A new place! I've never been here before! It smells like people! It smells like smoke! I sneeze! My owner leads me in with my rope and I limp beside him.

"There he is!" I wag my tail as several men greet me. One is taller than mine and another is fluffy and smiling. There are several I've never seen before. The fluffy one kneels down to give me belly rubs. I flip over and stick my paws in the air. "He's gotten so big!"

"I know, it's from bein' spoiled by you lot!"

I lick my chops as he pets and rubs. 

"Kinda looks like you, Mal."

"Thanks, Phil."

I love this attention. It's happy attention. I'm happy! 

"How are the songs comin', Bon?"

The man stops petting me for a minute. I lie there on my back. "I'd say they're alright. I'm sure you've got some stuff goin' too?"

"A bit. Been playin' more than writin'."

I sit up and sit next to the man on the floor. He's extra fluffy. He smells delicious and I lick his face. There's another man there who I don't recognize. His eyes are blue. He's holding something. I've seen my owner hold them before. He drinks out of them and they clink and swish. He holds his hand out to me and I sniff. 

"He's about Tommy's size."

The men talk a lot. I explore the place and smell everything that I can before we leave. Some things smell old. Others smell fresh and new. There are some trees and plants but they smell like the ones inside our house and not outside. I leave them alone. My tail sits upright and wags as I trot. My limp is quicker than it used to be. I'm faster. I crawl under things and look for things to eat. The food in my bowl is in my stomach now and I want more. I see several other musical things around. Some look like the one my owner plays. Others look different and massive. I sniff them carefully and keep one paw off the ground. 

I sniff something musty and it tips over to the floor, crashing. I run off. I hear footsteps and see the fluffy man. "You alright, little guy?" He fixes whatever fell and pats his leg. I follow him slowly, keeping my head down.

"He break somethin'?"

"Nah, jus' knocked a stand over. Could have fallen on him." I limp to my owner and he gives me pets, pressing his head against mine. I love him and he loves me. 

**********

The wind blows through my fur. I squint. The dirt beneath my paws is soft and I sink while I walk. I hear roaring. I shiver. I follow my owner as he leads me with my rope. I smell salt. I smell fish. Water sprays my face and I shake. I've never seen so much water in my life. I tremble and hide behind my owner's legs. I am afraid of that water. It's loud and cold and harsh. 

"Ya' like the beach, Charlie? Bit nicer in the summer, though..."

I watch him. He stares out at the water while the wind blows his long fur around. I wonder how he can see through it all. He wears several coverings. He's hunched over slightly. I see him shiver. He doesn't seem to be scared of the water. I wish I weren't. I'd bark at it if I knew it could hear me. But it's so loud!

I sink in the dirt. It gets between my toes. There are other humans here pulling dogs on ropes. They run and bark. They're not afraid. I step on rocks. Some are broken and smell of salt. Some rocks have legs. I paw at them and bark. My owner doesn't stop me. He stands there and watches me. The rocks don't move. I leave them alone. 

The water comes closer to us and I scurry away, tugging on the rope. My owner walks after me and I run. The water stops and goes away. I shake and stare at it, sniffing the air. I look up and see things flying. They're not birds. Birds don't have strings. There are people standing under them. I see people in the water. There aren't many. The spray of the water feels too cold to swim in. 

The dirt is so soft under my paws. I bet I could dig the biggest hole ever. I must dig. I start digging. My owner stands and watches me. I kick the soft dirt behind me. "Easy there, mate, these are new shoes!"

I dig and dig and dig. I grunt and make digging noises. I grumble and growl. I find more rocks. Some are broken and some are shiny. Some are too heavy to dig through. I try anyway. My ears twitch at the roaring water. I stop digging and look around. My owner sighs smoke. But he isn't holding a stick. Maybe he breathes fire. I snort and I see smoke come from my nose.

I breathe fire too!

I continue digging and grumbling. I keep sinking into the soft dirt. My weak paw is useless in this. I growl at the dirt. I feel a tugging on my rope.

"Come on, Charlie, I'm freezin' my arse off out here."

I snort at the hole I dug and wet in it. After I'm through I climb out and kick some dirt behind me. I follow my owner wherever he leads me.