"Hey! Get out of there!"
But out of the darkness, rather than a spot of gray, came a cloud of gold.
A big yellow dog came out from behind the trashcans, dirty as sin but wagging its tail. It looked to be a golden doodle (half golden retriever, half poodle) and its hair was overgrown, nearly covering its eyes. It had a sweet face, looking gentle enough to carry a baby chick in its mouth without hurting it. I got down on one knee as it approached.
"Hey there, pup. What are you doing here?"
It met my outstretched hand and continued to wag its tail as I rubbed its ears. It had no collar and it looked like it had been sleeping in dirt for a while, plus it seemed skinnier than it should have been.
A stray? Those were rare.
"Come on, let's get you fed and cleaned off."
I brought the dog inside and turned on the lights. Hearing the sound of claws on the wood floors, Momo peaked her head out of the bedroom and her hair stood on end.
"What's that?!"
"Relax, it's a dog, perfectly harmless. Come say hello."
Momo shook her head in refusal.
"Fine. I'm going to get this dog in the shower and clean him up. I want you to get a bowl and put in a few cans of cat food."
"But that's ... MY food..."
"And I'll get you more tomorrow. Just please do this."
I then placed my hand on the dog's head and it started again wagging its tail.
"Come on, follow me." A nudge from me conveyed the message and I brought it into the bathroom.
I turned on the shower and waited for the water to get warm. Like Momo, the loud hissing of the water made the doodle shy away, but I managed it pull it into the shower with me.
The hot spray poured down upon it and it lowered its head as if ashamed. The water running off it looked almost like sewage, as there was a lot of filth to wash away.
I poured almost a quarter of a bottle of shampoo on creature's back and began scrubbing it in, and finally it began to show a little joy. I rubbed it down from head to tail, mixing suds and dirt into a frothy brown mess. It took almost half an hour, half of that spent getting the shampoo in and the other half spent getting it out. Once it was as clean as could be, I turned off the shower and waited.
My instincts were right, as the yellow hound shook itself off, but the spray never got past the shower curtain.
I led it outside and began rubbing it down with a towel, but with its long hair, there was a lot of water I needed to remove. The dog was now smiling and again wagging its tail, loving the firm pets and attention. It even dropped down and rolled onto its back, inviting me to rub its belly. I could help but notice something missing.
"Oh, so you're a girl. Well aren't you a pretty lass? Nice and clean."...