Once outside, I visibly relax as my shoulders lose some of their tension. It feels so much better to be out of there. The vaccine wasn't so bad, only thing that bothered me was the neutering talk, but I suppose that's normal for a dog. My dad opens the door as we climb in, and as I'm getting settled, he looks back, "Just to let you know, Mike, there is no chance we have you neutered," he says reassuringly.
I try to smile at him and give a small bark as he chuckles, "Well, now on to something more boring, and fun. Let's get you your dog tag and license. Then you're officially part of the family, though you've always been it in our hearts," he says as he starts the car and pulls out.
As we pull out, I spot Shiners watching us from a telephone wire. I think to him, <I assume that's you over there. A little scary, but the vet visit mostly went well.>
I see Shiners tilt his head and give out a kaw I can barely hear as we drive off, <That's good, you were such a bundle of nerves last night.> I give a small huff as my tail wags slowly behind me, as it feels silly now, but last night it was the worst thing ever.
I give a small bark as we pull up to the hall, <I think my dad will want to discuss some stuff later, so we can talk more later, maybe go to a park, love to find stuff we can do.> I look back as my dad begins to get out of the car, as I give a small bark and a whine, as I want to go with him. This is my big moment, and I don't want to miss it.
My dad looks back at me hesitating, he's not sure if I'm allowed to, but at the same time, I'm his son, and he knows I want to be there. After a moment, he reaches back into the car and grabs the leash as he comes over to my door and clips it on me, "Okay, just behave."
I climb out of the car and fight the urge to bark. I definitely was finding myself having to control that a lot. I'm not sure if wolves normally bark much, but when not having dread, I feel rather excited and happy about things for the most part. Soon we're walking up the stairs as I walk along him, doing my best to act like a dog.
I sniff the air as I get a few questioning looks from the other people heading into the hall. A few of them look nervous, but seeing my tail wagging and calm demeanor, they seem to accept it. The guard at the door looks at me with some concern, but seeing the papers in my dad's hand, he waves us in. I pause for just a moment at the threshold, as this was a big moment. Finally, I start moving again when my dad gives a light tug on the leash.
Once inside, I can hear people talking all around us. I can sorta hear some words, but it's a bit too many all at once for me. Probably something I will have to get used to. My ears stay straight up with some effort to avoid giving bad impressions. Least there are no yappy dogs, but I do hear a baby crying, and a girl sees me and gives an excited, "Mommy, a big doggy!!" Her mother hushes her as she looks over with a little concern, but goes back to what she was doing.
I give the girl a little wag of my tail while tilting my head to the side as my dad gives a tug on my leash and we walk up to the receptionist, who thankfully has no one in line. As we step up, she looks first at my dad, and then looks down at me in surprise, "Umm....may I help....you?" she says. She was definitely giving me a questioning look as I wilt slightly under the gaze, my tail stopping its wag for a second.
My dad looks down at me reassuringly as he straightens up, "Yes, I'm here to get a license and tag for my dog. We just got him checked at the vet and are hoping we can get it done today. Going away for Christmas, so it's good to have it all ready."
She looks down at me again, and I can almost hear her thoughts going, 'uhh okay?' but she remains professional as she ahems to herself, "Ahhh yes, if you will follow me, we tend to do this in a private room, I will let the person in charge of such things know you're ready," she says as she leads us to a small private office.
We shortly follow her into the room as my dad takes a seat, and I sit down next to him, sniffing the air. It smells so formal, that kind of smell you only get from an office or such. My tail wags a little as the clerk sits down and begins, "Okay, I will need the name, breed, sex, and neuter or spayed status of your dog, along with the documentation proving you've gotten him vaccinated," she says.
My dad pets my head as he says, "Fluffy, wolfdog, male, and not neutered, we may in time, but currently not planning on it," he says as I can hear a small nervousness in his voice as he gives off a smell that makes me realize that he actually was nervous. I was definitely picking up on it, I had sensed general fear and such, but I was starting to learn to pick up smaller things now.
The clerk nods her head and writes it down, "Okay I think that's all, just do you know it will be an extra twenty dollars for him not being neutered, though you can get some of that back if you show proof of it, for now it twenty five dollars," she says as she reaches into a desk nearby and pulls out a bone shaped metal tag and smiles.
My dad takes out his wallet and looks down at me laughing, "I think you're going on cheap dog food for the next while," he says, making me whine. He takes the tag from her and carefully places it upon my collar as I look down at it, giving it a small bat with a paw, liking the sound of it jingling. It was real, maybe not the way I thought I would be part of the family again, but I now am. If this will be my life for a while, it was nice to have others acknowledge it. Even if my mom and dad already knew it. I was already their family.
She nods her head and smiles, "It looks good on him, and well behaved too. I'm sure you got things to do, and so do I, so unless anything else, I will see you out," she says. My dad stands up and shakes her hand as I give a tail wag and a soft bark as my version of thanks. And to her credit, she doesn't jump, and in fact smiles as we turn and head back into the main lobby and outside again into the sunlight.
