“Who Own Whom?” by Nick Cardinal

WHO OWNS WHOM?

Nick Cardinal*

The man’s eyes shoot open. The nightmare was all too real. In a daze he paws around the nightstand for his glasses. Adjusting his eyes, He begrudgingly looks at the time on the cable box. Iridescent cyan numbers scream 3:30 AM.

Whines and whimpers pierce through his earplugs... Behind his closed bedroom door... All the way from the living room sofa... On the other side of the house. Sighing he rises from his bed like a corpse from a dirt nap. Stepping into his worn slippers, He cautiously opens his bedroom door. The ominous silhouette of his canine oppressor Looms in the distance.

Illuminated only by a dingy nightlight, The man tiptoes down the hallway. He prays no one else has been awoken. The dog locks eyes with the man. A predator who’s sighted its next meal. The man hopelessly motions for the dog to wait.

He turns on the kitchen light And his eyes are instantly irradiated. Drool bubbles from the dog’s mouth and puddles on the tile. The man groggily pours the dog’s food into its bowl. Before he can even place the bowl down, The dog is devouring its breakfast. Slobber and kibble are flung furiously As the dog eats like its life depends on it.

Before the man even has time to clean the floor The dog has finished his feast. It trots over to the back door Anxiously waiting to relieve itself. The man himself hasn’t even gotten a chance To go to the bathroom yet. The deed is done. The man silently lumbers back down the hall. The sanctity of his bed is calling out to him....

It’s the same routine every morning. Sometimes the dog wakes him up later, sometimes earlier. Dogs are supposed to be “man’s best friend” Aren’t they? But in this relationship… Who really owns who?