309 Neo and Juliet

Juliet and Dan were K-9 trainers, so there was always a big dog there. No problem for me. I arrived as dinner was being served. Juliet greeted me at the door, along with a German Shepherd, "Neo."

"Sit," she instructed him at the table. He dutifully sat. Then, "Sit," to me, and I dutifully took my chair—to laughter.

"Y'all do great work with these dogs."

"Thanks. It gets easier the longer you're with them," Juliet replied. Neo sprang to his feet.

"Neo," Juliet said firmly, "I said sit." Neo disobeyed. "Neo!" He walked stiffly, tail tucked, toward Juliet. "I don't get it; something's going on."

Neo barked at her.

"Neo," Dan said alpha-emphatically."Kennel!"

But Neo jammed his muzzle firmly into her abdomen and sniffed repeatedly, until he was snorting. Then growling.

Dan rose and walked toward Juliet. Neo growled—a mortal sin. Dan led him to his kennel for the night. He was still crying like a puppy when I left that evening.

Later that night Dan called frantically.

"Neo mauled her. Deep bites. Lotsa blood. LHe was in a trance—some kill frenzy." Dan paused. "EMS is here. Please meet us at the hospital."

The emergency physician had sutured the worst lacerations. "I think the blood loss is over," he reported. "An ultrasound will rule out anything internal."

"I don't get it," Juliet said when I peaked in. "He was so sweet. He worshipped me."

Juliet died months later, but not because of Neo. No, Neo had tried to save her, attacking a vicious monster inside his beloved Juliet. Her surgeons were no more successful.

He saw the monster clearly with the 20/20 vision of olfaction. His obligation was no different than what the oncology surgeon said: "For this malignancy, surgery of maximum effort."

Dan knew that Neo was a gift from God—like all dogs were—a beautiful, sentient creature who would die for his Juliet. She, too, was a gift from God to all who knew her.

Dogs take friendship to the divine; Neo saw her monster as his. He would've dragged it past the three-headed Hellhound Cerberus—through the gates of Hell and shut it in—while Juliet went to another place to wait for all her champions.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

For Monday, November 4, Day 309 of the 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge.

366 WORDS (without A/N)

57 DAYS TO GO! THIS DOGWALK SNIFFS ON, 366 WAFTS A DAY.

There are currently three Vocal writers in this 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge:

• L.C. (Lucky dog) Schäfer

• Rachel (Double-dog-dare-ya) Deeming

• Gerard (Lapdog) DiLeo