The One and Only Bob (The One and Only Ivan #2)(3)

My brother “First” was, natch, the firstborn. “Runt,” my youngest bro, was the last. “Dot” had a little spot on her back, and “Yip” was always complaining. I was “Rowdy.” Goes without saying. And that left my oldest sister. We all called her “Boss.”

Boss was small but mean, with a distinctive sharp-sounding bark. She could outmaneuver any of us to the best spot for dining.

I admired her grit. Even if she did get on my nerves.

When we got a bit older, less blind, more cocky, I fought her off occasionally. But mostly Boss won. She was fearless, that pup.





alone


The truck happened without warning one night. They threw us in a box, left my mom behind. I can still hear her frantic howls.

I landed in a muddy ditch. It was a cloudy night, nearly freezing. Even the moon had abandoned me.

And the smells! Everything so wild and unknown. Animals with big jaws and bigger appetites. Birds that swooped in to kill. Death and life all mixed up together.

I searched for my siblings until the truth became clear: I was utterly alone.





cars


The next morning I began my slow journey, moving through the tall, wet grass, my limbs stiff from the cold.

Now and then, I’d drink from a mud puddle or gnaw on some grass. By evening I was wobbly with hunger and thirst.

I followed the highway. Every time a four-wheeled creature roared by, I froze in fear. And yet—and this is what slays me—I knew that cars meant humans, and humans meant the possibility of living, just as much as they meant the possibility of dying.





the owl


Darkness had fallen when it came out of nowhere, the owl.

A shadow in a shadow.

They don’t make a sound, you know. Not a sound.

It’s quite impressive, when you think about it.





luck


Just as her talons, those marvelous weapons, raked my fur, I caught my right front foot in a small hole and stumbled.

If she’d gotten hold of my body, I wouldn’t be here. But all she managed to do was grab my tail.

Only time in my life I’ve regretted my handsome hindquarters.

I was airborne, hanging upside down, dizzy and dazed. And just crazy enough to think, Hey, I’m actually flying, before the terror hit full force.

I caught a whiff of other animals below. Later I found out they were pocket gophers, but back then I just knew I was smelling something completely foreign.

The owl must have decided the gophers would make a more satisfying meal. She let loose her grip, and I plummeted to the earth.





more luck


Maybe it was my puppy fat, or my soft bones, or my incredible good fortune.

But I didn’t die.

Didn’t even break anything.

I’d flown twice in my short life and lived to tell the tale.





will


I found a small hollow at the base of a fallen tree. Poked my nose in and got a swat and hiss from a grouchy raccoon.

Kept going. Waddling, whimpering.

Lights ahead. New, strange smells.

Kept going.

Kept going.

It’s amazing how much the sheer will not to die can keep you moving.





exit 8


I finally came to a small road curving off the main highway. Exit 8, turned out to be. A big billboard overhead had a picture of a terrifying animal on it.

Course I didn’t know what a billboard was. Didn’t know that the scary animal was a gorilla, let alone that he would become my dearest friend.

But something told me to follow the off-ramp.

And eventually I ended up at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, Home of the One and Only Ivan.





history


I made it to the mall. Slept in dirty hay by some garbage bins. The next night, I found that hole in Ivan’s cage. Stole his banana. Slept on his belly. And the rest, as they say, is history.

For two years, I lived at that seedy old place that was part mall, part circus, and all crummy.

But that was nothing compared to Ivan. He spent twenty-seven lousy years there. And our dear friend Stella, an old circus elephant, was stuck there for most of her life, too.

When Stella passed away, it nearly broke Ivan’s heart. I tried like crazy to get him through those dark days. But what really saved him, I think, was Ruby, our baby elephant friend.

Before Stella died, Ivan promised her he’d get Ruby outa that awful place. And to my amazement, he actually pulled it off.

Ivan and Ruby and a bunch of our other pals ended up going to different places, zoos and sanctuaries that knew how to take care of them. They’re with others of their own kind. And they’re loved and well cared for. It’s been over a year now since we all moved, and they seem so much happier.

Me, I lucked out. My girl, Julia, whose dad had worked at the mall, decided her family needed a dog. Who was I to argue? Two square meals, my own bed, all the belly rubs I could beg for. What dog in his right mind would say no to that?

The best part is, we don’t live far from Ivan and Ruby. I get to see ’em all the time.

I’m glad they’re nearby. And I’m thrilled they’ve settled in so well. Really. It’s a solid solution.