Dog waited quietly on her bed, muscles tense and almost trembling. The light through the window had woken her but she knew it would not serve well to wake her person too soon. That would mean harsh words. She waited impatiently for the turn and the stretch, the kicking at covers that would mean her person was waking too. The only sound that betrayed her was the sound of her licking her paws. She knew this too could cause her person to speak disapprovingly, but she could not help it.
Finally, her person would yawn, turned and sit up. Then the waiting would be interminable. First She would go into the little room. Then there would be many trips back and forth with items of clothing and shoes. She would stop to straighten the covers and even when She picked up the leash and opened the door it was not safe to assume this was really it. For inexplicable reasons She might turn back to fuss with something on the desk or in the little room.
Finally the steps. Carefully Dog would hurry down them and wait, trembling, her tail whipping her body back and forth while She clung to the railing and came slowly down, keeping her eyes on each step.
Dog must be quiet! It was so hard! Outside the squirrels skitted along the fence and up the trees, but this early gray trip out must be done quietly or She would chastise her.
A quick pass along the neighbors strip of grass, maybe a quick pee or a delicious scratching of the back, her torso wriggling one way and then the other, her paws paddling in the air. The quick trot between the houses to the sidewalk head high, nose sniffing, ears raised to the new day. And then the leash.
Head down, ears restrained but still the nose swinging back and forth her long hound dog ears swirling the aromatics up off the pavement. The morning was her time. The long walk before traffic, not hurrying to work or shop. Dog decided to turn at the corner or not. Trees were inspected for squirrels, cats sniffed out under bushes and other dogs primly greeted with the dance of the leash.
Dog waited, quietly. Only the sound of her licking her paws in anticipation, penetrated the woman’s fading sleep.