Dog and Peanut Butter

A Story by Kya

I once asked on a Facebook status for people to give me suggestions for short stories. I wrote out the two that I got. This was the first, the suggestion being something like "dog and peanut butter".

"Hey honey, c'mere! I gave Butters some peanut butter!"

The man laughed as his bubbly wife flounced down next to him on the couch, soft blonde hair flying through the air. He was focusing his attention on his golden retriever standing in front of him, the dog licking his chops repeatedly.

"It's always so funny when you do that. And the dog never learns, does he?"

"Of course not, he's just a dog. Look, I think he's getting the rest of it!"

The couple giggled together at the amusing spectacle, the wife grabbing her camera to snap a photo for their scrapbook. She would later label it "Butters Trying PB Again!!" The man and woman would continue their lives, knowing not of the plight of their household pet.

In the current moment, the dog had come to terms with his situation. He stared at the stain on the carpet where he had urinated a few days ago. At that time, he had needed desperately to go outside, and had tried to get his owners' attentions by barking and scratching at the door. However, they continued to worry over the scrumptious smelling sustenance that they were in the process of creating. Orion-- which was the dog's real name, given to him by his mother-- whined at the edge of the table as they consumed their meal. The man, assuming he wanted scraps, shooed him away. As the dog hunched over in pain from the pressure of his bladder, he decided that he could no longer stand the wait. He emptied his bowels on the carpet, much to the dismay of his owners. What cruel irony it was when they punished him by placing him outside.

Orion wondered if this was the reason he was being forced to consume this sticky mass of oils and mashed nuts, this terrible concoction of man that had been shoved into his mouth for the amusement of his tormentors. As his tongue became tired, he remembered all his wrongs that he had committed, from his first teething accident that led to a woman's bleeding finger, to his latest hesitance to come to the man when called. Orion did not think of the future, for the hell that was now was too much to bear. This was his plight. This was his punishment.

This was his absolution.