Hi. My name is Sam, and this is my story.
It all started late at night on Christmas Eve, right after the children had all gone to sleep and Santa had already put all the presents under the tree. I, of course, didn’t believe in Santa Claus, and thought it was dumb that some kids still did. But if it gets them through the night, then so be it.
It must’ve been around 3AM when I woke up and found myself in a box. There wasn’t much air in there, just about enough for me to survive. I tried to struggle out of it, but did not succeed, so I decided to wait. It was very quiet that night until I heard two sets of footsteps creeping down the stairs. They were obviously trying to not make any noise, but I have very good ears. I have my parents to thank for that.
- ...But it’s not morning yet. We’ll get in trouble. – I heard a little girl whisper.
- We’re only going to take a little peek. But it won’t work if you don’t keep your mouth shut! – said a little boy in a quiet, but angry voice.
Being as smart as I am, I figured they were talking about sneaking a little peek at their Christmas presents. Greedy little kids! – I thought – They can’t just wait a couple more hours till morning.
I heard the kids getting closer to the box I was in, and then it hit me. My old master was giving me away as a Christmas present, even though he knew what I thought about the holidays! I was furious, and didn’t know what to think. I thought he liked me! I felt sad, angry and unwanted at the same time. I didn’t know what to do.
I didn’t want to make a racket, so I just laid there hoping they wouldn’t “take a little peek” inside my box, and eventually fell asleep.
Morning came, and the box I was put in was still closed. Even though I loved my old master I was really trying to make the best of the situation, and was thankful that I at least wasn’t put back in the bad place. I hated it there. Being there was the worst experience in my life. Nothing was worse than that place!
After about half an hour I started to doze off again, until I heard the laughing of excited children as they came down the stairs. They seemed so happy, so full of life. They ran straight towards the Christmas tree, which I was under, and started opening the presents. I heard things like, “OMG! An Avril Lavigne CD!”, and other things which I didn’t understand. All I could think about was what they might think of me, but I was hoping for the best. Suddenly, I heard a very loud noise. The kids were ripping the wrapping paper off of my box, and it was only a matter of time before they got through the many layers, opened the box and saw me lying there.
When the wrapping paper came off, and the little girl opened the box, she started to cry. I had no idea what to do. This has never happened to me before. Did I scare her? What have I done? What should I do? Should I run? Where would I go? All these thoughts were racing through my head. I was scared that they might take me back the bad place. I didn’t know what to do.
The little girl’s parents hurried towards the tree
- What’s wrong Kayla? Did the doggy hurt you? – Her mother asked. She gave me a cold look, and I knew I wasn’t going to be here for very long. I felt the same way I did when I found out my master gave me away. I felt unwanted.
The kids’ father picked me up and said “I guess this isn’t the perfect dog after all.” I felt so bad. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong. He put me back in the box, and sealed it up again. This time there was less air than before. I was put into a car, and was being driven somewhere. I only hoped he wasn’t taking me back the bad place. “He has no reason to do such a thing. I didn’t do anything wrong.” – I thought to myself.
After about an hour ride the car finally stopped. I was feeling quiet dizzy from the ride, especially because I wasn’t getting any air.
Finally there was a rush of air that came straight into the box as the driver opened it up. He pulled me out of the box, and took me into a strange building. My heart was beating faster than ever. He signed a piece of paper and handed me over to someone. “Hollywood dog pound” was printed on the paper with big letters. “Pound… I know that word. But from where?” – I thought to myself as the lady I was handed to, took me into another room.
As we entered that room, memories of the bad place started rushing back to me. As I looked around, and pretty much saw my life flash before my eyes, I saw lots of dogs, including small puppies, lying around in cages, barking at the lady carrying me. They all looked miserable. I knew where I was. I was taken back to the bad place. I had learned that the bad place had a name, it was called the pound. They brought abandoned dogs here, and if a dog wasn’t adopted in a certain time, they would “put it to sleep” as the humans liked to call it.
I started feeling sick as the lady put me into a cage, much like the one I grew up in.
Months had gone by, with no luck. A few dogs were adopted during my time there, but many more of them were put to sleep.
One day a beautiful young couple came in to the pound. They looked around at all the dogs. I didn’t pay much attention, because I’d never had much luck with humans before. The couple seemed nice, though. They even stopped at my cage and looked at me for a bit. I heard the woman whisper to her husband something about a cute dog. I couldn’t quiet make it out. My hearing wasn’t as good as before. They soon moved on from my cage, so I just lay back, thinking they weren’t going to take me anyway.
After a few more minutes of looking, they walked over to the lady who brought me to this cage and said:
- We’ve made our decision. We’re going to go with that one. – The woman’s husband pointed straight at me. I was so surprised. It must be some kind of mistake.
- Are you sure? He’s been here for quiet a while. He was actually going to be put down today. – The owner replied.
- Really? That makes me even surer! We came here to save a dog’s life. We’ll take him. – The girl said, enthusiastically.
I looked up, and saw the small couple smiling at me. I still couldn’t believe it.
- Well then, just sign here. It was an honor to have you visit my shelter, Mr. and Mrs. Whibley!
The woman came over to my cage, took me out, and handed me over to the nice couple. I was finally going home!
Since that day, I have never felt unwanted again.
First time I've ever written a story. So please, go easy.
