A Canadian Literary Journal
Agnes and True: a Canadian online literary journal dedicated to providing a place for the work of Canadian writers, both established and emerging.
A Canadian Literary Journal
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The Universal Treat
by Jenny Vester
Even before they chain up that dog in their spectacularly untended back yard, you despise the couple next door. You refer to them as Bitch and Asshole, same as they call each other, and give them the surname Knob so you can lump them together—as in, The Knobs have really done it this time.
The dog arrives on a Friday night while you’re at work. You drive home from another shift of mixing drinks and pouring pints, wondering how much longer you can work at Uncle Tom’s pub. Ten years is too long already. Never your dream, it was just a way to help out and be helped while you figured out what to do next. Your dream, your true life, is in deep Errington. It includes tall trees, a garden, no close neighbours, and dogs. Lots of dogs.
For years now […]