“Mom, you wouldn’t believe these pawsome adventures I’m having in Spencerville! Browsing Fetch, pawing K9 Kebabs, and dodging water like I flunked swimming. Sunsets are spectacular, but still miss your belly rubs. PS: Found out I’ve got a lion’s spirit but still scare of my own shadow. Life’s a saga, ain’t it? – Little Dude”

Listen to the story here.

You ever meet a critter and just know they’ve got the spirit of a damn lion packed into a chicken-sized body? That’s Jasper, the spunky Chihuahua-Jack Russell mutt, pure-bred in the soul, mind you. A creature of contradiction, with the heart of a revolutionary and a tongue for tempered tastes. Prescription grub for the most part. But, oh, does the dog swoon for his jerky. And the cheese, dear god, the cheese!

Set your eyes across the horizon, where the dust dances on the coattails of the setting sun. That, my friends, is Spencerville, where the pets gone astray find a place of peace. It’s a sort of afterlife haven. A four-pawed purgatory. For some, it’s the joint they would’ve killed for in life. For others, it’s nothing more than a glorified kennel, a concrete jungle dressed up as a dog’s paradise.

They’ve got everything you could want, from Westie Woods to Fawn Pug Palace. The diners are something else – Paws On The Grill, The Barkery, and the exotic K9 Kebabs. Once you’ve had your fill, you slink to one of the shops, like The Woofy Bakery or Fetch! where you’ll find delights that won’t tire your canines.

Jasper, he’s got a taste for the eclectic. He’ll be at the Fetching Feline Pet Emporium one day, reveling in the chaos of the kitties, then he’s off to paw around the wares of Fetch. The next day? You might find him, tail high in the air, approaching Paws On The Grill, that delicious smoke clinging to his coat like a second fur.

But that’s our boy, never quite content with the predictable. Whenever he’s alone in the house, boy, does the fear seep in. Silence, worse than any roar. But let’s not venture there, not today.

He’s something of a traveler if you squint hard enough while looking at his existence. Sun kissed beaches to towering pines. The mountains, damn it, the muscular mountains; they’ve been there, a quiet spectator in our boy’s life. But give him water, and he’ll show you the true face of phobia. He’d rather nuzzle against the beasts of Westie Woods than dip a paw in that treacherous lake.

We’ve got ourselves a saga brewing, my friend. In this labyrinth of half-truths and blatant absurdities, heroes are fashioned in the unlikeliest of forms. One thing is certain – drawing from my own, turbulent run-ins with destiny, Jasper “The Two-headed-sea-monster-chewing” Chihuahua is just getting started.

Oh, this is going to be one hell of a tale, my friend, one for the ages. Over and under, through the fire and the rain, we’ll follow Jasper’s path and bear witness to the monsters and the angels that refuse to leave his side. We’ll toast to victories, mourn losses, face fear itself, and journey across this canine cosmos called Spencerville together. Buckle up and let the games begin. They don’t call them Man’s Best Friend for nothing.

The End.