It was another morning in Alabama.
Ginger woke up and saw Mike was still asleep. She got up and licked Mike's face.
"That feels so good, Debbie," Mike moaned in his sleep while he dreamt about his wife.
Ginger got a little jealous and nudged Mike. "Wake up," she yelled out in his ear.
Mike jumped up, scared, and ran five feet away from Ginger. He looked around in a daze, and it took a few seconds for it all to come back to him. He looked at Ginger. "Why did you do that?" he asked a little upset.
"I'm sorry. I tried to wake you, but you didn't move," she replied then she looked at him. "You were talking in your sleep. Who is this Debbie person? Is she another dog from up there in Pennsylvania?" she curiously asked being a little jealous.
"She's my," Mike replied then he stopped before he said the wrong word. "She's my owner," he added.
Ginger walked over and stared in Mike's eyes for a few seconds then she believed him. "Okay. We better hit the road," she said, then walked away toward the road.
Mike got up and followed her to the road.
After a long and exhausting hour of walking on the hard asphalt, Mike stepped off the road and sat down in the dirt.
"What's wrong?" Ginger asked while she stepped off the road and sat down next to him.
"I'm tired, and my paws are killing me," Mike said in a tired tone.
"I take it. You're a greenhorn when it comes to walking?" she replied.
"I guess you can say that. I always rode in a pickup or a mini-van," he said while he remembered those days.
"I had many friends killed by those dangerous things. But you sure can get around quicker with them," she said a little sad remembering old friends from her past. "But I do remember when I was a puppy riding in my owner's car, the window was down, and I stuck my head outside. The wind blowing through my face felt so good," Ginger said with sparkling eyes remembering that day. "Then a few weeks later, I took another ride, and they dumped me off in the woods," Ginger added and growled while she thought about her owners.
"I'm sorry to hear about that," Mike replied then looked at the road. "Well, we better get moving, or we'll never get back to Pennsylvania.
They walked off down the road.
Ginger looked curiously at Mike. "Are you sure your owners will take you back?" she asked.
"Of course. The kids are named Jenny and Chris, and they love me," Mike said.
"I just want to make sure," Ginger replied, but she wanted to pal around with Mike for a longer time.
They walked for another hour, and their tongues hung out from being hot.
"I'm thirsty," Mike said.
"Me too," Ginger replied while she looked around. She spotted a puddle from last night's storm in this area.
She walked over to the puddle and slurped up some water.
Mike got grossed out while he watched her drink from the puddle.
She looked over at him. "Come get a drink," she called out.
"I can't drink from a puddle. That's gross!" he replied.
"Die of thirst if you want," she said then after she took a few more slurps from the puddle, she walked back to Mike.
They headed down the road.
Fifteen minutes down the road and Mike was parched. They walked by another puddle along the side of the road, and he couldn't stand it any longer.
He ran over to the puddle and immediately started slurping up.
Ginger watched from the road and knew he couldn't hold out forever.
"Feel better?" she asked while he walked back to the road with his chin dripping with water.
"Much," he replied while they walked down the road.
Ginger and Mike walked the rest of the day, and the sun started to fall below the horizon, and darkness was creeping upon them.
Mike sat down on the road. "I can't go any farther," he said then gave out a big yawn.
Then Ginger's ears perked up. "You better get off the road now," she said.
"Why?" he asked in a sleepy stupor.
"Because that motorcycle will cream you," she said while she quickly stepped off the road and ran to a tree a few feet away.
Mike looked and saw a headlight racing at him. Then he heard the sound of a Kawasaki motorcycle that got louder and louder. Mike quickly stepped off the road and ran to Ginger while the Kawasaki motorcycle whizzed by them.
"We better bed down for the night," Ginger said while she looked around the area and then her eyes widened. "I know of a place a little farther down the road. We can stay there if you can muster up a little more energy," she said.
"Okay," Mike replied with a yawn.
They both got back on the road and walked away.
Fifteen minutes later, Ginger stopped when she spotted a small foot trail that led deep into the woods on the other side of the road.
"Here we are," she said then looked up and down the road. There were no cars in sight, so she ran across the road.
Mike ran after her.
Ginger and Mike walked down the woods, and it was getting darker and darker in the sky.
"Why are we going this far?" Mike said while other critter noises started to scare him.
