Living Through Tasi

Chapter 3

"Tasi, can you not please?" Cassie's voice was strained as we drove up the long dirt driveway leading to Dan's house and pond. I had my head hanging completely out the back window, my muscles quivering with excitement and anticipation.

"Drive faster! Drive faster! Drive faster!" I chanted the words loudly over and over, my voice getting lost in the wind. I knew Cassie couldn't exactly understand what I was saying, but I was pretty sure she could take a good guess. I did the same with her language most of the time. I heard Cassie groan in annoyance at my continuous barking. Sonar sat behind me in the van and occasionally belted out a deep bark as well, his excitement getting the better of him. He was usually much better than me when it came to self control.

I finally felt the van come to a stop and my eyes zoned in on the pond. Various humans were already within the confines of the fence, either setting up crates or organizing their training equipment. It was early morning, just past 7:30am, and a light fog hovered above the water's surface.

"Let me out, let me out!" My bark echoed off the trees surrounding the property, higher pitched than Sonar's tone. A bark almost equally as deep as Sonar's answered mine, and I noticed Lowkey walk around the corner of his house. He saw me and picked up his pace considerably, approaching the van in a smooth gait. Even though he was large and stocky like Sonar, he seemed to glide as he moved. I had a feeling that my older pal had moved like that once too, when age had been on his side.

Cassie hopped out of the driver's seat and Lowkey greeted her, tail wagging eagerly. Dan appeared around the side of the house as well, following the trail of his canine companion. "Cassie! Good to see you!" He enveloped my human in a large hug once he was close enough.

"Good to see you too, Dan," Cassie responded, returning the gesture eagerly. Dan had become like a second father to Cassie, especially since her parents had remained in Alabama when Cassie had made the decision to move to Florida.

Both of their heads shot towards me as I let out another series of barks. "Helloooo... still here! And I should be over there!" I reminded them, ears perked forward in earnest as my gaze flickered between the two humans and the pond. With a dramatic sigh, Cassie shoved the van's back door open and danced out of the way as I shot out of the vehicle.

"Geeze, Tasi, wait up! The water is right where you left it last time," I heard Lowkey call. He exchanged hellos with Sonar as he stepped out of the van, and then the two started after me. I was already at the gate that would grant me entrance to the pond, hopping up and down in excitement. Occasionally I would spin in a circle, glancing back towards Cassie expectantly.

"Cassie, hurry up! You're slower than Sonar!"

"Hey, I take offense to that," the older Newf drawled as he and Lowkey finally made it to the gate. He plopped down on his haunches as soon as he could, his back legs sprawled out like I used to sit as a puppy. I knew he complained that his hips bothered him sometimes, and puppy sitting seemed to relieve some of the pressure.

"Sorry," I sighed, "...but she is slow. I could be swimming already if she'd... hurry up!" At my last words, another series of barks streamed from my throat.

"Okay!" This time, the sharp word came from Cassie. She was walking towards the gate beside Dan, a large bag filled with my training equipment draped over her right shoulder. Dan always offered to carry it for her, but she always declined after thanking him. Lowkey's human was older, in his mid-fifties, and he had a bad back from years of hard labor. After high school, Dan had enlisted in the military and spent the remainder of his teenage years, and the first half of his twenties, being deployed to various locations. He had even been shot once in the arm, and a scar on his right bicep constantly reminded everyone of that fact. If I got close enough, I could smell that the skin was slightly off in that area. The lighter, raised patch didn't smell dead by any means, but his scent was less prominent there than on the rest of his body.