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    Our Canine Companions Featuring Whiskers
    Our Canine Companions Featuring Whiskers
    Our Canine Companions Featuring Whiskers
    Ebook143 pages1 hour

    Our Canine Companions Featuring Whiskers

    By Donald H Sullivan

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A book all about dogs. Contains a novella (Whiskers) plus 3 short stories. Also contains true stories of heroic deeds plus many fascinating facts about dogs. The novella, Whiskers, has been compared to such stories as Lassie and Homeward Bound, yet it is a different kind of "lost dog" story. The 3 short stories are about a runaway boy, an unhappy little girl, and a woman facing an escaped killer

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDonald H Sullivan
    Release dateJun 16, 2016
    ISBN9781310236129
    Our Canine Companions Featuring Whiskers
    Author

    Donald H Sullivan

    I'm a native Floridian, retired from the US Army, I started writing in the army, mostly training and tech manuals. Boring stuff, but it whetted my interest in writing. I've written sci-fi, thrillers, mysteries, humor, fantasies, horror, and more. I'm now living in NC. While in the army, I served in air defense artillery, military intelligence, and psychological operations. I also worked in Federal Civil Service as a quality assurance specialist, ammunition surveillance. I love writing, reading, most kinds of music, and animals--especially dogs.

    Read more from Donald H Sullivan

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      Book preview

      Our Canine Companions Featuring Whiskers - Donald H Sullivan

      Title Page

      Our Canine Companions: Featuring Whiskers

      Donald H Sullivan

      Smashwords Edition

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, we respectfully ask that you return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

      ~~*~~

      CopCopyright © 2009 by Donald H Sullivan

      ISBN: 9781301469215

      The first four stories in the book are purely works of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters therein to persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

      ~~*~~

      Table of Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      Introduction

      Whiskers

      Intruder

      Abused

      Tootsie

      A K9 Valentine

      Our Relationship With Dogs

      Canine Intelligence

      A Loyal and Useful Companion

      Respect Your Friend

      Do Dogs Have Souls?

      Eulogy of the Dog

      A Few Interesting Facts

      Do Dogs Have a Sixth Sense?

      Rainbow Bridge

      About the Author

      Introduction

      ...This is not your average anthropomorphic, talking dog story but more a thinking dog story, as Sullivan adroitly gets inside the head of a Pekingese-mix named Whiskers, abandoned on a country road by the head of a family who is more concerned about his job transfer than the well-being of his young son, Joey. Whiskers, after waiting a day by the side of the road for his dad to return, finally realizes that something is wrong and sets out for home, but when he arrives three days later, exhausted and starving, he finds the place deserted...

      ~Sandy Raschke, Fiction Editor, Calliope

      ~~*~~

      Dear Mr. Sullivan,

      I am sending you a Powerpoint presentation I presented to the Reading Department on how I taught my students to read and interpret your story.

      What I got from this is Whiskers went on an adventure from being transferred to one family to being homeless, to finding another family, and then going through up and downhill issues like storms, meeting new friends, getting adjusted to different types of environments, and having an instinct to survive...

      ~Debbie Moore-Hargrove, Penn Valley Community College, Kansas City, MO

      Back to top

      WHISKERS

      An odyssey of a small dog

      One

      Amy peered through the window at Joey and Whiskers, who were playing together in the back yard. Her eyes blurred with tears and a lump formed in her throat as she watched the boy and dog romping. She turned and faced her husband, who was sitting at the kitchen table having coffee.

      Larry, I honestly wish I could find a way to make you change your mind. Her voice choked. We've had Whiskers since he was a small puppy. Don't you feel even a little attached to him?

      Forget it, Hon. Sure, I like the dog, but we have to be practical. Sorry, but my mind's made up. Can't you remember the problems we had the last time I got transferred? Always looking for motels that would accept dogs. Making all those stops at rest areas and then waiting for the dog to do his business. And finding a place to rent was a hassle because of him. I could go on.

      What about Joey? He'll be broken hearted when he learns that we're not taking Whiskers along. And to be honest, I will, too. I think of him almost as a family member.

