Virtual Ink Volume 2 // Issue 1 // Fall 2014 | Page 12

  CANIS LUPUS OLIVE BY EMMA GIBSON  I got to walk today. It's fall, and this is my favorite season. All the smells of people and leaves and grass come out in the cold-snap air, and there is nothing I love more than hotdogs cooked over a fall fire, which I also got to today. I stole a man's sausage out of his hand when he wasn't looking, but he didn't care too much. "She's a playful one, Sal," he said to Master with a laugh, "I can't think of how you look after her." I don't know why people think I'm hard to maintain. Honestly, I'm not. Give me food, water, a bed, time and kindness, and I'm quite pleased. What I wish I had though, is a new collar. My old one is just getting far too frazzled from wear and tear. There is one time, during the winter, where Master and his friends come together near the fake pine tree and open pretty boxes to reveal new belongings. Sometimes, I get new things. I especially love what I got last winter. When I was sleeping, Master placed a box just for me under the fake pine, and walked me to it when I woke up. He even opened it for me instead of having me bite it open! Inside was a chew toy that looked like a long-necked thing. He called it a giraffe, I think. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a giraffe. I suppose they're like deer. Deer are ornery creatures that wander onto porches and in front of cars. I yell at them, and they run away. Master says some