The Old Dog and the Man

The old dog rests. With no immediate urges or needs, he feels compelled to do nothing but close his eyes and enjoy one of his signature dozes. No worries occupy his mind and no anxieties upset him. He is idle.

The man, the dog's owner, walks through the front door after a long day of work and sets his keys and laptop bag on the bench in the front hallway of his home. The dog greets the man with kisses on the leg and a wagging tail, one that doesn't wag quite as fast as it did in his younger days, and then returns to curl up in his small bed in the corner of the living room. Once again the dog rests.

The man walks quickly to the bedroom, with a slight hunch due to built up tension in his back after sitting at a desk most of the day, and takes a seat at the foot of the bed. He kicks off both of his shoes after tugging on the laces, and then removes both socks. With an enormous sigh of relief he uses his arms to propel himself off the bed and back into an upright position, and then he switches into his casual clothes.

Work is over. Time to do the real living.

He scurries to the kitchen to put a frozen dinner into the microwave. He takes a seat on the couch with yet another heavy sigh of relief, and for a moment he feels his eye lids begin to droop...

But then he quickly opens them again. I just got off of work. I can't fall asleep now. I haven't even enjoyed myself yet today.

He quickly leans over to grab the remote seated a few feet away and turns on the TV. He flips through the channels but nothing seems particularly interesting, so he begins to dramatically flip between two channels that are his top two choices. He can't decide which to watch, because as soon as he starts watching one he is riddled with anxiety at the thought that the other show might be more entertaining. He is afraid he is missing something.

Meanwhile, the dog rests. Save for the occasional fly that lands on his body, which of course he must attempt to eat each and every time it dare violate his personal boundaries, the dog feels no particular urge to move. The dog is not afraid that he may be missing out on some pleasure. Rest is enough pleasure in itself.

The man hears the distinctive three beeps of the microwave signaling his meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy frozen dinner is done, and he rushes over to grab the tray while constantly doing double takes at the TV. He has finally become interested in one of the shows, and now he doesn't want to miss a moment. He returns to the couch with the scolding hot tray seated in his lap, bearable only because the fabric of his shorts absorbs much of the heat, and he begins to devour his meal.

Meanwhile the dog rests. Occasionally he hears a noise in the backyard and lets off a singular woof, almost in the same way a human talks in their sleep, but other than that he is motionless. And he loves every moment of it.

The show the man was watching ends, and the man already feels very tired, but he refuses to go to bed, as if watching TV is some sort of sacrifice he must make to be happy. The man spends the rest of the night glued to his television and looking up sports scores and news on his phone during the commercials, trying to consume as much "pleasure" as possible. After all, isn't that what living is all about?

Soon he will reach a point where he can no longer resist the urge to shut his eyes, and he will stumble half-blind into his bed and pass out, ready to start the process all over again.

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Thank you for reading this short story. I think it's important to take time daily to reflect on how we are living our lives, and I often find that short stories are one of the best catalysts for this sort of thought. I hope you found this piece entertaining and thought-provoking.