Bloodhound Diary Day 22 – I woke today to a very quiet house. Daddy usually greets me for our early morning potty, except this time he was nowhere to be found. He must still be sleeping.

I trotted down the hall and across the kitchen towards daddy’s room, thinking I would wake him to let me outside when I noticed the outside door was open. Hmmmm I thought, maybe he is already outside. Guess I can go out to greet him a happy morning.

Out on the porch I stopped to listen. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. No bugs, no birds, not a sound anywhere. No sound or scent of my daddy either. All this quiet was starting to scare me a little.

Heading down the stairs and into the yard, I went ahead and did my potty business, then went back inside to look for daddy. I ran into his bedroom and . . . empty. The bathroom was empty also. Moving down to his office I found that empty too. I let out a whine, hairs standing on my back.

Something terrible is going on here.

The whole house was empty. No mommy, no daddy. Cassy and Jax were not here either. Food and water bowls untouched. Nothing out of place. Feeling very small now and completely spooked I wondered where in the world was everyone. Feeling really alone, a chill ran through my body making me shiver.

Looking outside once more I noticed that the car and truck were in their parking places. Running to them I sniffed and sniffed, they smelled cold and empty. They have not moved all night. I looked around panicked, not knowing what to do or where to go. One thing was certain, I needed help.

A few minutes passed by before I finally moved at all. I just listened to all the quiet, wishing I would hear a call from my daddy or a bark from Cassy or Jax. A feeling of hopelessness was coming over me, making me have to potty again.

Time to be brave.

I have to get hold of myself and be a brave puppy. Mommy and daddy may be hurt somewhere needing my help. I have to think. What would daddy do? The only thing that made any sense at all was to go for help. Anyone who would help me find my mommy and daddy.

I decided to head down the road toward the mailbox. Other humans gather there to talk and get their mail. I am sure to find someone there. This was a good plan. Daddy would be proud. Time to get moving.

Starting down the road I noticed the silence was everywhere, not just at my home. It seemed to have spread from one field to another, feeling like a heavy blanket on my ears. I stopped for a moment and smelled the quiet air. Nothing. No trace of any scent that isn’t already many hours old.

Moving again, I began feeling very strange. It seemed the further I went from our house, the further away everything else seemed. This can’t be right. Fear must be affecting me more than I thought. I can’t stop now, I have to find mommy and daddy!

Breaking into a run I tried to put my fears behind me. Still, the faster I ran the more distant everything became. My legs were growing heavy, tired. Why is all this happening? Feeling my fear build once more I started barking while I ran. If I can’t find anyone, then maybe someone will hear me and come see what the barking is about.

I ran faster and faster going nowhere!

I looked back and saw our house. It was not very far away. I need to run faster. I should have already reached the mailbox, not be stuck here like I am. Run faster, move move move!

It was then a really bad thought ran through my mind. I saw something like this before in a movie with my daddy. It was called 28 Days Later. Everything seemed eerily familiar. Oh please no, please don’t let there be undead things wanting to eat me.

Especially not now, I will never get away.

Oh no! If there are undead things out there, that may be what happened to my mommy and daddy. Please please please don’t let my mommy and daddy be eaten. If they are, that would be so bad I can’t stand it. If mommy and daddy has been eaten, they will have become one of them. The undead.

They should be called the hungry undead cause all they ever want to do is eat. Eat and eat and then eat some more. Such pigs the undead are. Stupid undead.

Suddenly I stopped barking. If my daddy has become a hungry undead, he will try to eat me if he finds me. He probably already ate mommy. I love my daddy but I won’t let him eat me. Now I was in full panic. Breathing was becoming an effort and I could hear a pounding in my head.

That’s when I heard it. It was a low groaning sound. There was no mistaking it. I was hearing a groaning, but from where I could not tell. It sounded lonely, hungry and it was getting closer. I had to hide and do it fast. Somewhere, anywhere!

I headed for a cluster of tall bushes. Plenty of room to hide in there, hide and think. I started running at full speed, moving only inches at a time. I have to get there, push. Push hard!

The groaning became loud, and there was the clatter of teeth hitting together. The sound was right behind me. This can’t be, how can this be? Why me?

I was going to be eaten alive and was helpless to stop it.

I dared to look behind me and there he was. Daddy. My worst fear had been realized. He was lumbering toward me only a few feet away, bloodied and torn. He was staring at me with only one eye, the other missing. Staring through me, angrily gnashing his teeth and licking his lips. Flesh hanging from his face.

Its hopeless, frozen with fear I just stopped and stood there looking back at him. I am going to be eaten alive by my own daddy and there is nothing I can do to stop him. I love you daddy, but I hope you choke on me.

He lunged for me, flesh hanging from his mangled hand. There was no escaping him now. Feeling his fingers brushing against my tail I let out a yelp and yowled as loud as I could. I was unable to stop, horrified by the thought of what was going to happen to me.

He grabbed me and shook me, and I heard him say ‘hey, wake up boy’. All I could think was Huh??

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. It was evening time and we were both on the couch, a movie was playing. It was 28 Days Later. While looking at him completely confused he said, ‘you were having a bad dream boy. You fell asleep during the movie.’

Love me, don’t eat me.

Such relief! I leaped up and threw myself against him, wagging my tail and licking his hands and face as fast as I could. I was soooooooooo happy daddy wasn’t eaten. Not to mention how happy I was that my daddy wasn’t eating me.

The bad dream of hungry dead things must have taken a lot out of me because the whole rest of the day is all a blur to me. But that’s ok because we are here, together and safe. Mommy is in the kitchen. Jax and Cassy are standing here just looking at me. The sounds I made while dreaming must have had them worried.

The most important lessons I learned today is not to fall asleep during a scary movie, dreams can seem like reality, and my daddy would eat me if he really wanted to (I wonder if I would taste like chicken?).

All this scary stuff took it’s toll on me so I will be off to bed early. I know if I have another bad dream that my daddy will be there to wake me up. Or to eat me. I guess it all depends on which side of the dream you are on ; /

If you enjoy reading about Anubis, he would be happy to hear from you.

A Note from my Mommy and Daddy:

We selected Anubis after much consideration. He is beautiful, healthy and seems to be very intelligent. We are looking forward to helping him reach his potential as a bloodhound and as a member of our family.

While Anubis is growing up, my wife and I (aka the human mommy and daddy) thought it would be interesting to chronicle his growth, learning and development as seen from ‘his’ perspective.

In addition to being entertaining, we also felt this may help others who desire to have their own bloodhound in understanding not only the development of a dog, but specific issues which may pertain to the bloodhound breed.

Bloodhounds are a wonderful breed. You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions.

Tags: Anubis the Bloodhound, Bloodbound Diaries, Bloodhound Dreams, Bloodhound Tales, The Mind of Anubis