I'm walking a little proud about myself as I hear Shiners from above, <Wow, someone's proud and looks spiffy. You're already all domesticated, don't show yourselves to the wolves, they will be insulted.> he teases as I just ignore him. Such a small thing made me so happy.
I climb into the car and sit down, watching out the window, even batting the tag again as he laughs, "Are you going to play with that the whole trip home? You really like it, huh?" he asks. I give a small bark and bat it again before nodding. Hey, you can't give me something cool and not expect me to play with it.
He just smirks and starts the car as we drive off. I stare out the window, looking at the world passing us by. It was a rather quiet trip home as neither of us said anything, leaving me with my thoughts. My dad smiles, "Tell Shiners to meet us over at the shed, and we can talk about stuff." Once we stop, he goes inside to get my mom.
I nod my head and wait by the car as I look around and call out to Shiners, <We're going to head to the shed and talk there. After that, maybe we can spend some time. I kinda want to go to a park and just be a dog for a while.> I say with a light woof.
My mom comes out and leans down to check out my tag and smiles as I give a small wag of my tail, "Ohhh my big boy now has a license. Not the one I was expecting, but still one," she says as my dad joins us and we soon walk over to the shed where Shiners is sitting on the roof.
Shiners smiles, "Oh, finally you'll come to see me," he says, though I can tell it's mostly in jest as he flies down to the ground and gives a small bow, "So I understand that you wanted to talk?" he asks. I just laugh at this. I really do need to spend more time with him.
"Yeah, as you may have noticed, it's a bit hard to talk with Mike, so we were thinking we should set up some rules, ways for him to communicate when you're not around or asleep."
<Well, I won't complain about getting to talk with Shiners more, there definitely should be an easier way. Especially if I have to go to the bathroom again early on. I can imagine how funny it be to wake up and find me trying to use the toilet like normal as a wolf.> I think as I give a small shudder as I shake my body fully out.
Shiners repeats this as my dad nods, "Okay, let's do this in order. First of all, we need to figure out the rules for furniture. Other than the dangers of your claws, I don't mind you on the couch and such, and even your own bed." I look at my dad hopefully, maybe I will be able to use the couch, though his next words dash that, but also make sense.
He continues after a moment, "BUT... we're also planning to see your mom's family. Which means if you and your sister get used to you on the couch, it could cause problems. I see no problem with you being allowed on after the trip. Before it, I think it's best to find other ways," he says, giving me an apologetic look.
I give a small nod, <I can live with it for a few weeks...will be weird, but if I'm to play the part of a dog, I'm going to need to figure out how to do that all. Though, how do we handle bathrooms? It's not like we can have a backyard I can sleep in outside, or a doggy door to go out with.>
After a few moments of thinking, my dad says, "Well, what you did last night can work. But we need an alternative in case of emergency, or I'm slow to wake up. I hate to say this, and hopefully you never need to, but you could use the bathtub, easier to clean up and not going to be a mess everywhere," he says. My ears warm up as I feel embarrassed, and Shiners does his best not to laugh but fails, making it worse. I tuck my tail between my legs.
My mom just smiles, petting my head, "Mike, this sounds rough, but this is natural. Nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. I'm sure after Christmas, we can figure out some easier way for you to open and close the door, and if it becomes a regular issue, we can always figure out waking up to let you out during the night," she says.
I nod my head a little bit, relaxing as I feel better about it all, and give my tail a wag. Structure is good. It lets me have ways to avoid problems like last night. I then think, <We should have some rules about being in public. It would be nice to let you guys know if I need something.> I say, and then I'm hit by something that makes me wilt a little bit, not wanting to suggest as I give a small whine and tuck my tail between my legs. But it's probably a good idea, <You....could sign me up for obedience school. Not that I need it, but it would help me know how better to act like a dog, and for you to know how to handle me.>
Dad looks at me with concern before nodding, "That makes sense. You're not going to be a problem as a dog, but neither of us knows how we should act in public. So it's probably a good idea."
Shiners shakes his head, "Mike, you're the worst wolf ever. Next, you're going to beg for dog treats and balance them on your nose. Probably never hunt a deer, instead make friends with it," he says, making even me laugh despite feeling a little embarrassed at the idea.
I take a deep breath again, feeling nervous, <I would like...to try to take a walk at the park, just do level one, nothing complicated, just you and me, probably best before Sarah gets home. Just us walking down trails, bumping into others, and getting used to being out and about.>
My dad nods his head, "Sure let me have a shower and something to eat and I will be out in an hour, if you want too you can stay here, you should be safe especially with your collar, if any problems just go into the shed," he says as I rub against him again as I was surprised how much contact I need and enjoy as a wolf.
Giving a nod, I give a small woof as my mom says, "We're going to need to figure out how much food to give you, but I can see about getting you some kibbles," she says as I nod, and as they leave, I take the time to talk with Shiners. I've been wanting to for a while, and it was a good chance to just share things until my dad finally returns.
