Prologue

This is a story about a group of animal friends who have adventures and misadventures while learning how to navigate through life.

Dru is a smart, street-savvy black and white mutt who is a little shaggy looking who often gets mistaken for an “old man dog”, even though she’s only 3 or 4.

Jill is a funny, intelligent and somewhat hyperactive, Jack Russell. She is Dru’s best friend and can sometimes get herself into trouble, but she can also think her way out of trouble.

Chester is a green and white tabby cat who is the senior citizen of the group. He is wise and funny. Chester is the "Zen master" of the group.

Kramer is a black and white tuxedo cat who is a lover, not a fighter. Naps are his specialty!

Maggie is a solid grey tabby cat who is Kramer’s sister. She IS a fighter who believes strongly in the circle of life, and leaving live presents for her favorite humans on their doorsteps, once she has had her dinner.

The group lives with their humans, just outside The City.

"Boy, is it hot?!" Jill said, as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"You know, it has been warming up," said Dru as she looked with curiosity at Jill. "It's like summer is getting hotter and hotter, every year."

Kramer chimed in, "Yeah, but remember all that snow we had last winter? That was the worst in like, forever, man." Kramer stretched as he tried to get comfortable in the heat.

"You are all speaking truth," Chester, the oldest and wisest of the group of friends said. "Extreme weather is part of The Change."

Everyone listened when Chester spoke.

Often, the things he said gave members of the group more questions.

Puzzled, Dru asked, "Change? What Change?"

"For that answer," said Chester, "I believe you must journey to find, yourselves." Chester delivered this message without changing his expression... or blinking.

"Journey?" asked Kramer. "I'll pass. I need my beauty sleep." He rolled back over and began to snore.

As Maggie lay licking her paws she said, "The only journey I'm making is back to the pond to catch some more fish. It's gotten almost too easy, lately." she smiled as innocently as she could and said, "I mean, I just wish it could be more fair for the fish."

Chester, speaking to Dru and Jill, said, "Now go to The Pond, where you two should also begin your quest for knowledge. Pay special attention to anything that has changed since the last time you passed that way."

"Then, you will go to the Great Woods and lastly, we will meet at The Overlook, where we can observe The City," Chester gave this last instruction and then closed his eyes. That was all they were going to get from him.

Dru and Jill looked at each other.

They wanted to know what was going on and Chester was going to let them find out, Chester's way. They knew better than to question him, so off they went.

When Dru, Jill and Maggie reached the pond, Dru could not believe her eyes! It was smaller - A LOT SMALLER!

Maggie walked along the edge of the pond, swiped her paw quickly into the water and said, "See. Easy pickings," scooping up a fish and making quick work of eating it.

Dru could remember how this pond had been twice this size the last time she was there.

It was so easy for Maggie to hunt because there was nowhere for the fish to go.

They waved good-bye to Maggie, who was barely able to look up from her meal, and went on to the next stop on their journey.

As Dru and Jill approached the Great Woods, they could tell something was terribly wrong.

For one thing, they seemed unable to find the Great Woods.

Tree after tree, acre after acre, had been completely cut down.

They found an area where there were stacks and stacks of cut trees so high, they were as tall as the Big City skyscrapers they could usually see from The Overlook. It was so sad.

Dru and Jill still had their heads hung low as they walked up to The Overlook, where Chester, Maggie and Kramer were waiting for them.

Jill was about to ask Chester what this thing was that had changed The Pond and the Great Woods when she looked at what the others were already gazing upon.

It had not been that long since the two dogs had been to The Overlook, but the change that had happened was enough to make Dru rub her eyes and look again, just to make sure she was not seeing things.

There was a thick layer of smog over the once beautiful city. They could barely see the skyscrapers.

Also, there was the garbage, the awful smells, the number of cars - SO MANY CARS!

It was overwhelming.

"What happened?" asked Dru.

"Climate Change," answered Chester.

"Climate Change?" asked Dru and Jill together.

Chester nodded his head.

"It has been happening for a very long time, but what it is doing to our Earth can no longer be ignored," explained Chester.

"When we burn fossil fuels, like gas and oil, and cut down trees that clean the air to make more room for more cities, we make this problem worse," Chester said. "Oh, and it also makes weather extreme."

"Like the really bad winter and the really, really hot summer?" asked Maggie.

Chester nodded.