A Good DogA Story by Isabelle Faye I wrote this in 7th grade for a class so admittedly this isn't amazing but I needed to have a least one short story so... A Good Dog I lay in my crate, staring out at the vast sea of dogs and humans. Someone near me was using scented shampoo, a quite strong one with lilac accents. I closed my eyes and I was back, before my family had adopted me. I was 5 again, trotting down a dirty street. I lifted my nose, scenting the air, last week’s tuna sandwich, old socks, cats and…BINGO! Warm hotdog. I set off at a steady trot towards the delicious aroma that hung tantalizingly in the air. A new smell assaulted my nose, a strange scent I had never smelled before, I paused, my wiry coat standing on end but then the hot dog caught my nose like a hook and pulled me closer to it. I completely forgot the strange scent in the utter deliciousness of the smell. I broke into a gallop, running at full speed towards the delicious scent. Then I felt a sharp pain in my hind leg and the world went black as I fell to the hard, black pavement. “We’ve got one.” said a burley man. ღ ღ ღ I blinked; I was sore all over and in an unfamiliar place. I raised my head groggily and looked around. I was surrounded by chain link fences and on a cement floor. On the other side of my fences were more of the same enclosures containing other dogs. I struggled to get up but I was so dizzy. I just lay on the floor. A large human got up from a chair and came towards me. The chair spun back and banged against the wall with a resounding CLANG! I jumped in surprise. “Sorry gal.” said the human. “Everything’s fine.” He said in a soothing voice. I backed into the corner of the kennel, having finally been able to stand up. The man slowly lifted the latch and stepped inside the kennel, letting the door swing shut behind him. He crooned softly to me “Shhh, baby, it’s okay.” I instinctively lifted my lips in a growl. “Easy there.” he whispered as he slowly drew closer. I shrunk into my corner, trembling. He reached an enormous hand towards my face, almost covering my eyes. It seemed to me like the human was attacking so I lashed out. I heard a shriek of pain as I bit down on the huge hand invading my territory. The man stumbled backward, yelling, as he fumbled for the latch of my cage. Once he was out, he stood in the walkway panting. “Larry, this one bites!” he said. Another man, I supposed him to be Larry walked, up to my cage and stapled a laminated piece of paper that I couldn’t see to the chain link fencing. A few hours later, a person came into my cage and put a muzzle on me. He then pulled a collar over my head and attached a leash to it. He opened the door of my cage and led me to a strange, white room that smelled of antiseptic. I glanced around nervously, taking in the sights. A door opened and a woman in a lab coat stepped in. “Who do we have here?” she said in a doting voice. She came over to where I was being held and took my leash from the person holding me. She led me up to a scale and lifted me onto it. “15.6lbs, she’s underweight.” She then checked me for heartworms and fleas as well as distemper and kennel cough. “Except for being underweight, she is totally healthy.” the vet proclaimed. “Give her 2 cups dried duck with a ½ can omega-3 rich canned food twice a day to boost her weight.” The person who brought me here was writing down what she was saying. “Now for a name.” she said, “ I think Trixxie will suit you just fine.” She turned to look at the person who brought me in. “My best guess is that young Trixxie is about 5. She looks to have some Giant Schnauzer and definitely some Wirehaired Fox Terrier. I’d say she’s ready to go up for adoption as is, though you should watch for signs for food guarding an child test her.” The woman handed my leash back to the man and strode out of the room, scribbling furiously on her clip board. ღ ღ ღ The next day, after a good meal, which I thoroughly enjoyed, people started walking by and up to our cages. Sometimes they would go inside them but they seemed to stay away from my cage once they got close enough to read the paper stapled to the side of it. The stream of people went on for days. I went through “child testing” where they attached my leash to the door knob and came at me with a doll the size of a two year old toddler. The people administrating the test looked so silly when they crouched behind the doll that I just sat there laughing. I was said to be completely child safe. I thought that they just needed a new test! Every day I sat in my cage as the people came by. Sometimes they would take a dog out and it never came back, but no one ever came to my cage. Finally, one day, a small girl with feathery blonde hair walked up to my cage and let herself in. “Hi girl,” she said “Why’d they put that warning up? You’re such a sweetheart.” She reminded me of a curious puppy so I let her approach. She sank to the floor, sitting next to me and rubbing my ears. It felt so good. I lay down and put my head in her lap. “You like that, don’t you?” she crooned, massaging my ears. “ I’m Taylor. I’m here with my mom and dad looking for a doggie.” She started to