NaNoWoofMo 2014

Once again, I’m joining a round-robin doggie tale for NaNoWoofMo, a variation on National Novel Writing Month, where we’re woofing the novel instead of writing it.

(Sadly, I bowed out of Red Wheelbarrow Writers‘ round robin, which this year is called Placebo and is awesome, so you should check it out!)

Here are the chapters so far in NaNoWoofMo:

1) Rocco
2) Kuruk
3) Hailey and Zaphod
4) Bongo
5) SwamiZoe
6) Rocco
7) Easy
8) Daisy
9) Kuruk

Thanks to Ku for giving our hero a name and a breed! Previously in our story, Marvin the husky was dumped by his deceased owner’s jerk son, and found himself in the woods welcomed into a gang of fellow huskies. He had just settled in for the night with his new buds, including the fetching leader dog, Bella, when he was startled awake by an earthquake and all the dogs scattered.

And now, the next chapter of the adventure:

“Wooooooooo!” I heard my voice echoing in the forest. Or was that my new friends calling back to me? I couldn’t tell. “Wooooowooooooo! Where are yooooooooooou?”

I ran toward the sound of paws scampering in the dirt, afraid that they would run off and leave me. I didn’t want to be alone. When I first left the farmhouse, I got carried away at the idea of living off the earth like my ancestors had. But after meeting Bella and Grumpy and the others, I got even more excited to be part of a pack.

I loved my life with my master, taking long walks and curling up each night on the foot of his bed. My master was no athlete, but he was my best friend. He always joked that he was the wrong person for me, since we didn’t live anywhere near snow. We watched movies about dog-sledding, and he’d say, “See, Marvin, you were meant to run long distances in the snow with a team of buddies. All I can offer you are a few laps around this gated community and play dates with the neighborhood Labradors and beagles.”

I didn’t mind and couldn’t imagine happier times than howling with my beagle buddies and chasing balls with the Labs. But now my master was gone and I knew I’d never have another human friend like him again.

“Woooowooooowooooo!” I howled again, partly in anguish over the loss of my best old friend, and partly in terror that I’d been abandoned by my new friends.

“Woooowoooo!” This time I heard Bella’s voice in the echo. They hadn’t left me!

My paws beat against the forest floor, following the scent of my new pack. Finally, I caught up to them and was overwhelmed with the comforting unity of our thunderous footfalls. The sweet forest air swept through my thick fur, and I opened my mouth wide, my tongue flapping in the wind as we ran.

I’m doing what you said, Master. I found my long-distance running team.

To be continued….

We have lots more openings to join in the fun. Visit Rocco’s House to sign up!