Hey Pal,

Just weathered a storm to rival the legends – turned plumber and savior to keep Pawsburgh from becoming a dog-paddle paradise. Even in the midst of chaos, wagged tails and a hardware store can work miracles. Sunrise finds me here, slightly soggy but sporting the unsung hero’s cloak. Sam’s obliviously tossing me a towel, none the wiser. Off to dream of bones and quiet bravery.

Catch you on the flip side,
Merlin the Mighty 💪🧙‍♂️🐾

In the dog-eat-dog world of Pawsburgh, where every tail has its tale and every bark its bite, I, Merlin, with my wizard-white coat, hold my own legendary place. This is my latest yarn, one of rather apocalyptic proportions for our beloved doggy dominion, and I speak to you now as if you, dear reader, are an old comrade sitting by the fire, eager for another chapter of my escapades.

It began on an ordinary day, or what we in Pawsburgh consider ordinary—Spaniel Springs bubbling with laughter and Newfoundland Nook heaving with the aficionados of fetch. I had just acquired a particularly exotic stick, an artifact of unquestionable value, from an expedition through the depths of my human’s backyard. Drake was by my side, equally coated in the spoils of adventure: a fine layer of soil and victorious slobber. Sam had left for the world of two legs, and thus, I made for my favorite haunt, the Bark-n-Bite Bistro.

“Merlin!” Penny hailed, her scholarly snout buried in a broadsheet as I trotted in. “You’ve heard about the impending disaster, have you not?”

“Disaster? The only impending thing here is the aroma of chicken treats!” I quipped, ever the wit even in the face of doomy headlines.

Penny rolled her eyes, a gesture she undoubtedly picked up from our human counterparts. “Not treats—thunder! They say a great storm is brewing, potent enough to wash away Pawsburgh!”

I blinked. My dislike for vacuum cleaners was legendary, but thunder, that was nature’s own vacuum, threatening to hoover us up in one grand, celestial sweep.

“Fear not,” Max entered stage left with a flourish, toys in tow. “We shall weather the storm.”

Quite literally, as the heavens chose that moment to unleash a fierce tempest upon Pawsburgh. The wind howled like Bella on Karaoke Night. The rain descended as if the sky was bawling its eyes out after watching the saddest movie in existence. We scurried to the cover of Quartz Qimmiq Quarter as lightning dashed overhead, throwing land into eerie silhouettes.

“Bella!” I shouted over the roar.“We must unite the dogs of Pawsburgh!”

She nodded, her vocal cords a siren’s call, assembling the frightened furballs. By now, the rain was an unrelenting force, turning our quaint town into Atlantis’s canine counterpart.

“Sam will be expecting me at sunrise,” I muttered, more to myself than to my sodden comrades. Nonetheless, it was Penny who responded with an intellectual calm.

“And he shall have you, Merlin, mighty wizard that you are. Calm yourself, and think!”

And think I did, Drake nestled under my paw. Here we were, Pawsburgh’s bravest, facing down the greatest of cloudbursts, and what did we have? Brotherhood. And a hardware store.

“To The Howling Husky Hardware Store!” I called, paddling through the aquatic chaos. The plan was simple – construct a rudimentary drainage system to funnel the flood out of Pawsburgh. Under my command, every hound hefted, hauled, and hammered away. We navigated our disaster with the tenacity of terriers chasing the mailman’s van.

As the storm subsided, the moon peeked through dissipating clouds, a round of ‘paws’ went up for the resilience of our town. Pawsburgh stood drenched but dignified. I shook my fur, water arcing from me like a spell of purification.

Dawn crept into the sky as Sam opened the door, none the wiser to Pawsburgh’s near-mythical ordeal. I sauntered in, the hero’s return, my return to the quiet.

“Merlin, you’re all wet!” Sam exclaimed, reaching for a towel.

I settled onto the couch, curling into that tinier-than-thou ball, the protector in secret, the small wizard with a heart as boundless as the universe, ready to rest until the next adventure beckoned.

The End.