“Junos acting weird.” I tell my boyfriend, whos dog I agreed to watch over the week while he’s away on a business trip. “I told you he’s a bit weird, he was a stray and has some odd habits. Like you didn’t touch his food or anything, right? He doesn’t like that.” My boyfriend says, drowsily over the phone. “Mm.. No, he’s just like.. Staring at me weird. I’m watching TV, and he’s just sitting on the floor staring at me like I just killed his best friend or something.” My boyfriend chuckles softly. “It’s probably just because I’m gone and he’s not used to you. But it’s late so im gonna go to bed. I’m sure he’ll get used to you, kay? I’m gonna go now. Love you. “ he hangs up the phone, and I roll over.
“You’re an odd little dog, Juno.” I stare back at him for a few seconds, creeping myself out. I turn down the tv and shove my head into my pillow. “Night you weirdo.”
I wake up, annoyed by the light coming in through my blinds, telling me it’s morning and I have to actually get up. I sit up in my bed, yawning and checking the time on my phone. 7:13. I have to leave the house at eight, so I figure I better hurry and get up.
I waddle into the kitchen, half asleep pouring water into the kettle and setting it down. “Juno!” I call out, opening his bag of food and scooping a cup of it out. “Are you hungry, Juno?” I get no response. I groan, pouring the food into his bowl. I search the living room, no Juno. Then I hear it, the little muffled sports and crackles coming from down the hallway.
“The fuck, Juno!” There he is, in the middle of the hallway gnawing on some shit he pulled out of the trash. “God, what do you have?” I approach him, admittedly oddly threatening with my hand reaching out towards him.
His whips around, half yelping half barking. That’s when I really look at him, how feral he looks. The food around his snout aren’t helping his case. “Juno!” I scold him, but he ignores me.
I scoff, not willing to get myself bit for leftover rotisserie chicken. “I’ll leave you to it then.” I continue getting ready for classes.
I herd Juno into my bedroom, making sure to close the door. “Bye, don’t eat any more chicken while I’m gone.” I taunt him, snickering before leaving the house.
I unlock my door, later after going to my classes and set down the takeout I’d gotten in the counter. I go to let Juno out of the bedroom, to find my door a crack open. He opened the door? I question, again, creeped out by some dog.
The house was eerily quiet, making me hyper alert of every little sound as I searched the house with no avail. Shit. How could he have gotten out? I really lost my boyfriends dog? Shit. What am I gonna do? “Juno! Pleaseeee..”
“Just come out. You can’t have gotten out. There’s no way.” I slump onto my couch. Shaking his bag of food as a last effort. I pick up my phone, feeling tears well in my eyes. “Hey, what’s up? Juno and you having a staring contest again?” He teases, unaware of the fact I was on my last straw. “I.. Hey.. I..” I stutter, picking at the skin on my nails. “I came home and Juno was just.. Gone. Before I left I put him in my bedroom, I swear! I locked the door I don’t understand how he could’ve gotten out of the house I mean what kind of dog can open doors? And no dog can unlock doors! I’m so sorry I swear I’ll find him I-“
“Calm down! It’s fine. Maybe he’s just confused. Maybe he’s trying to go home?” I sob as he tries to comfort me. “I’ll go look. Right now. Maybe he’s outside.” I say, slipping my shoes on. “No way, where you live? That’s stupid. Just wait till morning.” He demands, and he’s right. Where I live I’d get mugged the moment I stepped out onto the street at this time of night.
“Fine. Okay. I love you and I’m so sorry. I really don’t know how it happened I mean I really did–” he cuts me off. “I know, don’t worry. It’s ok. I love you too.” He hangs up before I can continue my speach about how sorry I am. I turn on the TV, kicking off my shoes and opening my takeout.
What if whatever he was eating made him sick? What if he ran away to die alone? What it’s crowded my mind the whole night before exhaustion beat me.
Grrrrrowl… Snap!
