Disabled Love

“All right, buddy. This is it.”

I looked out the car window to see that we’re at the park. I could feel both excitement and anxiety flutter in my stomach. I looked over to Jake, who simply smiled as he scratched my ear.

“It’s okay to be nervous, Titan,” he told me. “But you’re gonna love it here. Besides, you could use some socializing skills.”

“Not like I get any back home,” I retorted, recalling the times when Jake’s friends would come up to me and give me all the attention I wanted.

Jake let out a small laugh as he said, “I’ll you what; if today goes well, I’ll buy you your favorite treat.”

“There’s no way you’re bribing me on this,” I objected. Despite my confidence, I knew I was going regardless.

“All right, let’s go!”

Jake got out of the car with me following close behind him. He didn’t bother putting on my leash since I was well behaved and didn’t run very far. And from the looks of the park, I wasn’t the only one.

Several dogs ran around the grassy area at top speed chasing each other around, probably playing catch the rabbit. Those that didn’t participate just wrestled with each other playfully with their big dumb smiles. I did spot some that just lied down and enjoyed the show from a distance, either in the sun, shade or next to their human. Most of them were old so it would make sense why they didn’t join the others.

A part of me wished to be next to Jake the entire time but knowing him, he’ll probably encourage me to go out and hang out with the mutts. Then again, it wouldn’t hurt to look around and see what this place had to offer. Who knows, I might actually find someone to hang out with. But I’m not pushing my luck, especially on account of my ‘sensory’ issue.

“Okay, boy,” I heard Jake say, bringing back to the present. “I’m gonna be over there at that bench. You have fun with the other dogs and at least try not to snap at anyone.”

“Ugh, fine,” I muttered.

With a large grin, he patted my back and made his way over to his appointed bench. I watched him just in case he planned to leave me. Even though I knew he wasn’t capable of doing that, but you never know. Once he sat down and got out his black box to keep himself entertained, I looked over at the other dogs, inhaled a huge amount of air as I mumbled, “Here we go.”

I spent the first few minutes walking around the park, sniffing at the plants and dirt while keeping my distance from the obnoxious pups, who still continued their rabbit game. And for a while, it was pretty good. I mean, I said hi to the elderly who either nodded their heads or said hi back whenever I passed them. But for the most part, it was nice just to walk around and have some alone time.

“Hey!”

I turned to see a dark coated labrador coming up to me. So much for alone time.

“I haven’t seen you before. You’re new here?”

“Uh, yeah,” I replied. “Just thought I take a look around, you know? Sniff around and go from there.”

“That’s smart,” said the lab. “Usually these guys prefer to play over exploration.”

“And are you one of those guys?”

The chocolate coated dog laughed. “Well, maybe in my younger years. But I think time’s catching up with me. The name’s Buddy. What’s yours?”

“Titan,” I answered.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your eye?”

Knowing he was referring to my missing right eye, I told him that I got into a fight with another dog a long time ago which resulted in me losing an eye.

Buddy raised an eyebrow. “Really? For some reason, I was thinking you were born with one eye. No offense.”

“It’s the fur, isn’t it?” I chuckled. By the time my eye fully healed, fur began to grow on it as if I never had an eye to begin with. I didn’t blame Buddy for thinking that as most dogs did anyway. People, too, as I recalled the times Jake had to explain to his friends when they asked about my missing eye.

“I’m pretty sure you see things differently,” commented Buddy.

I simply shrugged. “It’s actually not that different from having two eyes. I mean, yeah, it’s noticeable at first, but you’ll get used to it in time.”

Hearing his owner calling him, Buddy bid his goodbye. “But we should talk again sometime. You’re coming back tomorrow?”

“I don’t know actually,” I admitted. “So I guess we’ll find out in the near future.”

“Works for me. You take care, Titan.”

As much as I was happy to be by myself again, I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that I just made a friend. Without snapping at him! Even if we didn’t run around like the other dogs, at least we’re hanging out. Jake’s gonna be so proud of me! I wonder if he…

“HIYA, PAL!”

Before I knew it, I felt everything in me panic as I yelled and bared my teeth to the mutt. I was pretty close to biting him if he didn’t have fast reflexes.

“Damn it” I cried. “Sorry! You scared me! I didn’t mean to snap!”

I took a quick look at Jake, who fortunately didn’t hear me bark. Usually I would bark several times but I did my best to fight the temptation to do so. I turned back around at the dog, who turned out to be a female husky.

