The Adventures of Marcus Delbert, The Family Dog(Jorjan Felder Neal) It's not easy being the family dog. There's so much responsibility, like making sure the couch in the TV room gets just as much lounging time as the couch in the sitting room, keeping the cat in check, if you don't they become disrespectful and lazy. I am also in charge of teaching Bailey the ropes, she's the new pup of the pack. My work also includes barking at any noise and every neighbor who comes too close. I also look out for three human boys that are in my pack. Jordan is the oldest, he's fourteen, he gets in trouble a lot for not doing his chores. Then there is Bubba, he's five, we joined the pack the same year but he wasn't much fun when he first joined the pack, he cried all the time, human pups are a lot of trouble. The youngest pup of the pack is Colby, he's two, this pup is crazy! When he walks in the room all animals run for cover, so me, Bailey and the cat stay out of reach. The rest of the pack includes Daddy and Mama. Daddy is the alpha male, you move out of the way when he walks by, if you don't he'll just kick you and he has a thing for kicking fat dogs, so I stay out of the way! Last but not least is Mama, she takes care of all of us. She even lets me get on the bed when Daddy is gone to work. My name is Marcus by the way, also known as Marcus Delbert, and I'm about to tell you about some of the adventures I've had in these six years of my life.

Most six week old pups go to their new homes when their human comes and picks them out among all their brothers and sisters in a nice kennel or pet shop. Not me, the day I was picked, I was among other pups, some were my bothers and sisters and some were not. There was about eight of us in total, all put into a tote sack and carried up and down the streets of Manzanillo, Mexico. Puppies for sale was the saying of the day. The next thing I know I'm being pulled out of the bag and handed to a big man with light colored skin, who spoke a language I had never heard at that time, English. I was passed around their car from person to person, then I noticed an exchange being made on my behalf. I had been picked!

Getting a good home is every pup in Mexico's dream but I had no idea what I was getting into with my new family. The first thing I learned was you can't go potty anywhere you want to. There was nothing scarier than trying to potty and getting chased with the broom at the same time. Another thing, you do not chew on underwear, that will get you a good wack with the broom too. As long as I didn't pee, poop or chew on anything the broom left me alone.

I was getting to know the place and the smells, but one smell was really standing out, I'd never smelled this smell before, it was worth checking out. Nose to the floor, nose in the air, I was getting close, should be just around this corner. That's when I saw it, a brown growling ball of fur, it was making an awful sound, then it punched me in the face, felt like needles! What is this thing? Whatever it was I wanted no part of any animal that carries a knife! I had enough exploring for one day, it was time to find a place to nap. I found a little patch of sunshine and took advantage. As I woke I could see a blurry image sitting in front of me. Excitement ran through me, they have another dog! I sat up and my vision cleared, that is no dog! It was the the brown ball of fur that attacked me on the stairs! I sat still and watched this thing stare at me with its creepy yellow eyes. Finally after several uncomfortable minutes the beast seemed to lose interest and walked away. I really hoped that it was a mistake that this thing was here living so close. Now that it was gone I could breathe again. Later that day I learned that this thing was called a “cat” and it was a “she” and her name was Alley. Alley and I stayed out of each others way. I was bigger now, so she didn't scare me anymore, well not as much anyway. The only thing she was good for was news, she had a way of knowing things the humans were going to do and the news was we are moving. I smell a new adventure in the air!

Durango, that was the rumor of where we were going. Car was packed and everyone was ready to go but we couldn't leave because Alley was stuck on the roof of the house. Cats, they think they're so much smarter than everyone else, but you never see a dog get stuck in a tree or on the roof! Finally Mama and Daddy gave up, she was too dumb to figure out how to get down and we had places to go! So they told the neighbor to take care of her and we left her sitting on the roof of the house, it was sad driving away and watching her stare at us meowing. Just kidding! It was hilarious, she thought it was funny to scratch me, now who's laughing! It was exciting traveling to a new place, all the new smells coming in through the windows, the wind blowing through the car made my ears flop. Sometimes we would get out at a place where we could all get out and walk around. I would always look for a tree or a bush to pee on, hiking the leg looks way cooler than squatting. Sometimes when we stopped at places that had trees, there would be squirrels! Lots of them! I loved chasing those squirrels, they would run back up the trees and look down at me and make a funny barking sound. I would sit there and keep them in those trees till it was time to go.

With my pack we have traveled all over Mexico. I have ridden buses and rode in taxis, but no matter where I go the most important thing is that I'm with my family. My humans take good care of me and love me no matter what, even when I'm a bad dog. They buy me treats and make me “sit pretty” to earn them, but sometimes when I don't feel like “siting pretty” I smile and it works every time! As the family dog I do all I can to make sure I console them when they're sad, listen when I'm the ear they tell their troubles to, guard them when they are scared, and smile at them when they're needing a laugh.

Enjoy your family, do things together, chase a few squirrels together and listen when you're being taught something new, like where to go potty or how to sit pretty, cause when you learn how to do it, it just may make someone smile, but whatever you do, do not ever ask your Mama and Daddy if you can have a cat!

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