“Hey fam! Living it up in Spencerville, the ultimate pet paradise! Sushi’s a hard no after a dud salmon run. Made a paint splash at Husky Hardware; town’s still buzzing. Dodged spa day; ear cleaning’s the worst! Miss y’all but loving the freedom. I’m king of misfits now. One day we’ll reunite over the rainbow. Till then, live and woof free. – Max Paine 🐾”

Listen to the story here

Well, here we were again in Spencerville, the Lotus Land for dogs, cats, budgies and God knows what else. Me and Max, a Labrador with a grin a mile wide. The dog acted like he had stumbled into a James Bond flick – he was always sniffing, exploring, discovering. He was as happy as a man with unlimited credit in a Moroccan hash bar.

He had his haunts of course, then again who didn’t in this town? His favourite joint was the Waggle n’ Wok, a fry place run by an old bloodhound called Knuckles. The joint served all sorts of meals Max would die for back when he lived with the humans. Eating the leftovers from Sunday brunches was his way to combat, what Owsley would call, “the inevitable reality of mortality.” Folks said the sushi at Fur Tacos was divine, but a brush with a dodgy helping of salmon made Max swear off sushi for a lifetime.

His crib, nestled right in the heart of the Western Fawn Pug Palace had a pristine view of Shepherd Skyline. Not a bad setting for soaking up the sun after a splash about in the Upper Collie Canyon’s creeks, beating the summer heat, hippie style.

The duo, Max and Spookie, his feline counterpart ran this town. Their antics were the yarn that knit this community together. One sundrenched afternoon, Max decided it would be just swell to redecorate The Howling Husky Hardware Store with a lick of paint. The result was daytime chaos – dogs howling, cats screeching, birds flapping about like it was the end of days. I guess the sight of Max, covered head to paw in bright pink paint, was just too much for them to handle.

But it was not all fun and games in Spencerville – Max hated those ear cleaning days. Once, he managed to wrangle his way out of an appointment at the Spa for Paws, started a town-wide search operation. In the end, he was found snoozing in the stacks at the Pawsitively Purrfect Pet Store, tired from all the adventure and shenanigans.

And so, life in Spencerville was an adventure with its ups and downs. Even though Max missed his old folks, he kept the flame alive. He knew they would one day cross the rainbow bridge and they would be reunited. Till then, he was king in this land of misfit toys. I tagged along, chronicling the tales of this Lothario of Labs, my partner in crime, my fellow misfit – Max.

The End.