Of course, I thought to myself. I apologized again but she brushed it off.

“Oh, it’s no biggie, buddy! I’m the one who should apologize for scaring you. Sometimes I forget dogs need their space before they play.”

“Oh, I’m not into that kind of thing,” I said. “I prefer to-”

“Fetch?” the husky interrupted, her ears perking. “We’re gonna need a human for that! How about we play jump and hop?”

“Jump and hop?”

“It’s one of my favorite games!” explained the husky, already getting herself riled up. “Basically, we jump around like we’re kangaroos. And the best part? Everybody wins! Oh, my gosh, I’M SO EXCITED!”

She suddenly ran off into the distance, squealing as she went. Then she came back only to pass me to the other side of the park. It wasn’t long until she darted back and forth, becoming a black and white blur.

I couldn’t help but stare at her while feeling a little disturbed. I knew huskies can be unpredictable but this was just ridiculous. Looking up at the sky, I asked, “Remind me how I’m part husky.”

“You’re part husky?”

I found myself barking again as I attempted to bite whoever’s behind me. It turned out to be a large rottweiler, who barked in turn.

“TITAN!”

Wincing, I slowed turned to see Jake giving me a look with a pointed finger, clearly warning me.

“Sorry!” I yelled. Turning back to the rottweiler, I said, “Sorry, I didn’t see you.”

“Is it because of the missing eye?” he asked.

All I could do was shrug. “Is it that obvious?”

“Kind of surprised Luna didn’t see it.”

Seeing he was referring to the speed demon, I asked if he and her were roommates with their human.

“Hell, no,” he replied. “I would rather choke on my own bone than to have that hyperactive pipsqueak as a roommate.”

I couldn’t help but agree with him through laughing. He joined in until he asked how sure I was that I was part husky.

“My previous owner did a little digging and discovered that I was a Siberian husky mix. As to what my other side is, I have no idea. I would ask my parents, then again, I have no idea where they are or even if they’re still alive.”

“You could be part dane or even doberman,” the rottweiler suggested. Then looking up and down at me, he formed an uncomfortable grin. “Wanna find out?”

I was at a loss when he started coming toward me the same way a lion would sneak up on his prey. “Wait, what?”

“It’s been a while since I had an old-fashioned dog fight,” he cackled. “And I got a strong feeling that you’re gonna let out your doberman side.”

“Okay, buddy,” I said while taking a few steps back. “I don’t want any trouble. The last fight I had cost me my eye and I’m not really in the mood to fight.”

“Ooo, even better,” exclaimed the crazed dog, now growling with joy. “I prefer my guys to have some experience before we play.”

“You call this playing?!”

Normally, I would stand my ground and ready myself for anything. But looking into those crazy eyes was more than enough for me to admit this fight wasn’t worth it. Besides, I promised Jake to be on my good behavior and I have no intention of seeing his disappointed face when I break it. However, I have no intention of running off like a coward.

“All right, Maverick, leave him alone.”

We both turned to see a white, long-haired husky mixed dog hopping toward us. The reason she was hopping was because her right front leg was gone. Her hard light eyes were on the rottweiler, who looked annoyed to see her.

“Three legs,” he announced, trying his best not to sound angry. “How are you doing?”

“I was doing great till I saw you picking on the new guy,” she said. “It’s clear that he doesn’t want to fight you, Maverick. So why don’t you piss off or do you want me to call your human over?”

With the roll of his eyes and a scoff, the giant dog walked away.

I looked down at her and noticed her eyes were somehow brighter than before, matching the same tone as the sky.

“Uh, thanks,” I said, bringing myself back to reality. “I take it he’s the big shot around here?”

“What tipped you off?” she chuckled. “From what I heard, Maverick used to be a dog fighter until his human took him in. And as you can see, it’s hard to break bad habits.”

I asked her if he ever tried to fight her to which she replied that he did which resulted in him not visiting the park for a while. And hasn’t tried since.

“What did you do?”

She smiled as she answered, “I went for the old injured dog trick. With the right howls, you can get all humans running to you.”

“Slick,” I commented. I had to give it to her, most dogs in her condition would’ve run off but she used her disability to her advantage. Pretty smart.

After a minute of awkward staring, I introduced myself. “The name’s Titan.”

“Hedwig,” she said.

“Hedwig?” I repeated. “Isn’t that the white owl that hangs out with that magic kid from those large mirror boxes?”

