Two dogs sit howling. They stop.

ONE starts up again. The other joins in.
They stop, look at each other, look away and howl again. ONE stops.

DOG ONE
What are you howling about?

DOG TWO
The moon.

TWO rolls over on his back.

TWO
Scratch my belly.

ONE
(Offended.)
No.

TWO starts to howl lying on his on back.

ONE (CONT’D)
You can’t do that.

TWO
What?

ONE
Howl on your back.

TWO
I just did. I can even howl standing on two legs.

Does so.

ONE
It won’t do any good.

TWO
Does me a world of good.

TWO continues howling until ONE cuts in.

ONE
Stick dropper! You said you were howling the moon.

TWO
So?

ONE
Some of us really are and you’ve no right to put yourself in with us.

TWO
You’re humping my leg! What is this ‘us’ stuff. There’s only you and me here.

ONE
Us. The ones who try to find the pitch that will break the moon’s heart open & all the lost love will come back to the world, and we’ll all be filled with joy and love and food.

TWO
Is your owner Catholic?

ONE
They put my owner to sleep last week, took him away in a screamer car.

ONE howls.

TWO
I’m sorry.

ONE
His sister comes by to feed me and let me out, but she doesn’t smell right.

TWO
Smell is the window to the soul.

ONE
If I was sure he wasn’t coming back, I’d run away. Find some kid who needed a friend and teach him a thing or two. You know. How to pee real high up. How to find your way in the dark.

TWO
How to howl the moon.

ONE
Why do you?

TWO
Huh?

ONE
Howl. You don’t want anything from the moon?

TWO
Nah.

ONE
Then why?

TWO
I like it.

ONE
The moon?

TWO
Nah. Howling.

TWO starts to howl. ONE joins in.

Written by Susan diRende, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Feature Photo by Ray Hennessy

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