A Dog's Purpose Read Online Free PDF Page A

the female from the cab while Carlos came around to the cage door. All of us except Sister surged forward.
    “Come on, Coco. Coco,” Carlos said. I could smell peanuts and berries on his fingers, plus something sweet I couldn’t identify.
    We all barked jealously as Coco was led into the building, and then we barked because we were barking. A large black bird landed in the tree above us and stared down at us as if we were idiots, so we barked at it for a while.
    Bobby came back out to the truck. “Toby!” he called.
    Proudly I stepped forward, accepting a loop of leather aroundmy neck before jumping down onto the pavement, which was so hot it hurt my feet. I didn’t even glance back at the losers in the cage as I entered the building, which was astoundingly cool and redolent with the smells of dogs and other animals.
    Bobby led me down a hallway and then picked me up and dropped me on a shiny table. A woman entered and I thumped my tail as she put her soft, gentle fingers in my ears and probed under my throat. Her hands smelled of a strong chemical, though her clothes smelled of other animals, including Coco.
    “What’s this one?” she asked.
    “Toby,” Bobby said. I wagged harder when I heard my name.
    “How many did you say, today?” While she and Bobby spoke, she lifted back my gums to admire my teeth.
    “Three males, three bitches.”
    “Bobby,” the woman said. I wagged my tail because I recognized his name.
    “I know; I know.”
    “She’s going to get into trouble,” the woman said. She was feeling me up and down, and I wondered if it would be okay if I groaned with pleasure.
    “There are no neighbors to complain.”
    “Still, there are laws. She can’t just keep taking on more dogs. There are already too many. It’s not sanitary.”
    “She says otherwise, the dogs all die. There are not enough people to take them on.”
    “It is against the law.”
    “Please don’t tell, Doctor.”
    “You put me in a bad position, Bobby. I have to be concerned with their welfare.”
    “We bring them to you if they are sick.”
    “Someone is going to file a complaint, Bobby.”
    “Please, don’t.”
    “Oh, not me. I’m not going to say anything without telling you first, give you a chance to find a solution. Okay, Toby?”
    I gave her a lick on the hand.
    “Good boy. We’re going to get you into surgery now, fix you right up.”
    Bobby chuckled.
    Soon I was in another room, brightly lit but deliciously cool, full of the strong chemical smell that came off the nice lady. Bobby held me tightly and I lay still, somehow sensing this was what he wanted. It felt good to be held like that, and I thumped my tail. I felt a brief, sharp pain, behind my neck, but I didn’t complain, wagging vigorously to show that I didn’t mind.
    The next thing I knew, I was back in the Yard! I opened my eyes and tried to stand up, but my back legs weren’t working. I was thirsty but too tired to go get water. I put my head down and went back to sleep.
    When I awoke, I was instantly aware that there was something around my neck, a white cone of some kind, so stupid looking I worried I might be dismissed from the pack. I had an aching, itchy feeling between my back legs, though I couldn’t get at it with my teeth because of the silly collar. I stumbled over to the faucet and drank a little, my stomach queasy and my underside very, very sore. I could tell by the smells in the Yard that I had missed supper, but I couldn’t have cared less, at that point. I found a cool patch of earth and flopped down with a groan. Fast was lying there, and he looked over at me—he, too, was wearing the ridiculous collar.
    What had Bobby done to us?
    The three females who had gone with us to the building with the nice lady were nowhere to be seen. The next day I limpedaround the Yard, sniffing for signs of Coco, but there was no evidence that she had come back with us.
    Aside from the humiliation of the stupid collar, I also had to suffer the