Shelter Dog

Story Tellers in Marisa DeWolf’s Middle School Classroom “Emma” Mom called out with a soft tone. “Suzie is sick” Suzie was my dog she had the softest angel like fur that I loved to pet! “What do you mean Mommy?” I ask worried “Well she has to go to a clinic so we can see what’s wrong with her,” Mom said. “I know she will get better, right?”, “Maybe so Pickle”. Going to the clinic was scary, you don’t really know what to expect. Mom, Sophie my sister, and I all went with Suzie to the clinic. When I asked Mom why we needed to go the clinic she said that, “Suzie wasn’t walking how she normally would.” That made me wonder, why would Suzie, out of all the dogs in the world, why would Suzie get sick? At the clinic it was cold. It felt like it was 70 degrees but it might have been just been me, I was scared of what was going to happen to Suzie. At the clinic, there were about 3 papers Mom had to sign. After all the signing we walked down the blank white hallways. Passing by, I saw all of the dogs in all the examination rooms. If you think about it what’s their story? What are they going through? Once we were in the room the Vet’s Assistant asked, “So what has been happening with Suzie?” Mom’s response was telling her that she wasn’t walking normally. “The vet will be right with you.” It felt as if I was sitting there for 30min. I was anxious! Finally, the Vet entered, he came with four clean swabs. He pulled on his purple latex gloves onto his bony hands and introduced himself. The Vet reached into Suzie's pink, warm mouth, and rubbed the back of her tongue with the swab and placed it in its own individual baggie. The Vet left the room telling us that he’ll be back with the results. We waited so long it took 45 minutes to an hour I would have more fun walking a cat. At once the vet entered, I felt a rush of emotions. The vet announced that Suzie is positive for heartworms. Mom started to tear up. “What’s heartworms, Mommy?” Sophie asked “it’s a sickness that dogs get” Mom explained. My heart sank. Mom’s eyes were filled with tears on the way home, how do vets expect people to take this news so easy, to drive home? Laying in my white, silent bed I was already supposed to be asleep but I overheard Mom and Dad deciding whether to pay $800 for the first round of treatment or not. Mom had put Suzie in the back of our white truck and drove to the best local shelter she could find. There was a massive amount of paperwork Mom had to sign, and driving over was sad and driving back was even worse! I remember Mom telling me that she had to take Suzie to a shelter and she is very sorry. It’s been 8 years since we had to give Suzie up. At the moment I was sad but I didn’t really know how to take in this sad feeling. However, every time I got the chance to wish, I would wish for her to come back. When I realized that she was never going to come back after all the years of wishing I stopped. I like to think that I learned not to take what I have for granted. When I was 3 I didn’t completely understand that I was never going to see Suzie again, that I was never going to feel her angel like fur again.