The Pondering...Will I stay or will I go?

That first night with these new peoples was pretty strange. The woman cuddled me and I slept a bunch on her knee in a very comfy chair.  The man said very little and when he looked at me it was with a sad worried face. I wondered what he was thinking. I could hear other dogs outside barking. They knew I was inside and wanted to know who I was. I stayed quiet and as still as possible. A big white cat stared at me from her bed by the window. She never moved. I was too tired to worry about her.

When the man went into the other room, the woman held me and then took me outside in the front yard. I stayed close to her. There were cars zooming down the street. I shivered and thought about being shoved out of the car.

When we came back inside she put me in the small bathroom and made me a pillow out of her t-shirt. I snuggled down in the shirt and slept. I was too tired to complain about the door being shut and being left alone.

Sometime in the middle of the night the man got up. He took me for a walk and then put me back in the bathroom. It was super cold and rainy outside. I was glad to be back in bed.

A few hours later the woman woke me up and took me outside. She talked kindly to me. She kept telling me that she was going to work at the school today. I was not happy going back into the bathroom. I wanted to play. I wanted to be held. She laughed but kept putting me back. I think she put something heavy in front of the door because I couldn't get it open.

It seemed like forever until they got home that day.  The woman got home and took me out front. She smiled and laughed as I ran around.  The man brought in some dog food and he took me for another walk.  I wagged my tail at him and tried to get him to pet me, but he just continued to look at me sadly.

That night the woman gave me a bath in the kitchen sink.  It was awful and it was great at the same time. She scrubbed off all the dirt and killed the fleas that had been biting me so badly. I was exhausted after the bath and slept for a long time in her arms wrapped in a warm towel.

When the man went to bed he put a gate up on the bathroom door.  Interesting. I looked at it and wondered if I could climb it.  When the woman put me to bed, she left the door open and it wasn't long after she went to bed that I climbed out. I curled in her chair and slept until the man got up to take me for a walk.

The man put me back in the bathroom with the gate and shut the door. It wasn't long after he left that I climbed the gate and pushed the door open.  I slept again in her chair. When the woman got up she laughed and said I must "need to be free."  I wagged my tail.

When she left for work that day she shut the door again and put something in front of it. I couldn't get it to budge. I climbed up on the fence pushed on the door with all my strength. It wouldn't budge. So, I decided to chew through the gate. Maybe if there was a hole in the gate the door would open.

That night neither the man or woman was too happy about the hole in the gate. The man said that I had to go to the shelter. He said with the two other dogs in the backyard and the cat, he just couldn't take care of another dog.  The woman petted me softly. She told the man that she would do as he asked on Saturday. She cried softly that night as she held me after he went to bed. I licked her tears. I heard her pray quietly that her husband would change his mind.  I really hoped her prayers were answered.

A Chance of Hope

I really don't know where I am or what is going on.  One minute I was snuggled up with my sister and then the next I was grabbed and tossed into the thing my peoples called a car. At first I was excited because I thought it was an adventure. I quickly realized that this was an adventure like no other. This was an adventure that would surely change my young life.

The car slammed to a stop abruptly throwing me and my sister tumbling onto the floorboard of the car. Hands grabbed me by the scuff of the neck and I whimpered in pain and shock. What was going on? Suddenly I was tossed out of an open car door into a place I had never seen before.  The impact of the concrete against my tender paws hurt. My body shivered at the cold March air. My sister huddled next to me. I moved towards the car only to see it speed away from me. Where were my peoples going? Why had they left me here?

Over my shoulder I heard loud shouts. I crouched low and tried to protect my sister.  Many peoples I did not know surrounded us. They were all talking and making silly baby sounds. Slowly one of them reached out and stroked my head softly.  Ahhh.  A friend.  I wagged my little tail. The peoples giggled. I pranced about and tried to get them to chase and play with me. Soon my sister and I were zipping all over the grass with these new peoples.  It was so much fun.

Little by little though these new peoples started to leave in cars. The air was getting colder.  One of the smaller girl peoples picked up my sister and began to walk around the side of the building. I started to follow, but the other peoples were throwing a stick for me, so I decided to play some more. When I looked up again, my sister was gone.

Soft hands picked me up and snuggled me. I felt so loved. I licked a little girl peoples face. She giggled, so I licked her again. I heard an angry voice yell at us. The little girl peoples face looked sad. She put me under a bush and told me to stay and be good. As she walked away, I tried to follow her, but she told me no.  I whimpered softly as she drove away.

A sharp cry above my head had me under the bush quickly. What was that? I peeked between the branches. A large hawk flew low over the sidewalk looking around. Was it looking for me? I sunk back closer to the wall of the building behind the bush. Shivering. Cold wind whipped around me and stinging icy drops of rain pelted my little body. I couldn't stay outside in this weather.

Tucking my tail between my legs and quickly darting from tree to tree, I moved around the building looking for an open door.  Were there no more peoples here? Lightning and thunder crashed above me...I yelped in fear and darted into a little opening in the side of the building. A brief shelter from the storm.

My poor little heart beat fast as I hear footsteps approaching. I looked into this glass window.  There was a woman with her arm full of stuff about to come out. Maybe I could dart in and get warm. I edged close to the door. As she opened it, I tried to squeeze past, but she quickly stopped me.

Her voice was soft and kind. She knelt down to me and patted my head and said "no sweetie, puppies are not allowed in school." She then told me to "go home." I ran in circles around her legs and looked up at her.  Where is home? How do I get there?  She again gently pushed me away and began walking towards a truck in the parking lot.

When she opened the truck door and loaded her stuff inside I darted underneath the truck. The thunder scared me. I didn't want to be left outside.  She stepped back and looked under the truck at me.  I wagged my tail and looked up at her. She made a little kissing sound. Hmmm. That sounded good so I came back out to her. When she picked me up and held me gently. "What have we got here? A little boy puppy? With no collar? Poor baby."  She petted me softly. I shivered.  My coat was cold and wet.

A few minutes went by while the woman looked around the parking lot and finally said to me, "well, I'm not leaving you out here on the coldest night of the year. You are going to have to come home with me and we will figure out what to do with you." She tucked me inside the truck and wrapped me in a soft hoodie.  I snuggled up against her the whole ride making sure to sit really still so she wouldn't get mad and throw me out like my peoples did.

When she stopped the truck I could tell we were not near the "school" she talked about. It smelled more like plants. My nose twitched with all the wonderful smells.  As she careful brought me into this strange new house I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew this wasn't my home.  What was going to happen to me?

I heard a strange male voice as she walked through the house and I buried my head into her arm. What if he threw me outside?  I whimpered softly.  She kissed my head and whispered "it's okay." He didn't look to happy at all to see me. She started telling how she had found me, but she didn't know my whole story. I fell asleep on her leg in a big soft chair she was sitting in.  He decided I could stay for the night, but there were already two other dogs and a cat in this home. It looked like my chance of a new home here would not happen. My hope felt lost.

That night I slept inside one of her t-shirts on the floor of a little bathroom. It was warmer than outside, but I could not see anything. They had shut the door so I couldn't get out.  I was too tired to care.  As I drifted off to sleep, I really wanted this to be my new home.  Did I dare hope? Was there a chance?