Will Fido Survive New Orleans?

The hurricane passes.

You, the mixed-breed mutt Fido, along with the always-energetic young dachshund Oscar, breathe matching sighs of relief. The Woman and The Man smell relaxed, if not happy. All is well once more. You sit on the still-trembling Oscar, who yelps, then growls playfully. Everything is returning to normal. Your asserting yourself as Alpha-dog is normal, Oscar pretending to dislike it is normal, and The Woman and The Man ignoring you both completely and squabbling for dominance between themselves is also very normal. Unfortunately. You find yourself wondering, again, why two Alphas like The Woman and The Man don’t just have a big, bloody fight and decide once and for all who is the strongest, so that there can finally be peace.

Then the levee breaks and the resulting flood engulfs your city.

The waters rising, The Man and The Woman move to the second floor. They don’t remember you and Oscar until you start barking, panicked at the water pouring in through the doors and windows. The Man carries you upstairs, cursing. It isn’t until the next night that he remembers your dog food, but by that time the bags of kibble would have been fouled, even if they hadn’t been carried away by the brown, filth-smelling water.

Two days after the flood, the fresh water runs out. Trapped, dirty, and dehydrated, The Woman sends The Man out hunting. She shrieks something at him about "you’re the idiot who voted for that damn Bush!" and he shrieks back, "you’re the moron who bought all those CDs instead of water or candles or any damn survival basics!" The Man doesn’t return. The Woman paces and smells pungent with sweat and worry. When you whine, because you are also worried, she hugs you. Too tight. "Oh Fido, you’d never leave me, would you? What would I do without you!" She showers you with kisses. You endure them, too weak to do anything but pant. You’re worried about Oscar. The smaller dog bent his leg awkwardly when The Man yanked him from his spot between a leather armchair and a plastic tree, half-in and half-out of the sludgy water. Oscar whimpers to you now, much less energetic than you’ve ever seen him. He licks his leg slowly. When The Woman releases you, you go sniff Oscar’s leg. Licked clear of hair, bare skin shows wet and red and swollen. It smells bad. Better than the foul stench of the hallway you are all forced to use as a latrine, but still bad. Illness-bad.

The next day, the sound of a single helicopter breaks the eerie silence of the city. Even though The Woman climbs from the balcony up onto the roof, the chopper passes you by. You look on grimly. You’re starting to feel nauseated from lack of water. The Woman sips from the single gallon jug, but she doesn’t share. Alpha’s right, you think, resigned.

The next day, Oscar dies. The Woman throws his body off the second-floor balcony. You hear the splash as Oscar hits the flooded street far below. You back away from The Woman. Would she toss you too? "Oh Fido, come here!" You do, reluctantly. "What a comfort you are! It’s so sad, so senseless…!" She sobs into your fur, and you shudder, whimpering. You miss Oscar. But you have The Woman still. She will take care of you.

Then it happens. Another helicopter. This time when The Woman climbs onto the roof, the helicopter drops down a man with a basket. "You can take one non-human item with you," the man instructs. "That’s all the extra weight we can carry."

Watching from the window, you wag your tail. Non-human, that’s you.

"Only one? What about pets?"

"One item, Ma’am. Just one. Choose now. We have to get going immediately."

"I have a bag packed, with things I just can’t leave behind." She looks down at you. "I’m sorry, boy."

And as you watch, unbelieving, The Woman climbs into the basket with her bag and the strange man. Gusts of wind increase as they lift into the sky and then they are gone.

Leaving you on the balcony, howling.

Who do you do now?

Choose:

A) Crawl underneath the master bed, curl up into a ball, and hope to die quickly.
B) Jump over the balcony rail, down into the water.