Hey Mom! Spencerville’s dawn broke in radiant hues. Me, as Duchess, having chicken pot pie for breakfast! Met Muffin the hamster, avoided banana vendor! Ended the day at Greenhound Grove. Paradise ain’t a place, it’s here, my everyday life. Woof, woof! – Mags 🐾

Listen to the story here

Daylight was breaking in Spencerville, a splotch of honey and mauve blended in a tangle of celestial brilliance. I blinked my eyes open to the world, grinning at the wondrous place I was in. You’d have thought being a canine, things were black and white to me, but no, here, I am Duchess, in technicolor.

I’m ruffled from a much needed deep sleep by the sweet essence of chicken pot pie from Doggy Delight drifting in the air. My wagging tail mirrors my quivering nose. Freedom within a tasty crust, a tangible slice of mouth-watering paradise. As peculiar as it may sound, I own a squeaky rubber chicken toy, a doppelganger of sorts. Life-size for some, but a dwarf, in comparison to my larger-than-life persona in Spencerville. Strange times in a strange world.

I stretch, letting my black and white coat catch the first light. They say Spencerville was created for pets after we pass away, a near-perfect paradise. But let’s make no mistake about it, I am no ghost. No spectral mutt. Not yet. I live and breathe the Spencerville air, living a human-like existence in a dog-eat-dog world.

I set off, with the sun overhead, to my favorite place in Spencerville – The sprawling dog park. Branches trumpeted above me in Greenhound Grove, leaves rustling like the whispers of olden stories. Parks are never silent; the wagging of tails, the playful somersaults, constant sound of canines cavorting… it’s all music to my ears so can’t argue with that much fun now, can we?

Ah, but there’s also the Fetching Feline Pet Emporium to visit and…what’s that? My enemy looms ahead – a banana vendor, set on ruining my perfect day. Steady, Duchess. Steady. A deep breath and I drag myself in the farthest possible direction. An inexplicable disdain it is, these bananas. Yellow harbingers of bitterness.

A soft nudge against my paw and I look down, to find Muffin, the hamster from next door, inches away from being squished under my canine bulk. A roll of my eyes, a shake of the head, but a pat ever so gentle, and we’re off. Muffin is an insufferable little rodent, but well, he’s got a knack for good stories. So, we trot along the streets of Spencerville the spontaneous dog-rodent duo, basking in the twilight, relishing the freedom and the stories of this place.

Though Spencerville may be a town where doomed pets supposedly roam, rest assured we’re laughing in the face of death itself, doing somersaults across the manicured parks, ruling over the squeakiest of toys, and slurping every last bit of our chicken pot pie.

So, here’s to Spencerville, my comrade. Here’s to doggy delight and yappy yogurt. Here’s to life and all its dazzling technicolor. Life after all, is a spectacular story, and we’re just trying to tell it the best way we can. Mine is Marian-blue and bananas-yellow, chicken pot pie and Muffin-rose, all threaded together, this remarkable Spencerville way.

The End.