My name is Harry, AKA Harry-Barry, Harry Canary, Prince Harold, Harry-Barry-Barry, Barry-Boy, Bare, etc. My humans are crazy people. They love dogs but they don’t treat me right. I need my exercise every morning. I’m not talking about some polite jiggle on a leash and the sidewalks. I’m talking a real hunt. My humans keep repairing the fence I break out of because they are afraid I’ll get lost or get hit by a car. They’re really stupid about these things, probably paranoid. Most days, the closest I get to hunting is dreaming about it as I stare out the living room window. Ever day, several times a day, there is this black cat who roams the neighborhood. He doesn’t have a leash or humans and he must not have a good fence like mine. I bark at my humans but they tell me to be quiet instead of letting me go get the black cat. I try to ignore the black cat, to act above it all, but he is such a bloody tease, and he has the better life. He’s free. All of the squirrels are free too. They fly through the trees. If I was off my leash, I could fly through the trees.
One day, my humans took me to the dog park. I know it sounds stupid, but it’s better than the sidewalks. The problem with the dog park is that there are far too many dogs, so most of the prey has long vacated the area. But this one day, you would not believe my luck! There was a black cat at the dog park! It wasn’t the same black cat, but I was off my leash and off I went. Oh my, I tormented that cat on a long chase. He climbed the tree, but I was smarter. I acted like I didn’t care anymore and started to strut back to my humans. When he thought the coast was clear and came down, I pounced. My humans are really stupid, and they were grossed out when I brought them my gift. I wanted to prove to them that they could let me free in our neighborhood – Look what I can do! I can clean up the neighborhood! But they were grossed out. They seemed to be mad. I don’t know what to do with myself.
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One last entry for Inspiration Monday VIII: In response to “A cat in the dog park.” Check out the other pieces over there…
stillfugue 
#1 by carldagostino on April 24, 2011 - 8:45 am
We should always consider the other persons point of view. I wonder how a bird feels in its cage or a fish in its tiny bowl?
#2 by Carl on April 24, 2011 - 9:12 am
Poignant. I feel as though I know how the bird feels, but I am not sure I can sense what the fish might sense…Is that because I dismiss the fish? I don’t have any fish. I have not trapped any birds either. Thanks for commenting.
#3 by Kay Camden on April 24, 2011 - 11:56 am
I don’t know how anyone could keep a bird in a cage or a fish in a bowl. What we do to our best friends is bad enough, and you described it perfectly. My own captive is lying on the kitchen floor right now, bored out of her mind. She should be in the mountains. But if she wasn’t here, she’d be in a shelter in a cage.
#4 by Carl on April 25, 2011 - 6:42 am
Thank you for your comment. I’m sure your friend enjoys where she’s at.
#5 by MyWordsWhisper on April 24, 2011 - 10:20 pm
A dog’s point of view….interesting how you set this up. Being the cat lover that I am, of course, I would have preferred a different outcome…..but again, this is a dog’s point of view!
Thank you.
#6 by Carl on April 25, 2011 - 6:42 am
I was worried about the cat lovers. This is the purest of fictions. The dog never gets the cat.
#7 by MyWordsWhipser on April 25, 2011 - 4:22 pm
LOL. You know the cat lovers of the world, huh! Glad the cat in your story didn’t get hurt, although in real life they sometimes do. I have wild fisher in the woods behind my house and work hard at not letting my cats get out.
And I enjoy dogs, too. I just am never home so I can’t have one.
#8 by pattisj on April 25, 2011 - 12:50 pm
I loved getting a look at life from the dog’s viewpoint. I needed a bit of levity this Monday morning after receiving news of a loved one’s hospitalization. Thanks, Carl.
#9 by Carl on April 25, 2011 - 6:44 pm
Thank you for your comment. I’m sorry to hear your news, and I hope your loved one recovers.
#10 by pattisj on April 25, 2011 - 6:59 pm
Thank you.
#11 by seabell on April 25, 2011 - 7:16 pm
I bet you enjoyed “to think like a dog” for a while… And what you describe is exactly what happens to a careless cat!
#12 by Carl on April 25, 2011 - 9:59 pm
Every time I look at the dogs, I wonder what they’re thinking. I’m not sure I got it right…Thanks for the comment.
#13 by Sana Johnson-Quijada MD on April 25, 2011 - 7:43 pm
Too funny. Just reading dr Doolittle w the kids
#14 by Carl on April 25, 2011 - 10:00 pm
Love Dr. Doolittle! Thanks for the comment!
#15 by bekindrewrite on April 25, 2011 - 8:56 pm
Brilliant. Especially the a.k.a. and thinking the dog park is stupid. I love it!
#16 by Carl on April 25, 2011 - 10:00 pm
Thank you so much for your comment! I appreciate it!
#17 by Indigo Spider on April 25, 2011 - 11:43 pm
OK, as a cat lover I can’t say I “like” the story! But, I can appreciate it for the dogs point of view 😉 Seriously, nicely done. I like the opening lines of how humans change his name… not that I ever do this of course.
#18 by Carl on April 26, 2011 - 6:36 am
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate it.