My human was a strange person. We lived somewhere where no one else lived. He wore the same thing every day and also ate the same thing every day. Occasionally we would get visitors, but they would not stay long. I don't think they liked my strange human either. He never hurt me; he never even yelled at me. He just always had the same look and always called me for food at the exact same time every day. The only other time he would talk to me is when he called me a good boy after a chase.

A chase was our game. It happened once a week, and it was a way for me to run and explore. My human said it was to get our food, but I never even found any on our chase, so I never knew what he was talking about. It usually happened right when our visitor would come. They would leave, and my human would take me out. They were always female, and usually I could sense they were scared while they were there. They were always crying and screaming, and I never understood why. My human kept them in the basement for a couple of days, which was good because the screaming would be so loud.

One day my human brought home a girl. He would be gone for almost two days when he would find a new visitor. This time, though, she didn't have strange things around her mouth and hands. She was standing next to my human, and he was actually smiling.

"Who is this little guy?" the visitor said, kneeling down to pet me, which I wasn't used to. My human never pets me.

"This is Bruno. He is a German shepherd. He is a sweet boy and helps me around the island, my human said, glaring at me. It looked like he was jealous because I was getting all the attention and he wasn't getting any. "Why don't we go sit down and have some food?" he says, gesturing her to the kitchen. I have never seen my human eat anything different, but I'm wondering if, with the new visitor, he will try something new.

"So how long have you lived here?" the visitor asked.

"about ten years,, I love it; it's a little paradise, and it is away from anyone," my human says as he heats up the microwave. I'm surprised he is still going to eat the same thing even when we have a visitor. I like the visitor; she smells nice, and she seems sweet. I decide to lay down next to her.

"So when was the last time you had a girlfriend?" she asked, looking confused at the meal my human heated up.

"I had an on-and-off one for about two years, but we never worked out. She didn't like being so isolated from everyone else," he says, handing her a plate. "Here is your plate. It's meatloaf. I hope you don't mind," he says, and she looks down, disgusted.

"Oh, no problem at all," she says, and picking up a fork, she starts poking at it.

"It's fresh meat, don't worry," he says, smirking.

"Oh, I didn't know you had animals. I didn't see any," she says, taking the first bite.

"I don't have animals, he says.

"Do you hunt?" she asked confusingly.

"Kind of, I guess, in a way," he says.

You can see the visitor starts to get nervous, and she stands up.

"I actually just remembered I have an appointment I have to go to. I'm so sorry. Could you take me back to the mainland?" she says, grabbing her purse.

My human stands up very quickly and abruptly; it scares me, and I run into the bathroom. I hate loud noises, and this one is definitely loud. I hear the basement door open, and my human is gone for hours.

I can tell I have missed a meal; my stomach is grumbling. My human never misses a meal. Finally, I hear footsteps coming up. He opens the door, stares at me, and says, "Chase time." I bark because I'm so hungry I don't know if I will be able to run. He takes me outside and has me sniff something. It smells like the visitor who petted me.

"I really thought she was going to be special," he says. "Go chase," and he releases me. I run forever and ever. He has taught me to run the same path every time, but I never understood why. I'm running after the scent, and for the first time ever, I see the visitor. She isn't wearing any clothes, and she is crying and shaking, hiding behind a tree. I bark at her, and she turns around, frightened.

"Come here, boy. I know you're not dangerous. Your owner said you were, but you're a sweet boy," she says, kneeling down. "I know he is going to kill me, but I need your help to get away." I start barking out of excitement. I want to get off this island and see new things. I see it all on that box he watches all day, and I want to see it. "No, no, no, stop barking, please—" she is interrupted by my human.

"Oh, there is my prize," he says. He turns to me and says, "Home." I am trained to run home, and I do.

Hours later my human returns with new clothes and the same face. He kneels down next to me and sets a plate with a new kind of food.

"You probably always wondered what I ate. Well, here it is. Enjoy," he says, smirking.

It looks almost like meat, but it doesn't smell the same. It smells familiar, and I realize it is the visitor's scent on it.

"I figured you might as well taste what your new owner could have tasted like. She had the best flavor," he says, and he takes a huge bite, smirking and laughing. I realize what he means, and I get a new feeling. rage. I start growling at him, and he gets up scared. I have never seen my owner scared.

"No, down, boy," he says.

I don't listen. I lunge.