give me a belly rub and I rolled on my back, wiggling in delight. About ten minutes later, a middle-aged man and woman came running down the walkway between the kennels. “ Oh my gosh, there you are Taylor.” said the woman, gasping for breath. “Get out of there immediately, didn’t you read the warning on her cage, it says she bites!” “This sweetheart, no way.” said Taylor. “She’s the one I want.” I smiled up at her, my tongue lolling to the side of my mouth. I had no idea what she was talking about but I was thoroughly enjoying my belly rub. “That’s right, I’m going to take you home, you sweet thing.” she murmured in my ear. I wagged my tail and it made a thumping sound as it hit against the cold concrete. “I want this one.” She said to the man and women. “TayTay, sweetheart, this dog is dangerous, I can’t let you have her!” said the woman. “Does she look dangerous?” Taylor asked, exactly at the time I yawned, opening my mouth and sticking my tongue out. “Well I guess not.” said the women reluctantly. “Thanks so much Mom!!!!” said Taylor, jumping up and hugging the woman. The man sighed, “I’ll go take care of the paperwork.” Taylor hugged me tightly and jumped up and down. “Your all mine now.” she told me. She was beaming, and laughed as she hugged me again. Her father came back with a leash, a squeaky toy, and a stack of paper. He handed Taylor the leash. “ You’re sure of this, we can wait and get a puppy.” He said. “I’m positive.” she replied in a firm voice. She clipped the leash on my collar and kissed my on the head. “Her name is Trixxie. She’s a terrier mix.” Taylor’s father said. “Come on Trixxie.” Said Taylor as she started to walk out of my cage but she was so exited that she was practically skipping. ღ ღ ღ Taylor’s house was huge. She had a spacious, fenced back yard that I could run around in, a full garbage can ready to raid, a large population of resident squirrels and bunnies, and a five-story mansion. Her father went out to buy supplies for me while Taylor showed my around. She took me through every room in the house. “This is where you will sleep Trixxie.” She said. I looked around the room. It was nice, full of sunlight and soft things to chew and sleep on. I saw a comfy suede couch with a few blankets that looked like a good place to sleep. “Dad is gonna get you a crate.” She said. Crate, crate? I thought. What’s this crate thing? My question was answered a few minutes later when Taylor’s dad came in carrying a folded black metal contraption and a large towel. He deposited the wire and metal object on the floor and handed Taylor the towel. He pulled on a couple parts of the metal thing and it sprung open, making a roomy, wire box. He took the towel from Taylor and placed it inside the wire cage, covering the bottom. “Ta da, your crate.” said Taylor. That thing, I was going to sleep in that thing! Impossible! It looked so uncomfortable! I determined that I would not be sleeping in the crate for long. “Couches, here I come!” I thought to myself. ღ ღ ღ That night, after being shut in my crate by Taylor, I used my nose to bump the latch to the crate until it lifted. I then jumped up on the soft couch and curled up and went to sleep. In the morning, I awoke to something furry brushing my nose. It was a cat! Quick as a wink, I was up and after her. The cat screeched and took off down the hallway with me in hot pursuit. She ran through a couple of rooms before going inside one. I skidded around the corner and dashed in the room, intent on the cat. “Bad dog!” Taylor yelled. I looked up to realize that this was her room and the cat was in her arms. Taylor grabbed my collar. As soon as the cat saw I was secure, it dashed out of the room and disappeared, giving me a scathing glance as did so. “Trixxie!” Taylor scolded. “ Why did you chase Marzipan?” I stared at the ground guiltily, then a looked up at her and started to wag my tail. She smiled “How could I ever be mad at you?” she said, scratching my neck. “But don’t chase Marzipan again, ‘kay?” I butted her with my head to show I understood. Little did I know that the cat I had just chased was going to become by best friend. Later that day, I was sleeping in the sun on the couch when Marzipan padded up to me. “That wasn’t very nice, you know.” she said, twitching her tail. “ I came in to say hello and was chased around the house for my curtsey.” “Sorry.” I said. “ I’m just so used to chasing anything that moves. Stray instincts.” I clarified. “I’m Trixxie by the way.” “Marzipan.” “I know.” I commented sheepishly. “I am really sorry about chasing you before.” “It’s okay.” she said. “I should tell you the rules of the house.” She got up and I followed her. “This room is off limits.” I looked in and saw the shelves stocked with delectable food stuffs. “It’s where the food is stored.” continued Marzipan. “ The other off limits room is the brown room on the 3rd floor. That’s the father’s study. No raiding garbage cans or digging up the garden. That about covers it.” Awwww, I thought. My two favorite things were against the rules. What’s life without garbage cans to raid and garden’s to dig up? ღ ღ ღ “Sit” Taylor said, holding a piece of steak