His Master's Voice: Excerpts from the Biography of Mr. Peabody's Boy Sherman

Mr. Peabody was dead. Even with the Way-Back Machine at his disposal the old hound couldn't outrun time, couldn't escape the truth that dog years add up fast. Now Sherman was alone. He wasn't anybody's boy anymore. In fact, at 44 years of age he wasn't really a boy at all, though he still felt like one.

His red hair had faded to a pale rust, as surely as the memory of his adventures had corroded in the Alzheimer-ridden minds of the early boomers.

There was a time when all time had been his playground. Ceasar's Rome. Custer's Last Hot Dog Stand. Napoleon's conquest of the pastry shop. Unfortunately, the Way-Back Machine only sent him back. If he had seen his future, this future, he would have done things differently.

At least that's what he told himself. Except that without Mr. Peabody to tell him what to do, he never knew what to do at all. And now, with the old dog gone, Sherman was lost.

He missed finding tufts of Peabody's hair on the divan. The long walks in the pre-Columbian woods of the Eastern seaboard. Fetching his pipe and curling up on the carpet before the fire while Peabody read to him from Livy, Herodotus and the complete works of Professor Irwin Corey.

Now he was alone and heart broken. The Way-Back Machine was broken too — beyond repair. And Sherman was stuck in the here and now. No more living in the past.

So he went to sit on the street corner, trying to look hopeful and bright eyed, yearning for some young wag to take him home. But he was invisible to these frisky young pups that passed him by without a sniff. They were a new breed and embarrassed by his age.

No, he couldn't expect a new dog in his future. Peabody's last words rang in his ears: "Sherman, you've been a faithful friend. But now it's time for me to take my last nap. You're your own boy now. But never forget, you were Peabody's boy Sherman. You've got real intelligence, don't let your talent go to waste."

Peabody was right. He'd been a good boy, but now it was time to learn some new tricks. He was going to learn to be his own man.