A Dog’s Life - 1. Chapter 1

Ralph:

Ralph and Justin had been together for about five years. They were both about to have their thirtieth birthday, and that was Justin’s primary reason to bolt. He couldn’t face being thirty something or having sex with anyone over thirty, so he found himself a boy toy, packed his bags and moved out of their rented apartment, lock, stock and barrel. The only thing he left Ralph was Sniffer, their six month old golden Labrador.

Even though Ralph was devastated, he was not surprised. Their relationship had always been shaky. Justin was a party animal and Ralph preferred to stay home, at least during the week. Often Justin didn’t come home for one or two nights in a row, and Ralph knew that he was with another man. He minded, but did nothing about it, because he loved Justin so much, too much.

About four months prior to his leaving, Justin stayed away for nearly a week. He came home on the fifth day, smiling his disarming smile. He carried a small bundle of golden-brown in his arms. It was a two month old dog that he shoved at Ralph as a peace offering. Ralph’s first impulse was to tell Justin to get the fuck out and take the pup with him, but one look at Justin’s pleading eyes, and then the puppy’s soulful eyes, and Ralph was hooked.

When Justin put the dog down to embrace Ralph, the puppy ran all over the apartment. He stopped at every piece of furniture and then sniffed his masters’ legs.

“Isn’t he cute?” Justin asked.

“Shit, he’s looking for a place to mark as his territory.” Ralph scooped the dog up and ran him outside, where just in time, he urinated against a tree. Justin stood by laughing. It was obvious that the burden of training the puppy would be Ralph’s.

They took the dog inside and he continued to sniff at everything. It was just curiosity, but he was so cute, and Justin said, “He’s got quite a sniffer.” Ralph agreed and they named him Sniffer.

The pup was never allowed in bed with them. Ralph pointed out that he would grow quite large, and someday there would be no room for them, if they didn’t veto him right at the get go. Sniffer slept in his own little bed at the foot of his masters’ bed.

On the morning that Justin left, Sniffer heard Ralph crying. The sensitive animal knew that Ralph was in pain, but he didn’t know why. He had not yet processed the fact that Justin was gone for good. He heard him leave, but his masters often went out and left him alone. Sniffer knew it was a no-no, but he jumped on the bed, nestled up to Ralph and started to lick the tears off his face.

Sniffer expected to be booted off the bed, and so he was surprised that Ralph enveloped him in his arms and hugged him tightly.

Frank:

On the day that Justin bought the cute golden Labrador puppy at a mall on the west side of town, Luke Jackson was searching the cage inhabitants at an animal shelter on the other side of town. His baby son, Luke, Jr., was about to celebrate his first birthday, and he wanted to buy him the gift every little boy dreams of, a puppy. The man thoughtfully believed that his son would have a companion through his late teen age years.

He zeroed in on a two month old puppy, which looked at him soulfully. The puppy’s eyes followed Luke as he observed every dog in the shelter. He couldn’t resist the pup, and he brought her home. The whole family was delighted. They named her Coco because of her deep brown colour. The brown Labrador quickly bonded with everyone, but shortly after her arrival and junior’s first birthday party, the baby boy began to get severe diaper rash, and then rashes all over the rest of his body. They determined that the baby was allergic to the dog. The baby’s mother, Dara, hated to get rid of the dog she had grown to love, so she begged her brother to take it.

The last thing Frank Baxter needed was an animal to care for. At Luke Jr.’s first birthday party, Coco had followed him around until Frank actually became annoyed with her. Furthermore, he was sexually promiscuous, and he was afraid that Coco would cramp his social life, but he couldn’t say no to Dara. She had always been kind to him. She and Luke had always supported his gay life style, especially when he came out to their parents. So he adopted Coco, and moved her clear across the city to his town house, just a few streets away from Sniffer and Ralph. Locals nicknamed this part of town, Gay Town, because of the preponderance of gays that lived there (and played there.)

