Dog Island

By Jil Johnson

Willy stared out through the criss-cross wires of his cage. He had figured out a few things. One, being born a spunky Beagle wasn't always cookies and naps. Two, there was no way he was staying in this barbed wire apartment. And three, as he listened to the rows of dogs barking and howling, he wasn't going alone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jil Johnson
• Release date: May 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781087966182

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Dog Island

Jil Johnson

Copyright © 2021, Jil Johnson

All rights reserved.

This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

Edited by Donnie Douglas.

For Bella. Although you didn't always come up on the innocent side of the missing sandwich, you were perfect for who you were. Your inspiration goes beyond this book and into my very existence—so for that, I dedicate this book to you.  After all, even as a Beagle, you were a better person than most people.

Till we meet again.

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1 - Willy

Chapter 2 - Where Is The Pool?

Chapter 3 - Grady

Chapter 4 - Free Willy

Chapter 5 - One Year Later

Chapter 6 - Slobber Ball

Chapter 7 - What’s that smell?

Chapter 8 - Ahh-Woooooo

Chapter 9 - Free Dive

Chapter 10 - Anyone Order A Pizza? 

Chapter 11 - Benny And Jett

Chapter 12 - Joker

Chapter 13 - Moose

Chapter 14 - James

Chapter 15 - Wipe The Drool Willy

Chapter 16 - Joker Has The Floor

Chapter 17 - Moving Mountains

Chapter 18 - Know When To Walk Away

Chapter 19 - When Pigs Fly

Chapter 20 - Who’s That Girl?

Chapter 21 - Old Smells On Old Sweatshirts

Chapter 22 - Where The Road Ends

Chapter 23 - Bella

Chapter 24 - Nathan

Chapter 25 - Somewhere On A Farm

Chapter 26 - Beagle Row

Chapter 27 - New Hope

Chapter 28 - Ashes To Ashes

Chapter 29 - Back On Track

Chapter 30 - It’s Only Rock And Roll

Chapter 31 - Beeps In The Night

Chapter 32 - Help Is Just A Beep Away

Chapter 33 - Stop On Red

Chapter 34 - Fugitives In A Pickup Truck

Chapter 35 - Elizabeth

Chapter 36 - Something In The Air

Chapter 37 - Last But Not Least

Chapter 38 - The Girl With The Hidden Tattoo

Chapter 39 - A Tale Of Tails

Chapter 40 - Turn Down Service

Chapter 41 - Old Dog Days

Chapter 42 - Proper Welcomes

Chapter 43 - No Vacancy

Chapter 44 - Worlds Closing In

Chapter 45 - Raining Cats And Dogs

Chapter 46 - What Washes Ashore

Chapter 47 - Willy Said What?

Chapter 48 - James And Mary

Chapter 49 - Nope, Not A Dream

Chapter 50 - Bait And Hook

Chapter 51 - See You Later Alligator

Acknowledgments

PROLOGUE

The bullet had a job. And, it was right on target. If you could have slowed down time, way, way down, you would have been able to see it. In slow motion, you would have been able to see that tiny but significant piece of metal spinning towards its mark. Willy, unfortunately, couldn’t see it.  But, he felt it. It was fast. It was furious. And, it was enough to take him off his feet.  Willy felt the hard floor as he hit the ground. He needed to close his eyes. The light was too bright, and it hurt his head. He blinked a couple of times, trying to focus, but everything was just a bright white blur. He could hear voices shouting. Gunshots ringing out. Footsteps echoing on the ground where his head pressed into the hard floor. He needed to move. He forced himself up, stumbled a few steps forward, and then hit the ground again. Come on, he told himself, and he forced himself up once more, and he ran. At least he thought he was running. He was moving anyway. Progress.

Willy ran until the sudden loud explosion behind him reeled him off his feet and threw him through the air. This time when he hit the ground, he knew he wasn't getting up, and his eyes closed as he surrendered to the bright light.

CHAPTER ONE

Willy

Willy! Did you eat Nathan’s lunch?

Willy licked his lips, tasting the sweet vanilla cream of a cookie.  It hit the spot after that turkey sandwich he just gobbled down. He wagged his tail and gave her his most handsome beagle-boy calendar look. He knew she couldn’t resist that.

