It was one of his favourite things, watching the ducks flapping around on the pond.
His Dad used to sit here, just like this, when he was alive, watching the birdlife in the park. There was always something peaceful about being here.
The tranquillity of it was suddenly broken. The kids came out of nowhere, shouting and laughing. He felt a little uncomfortable being a solitary figure just spending quiet time. Maybe they would leave him alone. Local kids had picked on him in the past. You could never tell whether they were going to cause trouble or just go on their way without issue. As they drew near it was obvious that they weren’t going to leave him alone. It started with them calling him names and commenting on his looks. They were shouting at him, saying that he was scruffy and didn’t belong there. Then, one of them, the oldest, picked up a stick and threw it at him.
That was enough!
To their great surprise he stood up and began running at them at a surprising speed. They all began running, but he managed to catch up with the older boy who had tripped and fallen. The boy yelled when the bite came. He managed to get to his feet and was led away by his friends. As they disappeared from view the calming atmosphere of the place returned. He settled back down to watch the flapping.
No one should be cruel to dogs.