Short Story Fiction
Leo and Cleo: A New Dog on the Block

A new dog moves in across the street. Brutus takes care of the “problem”.

They couldn’t believe their eyes. In the back of the truck was a DOG! The man opened the tailgate and let the dog out. It ran around the yard smelling and peeing on all the bushes.

Leo sat in the front window watching the house across the street. Cleo jumped up and joined him.

New owners were moving in. The two cats wanted to see if they might be gaining another one like them. If so, it was important to make friends and warn the newcomer about Brutus.

Brutus was a bully who lived down the block and would probably try to pick a fight with the newcomer just to let him know who was boss.

That wasn’t the only reason the two watched out the window. There was another. The man that used to live there did a great job of tilling the soil in his flower garden. It was nice and soft. Prime pooping ground for all the neighborhood cats. For some reason he didn’t appreciate the fertilizer. The trick was to do it when the man wasn’t around.

Would they still be able to use it or would they be looking for new digs?

Once the moving van had left, a pickup pulled into the driveway. Leo and Cleo saw it at the same time.

They couldn’t believe their eyes. In the back of the truck was a DOG! The man opened the tailgate and let the dog out. It ran around the yard smelling and peeing on all the bushes.

“Oh shit,” meowed Leo. “This is really bad news.”

“I’ll say,” replied Cleo. “Now we need to find new digs.”

“Forget about finding new digs, Cleo. This is serious. That dog looks just like the one on the other side of the block. The one that attacked Brutus’s little brother. Tore him up so bad they had to put him down. Brutus swore revenge on that dog and has been tormenting it ever since.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that we’re still going to need a new place to poop,” replied Cleo. She hopped down from the window and headed for the cat door at the back of the house. She wanted to be the first to tell her friend, Gunther.

Leo continued to stare out the window until the dog disappeared into the house. Only then did he go out.

He headed for the field next door. He waited until he saw Brutus.

Normally Leo would have laid low and let him pass by. He and Brutus didn’t get along all that well. As much as he didn’t like Brutus, he felt he needed to warn him about the new neighbor.

Brutus had heard the movers. Once they had left he grew curious and thought he would wander up the street and check things out. Maybe he would find a newcomer to beat up on.

Leo caught his attention and signaled him to come over.

“What’s up, Leo. Lookin’ to get scratched or bitten? I’d love to oblige you.”

“Back off, Brutus. I’m in no mood for your bullying today. We’ve got a big problem here.”

“We sure do and you’re it,” replied Brutus as he began to hiss at Leo.”

“Keep your voice down, Brutus.” The dog will hear you.”

Brutus stopped. “Dog? Where?”

“Across the street. The new people have one. It looks just like the one that did your brother in.”

Brutus’s eyes grew wide and the hair on his back stood up. “We have to do something about this.”

“We? What are we going to do? I’m going to steer clear of that thing. That’s what I’m going to do. You can do what you like.”

“You’re a wuss, Leo. No wonder I like to beat up on you.”

Leo took off before Brutus took a swipe at him. “I told you. That’s all I’m going to do.”

Brutus yelled at Leo as he ran off. “You can run, but you can’t hide. I’ll take care of this dog problem on my own.”

~~~

The new neighbors dog was allowed to run loose whenever it was outside with its owner. It had terrorized several of the neighborhood cats that ventured too close to its yard. The new neighbor seemed to encourage it.

Leo and Cleo no longer went out front.

One day Leo and Cleo were sitting in the front window reminiscing about the yard across the street. “That little patch of dirt under the bush with the blue flowers was the very best spot in the yard. I left my mark there on more than one occasion.”

“Ya, I know,” replied Cleo with a smirk.

As they talked they saw Brutus tearing around the corner of the house across the street. The new dog was hot on his tail.

Brutus ran across the street right in front of a car. He barely made it. The dog wasn’t so lucky. There was a screech and a yipe. The dog was down.

The neighbor guy ran out to the street. He picked up the dog and put it in his truck, then drove off. That afternoon he came back without the dog. It would live but it would be out of commission for awhile.

Brutus was all pumped up and bragging about how he took care of the dog problem and every cat in the neighborhood owed him.

Leo and Cleo thought it was a pretty sorry way to take care of the problem, but they did like the fact that they had their digs back.

One week later the dog showed back up. Leo watched as the owner helped it out of the truck. It walked real slow and with a limp. It seemed like its cat chasing days were over. Leo felt obliged to spread the news. Maybe Brutus had taken care of the dog problem.

© Copyright 2023 by Scott A. Gese All Rights Reserved.

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