Dog in the BOX

A short and sweet story about a boy and his pet dog:)

Dog in the Box

 December

When I was 8 I used to go to a nearby park to play soccer. That Christmas my dad gave me a soccer kit. The box it came in was pretty huge. I didn’t throw the box away immediately.

The day after Christmas I packed my kit and started off. Something came over me and I took the box as well. On my way I stopped near a store and placed the box right in front of the door.

My dad came to pick me up that day.  A week went by, (I hadn’t gone to the park for a whole week!) I passed the store and saw the box. As I came near it I could see a furry figure curled up inside.

I looked down, it looked up. It was a pup. It squeaked and buried his head again. That day I couldn’t stop thinking about the pup. So I asked my mum all kind of questions about dogs. On my way back from school I grabbed the best dog treat my leftover pocket money could buy.

“The pup” was still there.  I went over to the box, opened the treat and emptied it all on the floor. Pup looked up again. He looked at the treat and then looked at me. He came out of the box sniffed the food; it came over to me and sat down right where I was standing. I ruffled his fur, picked him up and put him near the food again.

Every day I would go straight to the store to meet my new friend. I named him PUP. First I thought he came to me only for the food. I was wrong of course. In the second week of January an old lady took over the store. She loved dogs so would feed him every day. But the moment Pup saw me he would rush to me. Till I reached the park he would keep on playing around me, and while I practiced he would sit and play in the park but never go out of sight. On more than one occasion he helped us find the lost ball. Everyone loved him, he liked everyone but he liked me the best.

One day I took Pup home. It was a small apartment and Pup had grown use to the space outside. He felt uncomfortable there, although just as loving. So I brought a new box and found a much comfortable spot outside the park. For a day Pup stayed there, but the next afternoon I found him at his original spot with the box. So I let it be plus the store lady liked him anyways.

A year went by. I was selected for the junior team of the school. So I would mostly practice in the school field. My visits to the park became less frequent. But I never forget to take Pup to vet at least once a month.

Then we moved. My father got transferred and we had to go to an even more expensive, crowded place. I wanted to take Pup with me but I didn’t want to take away his space. He loved his box and corner and the little treats the old lady would give him every day.  I mean he would have come with me but what right I had to take him away from his home!

After 2 years 3 months we moved back to my hometown but to a bigger place. As soon as I stepped out of the airport I wanted to go visit Pup. I knew he would be there. Grown up and all but still there. Anyway I couldn’t go that day.

Next evening I boarded the tube and reached the store, but Pup wasn’t there. NO box NO Pup. What was I thinking! Of course he would have made his home somewhere else or might have been taken to shelter. I hated myself. The old lady was still there, so I asked her.

She told me, a month after I stopped showing up Pup disappeared. I was so angry at myself for going away, at the old lady for not caring enough to find Pup, and on Pup for leaving. I had never been so angry; in fact I almost welled up with tears in front of the lady!

For next few weeks, I called up shelters, visited them looking for Pup. I would go around that area look in corners of various parks and small stores but didn’t find him. I gave up.

I got pretty late one day practising at the school, but I decided to walk anyway rather than calling my dad or mum. Besides I wanted to walk by the store again. He wasn’t there. All hope I had in my heart died the moment I saw that empty spot.

After that everything happened so fast. Someone whistled, a hand grabbed my shirt, a punch in my stomach, kick in my shins. I had a fight with a class bully in the lunch hour the other day. There were four kids, him and his mates. They took me behind the park in this shady corner and threw me on the floor and beat me up till I was half conscious.  They went away. My body ached.

Then I heard a bark. I looked up, it looked down. I couldn’t see much, but I could hear an ambulance and voices and a constant howling of dog. Next morning I woke up in the hospital. My parents were there. I had been discharged. We reached home; in middle of the garden was a box. Before I looked at my parents, I heard a yelp. It was my Pup. Mum told me that Pup had barked at the old lady in the store until she finally gave up and came to see the matter. He led her to me. Hospital was called and then my parents.

 Oh I cried and I cried I don’t know why but I did. I held Pup and cried some more. Real Friends never leave you. No matter where they are, they will come to rescue you. I held Pup for ages till I felt his fur getting real wet with all the crying.

After that day pup was always there walking besides me. Even as he got old and could barely move, just for his sake I would sometimes put him on a hand scooter and go around. I swear he would always smile on these little outings.

He died on the day I was leaving home for college. I cancelled my flight and gave him a nice burial. Took permission from the local authorities and put his picture in large frame on top of a box on the same spot where I first found him. On the box I wrote FRIENDS IN LIFE AND AFTER.

Lots of people turned up with flowers. Pup would have liked them all, but he would always like me the best.

Author's Note

i would love to hear your thoughts about the story!!

Reviews

[Robert Parlange]

Great story. As you can tell from my profile picture, I love dogs. Gifts from God.

The story, or essay, would benefit from a little formatting. Maybe putting it in paragraph form.
Writing is communication. The better we are at communicating the ideas of a story, the better it is understood.

Good work. Keep it up.

[A.R Grande]

Thank you Robert, for the review. I would definitely work on my presentation.
Again your review means a lot as i am slowly building up the confidence to let people read my work.