Dog Stories

It's lonely here at nighttime when all the lights go dark, We tremble in our cages and we whimper and we bark. But no one comes to hold us or pet our fears away We sit all night in terror till the store opens the next day.

We don't remember mama, left so far behind. She did the best she could for us till a Man said, "It is time." He crammed us all in cages too small for us, you see, We rode for hours; we could not help but lay in poop and pee

And now we sit in the Pet Store where kids come taunt and squeeze, They do not hear our whimpers or understand our pleas. We're miserable and it's scary here; we all would rather die. But since we don't, we do our best to run away and hide.

I know you think my story too sad to leave me be. You want to take me home with you, a happy little puppy. But please, though it is fearful to live here against our will, If you take me, that leaves a spot another pup will fill.

You can stop our suffering but not by taking us home. You must be strong and leave us here, unsold and all alone For if you do not take me, then another pup won't come, And maybe he will not be shipped so far away from home.

Though some of us may not survive the cycle 'ere it falls, If we don't sell, they will not need more puppies in these halls. And if they need no puppies, then the Man will not bring more. Eventually it can all stop! You CAN close the door.

I would like to share a short story with you. It is rather sad, but it will have a happy ending. This is about a Yorkshire Terrier (we have named her Baby) that was found on the side of a busy road. A friend of mine (Maurine) was on her way to church with her husband and saw a yorkie on the side of the street wondering aimlessly. Maurine and her husband pulled over to see if she was lost, she didn't have a collar or identification except for some tattoo markings. The markings that she had was a C1 in one ear, 92 on the other and 92 on two places on her stomach. She had thought that the little yorkie had been hit, by the way that she was walking. Baby's head was cocked to her left side which made her walk around unbalanced. They put her in the car and took her home so that she wouldn't get ran over.

So, Maurine took her to her vet to make sure that nothing severe was wrong with her. The vet had told Maurine that she had abscesses all in her mouth and that her ear was completely blocked. She had noticed that Baby hadn't made a sound the whole time that she was with her, so she asked the vet what was wrong. The vet had told Maurine that it looks like someone has taken her vocal cords out. He had put two and two together (all the tattooing and debarking), he told Maurine that she probably has come from a puppy mill.

Come to find out, Baby has been passed from six different houses in the past two months. They also think that she has been abused by the way that she acts if someone makes a quick movement. I own two yorkies myself, so it really hit my heart. I was completely dumbfounded when she had told me that someone had taken her vocal cords out. I cannot believe how someone can be so inhumane and cruel, but I believe what goes around comes around.

For a long time, I had to live in a place I didn't like. It was a small room, and I had to stay there with 22 other dogs. When I arrived, I was little, and there were many dogs who were bigger and meaner than me. Before that, my mom had always fed me, and I had plenty to eat, but at this new place someone opened the door once a day and just threw food in. It lands all over and everyone had to fight to get something, anything to eat. It was yucky and never enough. The bigger dogs would fight and would pick on me. I am a lover, not a fighter, so I tried to make up by being sweet but that didn't work. They still picked on me and hurt me. We stayed in that room all the time.

One day they brought in little black puppy, I named her Lucy. She was very small and sweet and afraid. We were best buddies, and together all the time. I loved Lucy so much. One day while Lucy was still little, the people threw food in and some landed on top of her head. The bigger mean dogs jumped on her to get the food. They bit her and hurt her and pulled a big place of skin off the top of her head. I tried to help her, but all I could do is love on her after the bullies got the food off.

Not too long ago some people came and took us away. They cleaned us up and put us in cages. They made us see something called a vet. It was scary, but soon I realized it was a better place. They let Lucy and I stay together and they fixed her head. They cut our hair off and fixed our sores. They even got rid of those little itchy bugs. They fed us plenty of food and it was good. They petted us. Most of the bigger meaner dogs didn't get to stay with us. I heard someone say that 19 of the had to be euthanized for health and temperment reasons. I didn't understand what that meant, but I didn understand that Lucy and I were lucky.

Pretty soon some lady came and took Lucy and I. I was scared, but I tried to be brave for Lucy. She said she was going to be our foster mom. They told us they were trying to find homes for us. She was really nice. Her house had other nice dogs to play with and they fed us and petted us.

A lady came to "adopt" me. I had to leave Lucy. I was sad. She took me to her house and I was scared. She didn't talk to me or tell me it was ok. I was so scared I slept in the cat box and I guess she didn't like that because the very next day she tied a string around my neck and took me back to my foster mom. Yea! Lucy! (My foster mom was REAL mad at that lady for tying a string to me.)

