The One and Only Bob

by Katherine Applegate

The way I understand things, it’s like this. We live on a lonely ball called Earth, and humans have basically been throwing it against the wall for so long that the poor ol’ ball is falling apart.

When you’re an animal, it helps to be a realist.

Humans love it when we get silly. I think they’re so weighed down by people problems that sometimes they need to be reminded what happy looks like.

Once I saw his owner—again, that word!—step onto the back porch. Droolius was barking, but he had a good reason. A stranger had just passed by. Barking is what we’re supposed to do in that circumstance, right?

Puppy eyes. Works every time.

After those twenty-seven years stuck in a mall, Ivan is one of those “glass half full” kinda guys when it comes to the walls surrounding him. Glad to be with others of his own kind. Cared for by smart and loving humans. I’m more of a “water bowl of power half empty” kinda guy. Every time I leave Ivan and Ruby, I am painfully aware that I can leave. Ivan’s address is “Gorilla World.” Ruby’s is “Elephant Odyssey.”

When you’ve been through the worst with someone, you appreciate the best.

Sometimes nothing is the worst sound in the world.

Sometimes we hear what we want to hear.

“If I held on to that much anger, I’d never get out of bed.