Hey Mom, it’s Koa. So, if my life were a movie, it’d be a dramedy set in Pawsburg. Picture me as a lovelorn pup trying to forget Capella, my rival-turned-heartthrob poodle. I even tried magical shampoo at The Pampered Pooch Salon to erase her from my mind. Spoiler: it backfired, and now everything feels emptier than my food bowl after dinner. Might have to rethink this whole “moving on” thing.

Love, your confused but determined furball, Koa. 🐾

I won’t lie to you; love in Pawsburg can be more complicated than fetch after a rainstorm. Which, let’s be honest, is an era of mud, mayhem, and absolute joy. But joy wasn’t what I was after the night when the clock struck twelve, and I padded out the dog door, leaving behind the warmth of my human mom’s bed.

I am Koa, as you surely know, and this would have been just another whimsical, tail-wagging jaunt to Pawsburg if it weren’t for Capella. The red toy poodle who once made every inch of Akita Alley sparkle with her laughter. It was a time we wouldn’t forget, except tonight, I intended to do exactly that.

Chestnut Cocker Courtyard was brightly lit, alive with yips and barks, as I pushed through the usual bustle to my destination: The Pampered Pooch Salon. It’s where dogs like us go when we want to shed more than fur.

“Forgotten Fido service, please,” I requested.

Luna, the all-knowing salon sheepdog, tilted her head. “Big step, Koa. You sure ’bout this?”

I didn’t answer right away; my nose was already unconsciously sniffing out Capella’s usual haunts. I wasn’t sure. But I couldn’t keep gnawing on the bone of our shared memories.

“Just do it, Luna.” More resolute this time.

The Pampered Pooch Salon is more than a mere grooming paradise. In a hazy spray of enchanted shampoo, the past fades—but are you really better for it? Copa Cabana Freedom, the magic shampoo, would erase Capella from my mind, like her paw prints washed off by spring rain.

Luna ushered me to the back, where the magic happened, and as the mist enveloped me, memories flowed like the river down Schnauzer Street, surging in reverse. Racing to Husky’s Hotcakes for pupcakes at dawn, our epic rough-housing scuffles, and those nights when she was the star in our play under the Chestnut tree, all began to blur.

I opened my eyes to Luna’s soft nudging. Instead of relief, I felt… emptier. Where had the colors gone? The vibrancy of life faded like my favorite gnawed-on shoe, now just a memory I couldn’t even conjure.

On unsteady paws, I staggered out of the salon. Schnauzer Street seemed dull and featureless. Golden Grub felt eerily silent. I weaved my way to The Pooch Playhouse, seeking solace in what was now unfamiliar surroundings.

Milo, my brindle brother, bounded over. “Koa! Where’ve you been?”

I didn’t know how to answer. I wasn’t even sure I remembered Capella entirely as I looked at him. Was she worth forgetting?

Capella’s absence pinched harder than any rough-housing bite. Her memory, now disjointed fragments that refused to connect, abandoned me to silence and a gloom not even the brisk wind could lift as Milo and I bolted through the courtyard.

“Bro, wanna hit Fetch! Toys and Treats?” Milo suggested, attempting to restore my lost spark. “They got new chew toys, top-notch old shoes!”

I usually relish chewing my way through a good old shoe. It’s a joy unmatched, like a familiar tale of textures against my teeth. But even that prospect felt hollow tonight.

“Sure, Milo,” I mumbled, voice slack.

For dogs, holding on means everything. To our humans, to our friends, to our memories—even the ones that burn hotter than the noon sun.

As we reached Fetch! Toys and Treats, I saw Capella’s old haunt at Dachshund’s Deli. A shiver ran through me, not cold, but a nagging sense of something missing. What good is forgetting, if the hole left feels even bigger?

Maybe memories, even those that jaggedly remind us of what’s gone, give life its form. Pawsburg teemed with energy, love, and mistakes. It was home because of them all.

Suddenly resolute, I nudged Milo. “Let’s get some pupcakes from Husky’s Hotcakes after. I feel like I need something familiar.” Because in a place as maddening and magical as Pawsburg, even in the heartache, we find our paws, our purpose.

The End.