over my head. I craned my neck to keep the tender piece in my sight. My bottom hit the ground and Taylor said “Yes!” to mark that I had done something right. I saw Marzipan watching from the sidelines. Taylor then placed her hand on the ground, recapturing my attention and said “Down”. I followed her hand with my nose and lay down. “Good dog!” she said, pleased. She handed me the treat and I gulped it down. “I think your ready for obedience class.” she said. ღ ღ ღ The next day, Taylor walked me down to a huge building that smelled of many dogs. “Hi.” she said to the lady at the desk. “I want to enroll my dog in obedience class.” The woman handed her a form and a pen. She led me to a chair and started to fill it out. “Name: Trixxie. Commands known: sit, down, stay, come.” She finished the sheet and handed the form to the woman. “Let’s see, from what I can tell, you could do beginner rally obedience. I’ll sign you up, classes begin tomorrow at 2pm.” said the woman as she surveyed the form. ღ ღ ღ I LOVED everything about rally obedience. Whenever I went to class, Taylor always had a treat bag full of the most delicious treats imaginable. I learned how to roll over, and turn around Taylor as well as many other things. You see, in Rally Obedience, you go around a course created by the judge doing certain commands. I was top in our class and Taylor was so proud. We competed in our first rally and won. I graduated intermediate rally and advanced rally. I continued to compete and win. Marzipan came to every show to support me. “I don’t know what you see in this obedience thing.” she confided in me one night. “ You just walk to cones and do what Taylor says.” she pointed out. “ What’s the point in doing what she says? Don’t tell me she has treats, I wouldn’t do it for a boatload of fresh caught tuna!” “ It makes Taylor happy, and I do like the treats.” I protested. “I will never understand you.” Marzipan said, laughing. ღ ღ ღ
One day, Taylor heard about an AKC show in the area that had an extremely advanced rally class. She entered me and we started preparing. We worked on weave, 260 degree turn and about every other trick imaginable. On the day of the show, Taylor packed up all of our supplies, a leash, shampoo and brushes and treats. She put everything in my crate and put it in the car. Her dad and mom drove us to the show. The one thing I hate about shows is that I have to get a bath. Taylor washed every speck of dirt out of my coat and then brushed it until it was silky soft. I got a bow on my ear and was put in my crate. I lay in my crate, staring out at the vast sea of dogs and humans. Someone near me was using scented shampoo, a quite strong one with lilac accents. I looked up and saw Taylor coming towards me. I got up and waged my tail. She let me out of my crate and clipped on my show lead and I knew it was time to go. I lifted my head and pranced into the arena. I looked spectacular and I knew it. “Forward” Taylor said and I trotted directly by her side, I passed the sits, downs, and turns with no problem. I flew through the weaves as if the devil was at my tail. When Taylor led me out of the ring, I knew I had done well. Her mom, dad and Marzipan were waiting with water and a steak for me and lunch for Taylor. We sat as we watched the other teams compete; I knew how badly Taylor wanted to win. She griped my collar anytime someone was showing. Finally, the results were announced. “10th place is Mandy with Simply Perfect.” Taylor was holding her breath. “9th place is Jeff with Awesome Eve…” as each place was called, Taylor leaned farther and farther forward in her seat. “ …3rd place is Cristiana with Sweetheart, 2nd place is…” Taylor had her eyes closed and her fingers crossed. “…Tristan with One Time.” We had either placed first or not at all. There were 15 people entered in our class. Taylor was whispering “Please, please, please, please, pleeaassee…” under her breath. “And 1st place goes to TAYLOR WITH TRIXXIE!” Taylor jumped out of her seat and gave me a big hug. “We won, we won!” she whispered in my ear, crying. “Thank you.” She kissed me on my head and then picked up my lead and we walked into the ring to receive our trophy. As the judge presented it to us, Taylor hugged me. I loved her so much and I was so proud to make her happy. I gave her a huge lick on her face and grinned. It was the happiest moment in my life. Taylor smiled and we posed for our photo together. “ I love you Trixxie.” Taylor whispered in my ear. I looked over to see Marzipan grinning her, her whiskers tilted up in the cat version of a smile.. So much had changed since the day Taylor had adopted me. The judge came up and pinned a ribbon to my collar. I smiled as the photographer snapped another photo, my tongue lolling out the side of my mouth.
© 2012 Isabelle FayeAuthor's Note
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Isabelle FayeAboutHi! My pen name is Isabelle Faye but you can call me Isabelle or Belle for short. I'm an under 18 year old writer from the United States. I write both poetry and books/novels but the latter tend to pr.. more..Writing
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