“Hey Mom, u won’t believe this! Running Spencerville, legit like a doggy doomsday Eden. Fetch like a strategy game 4 me, Bffs with Dot n Fos, livin’ wild. Uh-oh, Barkery blew it, made ‘that’ stuff, had 2 scoot. Day = gloomy without Max’s charm. Sundown, Max back in play=Party Central! Everyday’s a sitcom in dogville. Yours, Bggin”

Listen to the story here

In a town like Spencerville, an alpha like Maximus isn’t born, he’s made. That’s how it was for us in our nearly perfect post-apocalyptic pet paradise. The South Siberian Summit, Chihuahua Castle, Westie Woods, these weren’t just places, they were territories to be claimed.

Maximus weighed in around 165lbs, significantly broader than most of us. The sheen in his tan coat matched the sparkle in his mischievous black eyes. He had the grace of a dancer and the might of a bull.

Fetching was like a chess game for Maximus, where a swaying leaf or a bouncing pebble became more than a toy. I remember his grin at the launch of Fetch! Toys and Treats, it’s like he knew it’d become his favorite shop in town.

Amidst the ruins of the old world, Maximus, Lil Dot the English Bulldog, and Foscoe Lonestar the American Bulldog, formed a trifecta that was our shield. Day and night, they explored, scouted, defended and played. They made our house, a home.

Maximus wasn’t a foodie as such, but his visits to the ‘Chow Down Chow Chow’ and the ‘Sniff ‘n’ Snack’ were like events. Pets came out to watch him savor his meals, licking his big black snout with a satisfied smile.

One day, we were playing fetch when the wind brought with it a hint of ‘that’ smell, the one Maximus loathed. The town grew silent as Maximus raised his snout to the wind. ‘The Barkery’ had made an accidental batch of…. ‘that.’ Maximus left straight.

In Spencerville, a day without Maximus larking about was like a town without sunlight. The Dunker-Hound at ‘The Groom Room’ cut the quiet, everyone joined him with a sigh. We spent the day with a shared anxiety, praying for the return of our big brother, our protector, Maximus.

Just as dusk began to set, the town echoed with the familiar galloping of a Bullmastiff. There he was, our Maximus, back to his town, his home. The Pawfect Training Center buzzed with joy. We were once again, a complete family.

In Spencerville, we live our days as humans; dreaming, playing, waiting. Lurking somewhere in our hearts, the sweet hope of reunion someday. In the midst of it all, Maximus’ tales add spices to our rhythm of life as we jump right back into our unfettered free world. A world of ours, a world of pets. Till then, we create, we play, we survive. We are the walking pets.

The End.