| A Respite In The Country | |
|---|---|
 King, going native. Comic: "Lady Of The Lake" (click for full size) | |
| Info | |
| Number of Comics | 9 |
| Dates Published | November 7th - November 25th 2011 |
| Featured Character(s) | |
| King, Bailey, Fox | |
|
One-offs in Between | |
|
"This Is Not Really The Comic Guys", a.k.a. "Hey" | |
Previous Arc The Case of the Aztec Gold Following Arc
Spots and Stripes | |
A Respite In The Country is the 47th arc in Housepets!.
This arc marks the return of Bailey as a character, and the beginning of her relationship with King Milton.
Characters
- Fox
- King
- Bill Lindberg (mentioned)
- Bailey
- Various members of the Lindberg extended family
Story
Fox is being taken by his owner, Bill, to his cousin's family farm in Kansas for Thanksgiving. Bill finally got a sidecar for his motorcycle, so he asks King if he would like to join them. King is more than eager to do so. Although the Wolves are okay (especially compared to Pete), living with them is exhausting. Of course, they will have to deal with the various children of the extended family, which Fox estimates will be a total of three dozen people.
When they get there, Fox is greeted warmly by his cousin, Bailey, who is then introduced to King. King is completely stunned, with a sensation that can be best described as "love at first sight", and the only thing he can say to her is to beg her not to sniff his butt. For most of the day, he tries to reconcile his new feelings within his originally-human mind, and the growing desire to make "stubby-legged husky puppies" with her. His priority is "Do not go native". He tries his best not to let those feelings show, or let others know it's distracting him.
Soon, while contemplating his stopwatch, King is teased by one of the older human boys of the family. Taking offense to the boy treating him like his own pet instead of a guest of the residents, King trades insults with the boy, until he grabs King's watch and throws it in the lake. He's about to attack the kid, when Bailey pushes the kid out of the way and dives in the lake after King's stopwatch. King wonders why others feel the need to fight his battles. Fox suggests it's either because he's too cute, or he looks helpless. King pretends that was flattering. Bailey returns the stopwatch to King, who thanks her, assuring her it's waterproof and should be okay. Afterward, he comments she smells even better now. Fox thinks it's because King is falling in love.
Left alone at the pond together, King asks Fox if he would ever like to be human if given the chance. He says no, explaining that he has a lot of leeway from Bill due to his long shifts with the Police. He knows other pets don't have it as good, and he helps where he can. But if given the choice, he would not take it. When King tries to turn the conversation toward his supernatural experiences, Fox leaves, having gotten lost on the concept.
King eventually tracks Bailey down, asking her hypothetically how she would approach someone who might make her the happiest dog on the planet. After spending a moment considering the Corgi's lame pick-up line, she grabs him by the collar and drags him off, inviting him to snuggle. Startled, King begs her to be gentle.
As they sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, King bashfully makes eyes with Bailey, who returns his affection. Fox looks on approvingly. In his mind, King decides to stop worrying about the future, and make the most of his current situation.
Events
- King starts a relationship with Bailey, Fox's cousin.
Trivia
- This arc was originally going to be called "A Few Days In The Country", as can be seen in it's archives address.
- The week of Thanksgiving, November 21-25, 2011, saw the strip updates shifted. That Monday, November 21, saw a special strip, "Hey!", produced by Rick Griffin for a panel on comic strips he was presenting at Midwest Furfest 2011. The normal strip updates for the week took place that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.