You silly dog, you’re going to get a fat belly, she said as she rubbed Willy’s stomach.

Perfect, a cookie and a belly rub. Maybe time for a nap, and Willy headed to Nathan’s bed where he liked to sleep under the messed up covers.

It didn’t take long before the sounds of splashing water woke Willy up.  He eagerly jumped out of bed and trotted outside. In the warm summer sun, Willy found Nathan playing basketball in the pool.  Wasting no time, Willy went down the pool steps and into the sparkling cool water. He gracefully doggy paddled towards Nathan.

Hey, Boy!  Where have you been?

Willy let him pat his wet back a couple of times, and then he swam around to cool off. It was a warm day, and a couple of laps in the refreshing cool water felt good on his thick fur. Feeling refreshed, he got out and rolled around on the warm towel that had been lying on the pool deck.

Hey you, Nathan said, laughing, that’s my towel!

That didn’t faze Willy, and he continued to roll around until he was practically dry.  He strolled to the grassy backyard and went on lizard patrol. The little guys were always running all over the place, and Willy thoroughly enjoyed chasing them. One lizard liked to sit on the lounge chair. This particular guy was rather large, with a curly tail and too big for Willy’s liking. So, they silently agreed to coexist. 

Over by the sidewalk, a family of lizards lived in a hole just under the stone.  If Willy would catch them out and about,  it was always a mad race for that stone.  Most of the time, they were too quick for him.  But, once in a while, he got lucky. Fortunately for them, they were always rescued from his mouth by his mom. He must give off a guilty look because somehow, she always knew.

Willy, don’t you dare swallow, she would yell. Willy reluctantly held still while she pulled the tail out of his mouth and freed the lizard from the ultimate doom of his stomach.  Oh well, Willy thought, catching them was the fun part.

Today, he spotted one quickly, and off he went. Oh, fun, Willy thought, he liked someone who wanted to play. He chased the lizard through the grass around a bush until it finally went into an old wooden lobster trap lying in the yard. Not an extremely smart lizard, Willy thought as he went in after it. It took about two seconds before he realized the lizard was a bit smarter than he gave him credit. Mr. Lizard exited quickly out the back slats, and Willy, unfortunately, wasn't going anywhere. The laughter from Nathan, who had been watching the whole thing, rang out in Willy’s ears.  OK, OK, not the smartest thing I have ever done.  Just get me out of here, please. Willy was a little humiliated as Nathan twisted and maneuvered his plump little body out of the trap. 

Maybe if you hadn’t eaten my lunch, this would be a little easier, Nathan said as he struggled to get Willy out of his latest predicament. 

Ha-Ha, Willy thought, very funny, and he strolled back to the pool patio to sleep off his disgrace.

After that much-needed nap, Willy woke to Nathan and his friends getting ready to play a game of football. Willy loved playing football with the guys. It was like his own personal game of keep away. One time after he got the ball, he ran off as fast as he could, sat it down in the grass and lifted his leg, and peed on it.  He couldn’t help but laugh; he thought it was hilarious… they,  unfortunately, did not.  And to Willy’s dismay, the game of football was over.

Summer with Nathan was so much fun, so Willy was a little sad when he heard Nathan was going away to basketball camp.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with himself for two weeks without him. On the other hand, he would have the bed all to himself, and Mom would probably take him for lots of car rides.

So, on that cloudy, drizzly day when Nathan was gone, and Willy saw they were going for a ride, he perked up. A quick hop in the back seat, and yes, windows down. She knew he liked them both down, so he could run back and forth from window to window, smelling new things. He wasn’t sure where they were going today, but he hoped they would pick up Nathan. If not, it would probably be one of the usual stops, and Willy put his head out and enjoyed the smell of the rain in the air.  He was excited thinking about the dog biscuit and the head pat he would score from the bank place or maybe a walk around the trail.  That was always an excellent spot for new smells and a great place to leave a few of his own.  But that day, they didn’t go to the dog park or the bank where they gave out those stale but still delicious biscuits.  They didn’t go pick up Nathan from camp. Willy was curious; he didn’t recognize the roads or the new smells, or the building. Where exactly were they?

Willy’s mom got him out of the