The dogs were on her the heartbeat Pumpkin set paw in the Park.

“You have to bark what happened next!” one particularly boisterous Boston terrier puppy yipped.

“Great Wolf!” Pumpkin barked. “Give me a chance to take off my leash, DeeDee!”

The terrier hopped back, bouncing with excitement. “New story!” she cried. “New story!”

The small dogs, and even some of the big ones from the other side of the fence, collected in the shade of the giant banyan tree. They sat or lay down in the grass, licking their chops and watching Pumpkin as she settled herself near the base of the trunk.

Pumpkin liked to howl her tales under the spreading branches of the old banyan. It had somehow survived the storm, as had Pumpkin and her stories. Though so much had been destroyed and then torn apart and dragged away and built over and remade, this tree stood as a reminder of the drowned city that was.

“Now,” Pumpkin woofed, “where did we leave off?”

She had barked the tales so many times by this age, she often forgot her place in any given woofing. But she was an old timer now and such things were becoming more common. A chew toy she swore she buried under the pink throw pillow would vanish from existence; she forgot to eat her kibble all morning and would find herself suddenly starving in the early afternoon. It’s such a bother, growing old.

“Shep and the dog pack had just crossed the canal and fought off the giant lizards!” barked a bright-eyed pup — a mix of breeds that had mushed into something uniquely adorable.

“Oh, yes,” Pumpkin yipped. “So, are you all ready to hear about what happened when they met Blaze?” She smiled at the group of snouts surrounding her, all eyes glued to her muzzle.

Pumpkin had started woofing the stories as a way to connect with the other dogs on the show circuit. Over the cycles, her tales became more famous than her flowing tail! Dogs would howl from across the grooming area for her to bark the legend of the Great Wolf or some other story. But she had long since retired from the show circuit, having won enough trophies to fill a whole wall in her mistress’s den. Now, she had to admit, she barked the tales in the Park to recapture a little of that attention. It was always nice to get back in the spotlight.

“Please!” DeeDee whined. All the others echoed her excitement with howls and wagging tails.

“Well, huddle closer, dear packmates,” Pumpkin barked, clearing her snout, “and I’ll tell you the tale of Shep and Callie and all the other fearless Dogs of the Drowned City….”