She laughed. “Yeah, that’s the one. My human’s pretty crazy over that.”

“Is she what humans call nerds?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said with a hard nod. “She’s a big time nerd.”

Hedwig then asked me if my human was a nerd. “He’s more of a sports kind of guy, but I don’t see any reason to call him a sports nerd.”

She couldn’t help but laugh while I merely chuckled, thinking my joke might’ve been too corny. Once she was done, she asked if I wanted to walk around the park with her.

I couldn’t help but feel my ears perked up with excitement. “Really?”

“Well, yeah,” she shrugged. “I mean, unless you want to go back to whatever…”

“No, I would like to!” I exclaimed. Seeing I was getting shaken up, I calmed myself before I said, “I mean, if you don’t mind the company.”

She smirked. “That’s kind of the whole point of a park, isn’t it?”

From there on, it was nothing but me and Hedwig just walking and talking around the park. Every once in a while we would stop and check out the other guys, who were still playing chase the rabbit with some leaving to go home while new recruits joined them.

“Sheesh, where do these guys get the energy?” I said one time as we just stared at the dogs running around at top speed.

“It’s like they drank a whole tub full of that espresso drink,” Hedwig joked, which got us both laughing.

As she showed me around the park, I learned that the reason why Hedwig was missing her leg was because she was born with it. Despite the deformity, she was able to walk with no problem, even if it looked funny. However, that didn’t seem to convince people to adopt her, which resulted in her taking to the streets. After several months, a human woman named Sara found her in an alley and took her in. And they’ve been inseparable ever since.

“Sounds like you made it pretty good with Sara,” I stated.

“Yeah, I did,” she muttered, smiling at the good memories she made. “What about you? You were born with one eye?”

I shook my head while I laughed. “I wish I did, though.”

I explained that I got into a fight with a pitbull who threatened my previous owner. I never saw him again, either he died of his wounds or the pound took him, I don’t know. While I was able to recover from my own battle scars, I had to get used to having one eye. At first, it felt weird because I was constantly turning my head to see what’s going on the right side of the area. I guess it made me a little paranoid that resulted in me snapping at other dogs if they got in my blind spot.

“Or I haven’t really gotten over the pitbull fight,” I added. I was actually kind of surprised I admitted that to Hedwig. I mean, it would explain my paranoia of someone sneaking up on me.

“I’m sorry,” Hedwig said. “I’m sure it must’ve been tough dealing with all that.”

I shook my head. “Nah, it wasn't all bad. I was surrounded by people who love me so I was able to get through it fine.”

Hedwig heard me mention my previous human and asked if my owner had given me away. “Yes, she did,” I told her. “She was getting old and wasn’t able to take care of me, especially after my fight. But she gave me to her grandson, Jake, which was a blessing on my part since we basically grew up together.”

“Lucky you,” complemented Hedwig, nudging me with her shoulder. “It seems that we have a few things in common.”

“Aside from being disabled?” I smirked.

“Well, aside from that,” she said, smiling. “We both went through difficult times that tested us. But no matter how many times we fall, we always find a way to get back on our feet. Besides, challenges are more fun than having it easy.”

“Well, it’s more relaxing and peaceful,” I joked.

“Sounds like you need to get out more,” she announced with a grin. “And what better way to get out than at the dog park?”

Looking around at the mutts, who were still running around like a bunch of idiots, I turned back to Hedwig and asked, “Is it too late to go back?”

Laughing, Hedwig assured me that not all dogs are that bad, which got me to think of Buddy. When I mentioned him, she agreed that he wasn’t as obnoxious as the rest of the dogs.

“Yeah, he was pretty cool,” I agreed. “He did say that he and I should hang out.”

“Maybe all three of us can hang out together next time,” suggested Hedwig. “If you don’t mind a plus one.”

“Depends on Jake,” I told her with a shrug. “Considering that today didn’t turn into a disaster, he might bring me back.”

“I think you’re coming back regardless,” she smirked.

I stared at her, confused about why she was smiling when she pointed behind me with her nose. When I turned around, I saw Jake talking to a woman around his age wearing those window shields on her eyes. Last time I saw Jake, he was sitting by himself with his black box so it must’ve been later when he started conversing with the girl, maybe around the time Hedwig and I started walking. And from the looks of it, they were both having a good time.

I turned back to Hedwig, whose bright eyes and grin confirmed that the woman was her human, Sara. I couldn’t help but smile back. It would seem that I would be coming back to the park after all.