Sniffer:

Sniffer was happy when he began to realize that Justin was out of his life. He never liked the human. It wasn’t that Justin was abusive, but he never played with Sniffer and he tended to ignore him completely. It was Ralph who took him for his walks and fed him his food. When Ralph came home in the evening, the first thing he did was take Sniffer for a walk in the park. If the weather was good, Ralph would play with Sniffer. They would roll in the grass and Ralph would rub his tummy. Yes, those were good days. Sniffer was happy to be rid of Justin. Since Justin left, Ralph even allowed him to sleep with him sometimes. Once in a while another human shared Ralph’s bed. Ralph played with the stranger, and rolled the man around just like he did with him. On those nights Sniffer was extremely jealous. But those nights were rare so Sniffer could do nothing but bear it.

His favourite time of the day was when Ralph took him to the park. There was an area set aside where they walked together, and Sniffer was allowed to do his stuff, as long as Ralph picked up after him, and then dropped his shit in the receptacle provided. Beyond the walking area there was a huge plot of land. It was completely fenced in. Sniffer loved it there, so he always relieved himself quickly and then he and Ralph would go into the gated area. Ralph removed his leash, and for a half hour or so he roamed freely while Ralph watched him from the bench he was sitting on. Whenever Sniffer played with the other dogs, or retrieved a stick for Ralph, he smiled at him and ruffled his fur. Sniffer considered himself to be so lucky.

Coco:

At first Coco was devastated when she moved in with Frank. She missed the baby terribly, but she was young. Slowly she began to forget the little tyke she used to play with. As Frank bonded more and more with her, he played with her often, and eventually she became very content. When Frank realized that she did not interfere with his sex life, he grew more and more to love her. Those were good days for Coco.

One day Frank took her to a park, where there was an area to walk dogs. After Coco did her thing, he took her through a gate, removed her leash and sat down on a bench. He told her to go play, or get out of his way, or something just like that. Coco ran around, fully enjoying herself. She sniffed every plant, bush and rock. Everything smelled so good and fresh and outdoorsy. The place was full of dogs and she played with some of them.

After a short while Ralph came in, and Coco saw the dog he was with, a golden Lab, more handsome than she could ever dream of. Ralph took off his dog’s leash and he ran over to Coco. They muzzled each other’s noses and then Sniffer asked if she would play with him. Of course, she said that she would. Sniffer’s master looked around and the only seat available was right next to Frank. He sat down there. After some time both men giggled at their dogs’ antics.

Finally Frank called Coco’s name and she went running to him. Now Sniffer knew her name, but Coco wondered what his name was. Sniffer started to follow Frank and Coco home, but his master called for him to come back. Now she knew his name was Sniffer. Coco didn’t want to leave and neither did Sniffer. Frank had to pull at her leash and Ralph had to put on Sniffer’s leash to keep him from following them.

Ralph and Frank:

Several days passed before their paths crossed again. Sniffer arrived first and Coco a few minutes later. The two dogs immediately muzzled each other and began to run around. Their masters were seated on a bench together. Finally Frank said, “They sure do seem to like each other.”

“That’s a sure bet,” Ralph answered. He turned to Frank and extended his hand. “I’m Ralph Larson.”

“Frank Baxter.”

The two men shook hands cordially. They said a word now and then but didn’t really engage in any conversation. Finally Ralph leashed Sniffer, said, “Seeya,” and left.

Although they were cordial, they were a bit aloof, even though they were attracted to each other. Frank’s gaydar told him that Ralph might be gay, but Ralph had no gaydar at all. Justin used to kid him about it, and threaten to take away his gay membership card. Frank determined to get a bit friendlier, and find out more about Ralph the next time he saw him.

The late summer and early fall weather was just beautiful, and both Frank and Ralph began to come to the park almost every night. By Friday night of the end of the first week after they met, they were chatting cordially. They knew a lot about each other, but not the big question. They knew where they lived, how old they were (31), what they did for a living (Frank was a writer and Ralph was a CPA), that they were both single, that they practiced different religions (when they practiced), and they both loved sushi.

“I know a great sushi bar,” Frank said. “Would you like to go there tomorrow night? It’s also Karaoke night at my favourite watering hole. We could go there afterwards.”

“Sounds great. What time would you like to meet?”

“I’ll just pick you up at six. Is that OK?”

Ralph was a little surprised, so he just nodded.

When Frank arrived, and Ralph answered the door, Sniffer was at his heels. He had picked up Frank’s scent, and was expecting Coco as well. He was very disappointed.

