Canis Juris

The large dog sat quietly, watching. His posture mirrored the state of semi-awareness he showed the world, his weight primarily resting on his butt, with long front legs extended so that he could move quickly if necessary. Were he able to don a black robe, he might be mistaken for a judge overseeing a trial. Of course, he’d have needed considerable attention to his unkempt appearance, but his eyes reflected his equanimity and demeanor of fairness. After all, he had no interest in the proceedings past the overall concerns common to his species, those special loyalty traits bred into him that made him man’s best friend in the first place.

His head tilted slightly when one man struck the other with the stick, in recognition of the thud and muted groan, but the arena lacked any immediacy of threat and his human was not present, so it clearly was none of his business. A quick scan of the area revealed no other dogs coming to the human’s rescue, so, in keeping with his judicial bearing he minded his own business and merely watched as the victim lay bleeding in the street. Besides, the other human already left the scene.

Now, no stimuli other than the far-off city sounds transpired within his sight. His human had commanded him to sit and stay, so that’s exactly what he’d do. Hopefully, he’d be back soon and they could go find his bowl. Watching didn’t create the appetite of more physical activity, but it was long past sundown and he was, nevertheless, a little hungry. Still, it was easier to merely wait. If his human didn’t show up by morning, he’d go find some food, but for now, he was content to lick his balls and wait for something else to happen. Court stood in recess.