Spot and Smudge - Book One

by Robert Udulutch

  By the end of the first week she had started talking to them.

  Just a little thinking out loud at first but they seemed to respond to her voice and paid close attention. By the middle of the second week she was reading the pups entire articles aloud. She was now sure the pups were nodding or shaking their heads when it was a subject they were interested in.

  They particularly seemed to enjoy when she ranted.

  Typically it was related to an article about health or nutrition, or a fast food ad. Sometimes it was the latest politician’s nonsense or a stupid act of violence, which seemed to be in the local news more and more.

  Aila went off for an hour one afternoon about the damn Chinese food place. There was a huge piece in the paper gushing about the owner and how she was opening another location. There were pictures of the little Chinese woman, the huge staff, and their SPECIAL SPECIAL dish that was all the rage in town now. The restaurant had added extra drivers and routes to keep up with the demand.

  She asked Spot if he could bloody believe it. Apparently he could not, based on the head shake he gave her.

  If Dan sees me talking to this dog he’ll have me committed, she thought as she rubbed his ears.

  When they weren’t keeping Aila company the pups were often upstairs in Ben’s room, napping or playing with the tablet. Aila wasn’t sure what to make of them using the device. Initially it seemed insane but when she watched Spot paw at the floating shapes it just looked so normal now.

  The nights that Ben stayed at Mimi’s the routine was much the same except that the pups napped much more often. One day Smudge had slept right through breakfast. That was very strange for Mimi’s post-parvo girl dog, and the grandmother was still hyper-sensitive to her eating habits.

  Ronnie had told them most medium sized dogs are close to their adult weight at around eight months. Typically they add another ten percent over the next year. At only five months old she was convinced the pups were almost fully grown.

  Spot had hit forty-five pounds and Smudge was tipping the scales at almost fifty-five, and she never missed a meal.

  When Ben asked her to join them in the kitchen she came down the hallway with a slight limp. She was favoring her rear left leg but didn’t seem to mind when it was touched. Mimi determined it wasn’t anything serious and shuffled Ben off to school, promising to keep a close eye on her.

  “What have you gotten yourself into, you poor little dear?” Mimi asked, giving Spot the hairy eyeball and coaxing Smudge to jump up next to her on the couch. Smudge did, and Mimi started massaging the leg. “Did you get chased in your dreams?” she said soothingly. Smudge fully enjoyed the rubbing and leaned into Mimi, arching her back, and wagging with approval.

  Spot looked at Mimi and then at his sister, yawned, and curled up on his blanket. He thought, Mimi, I wonder if you’d be so happy to rub her poor little hind leg if you knew she in fact didn’t turn her ankle getting chased in her dreams, or by me. She turned her ankle attacking a pack of wild dogs in The Bogs a few hours ago.

  Chapter 50

  Spot and Smudge had left Mimi’s house the night before through the basement window as they had done on the previous nights. However this time they left just after Ben had fallen asleep instead of waiting until well after midnight.

  They had been traversing an ever widening circle around Mimi’s farm and they had picked up a scent down at the river that they wanted to check out. On the night Mimi had used the shotgun Smudge had gotten a good look at, and whiff of, the large predator that had attacked the chickens. Tonight she had picked up a fresh bit of this smell and wanted to know more.

  Spot was also interested as he had been working on a plan ever since the incidents with the Cooper boys and Doug Dorschstein. Spot had not liked what he saw in Doug that day, or in Aaron, or in Arty and Allen. The little boy dog didn’t like those looks at all. As part of his plan the pups needed to be able to move about freely and these predators needed to be dealt with. Spot didn’t want to risk running into them at an inopportune time.

  The predators weren’t hard to track. They only hid their scents when they were actively hunting but they moved fast and covered a lot of ground. They also travelled in various patterns of circle and backtrack so it took a good part of the night to narrow down the direction of their home base. Spot and Smudge alternated taking the lead and stopped for a drink and a snack of wild blueberries. The pups tracked the predator scent north from the river, back past Mimi’s and then to the east. They were surprised how close the coyotes’ main route was to the farmhouse.

  They crossed Morgan Road and paused just south of the entrance to The Bogs where it smelled like several of the wild dogs had come through just recently. Spot could pick up four distinct predators, including the one from Mimi’s and one female, and he assumed their den was somewhere deeper in The Bogs.

  He and Smudge conferred for a bit. Their beach was about two miles to the east but they had not been any further into The Bogs. Ben had taken them through the woods west of here almost to the vet clinic and they knew the paths around the beach well, but north of here was uncharted and the predators would have the home advantage.

  They decided to press on, heading deeper into the Bogs. The thick woods gave way to large open spaces that had been cranberry bogs and fill ponds before turning into low hills and scrub. They came to a crossroads of scents, and beyond it the woods thickened again and the predators’ smell dried up. Spot assumed this was the jumping off point for the pack’s hunting excursions and they were masking the location of their den, which was somewhere past this point in the thickest part of the forest.

  The pups split up. Spot continued ahead, following the subtle scent trail and Smudge headed to the east. She backtracked a bit to the paths they knew and circled north as she approached the beach. She would be downwind from Spot, and hopefully the predators. Spot was counting on that giving them enough of an edge.