      Larry chuckled. Joey'll get over it in a few days, and so will you. Just be glad I'm not having the dog put to sleep. Look, Hon, I promise that I'll find a nice neighborhood to leave him. He sipped on his coffee. Look, a cute little part-Pekingnese like Whiskers will be picked up by someone for sure. He'll have a new home in no time.

      Amy knew that it would be useless to push it any further. She had already begged and pleaded and they'd had a big argument about it. But Larry would not give in.

      She turned her attention back to the kitchen window. She doubted that she--or Joey--would get over it in a few days, as Larry had predicted.

      She remembered Twinkle, a little black and orange kitten from her childhood that had strayed away and never returned. She'd had the kitten but a few weeks, but had grown to love it dearly in that time.

      Her mother promised her another kitten and assured her that she would get over the loss of Twinkle in a few days. But she grieved for a long, long time, imagining all sorts of things that might have happened to her beloved little pet.

      Whiskers had been with them nearly two years now. Joey's uncle, Amy's brother, had rescued the mixed breed pup and given it to the boy. Joey had been begging for a dog and he and Whiskers bonded almost immediately.

      Larry had only grudgingly allowed Joey to accept the puppy. He was not a cruel man, but had grown up in a family without pets of any kind. He simply had no experience to identify with a boy's love for a dog.

      The boy and the dog were now playing tug o' war with an old towel. Now that school was out the eight-year-old Joey had but few friends to play with on a regular basis. The neighborhood was made up mostly of retirees and childless couples. There were a couple of girls his age and Joey liked them, but boys and girls of that age didn't enjoy the same kinds of games.

      Joey was tugging on the towel when he slipped, falling flat on his back. As Joey was lying there, Whiskers ran to him and began licking his face. Amy's instinct was to run to the aid of her son, but he began to giggle as he grabbed the little dog and the two rolled in the grass.

      Yes, Amy thought, Joey was young and flexible and he would eventually get over it. Time would erase his heartache and dim the memory of his little pal. But it would take longer than a few days. Much longer.

      ~~*~~

      Whiskers was happy when he hopped in the car, for he loved to ride. He usually had Joey in the back seat with him as a traveling companion, but this time he was alone. He was enjoying himself all the same. He loved to stick his nose out the half-opened window and let the wind blow in his face.

      After a time the car stopped and the back door opened up.

      C'mon boy, out you go. Whiskers hesitated for just a second, for this seemed an unlikely place to get out. But he was an obedient dog, and he did as he was told.

      The little dog stood beside the road, bewildered as he watched the car pull away. The family head, the one Joey called Dad, had left him before, but never in a place like this. He had always been left in the place where they prodded, poked, and stuck sharp things in him. Sensing that these things were for his own good, he had always submitted without protest. But his family always came back for him.

      The sights and smells were all new to him. There were houses, but none were familiar. Uncertain of what to do now, he walked around inspecting his new surroundings.

      Whiskers was certain that the family must have had a good reason for leaving him here. People were always doing things that he did not understand, but he had learned to accept and to live with their ways, mysterious though they were.

      It was simply beyond his comprehension that they would not come back for him. He was part of the family, and as such he would protect them and look out for them as best he could--even to laying down his life. He knew, too, that the family would take care of him. And he loved them all, even the man who seldom showed him any affection.

      And so, Whiskers waited.

      He waited the rest of the day, watching hopefully as each car passed. And he was always disappointed. He waited through the night, enduring a crashing thunderstorm. But he never strayed far from the spot, for he wanted to be there when they came back for him.

      When morning came, he felt a need to relieve himself. He moved a short distance away from the road, near a house, and made his toilet. He had no sooner finished than a man came running from the house, yelling at him. Terrified, Whiskers ran. He stopped and looked back just in time to see the man throw something at him. He dodged the object and kept going.

      He knew that it was time to move on. Something was wrong, for his family wasn't coming back for him this time. He decided that it was time to find his way back home. Something in his brain, he didn't know what, pointed

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