Unlike Loretta, who sleeps on Julian’s bed and whines when he
leaves her alone in the house, Arrow has never licked Julian’s hand
or allowed himself to be petted. When Julian brings him his dinner
in a large metal bowl, Arrow keeps his head averted, and he won’t
touch his food, no matter how ravenous he is, until Julian has left
him alone. Sometimes when Julian sits in his kitchen, eating a TV
dinner or some reheated pizza, his own aloneness comes down on
him so hard he can’t stay in one place. On those evenings, he
throws his uneaten supper in the trash and goes out to the kennel.
Arrow never acknowledges his presence. All the dog wants is to be
left alone in the moonlight. Given half a chance, Arrow would leap
the kennel walls and run as far as he could.
