I walked over and kissed her, a long embrace to warm her heart and cheer her up.
"Good, I'll see you tonight. I love you.".....
........
It's rather hard to focus on work when you're worried about your pets. The dog would be fine, sure. At worst, she would maybe chew on something or take a dump on the floor.
Momo was the real concern, my neurotic, b*tchy cat.
No, that's not fair, she's just jealous. Besides, it's what to expect from a cat when a new dog shows up. I printed a stack of fliers saying I had found the doodle, enough to cover a wide area.
Hopefully her owner wouldn't be too far away. I then stopped off at the store to pick up food for the three of us and made my way home…
I could hear the dog barking as soon as I got out of my car, making me sick to my stomach.
I rushed to the front door and opened it, expecting to see something terrible…..
Instead, I found only the doodle, standing at the door and wagging her tail. I knelt down and rubbed her head.
"What a good watchdog you are."
I looked around, not seeing any apparent damage to the house, nothing broken. Nor did I see Momo.
"Momo?"
The bathroom door flung open and Momo pounced on me, crying hysterically.
"Master, you're home! It was so awful! This monster kept following Momo around the house and bullying Momo! She wouldn't leave Momo alone! She was going to eat Momo!"
"Oh for fuck's sake. Did you spend the entire day hidden in the bathroom?"
"Uh-huh!" she said with a sniffle.
"Momo, she's saying she wants you to pet her. When you get into my lap or follow me around, what does it mean?"
"That Momo wants to cuddle with Master!"
"That's right. And when the dog gets in your lap or follows you around, it means the same thing. Here, just try petting her."
Momo at first refused, but with her hand in mine, I coaxed her into at least touching the dog's head. The yellow pup didn't react much, good or bad, as to be expected from such flimsy contact. I kept rubbing her with Momo's hand, and eventually, she resumed wagging her tail. At last, Momo calmed down and rubbed the dog's head on her own.
"See? Now that's not so bad. She just wants love. Feel better?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Now, how about a special treat? I was going to put these fliers up around the neighborhood. How about you come with me?"
Her ears perked up at the offer. "Does Momo have to wear clothes?"
"For this, yes. We'll be out in the streets, not alone in the park. We just have to hide your ears and tail and get something on your feet."
I got her to put on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, deciding it would just be best to hide her tail in one of the pant legs. To cover her ears, I tied a bandana over her head and had her wear a pair of my old flip-flops.
Frankly, the whole outfit made her look like a new recruit into a Latin street gang, but it would do....