Personal Narrative-Before I Got My Dog

Each day I would wake up the same way. With a smile on my face and everything in its place. Feeling whole and complete. Suddenly, it's different. Waking up from the night with a gaping hole inside yourself, knowing that life will never be quite the same. That hollow feeling doesn't seem to go away. As you know that the trusted pal you once had laying at the edge of your bed each morning, scruffy and content. Will never be there to greet you ever again. Growing up with a dog, having only known a life with them, comes to a shocking halt when they leave you. Until you can find the strength in the loss.

In 2008, I spent the summer with my Uncle, Aunt and 2 cousins in Missouri. They picked me up at the airport, and the car ride was filled with discussion about a puppy they had just gotten 2 days prior. It was explained that my cousins wanted a dog since their friends’ family had gotten a dog recently. My Uncle, happy to oblige, stopped at a neighbor’s house one day, who was giving away puppies they could not care for, as is common in small town America. He picked out the cutest one and went on his way. The family was so happy to have “Roxy” in their home and on their farm.

And on our way home, she almost peed in the backseat of the car because she was so scared. However, when we finally got home, she was overjoyed that she finally had a good home where she would be loved forever. Not only by six humans, but by three other animals including, two cats and one other dog named bella, tiger, my two cats, and libby, the other dog. She had to go right into the backyard because we were worried about how she would act around the other animals. But when she smelled Libby’s breath on the toys she busted through the screen door and she licked all of the animals until they looked like they swam in a pool.

One year later, a very tragic day happened. I have heard the talk about the word “adoption” and that “there’s too many dogs.” I ran towards Koda and hugged his paw. “What’s the matter?” asked Koda. “Dad, whats adoption?” I asked. “Adoption is a state of someone legally takes someone or something and brings it up as one’s own.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “It’s time for your brothers and sisters to be adopted,” said Koda, “but don’t worry, Kingsay has a home here and so do you.” Then, my owner came and picked up Koda and Koko and took them to the car. “Dad!!” I yelled. “Mom!!” yelled Kingsay. “Kido, don’t worry about me,” said Koda, “just be brave and take care of your brother.” “Kingsay, I will always love you,” said Koko, “take care of yourself

It was the 11th of January and we were going to get a new dog. The road has ice, snow and sleet. I had a headache and I was really tired. It was cold, cloudy, and bright. The ride was like a 4 hour ride because I slept through the whole thing and it was awesome. When I woke it we were still not there. So my mom, brother and I all played car games. When we got there it was loud and it made my head hurt even more than it did before. It was wet and really icy so I had to crawl. My mom asked “What are you doing on the ground.” I said “Crawling so I don’t fall on my butt or my side like I always do. When we went in we saw Peanut. The women said “The reason he has bad back legs is because he was at a puppy mill.” He was funny because he was slipping

"Only if you take care and pay for it and all its things." mom replied

I was shocked to hear our plans for the day. Looking at more dogs? It had been less than a week since the last one and the newspaper ads hadn’t given us any options. I ran to my room, took my New York Yankees Baseball Cap off the hook and ran to tell my siblings. They were equally as shocked as I was. The three of us couldn't tell why my Dad, who never wanted a dog in the first place, wanted to go searching for one now. But I had an idea about why.

I felt shaky, and excited at the same time, because I was going to have a chance of having a dog. As I felt my nerves starting to tremble, me, my sister, my mom, my dad, and brother hopped into the car. We were rushing to get to Santa Monica to go meet some dogs at Much Love Animal Rescue. As we were on the road, I was thinking of the dogs my mom had shown me on the website. “Flower, a pitbull mix, Lance, a beagle whippet, and Thor, a papillon and shi tzu mix.” I nodded my head.

I had moved out of my mother’s house and into my new boyfriend’s house six months prior.

The frantically barking dogs wanted to be with their master, and I had to try to save them. The side gate had already been torn down by the firefighters, so I rushed in. Splashing through the shallow pool, water was splashing into my face. Barely able to see, I grabbed a dog in each arm and ran. They were sqorming, trying to get free but as soon as we were clear from the burning building, they stopped moving but their panting told me that they were still alive. People crowded around me, amazed I was out alive, without a scratch. I quickly let go of the dogs and let them have their free space. Mom came rushing up. She cried, them shouted, then praised me, then told me I was grounded and had to go to bed. I silently agreed. For the first time, I didn’t dream of saving a person from some great

When I look back upon that day all I can do is sit back and grin euphorically, grin and think about all the years of begging that had led up to that moment. It all happened so quickly, as if decided on the flip of a coin. As we began down the driveway I could feel the anticipation build within me as the cold of winter tickled my nose. After ten long years of imploring and convincing, today was the day my wish had finally come to fruition. Today was the day I finally got a dog.

One Saturday morning I woke up and didn’t feel right, I was much shorter than usual. I went to my sister’s room to look in a mirror. When I went in I was shocked to see what had happened. I had turned into a dog! How had this happened, when, and why me?

I will remember this day if I get my own dog. One sunny day in March, I was at my grandma's house to celebrate my great grandma's birthday. My grandma's house is brown-walled, three-floored, and smells like dog. We were about to eat dessert. Dessert was on the table for a couple minutes and then I saw that Rudy ate my cousin's gluten-free cake off the table and left a mess. Rudy is my grandma's reddish-brown miniature dachshund. There he was, sitting on the chair with cake and frosting all over his face. Grandma got grumpy. "Bad dog Rudy!" she yelled. Rudy responded with a whine. Rudy's eyes looked heavy with guilt.

Just like any normal sixth grader, I loved my pet dog. My dog’s name was, Blanco, (which is Spanish for “white”). I always knew that my dear canine companion would eventually pass away, but I couldn’t believe it when the day came. There was the experience of going outside only to see my dead friend, hearing what my family had to say, and the sympathy and empathy I received from peers and teachers at school. The one thing I learned from the experience itself, was that nothing lasts forever.

I have never wanted something more in my life; I have never spent so much time thinking about something like I had thought about this. Once I finally got what I prayed so hard for, someone took it away. I love almost every species of animal known to mankind. My whole life I have picked up animals that have been dropped off or left in the road and I have cared for them. When I see animals that have been abused or neglected, I get so infuriated. What kind of person would even think about hurting something so innocent? In the year 2013, I had an overwhelming desire to save another life; I wanted to save a puppy. I did not care what kind of puppy, I just wanted to save one from an unpleasant life and give it an enjoyable one. I begged my parents to let me get a dog from the pound, but they told me no. A few months later, my mom and I went on our morning run together before church. The neighbor’s dog always ran with us. We were just getting the midway point of our run when I heard a puppy yelp. The neighbor’s dog