you are viewing archives from 2005

a pibble story

Wow, it’s cold.

That’s the second thing I thought when they opened the car door and dropped me in the street. I was nine weeks old. I know this because I heard the man and woman say it before they picked me up and put me in the car. I don’t know where mom was, but I don’t think she would have liked it if she knew that I was being taken away. When my brothers and sisters were taken away, she growled. So the man and woman took my mom away.

People came to visit my brothers and sisters. Little people, who pet them and cuddled them and squealed with joy. They talked to the man and the woman and handed them some green paper. Over and over I heard the people say to my brothers and sisters, “You’re going home!” This seemed like a good thing, as my brothers and sisters would wag their tails like mad. . And there was only me.

When the man and the woman came for me, I wagged my tail. The woman picked me up and I licked her face. I must be going home, I thought! They put me in the car and I watched as the house I came from got smaller and smaller and smaller and soon I couldn’t see it any more. But I was going to my new home?

The car door opened and the man reached in back, grabbed me, and dropped me in the street. He shut the door and drove away. I watched as the car got smaller and smaller and smaller and soon I couldn’t see it anymore.

The second thing I thought was wow, it’s cold.

The first was why are you doing this?

Another car came down the street. I ran to greet it. Maybe this was my new home! The car swerved and a man yelled something out the window. He didn’t seem as excited as the people who took my brothers and sisters. The car drove away.

Maybe the next car will be my home, I thought.

I walked for a bit and found a worn patch of grass at the foot of a building. I burrowed into it, trying to get warm. I wondered if I’d ever get out of the cold. I wondered if I’d ever see my mother.

I wondered if I would ever find a home again.

I heard the man before I saw him. I didn’t want to open my eyes because I was scared. His feet were nearly as big as my whole body.

“C’mon, little one.”

I opened my eyes and saw him holding out his hand, encased in a thick black glove. I sniffed it. Before I could react, he reached out and grabbed me. I yelped! The man chuckled and cradled me in his arms.

“Let’s get you out of the cold.” He put me in the truck. It was warm. I fell asleep thinking finally, I’m going home.

I find out later that the man’s name is Paul. Paul tells me that this home is temporary, but soon he and the volunteers will find me a real home. I don’t think it can get any better that this. I have a big blue blanket and it is the softest thing I’ve ever had. Paul brings me food and fresh water, and a volunteer named Andrea always makes time to stick her fingers in between the bars of my cage and scratch my ears. Sometimes Andrea lets me out in the office, and I scoot under their desks playing hide-and-seek. Everyone laughs at me when I bark at them, and someone always picks me up and pets me and tells me I’m a good girl.

Every day, people come in and walk by my cage. I’ve been told by the other puppies that these people are possible homes, so I’m supposed to be cute and puppy like as best as I can when they walk by. I bark and wag my tail and paw at the bars just like all of the other puppies. The other puppies go home cradled in the arms of their new people, but not me. Every so often someone will stop at my cage and stick their fingers in-between the bars. I’ll lick their hands and they’ll stand up and read my card. “Female Puppy. Breed: Pit Bull.” They turn to whoever they’re with and shake their heads and say they’ll grow up and turn on you. Dangerous dogs. More trouble than they’re worth. I don’t know what they’re talking about. I try to sit up straight and wag my tail and I look at them, hoping that they can tell that the only thing I promise is that if you give me a home I will love you. But they always keep walking.

They like puppies but they don’t like me.

Paul and Andrea promise me that one day I’m going to have my own person and a home of my own. Every night I fall asleep on my blue blanket and dream about that day. But every morning I wake up and they walk on by.

I woke up one morning because the other puppies were barking. I saw boy walk down the line of cages. All the other puppies stuck their nose between their bars, trying to get the boy to notice them. I went back to sleep, thinking that he’d walk by me just like all the other people do. But he stopped at my cage and crouched down. He stuck his fingers into my cage. I rolled off my blanket and nosed him gently. He started scratching my ears and I was licking his hand, licking it so hard I couldn’t stop.

“Mom?” I heard him say.

A woman came by, a woman who had the same gentle brown eyes as the boy. She started to pet me too, and I was squirming and licking and barking at them. The boy laughed. The mom stood up, brushed off her hands and looked at my card.
“Female Puppy. Breed: Pit Bull.”

When she read my card, it didn’t sound bad or awful, her voice was kind and she looked down at me and smiled. I stood up on my hind legs and balanced my paws on the bars. She rubbed me right in between my eyes.

“Mom?”

“Stay right here, Mark. Stay right here and think of a name.”

The woman took my card and walked away. The boy looked at me quizzically.

“Poppy. You’re gonna be Poppy. And you’re gonna come home and live with me and my mom. What d’you think of that?”

He scratched me under my chin and I nearly died with happiness.

I was going home.

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[i]This was the first half of a first draft story written for Poppy's Place for Pit Bull Rescue Central. Poppy's Place is to teach children about responsible and safe dog ownership.