Dog Gone Lucky

A Story by Lizzy

the prompt was: Write the following elements into a single scene: a frightened animal, a civic leader, a small audience

Mayor Jeff Lindenburg got into the limo with his Vice Mayor, an assistant taking notes on a Blackberry and another assistant holding his cup of imported coffee. The Mayor was on his way to a meeting with a small group of reporters. He discussed the agenda of the meeting with the Vice Mayor as they drove to the meeting site. A loud thud and a squeal stopped the limo in its tracks. The Mayor rolled down the window and stuck his head out.

“What’s wrong Mr. Ricardo?” he shouted to the limo driver who was examining an unseen object on the ground.

“Just hit a dog Senor Mayor” the limo driver shouted back as a black lab crawled forward, visibly shaking.

Mayor Lindenburg opened the limo door and got out, confusing everyone in the limo, even the driver. He slowly approached the dog, crouched down and petted the dog’s head softly. The dog continued to shake as the Mayor picked him up and carried the black lab into the limo with him. His two assistants and Vice Mayor just stared at him, unsure of what the Mayor was doing.

“Let’s not be late Mr. Ricardo” the Mayor said to the limo driver.

“Si Senor Mayor”

Mayor Lindenburg continued to pet the dog until the dog stopped shaking. The limo stopped at the construction site and as soon as the driver opened the back door the dog hopped out and waited for the Mayor. The Mayor smiled as the dog followed him up to the podium.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen”

The small audience of men and women at the site noticed the dog sitting next to the Mayor. They kept their eyes on the dog as the Mayor spoke about the plans for the construction site and what good it would do for the city. After he finished he asked the audience if they had any questions for him. Every person raised their hand.

“Yes?” the Mayor asked as he pointed at a lean black man.

“What’s with the dog Mister Mayor?”

The Mayor looked down at the black lab and petted his head before looking back at the people.

“We found him shaking and alone on the side of the road so I decided to adopt him for my little girls.”

The reporters all nodded and proceeded to ask questions about the planned building. An hour later the Mayor head back to the limo, the dog following at his heels. That night when Mayor Lindenburg went home, he surprised his family with the black lab.