Ginger waited a few seconds to respond. "We're almost there," she after they heard some voices off to their right.
They walked down a smaller foot trail to their right and the farther they got down that trail the voices got louder and louder.
They soon walked into a small clearing where some other stray dogs were camped.
"What is this place?" Mike asked Ginger.
"It's a camp we use while traveling. A place where we can hang and have some company before we move onward. We call it our Bama Camp," she replied.
Rufus was a black Labrador who jumped up the second he spotted Ginger. "It's Ginger!" he yelled out while he ran over to her.
"Rufus, long time no see," she yelled back at him.
"Hello, Ginger," a Dachshund mix breed named Tiny called out.
"Ginger!" another mutt called out.
Soon the rest of the dogs called out a greeting for Ginger.
Rufus licked Ginger's face.
"So good to see you again," she replied, then looked at Mike. "Hey everybody, this here is Mike," she introduced him.
"Any friend of Ginger's is a friend of ours," Rufus said then while he walked up to Mike.
Then Rufus walked up behind Mike and immediately sniffed his backside.
"Not the butt-sniffing stuff again," Mike quietly said while he slowly sat his butt down in the dirt.
Then Ginger saw a German Shepherd named Hans; a Golden Retriever called Ralphie, two other hound dog mutts named Abby and Dexter.
They all stood around a Collie mix named Toby on his side in the dirt.
"What's wrong with Toby?" she asked Rufus and looked concerned.
"Some human hit him with a pickup truck down the road a bit," Rufus replied and looked worried.
"I don't think he's going make it," Dexter said while he looked down at Toby who closed his eyes.
Abby felt Toby's neck with one of her paws. "He's gone," she said.
All the other dogs walked over and gathered around and looked down at Toby.
Mike walked over and joined everybody.
"We better bury him," Rufus told everybody.
Mike watched while five dogs walked three feet over and started digging a hole with their paws.
Thirty minutes later, Ginger and the rest of the dogs sat around the mound of dirt that was Toby's grave.
"Toby was a good friend and one that needs a good home up in heaven," Rufus said while his eyes welled up.
The eyes of Ginger and the other dogs welled up, and then they all nodded in agreement with Rufus.
The dogs and Ginger sadly walked away from his grave.
Mike walked over and looked at the grave. He looked back at the other dogs that sat around with tears in their eyes. For once in his life, he felt sorry for these animals.
Then half of the dogs lay down in the dirt and closed their eyes.
Then the rest of the dogs along with Ginger, joined them.
Mike lay down and closed his eyes.
They were all soon asleep.
Hours later, and the dogs all woke up and milled around for a few minutes.
Misty's stomach growled.
Dexter's stomach growled.
Tiny's stomach growled.
Abby's stomach growled.
Then the stomachs of the rest of the dogs growled, and it sounded like an orchestra.
"Can I have your attention?" Rufus called out to all the dogs.
All the dogs looked over at Rufus.
"By the sounds, I just heard, I think it's time we go get some grub," Rufus said.
Everybody wagged their tails in anticipation of some food.
"Let's go," he said the walked over to the other side of the clearing where there was a smaller foot trail.
Everybody followed Rufus down the trail.
"Where are we going?" Mike asked Ginger while she walked by his side.
"A place where we normally find food this time of the day. It's one of the reasons we camp out back there," she replied.
Ten minutes later, they walked into a campsite that was dark where twelve people were camped in tents.
Rufus ran up to a trashcan on a stand. He jumped up, and the can swiveled downward and all the contents dumped on the ground.
Tiny, Abby and Dexter ran over and joined Rufus, and they scoured through the trash for some food.
Hans did the same thing to another trash can. Ralphie and Ginger ran over and joined Hans while he scoured through the trash.
"Hurry up before you lose out," Ginger told Mike who sat nearby them and looked sick.
"I'll never get used to this," Mike said while he walked over and started to pick through the trash.
Thirty minutes later, all the dogs were back to their Bama Camp in the clearing.
"Ah, that was delicious," Rufus said with sparkling eyes while he lay on the ground.
"You got that right," Dexter replied while he lay on the ground.
All the other dogs nodded in agreement while they lay on the ground.
Mike tried to forget that he ate trash again so he would not vomit. He lay on the ground and closed his eyes.
Ginger walked over and lay next to Mike.
A few minutes later, and all the dogs were sound asleep.