needed to do was get in the bathtub, but he clearly had no sense that he could do so. Despite the fact that he had seen both Riggs and Luna jump in, he seemed absolutely perplexed, incapable of formulating a plan on his own.
Riggs pointedly climbed out of the tub, demonstrating, he felt, that by putting one’s forepaws on the side of the tub and thrusting, a dog could clamber in and out. This didn’t seem to register with Archie at all, who just wagged harder and gave another little cry. He wanted water so desperately—that much was obvious. He sniffed jealously at Riggs’s lips but backed away when, after being given an exploratory lick, Riggs bared his teeth. Riggs was not going to regurgitate for Archie. Instead, after a moment, Riggs elected to push forward, crowding Archie into the small space between the elevated bowl and the lip of the bathtub. Luna was still licking up water but with much less urgency, and she watched this process curiously.
Backed into that corner now, Riggs made Archie very uncomfortable. The younger dog felt trapped and anxious. There was literally nowhere to go, and still Riggs pressed forward. Archie started to panic. Then Riggs nipped once at Archie’s rear leg. Frantic to escape this inexplicable assault, Archie launched himself straight up and, in the process, cleared the lip of the bathtub. He fell as if thrown, landing on his face, rolling, but he was in. He went after that trickle of water, and Luna accommodated him.
Luna remained in the tub while Archie drank and drank. When the younger dog finally had his fill, Luna soared gracefully out of the bathtub onto the hard tile floor and clicked out of the room. Riggs watched Archie track this with confusion. Then Riggs left.
Archie was now alone in the tub. The water was wonderful, but he was no longer thirsty. He was hungry, and, even worse, he was alone in this place of anxiety. He needed to be with other dogs. He tried to picture what had happened, how both dogs had managed to get in and out of this odd container. His association with it was that he was lifted in and out by Liam, and that had been a very unpleasant experience, and yet, now here he was of his own volition. He wasn’t even sure how such a thing was possible.
Archie thought about it. Then, scrambling, he attempted to climb out of the tub. The sides were slippery and his efforts fruitless. He repeated the process several times, sliding back with each attack.
Archie yipped plaintively, then cocked his head, listening for sounds of rescue.
Nothing.
His fear turned to panic, and he went after the side of the tub in a frenzy, leaping and clawing and landing rather painfully on the lip of the tub, but now he was half in and half out. When he toppled forward, he had escaped.
Archie turned and ran after the other dogs, who had reassembled themselves in the kitchen. They were still sitting and staring at the cold box. Archie didn’t know what was in there and didn’t know what they found so fascinating.
Luna focused on that side handle. She could recall so many times where Liam had casually reached up and pulled on it, and she had registered the wonderful smells flowing from the interior. It seemed to her it should be easy to pull on that handle if she could get to it. How could she do that?
It was frustration more than calculation that led her to leap into the air. As she did so, she tried to snatch at that handle with her mouth. She was unsuccessful, but as she fell, both of her rear paws landed on the lower handle. Now, she was within striking distance of the side handle, with her two back feet propped up on the drawer pull that ran parallel to the floor. She began to bite and tug and work at the side handle, barely able to get a grip, straining and pushing as hard as she could, and then something completely unexpected happened. With a lurch, her back legs fell away, the freezer drawer yawning open, and she dropped and landed directly onto a pile of frozen objects.
Riggs watched all this in astonishment. He’d not really understood much about what Luna had been attempting, but now she was literally inside the coldest part of the cold box, lying on top of what lay within. Their eyes met, Luna and Riggs exchanging information. This was a triumph of some kind. They just needed to understand what to do next.
Luna stood up, still in the cold box. Her paws were immediately aching from the temperatures, which normally, when given a winter’s worth of time to adjust, shouldn’t bother her so much, but this had been an abrupt change. Yet there were food smells in here, and she dug with her mouth at one of the packages. It was coated in plastic, but that didn’t disguise the deliciousness of the chicken that lay within it. She bit and pulled and dug at that plastic until she could pull a chunk of chicken into her mouth. She began gnawing at it greedily, aware as she did so that both Archie and Riggs had pressed forward to watch her progress. Luna chewed that crunchy, frozen chicken and went for another piece.
The dogs sat expectantly, as if Liam had commanded them to do so. When Luna dipped her nose again into the frozen box, she smelled a delectable piece of meat. She pulled it out, and it was heavy. She looked at Riggs. Riggs’s face was beseeching. Luna dropped the frozen beef to the floor, and Riggs jumped on it. Archie held back despite his obvious hunger because Riggs was in charge. Riggs ripped and pulled frantically at the packaging, eventually exposing enough of the red meat for him to get his teeth on. He lay on the floor and began licking and licking.
Luna, meanwhile, had excavated another small piece of chicken and had chewed it and swallowed it and was feeling slightly better. Her next foray gave her a plastic bag with the unmistakable smell of cooked turkey. That one, she pulled out and dropped on the floor for Archie. The three dogs fed, feeling remorseful, feeling like bad dogs, but compelled by their near starvation.
They overate, the food swelling their empty stomachs, and soon were visiting the back room. Luna and Riggs and perhaps even Archie knew that beyond the mess in the kitchen, beyond the purloined meats, what they had done on the floor back there would get them in serious trouble—so they reacted guiltily when, much later in the day, the front door rattled and swung open.
14
The dogs ran to meet the person on the threshold, barking with unrestrained relief, but it wasn’t Liam. It was the man they knew of as Brad, which was good—Brad knew Liam. Brad would take them to Liam.
“Oh my God, you poor dogs,” was the first thing Brad blurted.
They were frantic and would have jumped into the arms of a stranger, so when Brad extended his arms, they all swarmed onto him, smelling him, looking for signs of Liam.
“Oh man, oh man. Wow, it stinks in here,” he observed.
After giving them affection, Brad strode to the rear slider and threw it open. The dogs dashed out into the yard, relieving themselves and feeling better about it than they had in some time. Riggs and Luna exchanged a glance, as if hopeful Brad wouldn’t think to look inside the room down the hall.
