Otis grudgingly agrees and the two meet in the spring, heading back to the farm where Otis and his family will suffer years of back-breaking labor until they die a pauper’s death. The only food Otis can find is kept by Milo, who offers the dog some fish in exchange for his undying servitude. His teeth and claws are mighty, but they cannot protect the ones he loves from starvation. Otis finds a mate as well, and together they have puppies, but a cold winter and near-starvation drives Otis out into the cold. Milo travels as Otis’ slave for some time until he finds a female cat who helps drive Otis off for a time. When dog and cat cross paths again, Otis is more than aware of the manipulations that Milo has made and uses his weakened state to enslave the vile cat. Otis, on the other hand, becomes stronger and braver and develops into a formidable wasteland warrior. Even the man attempts to kill the cat with an automated trolley car, but his attempt is unsuccesful. Karma hits Milo hard and with great frequency as he is tortured, mocked, and beaten by all the animals he comes across. What follows is like a mash-up of Homer’s The Oddysey and Salo. Then one day, having finally decided to destroy the innocence of the wall-eyed beast that his venom-tipped tongue calls “friend”, he jumps into a crate and goes down the river, causing Otis to give chase. Milo continues to mind-fuck Otis for years, mocking his self-less deeds and driving away others who would be more capable of noticing his toxic influence. His first act upon meeting the dunderheaded pooch is to point out that they are different so that Otis will never forget that he is of inferior stock. His first act on this Earth is to mortify his mother by jumping from the hay loft, but soon he finds a new patsy in a small pug called Otis. The cat, called “Milo” by the man is a sociopath from birth. To stave off madness and combat the darkness that lives in his heart, the man serves as a narrator, spinning a whimsical yarn of two animals who are the best of friends over a story so bleak that my soul may never recover.
The Last Man on Earth (unseen and unnamed, but played by Dudley Moore) watches from a secret bunker buried deep within the Earth, controlling camera drones that watch the lives of a pug and a barn cat. It’s a literal dog-eat-dog world that we arrive into.
They live in the remains of our infrastructure, our blood still cooling on their lips as they find that, without a common base enemy, they’re all enemies at heart. Milo and Otisconcerns a far-off future where the animals have turned on humankind and killed off the human species. “Oh the dawn of man is over/ the time has come up/for a psychopathic cat and a pug-nose pup/gonna take a walk outside today/gonna make everyone die today” – Opening song. Dudley Moore (The Last Man on Earth), Some Fucking Cat (“Milo”), A Dog (“Otis”)
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