“Would you like a drink before we go out?” Ralph asked.

“No thanks. I’ll buy you one at Karaoke.”

The two men gorged themselves with sushi, but more importantly they were enjoying each other’s company. They even laughed at each other’s rather lame jokes.

Finally Frank probed, “How come a good looking dude like you, with a great job, isn’t seeing anyone?”

“It’s a sad and a very long story, but I was just recently dumped. I could ask the same about you?”

“Me? I’m just not ready to settle down yet. Maybe the right person hasn’t come along. In the meantime I intend to have fun. But tell me about the fool who dumped you.”

“Another time, maybe. I’m having too good a time now. What’s the name of the bar we’re going to? Is it far from here?”

This was the moment Frank was waiting for. It was going to be the moment of truth. “It’s not far. Just a short walk away. It’s called The Male Room.”

Ralph was stunned. The Male Room was a gay bar, and he and Justin had gone there occasionally. Justin did not care for the place, because the Twinkie eye candy he loved so much, went elsewhere. The Male Room attracted a more nature crowd. He was at a loss for words, so Frank asked him if something was wrong.

“No, no,” Ralph stammered. “You do know that The Male room is a gay bar.”

“Of course, I know. If you’d prefer not to go there, I’ll understand.”

“No, it’s the perfect place to go. For sure I won’t bump into the SOB who dumped me when I turned thirty.”

Frank broke out in the widest grin any face could endure without cracking. He reached across the table and took Ralph’s hand. “Let’s go then,” he said. “To quote Bogey, I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Sniffer and Coco:

Ralph and Frank had a drink at The Male Room that evening and enjoyed the Karaoke for awhile, but they were anxious to get home. They had big plans for that night. First they picked up Sniffer and then they picked up Coco, and took them for a walk in the dog walking park. Both dogs expected to go to the enclosed dog playground afterward, and were quite surprised to be taken straight home to Frank’s house.

The two men left them in the living room and went into Frank’s bedroom. They closed the door and essentially locked the dogs out. The two dogs stared at the bedroom door for awhile and then they began to sniff each other. Coco was in heat and Sniffer began to get frenzied. He mounted Coco and he made love to her in the best way that dogs can. It was a wonderful experience for both of them, because they loved each other as much as they loved Frank and Ralph.

When they were done, they cozied up side by side, muzzled each other, and fell fast asleep.

Frank and Ralph:

In the bedroom, Frank and Ralph undressed quickly. They admired each other’s bodies. They were both cut and well endowed, but neither was humongous to the point of being scary. They were each about six feet tall and both had brown eyes and straight brown hair. Neither had much body hair, but they both had a good bush of pubic hair. They could easily have passed as brothers.

Frank grabbed Ralph, and hugged him tightly. “You’re beautiful,” he said. “Come with me.” He led Ralph into the shower. It seemed as if they spent the entire night in the shower. They soaped each other repeatedly. They fondled each other’s erect cocks and balls, and fingered each other’s ass holes, until they worked themselves into a fevered pitch. At different times one would fall to his knees and engulf the other’s stiff cock in his mouth. They always stopped just short of cumming. Finally they dried off and fell into Frank’s bed in a sixty-nine position. By this time they were too far gone, and they allowed themselves to cum generously in the other’s mouth…almost simultaneously. Both of them knew that this was not a one night stand. They were positive that there would be many other opportunities to explore their love and their sexuality further.

Further was only two hours later, when they fucked each other into some Utopian world that neither knew existed. Finally exhausted, they cuddled side by side for quite a while. Finally Frank leaned over and kissed Ralph tenderly on his lips. “It’s never been this good,” he said, “Not with anyone.”

All Ralph could think about was that he was finally over his crazy lust for Justin. He had found true love. He moved into Frank’s house just before Coco was due to deliver her puppies.

The lovers had met many dog owners in the dog park, and many of them had expressed a desire to purchase one of Coco’s litter. Frank and Ralph kept the seven pups until they were six weeks old and then they began to give them away. They would not take money, and made sure that each one was going to a good home.