  He entered an area dotted with marshes, and the scents were getting stronger again. He could pick up other individual coyotes. More females, pups, and a few elderly. He slowed, and after a few minutes Spot could hear them. The predators were very quiet but he could make out individuals as he came closer to the den.

  Spot picked up the scent and sounds of a sentry. She was very good and Smudge nearly missed her. The coyote guard was almost silent, and had picked a hidden spot with views of the entire valley leading into the den.

  Spot paused for a moment at the head of the glade, weighing his options. He carefully moved off the paths and laid down a double back scent trail before snapping some branches and moving away quietly.

  He was ready to bolt if needed but his gamble worked and the sentry didn’t alert her pack. She came down from her vantage point and inspected Spot’s scent for herself.

  Arrogant, that’s good, Spot thought and moved past the distracted sentry and entered the path leading to the den.

  Based on his research Spot assumed this den was the coyote’s summer camp. In a few weeks they should move farther up into the hills but with these last warm days of summer they still camped near the abandoned bogs. It was less secure here but would be easier to feed and care for the den’s growing pups.

  Still, Spot noticed the summer den was well positioned and easy to defend. He crept closer and sampled the air carefully. The four predator hunters he and Smudge had tracked, the big male, the big female, and the other two males were not here as far as he could tell.

  Now that he was close and could interpret what he was smelling he was pretty sure the big male hunter was also the pack alpha as his scent was everywhere. Spot thought about that for a minute and decided to go ahead with his plan anyway. He would have to deal with the hunters later.

  He stepped into the center of the den and three young coyote pups noticed him first. They chattered wildly and woke their mother. She yelped and soon he was surrounded by seven large predators. They were a few inches taller than him, and thicker through the chest and neck. They also
had much larger teeth. The predators closest to him were scrappy looking and each sported a few old wounds. The rest of the pack were hanging back in the shadows with the puppies.

  A large female bit one of her nosier, chubbier pups and tossed it behind her. She approached Spot low and growling.

  Now or never, Spot thought.

  He tossed his head and snapped a few times, taking a dominant stance. The female predator yapped and growled but didn’t advance. Spot took a step forward, initiating what he hoped was an alpha-like hunching of his back as he let his best bark fly. The female backed up onto her haunches and lowered just a bit. She looked at the other coyotes around her nervously. The rest of the pack circled behind Spot and chattered excitedly but didn’t come any closer.

  Spot pressed on. He shuffled right up to the female and head butted her so hard it rattled his teeth. The female took a step back and snorted, shaking her head.

  The big female lowered and growled again, more deeply this time.

  Ooops, Spot thought, not exactly what I was looking for. This is the part where she’s supposed to flop to the ground and let me mount her, unless everything on the internet about alpha behavior wasn’t exactly right. I might have to write a strongly worded letter to Animal Planet.

  A big and very old male crept up behind him and nipped at his heel. Spot resisted the urge to turn around. While keeping eye contact with the female he kicked his hind leg back and up, catching the nipping wild dog clean on the side of the jaw, raking his eye and ear. It pushed the rear guard back some.

  These predators weren’t used to being attacked, and certainly not by a blind and accurate rear round-house kick. His gain was short lived as the smaller female sentry returned and darted into the circle. She took up a position next to her pack mate, and was summarily chastised by the larger female before the entire pack joined in admonishing her. Spot was losing control of this situation quickly and both females were now looking at him more like meat than an alpha.

  Just before they pounced Spot thought, Oh well, so we do it the hard way, and faked a lunge at the bigger female and clamped down soundly at the base of the smaller female’s ears. He spun around her back, bringing her head back with him. She whined in pain and frustration as she was flipped backwards and fell under him. Spot stepped over her with both of her ears still locked in his jaws.

  The large female loomed over Spot and looked at him like he was crazy. She acknowledged he had gained a small win but Spot’s hold on her subordinate pack mate wasn’t fatal and he had exposed himself for what would definitely be a very lethal bite from the bigger threat. She paused for just a second, confused by this odd little captive animal’s audacious intrusion and apparent death wish. Spot held his bite firm and looked around at the woods behind his drooling antagonists.

  Any time now big sister, he thought.

  The big female’s hesitation was just long enough for Smudge to get a perfect fix on her throat as she blasted into the circle of wild dogs. She hit the large female at a full run. Even Spot flinched. He had never seen his sister move so fast, she also looked to have been pumped up by a bicycle pump.

  The larger dog wuffed as the breath was knocked out of her from the force of the impact. Smudge and the large female coyote tumbled back through the crowd, scattering the other wild dogs. Smudge regained her feet in a flash and was still clamped on the female’s throat. The large female kicked out violently but was held firm.

  Even though Smudge was noticeably smaller she picked the wild dog up by the neck, flipped her completely over her head and slammed her down like a rag doll. Smudge’s powerful neck muscles flexed but she stopped just short of crushing the female’s windpipe. The larger dog whimpered and stared wide eyed at her attacker. She stopped struggling as it became very difficult to breathe.

