Outside life was normal, people rushing about busily, or so it seemed. In the car it was quiet. His face was warmed by the sun but it brought no comfort. A big sigh from behind him, he glanced in the mirror, his son rubbed at his eyes.

"Can you tell me your stories of your other dogs, Dad?" he asked, it was a frequent question of late.

He tried to smile reassuringly. "Of course son. Where should I start?"

No reply came so he began. "Well, when I was your age or about your age, maybe I was younger, three maybe? You'd have to ask Gran, she would know. Anyway, we went to a house to get a new pup.  Your aunt already had Milo and so that was the day we got Buddy, my dog.  His mother had rejected the litter so we got him when he was tiny.  Little brown lump in a box he was, I remember that much. I named him before we even got home.  Didn't know the chaos he would bring."

Glancing at the mirror he saw his son's eyes looking back at him. "Buddy was a force of nature, you would have loved him, I know I did.  But he just wouldn't accept me growing up and being higher in the pack than him. Think he thought I was his younger brother, he would never sit when I said, wouldn't come when called.  Milo did, he was a lovely dog.  I mean he was a bit of a nitwit too. Once he ate some crayons and pooped colourful poops all over the garden."

A little laugh came from behind him.

"Yeah, all dogs are crazy in some funny way, Buddy ate a soap once." He smiled and shook his head, "silly mutt had gut ache all night, think it was first time he didn't eat his food. Greedy that Buddy, he would nick the food off your plate given half a chance. That's when he wasn't cooking his brain by the fire. He loved doing that, all round his nose and eyes would be red, half cooked his brains. Well that or gassing us out."

"Doing what?!"

"He would be curled up in front of the fire, suddenly one eye would open. He wouldn't move, so you'd be wondering if he was plotting something sneaky like stealing some food from the kitchen, but no, suddenly we were hit with this smell! I can't describe it but everyone would just instantly shout "poo!" and he would run out the room as quick as anything.  The smell was something else!"

A giggle and "What about the mean one Dad?" came his son's voice.

"Barky? He wasn't that nasty, I mean he didn't fully get on with Buddy but he wasn't mean.  He was a big wuss really. When he was fully grown Gran took him for a walk and had to carry the furry lump past the shops." He chuckled a bit, "would have to be past Roy's shop, the old shop keeper when I was a kid, he saw my mum and came to the door just so he could laugh at the sight of your Gran carrying a fully grown Alsatian!" He could see a smile tugging at the corner of his son's mouth, he also noticed the wrinkles at the corner of his own eyes, he hadn't realised he was smiling.

"Barky was rather silly really, had no idea where his backside was. He knocked a kid over with that big old butt of his when he turned around, oh and our Christmas tree once as well. He even fell off Gran's old footstool too!" 

"He what?" His son asked.

"Yeah, he loved looking out the front window, seeing what was going on in the world. Gran couldn't put her feet up when he did that so she was glaring at him hoping he would shift his backside. Then he suddenly looked a bit panicked and then, well, just legs everywhere as he fell off backwards."

A laugh came from the back, a good laugh. He nodded to himself and continued.

"See, not mean, silly. Always one ear up and one down, big tongue out and loads of dribble, that's what I remember most of Barky rather than him being mean to Buddy.  Course when Buddy left us his floppy ear finally went up, he pined for Buddy after all the time he tried to beat him up.  Silly dog." He looked in the mirror but there was no laugh now, his son was looking down now, staring at his hands.

"Levi, he wasn't silly, just lovely, but funny things happened to people round him, he was a stray that was rescued, the lady who found him ripped her jeans when she got him into her van, hence the name. He was so well trained we almost had to un-train him! He tried so hard to be a good boy, I told him to do this routine quicker and quicker until he couldn't do it. Paw, other paw, sit, lay down, roll over, sit up woof!  He tried but eventually he worked out he couldn't do it as quick as I said so he jumped on me, trying to get me to slow down.  Was good to see him so happy." He trailed off not wanting to talk further about Levi, he sighed.

"Then... then there was Ruffy, you didn't know him when he was young, he was a nutty pup, would run around the garden and house so quick, zoomies they call them. He had quiet times too, he used to sit on my lap in the morning before work and watch Quantum Leap of all things. When they changed the schedule and put something else on he didn't like it and stopped sitting with me. Wonder why he liked that old show... heh. He was older, slower and deaf when you came along. But he loved and played with you and kept up as much as he could.  He wanted to do more, he really did, you could see it on his face." He glanced at the mirror, tears were running down his son's cheeks, his head still bowed down avoiding his father's gaze.

"I'm sure he has gone and met the other dogs now, Milo, Buddy, Barky and Levi.  I'm sure. He won't know them at first, but he'll recognise their smell, know they've been waiting for him.  Know he belongs. I'm sure they're all playing like mad now.  All in their prime, I bet Milo is sat, his tufty hair on his face that looked like an old man's whiskers with Levi next to him, his tail always wagging, the pair of them watching Barky lolloping along, Buddy sprinting, oh he could run for days that dog and Ruffy trying his hardest to keep up." 

"You think?" Came a quiet little voice.

"Yeah, I hope so." He nodded to himself and closed his eyes. The car was quiet for a moment, then a familiar clink of metal. He opened them to see his son in the mirror placing the collar on the empty seat next to him and wiping the tears from his face.

"Dad, I'm ready to go home now," he said quietly.