Frank, Ralph, Sniffer and Coco settled into a routine of domesticity. After that first night, the dogs slept at the foot of their masters’ bed. Some sixth sense told them not to disturb Frank and Ralph when they were playing in their bed. They learned that their playtime was reserved for the park or the living room after dinner.

Frank stopped his promiscuous ways. Nobody could make him feel any better or make love to him any better than Ralph. For his part Ralph completely forgot Justin until one day there was a brief article about him in the newspaper.

Justin:

Ralph read the story over his morning coffee. “Good God,” he yelled out. “Look at this,” he said to Frank, handing him the paper.

Frank read the blurb, and asked, “Is this your Justin?” Ralph nodded and reread the one paragraph article.

City police were called last night to 1341 River Street, when a neighbour’s 911 call alerted them to a domestic disturbance. They found the owner of the apartment, Justin Lowry, 31, lying in a pool of blood. Mr. Lowry was barely conscious, but he was able to give police a description of his 18 year old assailant, whom he had met at a bar earlier that evening. He did not know the young man’s name. The perpetrator beat and robbed him. Mr. Lowry was taken to Memorial Hospital. His condition is not known.

“You should go to the hospital,” Frank said.

“You wouldn’t mind?” “Honey, I am not afraid of that loser. Go! Do the right thing.”

The nurse took Ralph into the semi-private room that Justin shared with another patient. Justin was all bandaged up, but he appeared to be in pretty good condition. He was sitting up in a chair next to his bed watching television. When he saw Ralph, he tried to smile, but the bandages got in his way.

“Ralph,” he said, “boy, I am so glad to see you. The doctors say I could get out of here today if I had someone to change my bandages and clean my wounds. I’d sure appreciate it if I could go home with you for a week or so.” Ralph hadn’t even said hello yet, and Justin’s request flabbergasted him.

“I can’t do that,” Ralph said softly. “I live with someone, and it’s his home. The guest room is set up as his office. He works from home.”

“Please ask him, if it would be all right. I promise not to get in anyone’s way. I’ll sleep on the sofa. Except for help with my wounds, I won’t bother anyone. I’ll even eat my meals out if that would make a difference. Please. I’ve got to get out of this prison.”

Ralph took out his cell phone and called Frank. He told him the situation, and prayed that Frank would say no.

“Sure you can bring him home. You can’t abandon an old friend.”

Ralph didn’t like the thought of Justin and Frank being alone all day while he was at work, but he shrugged it off. Frank would never cheat on him. Besides, he was too old for Justin’s tastes. Ralph waited for Justin to be discharged, and then they went home. When they entered the house, Sniffer was strangely disturbed, but he wasn’t quite sure why. The next day was Sunday, and Frank and Ralph took turns cleaning Justin’s wounds and changing his bandages. There was a sleep sofa in Frank’s office and they made it up for Justin.

On Monday morning, Ralph went to work, and Frank went into his office to work.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Justin,” he said, “but I have got to get to work.”

“No problem. Before you do, can I ask a favour. I haven’t bathed since the morning of the attack. If I can use the bathroom, I can sponge bathe most of me, but would you help me with my back?”

“Sure, come with me.” Frank took Justin into the bathroom. He gave him a new toothbrush, a disposable razor, a towel and a wash cloth. All Justin had on was a pair of boxers. He dropped his shorts and Frank suppressed a gasp. He wished that Ralph had warned him that Justin was hung like a horse.

Justin filled the sink with hot soapy water, and began to cleanse himself with the wash cloth. He went carefully around his bandages and cleaned his cock and balls thoroughly. Frank tried not to look. He was not happy to find himself getting aroused. He had no doubt that Justin was getting bigger and harder.

“I’ll get you a fresh a pair of underwear,” he said and started to leave.

“Wait. Do my backside first, please.”

Frank rang out the wash cloth and then re-soaped it. He did the backs of Justin’s legs and his entire back. Without thinking he went lower and started to wash Justin’s southern cheeks and cleaned his crack.

“That feels so nice,” Justin purred. “Too bad you’re so old.”

That remark brought Frank back to reality. “I don’t like to be disturbed while I work, so why don’t you hang out in the living room and watch TV. I’ll make us lunch and change your bandages at noon.”