  Spot let go of the smaller female’s ears and stepped over her. He pushed her away with his hind feet as he stared down the rest of the pack. He paced around the circle of wild dogs, stopping to huff and snort at a few of the ones who dared look him in the eye. One by one they dropped, and whined, and some of them rolled over.

  He came back to the smaller female sentry, paused for a moment, and peed on her. Spot finished his circle and walked slowly over to Smudge and the large female.

  The beaten lead female looked up at him through submissive eyes.

  Smudge loosened her grip just a little so the female could breathe freely again. She twisted slowly under Smudge and offered her backside to Spot.

  Smudge let go of her neck and moved out of the way. She gestured to Spot with her snout, Well? Don’t just stand there. Go on, get it over with. This was your idea, and don’t be offended it I don’t watch.

  Spot mounted the female, but only ceremoniously. He had stopped short of that part of his research because every time he clicked on one of those websites his sister made disgusted faces at him.

  As he climbed off the subdued wild female dog and started to pee around the outskirts of the den he said, That Alpha’s going to be plenty pissed when he gets back here.

  No pun intended, Smudge added with a wag.

  Chapter 51

  “Dougy!” Liko called out as he entered Doug’s kitchen. He flicked on the light with his elbow and put a case of beer and two bottles of tequila down on the table. Dalaja and another girl followed him into the house, each carrying an open bottle of beer.

  “Where you fucking at, Hoss?” Liko said loudly.

  Doug came down the hallway with a glass of water and a towel around his neck. He popped the four pills he was holding and chugged the water. His hair was wet and standing at odd angles.

  “Yeah, hey guys, come on in,” he said. He coughed into his hand to check his breath as he smoothed back his hair and tucked in his shirt.

  “Doug, Lacey. Lacey, Doug,” Liko said as he introduced the thin, hard looking blonde. Doug shook her tiny hand and noticed immediately she was tweaking, and most likely rolling. She was leaning slightly and also oscillating slowly back and forth like an electric fan. Doug was pretty sure she was the kind of party girl that had an eternal, internal soundtrack that played hip-hop. Her eyes were darting from him to someplace just to the left of him. She wore tight jeans and a snug low cut Indian Motorcycle camisole top with a leather vest over it and no bra under it. She was clicking the nails of her thumb and pinky finger together, causing her cigarette to drop ashes everywhere she went. Her red lipstick was outlined in a deeper shade, and some of it had smeared onto her smoker’s yellowed teeth. Still, he thought she was cute enough, or had been about ten years ago. Fuckable, Doug concluded. He gave Liko the nod.

  “Hey, yeah, a pleasure,” Doug said.

  “Lovely home you have here,” Lacey slurred. It came out as one long word. She turned to retrieve her beer from the counter and then noticed she was still holding it.

  Doug nodded to Dalaja. He saw that she was pretty doe-eyed already as well, and not feeling any pain. That was probably a good thing as she was sporting a fresh looking black eye. Even with her overly applied makeup he could see it clearly. She was wearing a bright orange and very tight tube dress and black high heels. The obvious pumpkin joke jumped into Doug’s head but he let it pass through unspoken. Her black hair was done up in combs and must have looked nice about three hours, and four bumps of coke ago.

  She shuffled up to Doug and went up on her toes to give him a big hug. She looked at him through puffy, glassy eyes and said, “Liko says you need help wif something, hey where is your—”

  “Later,” Liko cut her off, “First things first. I’m dying for a beer and a blowjob.” He shoved Doug in the direction of the stereo in the living room and turned out the kitchen light.

  For the next few hours they hit it pretty hard. Liko had brought party favors as well as the booze and by two in the morning Lacey was topless and hunched over, slow dancing with Dalaja who was in her underwear. Liko and Doug went into the kitchen for another beer. The heavy Chinese man was carrying his shirt and Doug made a po
int not to look at the tattoos fighting in Liko’s rolls of flesh. His headache had crept back in and he didn’t want to add fresh nausea to it.

  Liko dropped his sweaty, ham-sized hand on Doug’s shoulder. “Gotta hand it to you, Hoss,” he said, “You packed a fuck load of dogs into that last run. Speaking of the see-you-next- Thursday, where is she?”

  “She’s tied up,” Doug said, and then he laughed and coughed out some beer.

  “Okay,” Liko said, not seeing what was so funny. He let out a long, sustained belch and said, “You ready?” as he pulled on his shirt.

  Doug nodded and finished his beer.

  Liko leaned over the sink and through the pass-through to the family room said, “Put your shit on girls, we’re going on a field trip.”

  They slid the girls into Doug’s truck and bounced down the dirt road to the kennels. “This is what Doug needs help with, baby,” he said to Dalaja as Doug opened the chain link fence gate.

  As they pulled into the kennel parking area Liko noticed Doug’s two vans were parked at odd angles. He saw they both had been in a pretty good fucking fender bender, and the dented front corner of one seemed to match up pretty good with the crumpled rear bumper and smashed tail light of the other.

  Dalaja walked with Liko to the kennel doors as Doug told the almost comatose Lacey to wait in the truck. She raised a finger to protest then traced a heart on the window and slid down in the seat until she was mostly on the floor.