# Dog Tag

Author: Rtlstien
Tags: Character Development, Dog, First Person, German Shepherd, Human, War

 

Dog Tag

 

The piece of jewelry hanging around my neck embodies the bond that we share, and the debt that I owe to you.

 

I am literally a Dog of War, and I am yours to command.  Give me any order and I will follow it with complete obedience.  I have killed people as well as put my life on the line for others.  I do not fear death.

 

Need me for something more subtle?   I can sneak around as your scout to alert you of any hidden dangers.  I can even perform quiet assassinations on targets of your choice.  There is always the risk of me being discovered, but it won't deter me from carrying out my order.  I do not fear death.

 

I can fall asleep to the sounds of bullets firing overhead.  I can remain relaxed even when I grenade detonates a few yards ahead of me.  Not even the sounds of your comrades in agony can deter me from slumber.  Pain is only temporary.  You either live through it or you die from it.  I do not fear death.

 

Failure is not an option for me.  Failing to protect you or complete my assignment would be a disgrace to me; something that I could not live with.  I would prefer to die than to be a failure.  I do not fear death.

 

But... I did fail.  I failed to prevent my original master from dying.  I failed to give my life for his.  Without him I have no master.  I have no orders.  I have no meaning.  I am a disgrace.  What's worse is that I am still alive.

 

I was brought back from the battlefield not long after.  I was not welcomed back with open arms.  I could not return to where I was raised and trained.  No one wanted me under their command knowing that I had failed.  I was shunned by everyone, even by my fellow Dogs of War that I grew up with.  There was no place for me anymore.

 

The only thing I have left to remind me of my former glory is the dog tag hanging around my neck.  The piece of metal bears nothing on it except for my name, one that's been disgraced.  A name is all I've ever needed.

 

I finally had a place to go.  It was a place I had heard about before, but never thought I would ever end up in one.  Now that I'm here, I'm actually relieved.  I have heard what happens to those like me who stay for too long at the pound... I was looking forward to it.

 

Days passed... then weeks.  I've watched many people walk by my pen.  Some displayed some interest in taking me home, but they would all instead go for a 'younger' or 'cuter' choice.  I'm neither, and thankful for it.  All the time I've spent in battle has hardened me, both physically and mentally.  I am not the type of dog that most normal people would want to take home.

 

Though you weren't normal were you?

 

I knew my time was coming.  Soon I would be put out of my disgraced life and make amends for my failure.  But it wasn't meant to be...  I remember you walking by my pen.  You looked at me for a moment and walked off.  I figured that would be the last time I see you, but you came by my pen again.  Again and again you would walk off and come back, and each time you would stand in front of my pen longer.  Eventually you stopped going anywhere and just stood there. 

 

You can't be serious.  You couldn't possibly be thinking about taking me.  Please.  There are many other dogs here that would make much better protectors than me.

 

You smile at me.  My eyes widen.  A smile was something I received only when I did a good job on an assignment.  What had I done to warrant one from you?  You kept on smiling; that's something I had never seen before.  The smiles I've seen were brief.  I didn't understand what made you so happy.

 

After that you took me out of there.  I couldn't believe it... I had been denied that fate I desired, and instead was given a new master.  You had given me a second chance.  I promised I would not fail you.

 

I was ready to get back into the fighting, but where I wound up was a place unlike the battlegrounds I'm used to; a small house in the suburbs.  What was there that you needed my protection for?

 

The first few days at my new home were hard.  I couldn't sleep at night.  It wasn't because of the noise, but rather the lack of it.  I've been used to sleeping while battle waged around me.  I was able to fall asleep at the pound that was filled with the barking of other dogs.  Silence... silence was something I wasn't used to.  Silence was usually a bad sign in battle.

 

It was nerve-racking for me every time you left the house without me.  Where are you going?  Don't you need me to protect you?  What if something happens to you and I'm not around?  I can't relax while you're gone.  I can't eat.  I can't sleep, though I already have a hard time doing that.  I can't think of anything else other than wondering if you're alright.

 

I'm so relieved when you come back unscathed.

 

You bring me outside every day.  I stick close to you to keep everyone else away.  There are other dogs and their masters outside as well.  Sometimes they would get too close to you and I would bark at them.  I thought I was doing the right thing, but instead of praising me you scolded me...

 

I haven't been scolded since I was in training... what was I doing wrong?

 

You would look a bit angered for the rest of the time we're outside.  Was I not performing well?  I still remember everything I learned in training.  I'm doing everything I was taught... so why are you upset?  Perhaps I have lost my touch... surely you wouldn't want me now.

 

When we get back home I expect you would bring me back to the pound, or at the very least scold me some more... but instead you place your hand on my head and... rub it?

 

I close my eyes.  What is this?  My original master never did this to me.  It feels... good.  I start to relax as you rub and scratch every inch of my head.  Oh... behind the ears feels great.  Your hands go down my neck and back.  My body starts to feel limp for some reason...  I slowly collapse to ground onto my side.  You continued to rub me all over.  I couldn't believe how amazing this felt... what else had I been missing out on?

 

I couldn't sleep that night either.  It wasn't from insomnia, but rather I had something on my mind.  I was beginning to realize that my new life was so much different from my old one.  Everything I was taught must not have applied to this new environment.  I would have to learn to adapt to this new life.  I would have to disregard everything I know... perhaps that would make you happy.

 

On the next walk I widen the gap between us, but only slightly.  I still had to protect you, right?  Whenever another person approached to talk to you I would repress my urge to growl or bark at them.  It was agonizing having someone unfamiliar to me be so close.  To my surprise, when the person left I got my head rubbed; first by the stranger, and then by you.  You would then smile at me.

 

At least I knew I was doing well now.

 

Over the next few months I slowly forgot everything about my old life filled with fighting and death, and developed a life filled with smiles and belly rubs.  My desire to protect you, my master, was the only thing that remained unchanged.

 

The Dog Tag around my neck was the only reminder of the life I once had.  I had no desire to take it off.  Doing so would mean shunning my past, including my original master.  No matter how much my life has changed, I couldn't cast off everything I had once been.  It was a reminder.

 

One day you decided to borrow my Dog Tag.  I didn't mind you taking it.  I trusted that you would return them... I just didn't expect it to take so long.

 

When you finally did return it, something was different.  On one side of the tag was my name, but now on the other side was yours.  I did not realize it, but it had been an entire year since you brought me home with you.

 

This tag now had another meaning.  Not only did it represent my old life, but now the new life I was almost denied.  I happily jump up onto you.  You weren't ready for me though... you fall backwards.

 

As I stand over you, you place the Dog Tag around my neck before you start to scratch my head.  I enjoy that so much.  I collapse on top of you as you reach behind my ears.

 

I do not fear death... but now I pray it doesn't come soon.

 

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Just a quick short story while I'm still working on my series.

 

Sorry if anything seems confusing.  I wrote this at four in the morning ^\_^ '

 

Go ahead a post what you think.

 

Thank you for reading ^\_^

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/Oe54y801