The high pitched voice said again, "Oh... hi! Hello! How da ya do? I'm Zip! Oh wait... I already told you that! No matter... you're Fido! The wonder dog! And you're... you're not Goldie! And wheres Buddy? Huh? Huh? HUH?!" Me and Rio stood with our mouths open and looked at eachother. "Um... how do you know about..." I began to ask when I decided to ask, "Where are you? WHO are you?" On the top of a tree branch that hund close to the ground, a young grey squirrel bounced out. "Hi!!! I'm Zip!! I saw you fight those coyotes with Buddy and those other dogs... and Goldie! Goldie's my hero! Where is he? Can I get a autograph? Huh? Can I? Pleaseee!!!" He said very fast. All these questions and information tumbled inside my head, making me dizzy and a little irritated, but I didn't want to be mean to a fan. "Do you always talk this much and this loud?" Rio suddenly blurted, apparently irritated as well. The squirrel took no offense and answered, "Yes! So sorry bout that... my mom is still trying to teach me patience and silence... whatever that means! Anyways... Where's Goldie? WHERE?!" I looked at Rio and took a big breath of air, then slowly and sadly explained what happened, why Goldie nor Buddy was with us, why buddy was sad, why i left.... anything and everything in between, I told him. The now quiet squirrel sat, his tail no longer up in the air, but it stuck to the branch. His ears went down, his grin turned to a frown and I saw a tear run down his face. He looked at me, suddenly his sadness turning into determination, and confidently said, "I'm going back to be with Buddy! When ya have a friend, you can't leave him by himself in his time of need! You stay with him! Good or bad." I stood shocked and looked at Rio with a face that said, "He just said something NORMAL!" The squirrel hopped from branch to branch, nimbly and quick. "Wait! Buddy might not be the dog you know him for... he's changed." I barked weakly after the squirrel, but he was already out of sight.