Dogface Finds a Stick

<img src="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2HIkA_U4x5PTUZOX2lmbkxLU3djamRpQlI2VXZ1YkMzdmp3"> You are on a walk. You love walks. Walks are the best! You are with your human. You love your human. Your human is the best! She lets you off the lead and you pad about, smelling loam and grass and all the places that your friends have been. You wee over those places. They are your places now. You are the best! You are pursuing a particulalry woody sort of smell when you see it. The stick. The most stick-like stick of sticks. [[You imeediately grab the stick in your jaws->grab the stick]] [[Inexplicably choose to ignore the stick]]

Yes! The stick is yours. You have the stick. You bite it and feel the pleasing resistance of all good sticks. The stick is yours. You are the best! The stick is yours. You are the best! The stick is... The stick is... curiously resitant to being lifted form the ground. [[Pull really, really hard, growling for good measure->Try to free the stick]] [[Let go of the stick and sit for a moment, contemplating the stick and the quandary it poses]]

It is like you're not even a dog. Like something else is directing your thoughts and actions. Something distincly human. You shudder. You love your human, but the thought of being a human. Ugh. Humans don't eat poo, they don't lick their bits or sniff each other's bums, they don't wee in the open (much), they don't rip stuff up with their mouths, and they're not bothered about sticks. You will never understand humans. [[You look at the stick longingly, lick your lips, and grab it|grab the stick]]

This sort of thing hasn't happened to you before and you feel quite frustrated. You go through a mental checklist to make sure you did things 'right': 1) You found the stick. 2) You bit the stick and held on tight. 3) You pulled the stick. You do not understand why the fourth step, successful ownership of the stick, has not followed. You begin to question everything you have ever believed to be true. Then you hear your human calling you and... [[You decide to have another go at claiming the stick|Try to free the stick]]

You bite down into the stick hard. You lean your whole body into pulling the stick. You pull and pull. The stick does not move. You growl and heave and growl some more. That will show it. [[Growling at the stick does not 'show it']]

The stick does not budge but you continue to heave and growl, and growl and heave. You are sure that you will win. You have learnt that when you persist in games of tug with your human, you usually win and are awarded a belly rub. Belly rubs are the best. Suddenly, another human appears. He is doing the 'talking' thing. He seems to be cross. Your human arrives as well. She does the 'talking' thing too. The other human waves his arms at her. [[You let go of the stick and bark at the other human]] [[You let go of the stick and stand between your human and the other one]]

You have a very deep and BIG bark. The other human stops and looks at you. He steps back. Hah. You showed him. He continues to talk at your human. You do not like the way he sounds. Your human is standing just in front of you. She has placed her hand on your head. You do not like the other human. [[You step forward and growl at him.]] [[You sit and let your human deal with the stiuation.->Let your human handle the situation]]

The other human steps back. He is pointing at you and talking more loudly again. You growl //and// bark. That will show him. Your human puts you on the lead. You do not like being put on the lead when you must protect your human (and your stick) from the loud-talky man. [[You strain against the lead and bark and growl more loudly.]] [[You take the cue to let your human handle the situation and stand quietly->Let your human handle the situation]]

The loud talky man sreps back again. You showed him. Your human slips the lead over your head and you are confused. You found the greatest stick ever and tried to get it but couldn't. Then a loud-talky man appeared and was not nice. You protected your human. And now the lead is on you. [[You look at the stick as if to chide it for tempting you with its stickness.]]

It is your job to protect your huamn. The talky-man is not pleasant. The more you bark and growl the louder he gets. Your human pulls you back and tells you off. You do not like being told off. Being told off is the worst. [[You look at the stick as if to chide it for tempting you with its stickness.]]

The loud-talky man calms down. Your human seems to be telling him off now. The talky-man walks away. Your human is the best. She turns to you and says something. [[You look at the stick longingly.]]

This is all the stick's fault. You were having a lovely walk and now your human is mad with you and she has started to walk home with you in tow. And all because of a stick. You will never try to get the stick again. Even if it is a lovely stick. The best stick. The best stick ever! You wish you had the stick.

Your human laughs. You know lauging. It is one of the best sounds. She walks with you to the stick and you think that this might be the day she finally becomes more dog-like. She reaches down for the stick and tugs at it. It does not move. Then she looks at you and says some more words. She points to a nearby tree and back to the stick. You are sure that she is trying to tell you something. You sniff the stick. You look at the tree. You sniff the stick again. Your human strokes your head and says some more words. You recognise one of them: Root. Your special stick is something called a 'root'. You wish you could get the root. But you understand that roots are connected to trees. As you turn with your human to walk away, you look back at the stick/root. You stare longingly and you promise yourself that someday. //Someday//, the stick/root will be yours.