Chapter 1—That Wonderful and Glorious DayI usually spend my afternoons defending myself against my baby sister, who, in my opinion, is terribly annoying. Today, however, my sister went out in the backyard to play with our dogs. Finally, I can do some very important things like watch television! Suddenly, the front door flew wide open with a bang. It was my Mom. She was holding a tiny little puppy in her arms. My mouth dropped open and it felt like my eyes had popped out of my head!
I flew off the couch and squealed with excitement. I saw the puppy’s little eyes and nose. My arms flew out in front of me, I wiggled my fingers in the air, and I screamed “Gimme!” Since my sister had escaped to the back yard to talk to her imaginary bug friends, I had a few moments of privacy, and had the puppy all to myself. I couldn’t help but giggle! The feeling that came over me was better than Christmas!
Deep down inside, I knew this puppy couldn’t possibly be ours to keep. We had two large Border Collies, Reckless, and Hoover. Reckless was 11 years old, and Hoover was 3 years old.
I asked my Mom where she found her, who she belonged to, and the obvious question can we keep her? Of course, I expected my Mom to answer the last question with a big fat NO!
If I promised to be nice to my little sister, would my Mom let us keep the pup? I knew my chances were slim. Even though I had two Border Collies already, I knew my Mom was a dog magnet.
Would this adorable little puppy be mine for keepsies? I waited for my Mom to answer my questions, but deep down inside, I didn’t want her to ruin the moment. I sat on the floor with this precious little bundle and enjoyed the smell of puppy breath as she licked my face. I could not believe her short little legs or her tall pointed ears, but most of all, I adored her stubby little tail, which was wagging at light speed. It didn’t look like any tail I had ever seen before! I thought she looked like a bunny.
I thought to myself, “what a genius God was to invent a puppy that looks like a bunny.” Of course, the real question remained unanswered. Was she ours? Even though my heart was doing cartwheels, that little voice in my head was telling me that she was not ours to keep. I guess my heart and my brain were having a tiny war.
I stretched out onto the floor and gently played with my new little friend. I reached for a dog toy to begin a game of tug-of-war with the little fur ball. I noticed a throw rug to my right that was missing a corner, some scratch marks on the leather chair, and some chew marks on the legs of the piano bench. Our house was rich with history and filled with the scars that many dogs had left behind. Many strays had used our home as a halfway house. My Mom would not hesitate to turn the car around in the middle of the road to pick up an animal that looked out of place. Sometimes we found their owners and sometimes we had to find them new ones.
The idea that this dog was going to be ours to keep was insane. My game of tug-of-war continued with the white-faced pup, as I had my own tug-of-war. I forced myself to come to terms with what was probably reality. She was probably a stray or a temporary rescue. Her sharp little bark wasn’t even a real bark, it was a little yap, and it sounded to me like pure heaven!
Then, my Mom dropped the bomb of all bombs. The puppy was not a stray. She was not someone else’s dog. More importantly, my Mom announced that she had bought the puppy, and she WAS ours! I sat in amazement and felt my heart do even more cartwheels. I felt my brain do high-fives! The news that this little puppy was really ours gave me the permission to fall in love with her! This was truly a wonderful and glorious day! |
An easy-to-understand delightful story for you to share with your family!Ask a Parent if they can buy a copy of my book for you to read and share with your friends and your family. |
The Story of Penelope,A Puppy Mill DogWhen Dogs Bite |
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Introducing My Book that I wrote Just For You! |
Chapter 2—The Truth is Known
While we were setting the table and getting ready for dinner, I asked Mom why she decided to buy the puppy. My Mom always said she would never have three dogs in the house. I wanted to know what made her snap.
Mom tried to explain to me what happened. Even though my little sister constantly interrupted us, I finally got the whole story out of her. In short, Mom was at the flea market. I remembered that a flea market was an outdoor shopping place where people go to sell their things cheap. Mom said a man and woman were selling about 20 puppies there, and that one puppy caught her eye. She said that the puppy looked sick and once she picked her up, she couldn’t leave her.
Mom suspected that the people selling the puppies were puppy mill breeders. I had no idea what she was talking about, and what was so bad about a puppy mill. The bottom line was that Mom didn’t think any of the puppies at the flea market that day were healthy, and because our puppy was absolutely beautiful, and a herding dog to boot, my Mom felt sorry for her and bought her on the spot.
I didn’t know that a puppy mill is a place where people own dogs just so they can make puppies to sell them. I didn’t know that many puppy mill dogs aren’t healthy, and neither are the puppies. Mom told me that the dogs are not always properly vaccinated and it’s a dirty place for puppies to live. I didn’t know that the female dogs are forced to have as many litters as possible, and in most cases; the female dogs are simply worn out.
That night, our new little puppy had trouble breathing and she coughed up yucky stuff from her lungs. The puppy kept my Mom up all night long.
The next day, we took the puppy to the Veterinarian. The Veterinarian confirmed that our puppy had a bad case of Kennel Cough. Kennel Cough is a serious virus. It took months of expensive medication for the cough to go away, but it eventually did.
I had no idea that this little puppy was going to teach me all the wrong reasons people breed dogs, and all the wrong reasons people buy them. My Mom just wanted to save this puppy from harm, protect her, and take care of her.
The truth of the matter is my Mom didn’t really want another dog. She simply wanted to get the puppy out of the flea market, and get her into a good home where she would have good care. She felt sorry for the puppy. I wondered if feeling sorry for a dog was a good enough reason to bring it home.
I wondered if rescuing one sick puppy from a flea market would make a difference. I wondered if buying a puppy -- I mean actually paying for a dog, helped the puppy mill to stay in business. I still had a lot to learn.
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The Next Page is for Your Parent. It includes a Special Message that I wrote to them, all about the Illustrator of my new book, and all about me! |
A Fun Place for Kids, Parents, and Dog Lovers to Learn and Play! |
The Story of Penelope |
