Hi Mom, 🐾

Just wanted to woof a quick hello and let you know I’ve been busy saving the day again. You know, sniffing out clues, wagging some courage into lost souls, and giving out free belly laugh therapy. It’s a dog’s life, but someone’s gotta paw-tray the hero, right? Catch you for a cuddle soon!

Love, Koda 🐶

I dashed through the cosmic corridors of Pawsburg, ears flapping like miniature solar sails in the ether. Never let it be said that Koda—the tri-color champion of the cosmos, shepherd of the star-flung—and all-around good boy, couldn’t make an entrance. “Good heavens!” whispered the onlookers, a delightful mix of Dachshunds and Otterhounds, as I trotted past the curious gazes of dogs both scruffy and sleek. A fellow should always maintain an enigmatic aura, I thought, making a mental note to recall this observation for the next chapter of my upcoming memoir, “The Great Galactic Squirrel Chase.”

To be honest, I was relieved that my favorite humans, notably Mom, had been blissfully unaware of my extended hours in our otherworldly haven, having left the earth’s realm chasing office hours and monologues of spreadsheets. It gave me ample time to indulge in the requisite zany antics and heroics demanded by an average, or indeed extraordinary, day in Pawsburg.

First stop, Bulldog’s BBQ, where a fellow could get a banger of a bone-in steak—or perhaps a heap of whatever delectable remains lined lovingly upon the grill. My nose led me expertly through the tantalizing wafts until I was at the counter, where Earl the Bulldog stood as sentinel.

“Ah, Earl, old chum,” I barked amiably. “Is there by chance a forgotten lamb chop purveyed from cosmic oblivion awaiting its devotee?”

Earl, in his customary manner of barking between grill tongs and sizzling slabs, handed me a treat worthy of legends while exchanging tales of epic proportions—tales that would put the bravest Lassie or most cunning Snoopy to shame.

Now invigorated and with tail wagging at optimal speed, I traversed the expanse to Ruby Rottweiler Ridge, a promising locale for my favorite pastime: squirrel chasing. Of course, in the magical lands of Pawsburg, squirrels were apt to exhibit space-worthy snappiness and acrobatics. A chase, therefore, wasn’t mere exercise, but rather, an exercise in celestial strategy, as enlightening as the stars themselves.

My antenna-like ears perked up instinctively at the rustle of unseen branches—clearly, a challenge had been issued. Launching into action, paws a blur against the terrain, I caught the squirrel—chuckling its cheeky chuckle—just on the edge of abandon, only to find myself nearly toppling into the void of Onyx Otterhound Oasis. Sudden braking won out, and I maneuvered gently to avoid a spectacular splash.

Adventuring, as it happens, is quite the rigorous sport and could easily be misconstrued as undue rough-housing. But what blessed energies did it grant to this astute Basset Hound, lifting him above the mundane into realms of cosmic consequence?

In my wisdom, I drew rein and called an intermission over another passion: an impromptu game of tug-of-war with Pascal the Poodle. Pascal, ever the dandy but a reliable friend in a pinch, was quick to engage, and if I may say, quite gallantly conceded a gentleman’s victory in favor of his better in strategic machinations.

The evening came inevitably as shadows stretched long across the cafes and crags, and I gathered my musings in contentment. As a fellow astronomer of adventure, my curiously firm paws itched to press digits upon the keys of mirth, to then recount mirth and mayhem in my telepathic missive to Mom—all without mention of certain forbidden indulgences in heavenly biscuits from ‘Biscuits and Bones Bakery,’ lest I encourage less favorable dieting practices.

Hadn’t I, Koda, the Bassett Hound of the Beyond, done all a dutiful interstellar enthusiast could do? My work was never truly finished, but served by gumption, I departed for the earthly realm, bound to weave fresh yarns from the tapestry of Pawsburg for the ears of humankind while daydreaming of the light-spun adventures on the morrow.