The Strap

THEY WERE HIS GODS. HE WAS JUST AN EXPENSE. For five years, Buddy knew only warmth, loyalty, and the taste of peanut butter pills. To him, Daniel and Emily weren't just owners—they were the center of the universe. He absorbed their tears, broke up their fights with a wag of his tail, and loved them with a purity that humans are incapable of returning. But love has a price tag. And Buddy's price was four thousand dollars. When a sudden illness strikes, Buddy's simple life becomes a financial crisis his family refuses to solve. From his spot under the kitchen table, he watches as his life is weighed against a credit card bill. And he watches as he loses. This is not a story about a dog who runs away. It is the heartbreaking story of a dog who stayed. A dog who trusted his humans all the way to the end of the final ride. Read the devastating short story that asks the hardest question of all: What is the price of loyalty? "The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world... is his dog." WARNING: This is a tragic drama, not a happy bedtime story. It explores themes of pet loss, betrayal, and heartbreak.