What I'll never forget is hanging out in a box with all my brothers and sisters - watching helplessly as each one was snatched up one by one. All the while - Mother did nothing to try and stop it! She just sat there and watched the various hands reach into and whisk away my siblings to destinations unknown. I implored her to do something but she just told me to hush ... that this is the way things are done. I was devastated by her callousness?
The first to go was Nero - he was the largest of the litter. He shared my tan coloring, and black snout and ear markings. We were very much alike with the only difference in that he was twice my size. He was probably the most serious of the lot and being the first-born - we all looked to him for guidance. A rotund, red-faced human man with thick eyebrows and beady little eyes snatched him from us at around noontime on a Tuesday in July 1999. He wore a dirty pair of grey striped overalls that smelled of motor oil and kept an unlit cigar frozen in the corner of his mouth. All the while, he wiped an unending supply of sweat from his balding forehead. Nero tried his best to fend off this beast-man but was simply unsuccessful due to the size difference. He kept trying to bite the human's hand and growled his fiercest puppy growl but this only appeared to give the dirt-hog some sort of sick pleasure. He laughed and said something about liking the fight in this dog as he carried Nero off. We never heard from him again.
The next to go was my sister Macey. She was darker in color - like my father. She too was large and playful but unlike the others, had patches on her sides. One even looked liked the shape of the state of Florida. She was also different in that she really loved to sleep - which she did almost all the time. I don't believe she even knew she was being taken for it happened as she was sleeping. Oh, we tried to wake her up but she was just too deep a sleeper. A young girl with pigtails who smiled while thanking her parents -gently plucked my sister and her blanket out of the box. She hugged Macey tightly to her chest from the moment she picked her up and all the way out the door. The last thing I heard her say was that Macey was going to be the best dog ever. Unfortunately, like Nero, I've never heard anything about her either but one can guess that wherever she is - she's probable sleeping.
The next to last go was Comet - he was just plain crazy! He was always climbing over all of us in his quest to find interesting activities. He also kept us up late with his whimpering and box scratching for he was fixated on getting out of the box and exploring. He was taken by an older woman who looked him over skeptically for a few minutes before deciding that he was the one. She said there was something about his eyes that told her that he would be a good fit for her three cats. After he was taken - I was all-alone. People stopped coming by and after a few days, the humans who owned my Mother commented that they had tried their best... and what had to be done - had to be done.
I was wrapped in a thick blanket and placed into a cage next to a tall, dark, ominous building. True to her past form, my Mother had done nothing as her humans whisked me off into the night. One of them might have had tears in her eyes as they placed me into the cage but I was so afraid of what was happening that I couldn't be too sure. I did know that I could smell and hear dogs and cats somewhere in the immediate area. That was one long and scary night for an abandoned puppy.
The next morning, I was discovered by a nice human female who got me out of the cage and looked me over. She took me into a Doctor who also looked me over and they both decided that I was physically alright. I was placed by myself for a few days in my pen for precautionary reasons but eventually was put into a pen with other small dogs. It is here where I first met the big goof-ball owner. He came lumbering in one day and reached down into our pen to pet us. I naturally wanted to play so I started jumping up and down and biting on his fingers. He apparently thought this was cute. He disappeared for a short time but then came back with the lady who had first discovered me. They took me from the pen and after a bit of paperwork, placed me into his car. In retrospect, had I known what was in store for me - I probably would have acted dead when he first came around.
Oh well, so now I'm with the village idiot and his family and I have only my Mother to thank. Had she tried to keep the family together - maybe things would have worked out better and I would not be stuck in this madhouse. Thanks a lot Mom! Oh, and don't expect a card this year.