I jolt awake, and there Juno is. He’s scarfing down the food I’d left on the table, but something is wrong. Blood, his snout was smothered in blood and his feet are stained red as if he’d been soaking in it. “Juno!” I scoot back, startled.
He swallows an enchilada whole, before lunging at me. The fuck?! Juno isn’t what I’d call a small dog, roughly 50-60 pounds and fully capable of overpowering me. I push him off the couch, and tumble over the side of the couch and make a run to my bedroom.
Fucking shit! He’s right behind me, right on my tail as I slam the door.
Crunch! I slammed the door right on his muzzle. The noises behind the door are what haunt me, as if he was trying to escape his own skin, like something was trying to call out from inside him. The noises itself bring tears to my eyes.
He barks, growns and yelps as he scratches at the door, a desprate attempt to reach me. I step back, sitting on my bed contemplating what I’m going to do, realizing I’d left my phone in the living room. The barks and growls that terrified me so much just a second ago turn into something so oddly human. Like a humans awareness of pain was put into a dogs, like he understood his own mortality.
The barks and growls stop, and for a minute I wonder if he’s dead out there. Laying in a pool of his own slobber, and possibly blood or maybe someone elses. God, I wonder where he was. Was he in the house? Was he outside, eating those people who wouldve mugged me if I’d gone out to look for him?
The fuck. The door flings open and Juno comes trampling through, so out of it that he runs straight into the wall and falls to the floor. Yellow puss is oozing from his eyes and mouth, a real gruesome sight to see as he snarls and growls, a mixture of blood, drool, and that puss stuff pooling in his mouth trickling out into the floor. He rolls over, lunging at me. Just as he reaches me, I throw the comforter on my bed over him.
He trips, and begins to shred the comforter. I slam the door behind me, running for my phone.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“My boyfriends dog! He’s gone nuts or something, I think he has like rabies or something he just started attacking me all the sudden! He bit me!” I said, my chest heaving.”
“I understand, may I have your adress?”
“Yes. It’s 9908 [redacted]”
“I’ve sent someone you’re way. Please do not approach the animal.”
“Okay.. Okay yes thank you..”
The snarls and screams from Juno stop abrubptly.
“He stopped making noise.” I say, looking towards the room.
“Okay. I’ve sent animal control. Please do not approach the animal.”
I step closer to listen, soft grunts coming from the room followed by snaps and gasping. “God somethings really up with him!” I cry out, listening to the hellish sounds. A brassy clatter erupts from the room followed by howls and screeching. Snap! Snap! Snap! It all stops abrubptly.
The police showed up shortly after, covering the body of Juno as the took him away. He was dead, they told me he had rabies and died in the room. But I don’t believe them. They ordered that I had a professional cleaning service sent to clean the scene, which was normal but the way they immediately sent me away from the scene felt so odd. They never let me not my boyfriend see the body. I was given shots for rabies, tetenus, all the works.
Me and my boyfriend were okay after, he knew it wasn’t my fault. The last few days have still been hell, though. The cleaning crew took unusually long, and once I returned home I just had no energy. And today, I woke up absolutely starving. I swear, I ate half my kitchen which is really not ideal for someone with my budget. I fell asleep at 2:00 and woke up at 11:30, and again I was just starved. That’s when I noticed it, the itching. My thigh, we’re Juno had bit had turned an odd shade of purple and itched like hell. I stumbled out of bed, and wiped my eyes. They had that crusty feeling you get when sick. There it was, though. On my index finger was that same yellow puss. Shit. Shit.
I dial my boyfriend, tears in my eyes. I want to convince myself it’ll be fine. It’s a coincidence of some sort and I’ll be fine. But clearly I’ve got something. “What’s going on?”
“Hey what’s going on? You okay?” He questions me. But god.. He sounds so good. “No.. No.. Come over please. I really need you. I need you.” I mutter..
“Okay, okay I’m coming. I’ll be right over.” He assures me. And I’m glad because God.. I’m so hungry.