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.