Justin just nodded his head.

When Frank went into the living room at noon, Justin was lying on the couch, half asleep, lazily stroking his massive cock.

“If I’m disturbing you, I can come back later,” Frank laughed.

“No, it’s OK. It’s just that I haven’t had anything in a couple of days and I’m getting horny. I can continue this later when you go back to work.”

“I’ll clean your wounds and change your bandages. Then we can have lunch. I’ve got some tuna fish salad. I’ll make us a couple of sandwiches and coffee.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Frank was glad that Justin’s wounds were all above his waist. He wasn’t hot for Justin, nor was he any where near to desiring him, but nonetheless, he would have loved to have fondled Justin’s oversized dick. He had never seen one quite so large, not even in a porn flick. As for Justin, Frank was a long way from being anywhere near his sexual desire, but he was horny, and being alone with Frank was creating sexual tension in him. After cleaning up the lunch dishes, Frank went to pee before going back to work. He was not in the habit of closing the bathroom door. While he was peeing, Justin came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Frank’s waist. Before he could react, Justin enveloped Frank’s cock and started stroking it. Frank truly wanted him to stop, but he did nothing. It just felt so good.

Justin’s cock was jabbing at Frank’s ass. He reached around and grabbed Justine’s pride. It felt like he was wrapping his hand around the wrong end of a baseball bat. The two men began to mutually masturbate each other. A thousand times, Frank wanted to yell, “Stop,” but he didn’t.

Suddenly Justin stopped stroking, and he flipped Frank around. He fell to his knees and finished Frank off in his mouth. Justin couldn’t take Frank’s prolific amount of cum, and some of it fell from his mouth and on to the floor. Frank was struck dumb. Nothing brings you down to earth faster than the moments right after an orgasm. Frank was deflated and frozen in place.

From a great distance away, he heard Justin’s voice. “Aren’t you going to get me off?”

Frank grew livid with anger. “Get your clothes on and get the fuck out of my house. You can go to a walk in clinic to get your bandages changed, or do it yourself. I think you’re capable of doing it anyhow. Justin was stunned. “It wasn’t that great,” he stuttered.

“You aren’t hard like the young guys I screw. You’re an old man,” he screamed. He got dressed and left the house. Frank began to cry. He sat down on the sofa, and both dogs ran to him and licked his face. He embraced both of them, and then fell asleep on the sofa. He was miserable. How could he have let this happen?

When he got home, Ralph found Frank sleeping fitfully on the sofa. His face was smeared with tears. A sinking feeling filled Ralph’s stomach. He didn’t want to disturb Frank, so he went into the bathroom to pee and wash. He spotted it right away. There was nearly dry semen on the bathroom floor. Ralph had to grip the faucet to keep from falling. When it struck him that Justin was not in the house, he had to grip it harder. Nobody had to tell him that the bastard he had once loved, or rather lusted after, had seduced the best thing in his life. He grew very angry. Thankfully his anger was directed at Justin and not at Frank.

He took the dogs for a walk. It was obvious that Frank had neglected them. The two sensitive animals knew that they needed to do their business quickly, and there would be no playing today. They all needed to get home and attend to Frank.

Ralph sat down on the sofa. He lifted Frank’s head and put it on his lap. Little by little he felt Frank relax. They sat that way for almost an hour and Frank began to awaken. He saw that he was lying on Ralph’s lap and he began to cry.

“Ralph, Ralph...” He was speechless.

“Shh, shh,” Ralph reassured him. “I can tell you exactly what happened. Please don’t beat yourself up over it. If anyone knows what a bastard Justin is, it’s me. I assure you, we’re OK. We’ll get by this. Anyway, Justin will get his punishment when the twinks lose interest in the old man he’ll become. Old and lonely, I might add.”

Frank raised up his head and kissed Ralph. Coco and Sniffer were happy again. Frank’s tears had greatly disturbed them. They could sense once again that their masters were happy.

“I’ve got a great idea,” Ralph said. “I’ll make dinner, and after dinner we’ll shower and clean that scum off our bodies. We’ll have ourselves an early night. I think we need each other badly tonight.

Although it hadn’t seemed possible that morning, the incident with Justin brought them even closer together.