"Marching out of time, to my own beat now."
G r i n g o
The broad sidewalks of Central Park bustled with activity beneath the subtle sunlight that filtered through the Oak leaves as life went on at its usual fast pace. The muffled, various human voices and footsteps went unnoticed, however, by the tan colored mutt who was happily dozing beneath a park bench.
Gringo liked to spend the majority of his time here. While it was still consistent with human activity, it was far less busy than the crowded streets of the city surrounding it. The quietest spot one could hope for in a place like this- just the way he liked it. The only thing that shook the lazy mongrel from his content slumber was his gurgling stomach, begging for food. Blinking, he slowly sat up, keeping his head low to avoid bumping it against the bottom of the bench above him. After licking his jaws and yawning, Gringo crawled out from his small cozy little shelter to lean into a drawn out stretch. His presence on the sidewalk was enough to get a few glares and shoos from the passing humans, but it was nothing he wasn't used to by now, and he brushed it off- instead ignoring the disgusted words of the passers by and springing into a light-hearted trot. He'd always known the best spots for easy food around here.
As he strolled into a field, away from the busy park sidewalks, various scents assaulted his nasal passage. Humans- typical- along with fellow canines. He'd known the scent of these particular canines. They were a well known gang-like pack around here- one Gringo couldn't afford an altercation with. Shaking his head, he turned away from the looming scent of danger the dogs who seemed a decent distance away brought, and instead started for the park corner- one place where Central Park met the city- the park's end. Always at this time of day, there was a hot dog vendor cart stationed at said corner- a schedule Gringo did well to take note of, which had brought him previous success in nabbing an easy bite. While he normally was strongly opposed to acting all buddy-buddy with people and begging, this strategy seemed to work best whenever he hit this particular cart, as the man who usually worked it had grown familiar with him and tended to offer him food upon his arrival. With his husky-like tail curved in a loose "u" behind him and swaying, Gringo confidently trotted up to the cart and quickly slid into a playful bow, letting out a single high pitched bark. "Oh, hey there, dog. Ain't seen you 'round here lately. Here for another round, are 'ya?" Chuckled the friendly man working the cart. Gringo responded by slouching back onto his haunches and tilting his head, tongue lolling from the side of his grinning jaws. "Alright then, here 'ya are, pal." The man said with a smile, opening the hatch of the cart and tossing a fresh sausage to the ground in front of the happy canine, who gleefully dove at it and collected it within his jaws. Nodding a tail-wagging thanks to the human, Gringo turned and quickly bolted back into the park. It seemed to be the safest place to enjoy a meal without the threat of other strays trying to steal it. A lesson he'd past learned the hard way.