Then my new mom heard about us. She heard that they wanted Lucy and I to stay together. She called and told them she would take us because she knew it would be hard finding a home that would keep us together. Right before my mom called, a nice old man had come and taken Lucy. My foster mom said not to worry, because he would take good care of her. I am glad she has someone to love her, but I miss her.

My new mom came to get me. She seemed nice enough when she picked me up. She brought me my very own brand new pink collar. Now I was hot stuff. She put me in the car and we rode forever. Then we got to a place she called my new home. There were other nice dogs to play with. It was pretty cool. There were all these little stuffed things and squeaky things on the floor. I wasn't sure what to do with them, but I was sure I wanted them all for me, so the first night I picked them all up (a big job since there were so many) and put them in my pile on the couch. After I was done I layed in front of them so no one would take them. My new house has a cool yard. They feed me food that tastes yummy and my hair is growing out. The best part, though, are my new brother, sisters and my mom. She pets me and talks sweet to me. I just know she loves me and will never let anything bad happen to me. She does fuss a little sometimes, like the time I was chewing on something she called her "good pumps". I don't really understand that, they were on the floor like all the other toys.

There is one thing wrong with me, though. It starts in my heart and when it starts I can't stop it. It starts and I feel so happy and pretty soon my whole back end is shaking really fast from side to side. I tried to hide it from my mom because I was afraid if she saw it she would think something was wrong with me and send me back. She saw it, though, because I can't hide it. I guess it's ok, because she just laughs at me and calls it the "wild waggle" which I don't understand.

Sometimes at night, when everyone is quiet, I like to sit on my mom's lap and look at her. She pets me and talks to me and tells me things I don't understand. She tells me she is sorry people were mean to me and sorry she didn't get there soon enough to get Lucy and she is sorry that I made it to the ripe old age of two without anyone caring enough to give me or teach me my name. She seems sad. I kiss her to make her happy and promise her I will learn this name thing soon, as it seems important to her, but first, there are all those toys to play with!

Michelle and the Circus

Please remember me in a happy way with all the crazy things I did. There are big, small and medium dogs here. "Guess who's the loudest? Me!

I really scare them when I bark and I do bark. You all took real good care of me and I couldn't ask for more.

I'm now sleeping on a big cloud and it's real white and soft. It's comfortable just like the bed I slept on with you. Only you're not there to hug me.

I'm sure you will do that every night and I will feel it while I'm sleeping on this cloud of mine. "You should know I own it".

Love you all,
Brandee (Lost to Liver Shunt)

When I was 18 I owned a Husky, Shepherd, Wolf mix named Kamikaze. He was a very intelligent and beautiful animal who was full of personality. Kaz was my best friend and wouldn't hesitate to protect me from harm. We went everywhere together, I rigged up a harness and line to the bed of my Toyota pickup next to the cab to make sure he stayed safe. Kaz loved going in the truck for a ride and would eagerly bound up to the bed as soon as the tailgate was dropped.

I had a friend who had a sister named "Lisa", she was the single mother of a little three year old boy. "Brian" was not only very cute but shockingly intelligent for being only 3. Lisa was living at her parents house and I found that Brian was left there with his grandmother most of the time while his mother dated a man who looked like nothing but trouble.

One day I stopped by with Kaz, I let him out of the truck to meet Brian who was playing on the front lawn. Kaz bounded out and began sniffing everything and everyone. When he got to Brian he stopped dead. Brian was standing there not really sure if he should be scared or what. As large as Kaz was they were both staring straight into each others eyes.

There was a tense moment while I tried to decide whether I should intervene or not when Brian suddenly smiled and offered a tiny little leaf to Kaz by extending his hand. The way he was holding the leaf pinched between his fingers there was only about a 1/4" sticking out. For that brief moment Brian stood in the sunlight smiling at Kaz and offering him the leaf, Kaz was just staring back when suddenly his head shot forward and back so fast it was a blur. For one horrifying second I thought that Kaz had snatched this boy's hand right off his arm. Brian also had a look of shock on his face and everyone else around us gasped. Lisa dropped to her knee's quickly and grabbed Brian's hand for a frantic inspection. She looked up at me in awe. "He didn't even get saliva on Brian's hand." she said. We all looked at Kaz, he was wagging his tail and triumphantly holding the leaf in his mouth!

When Brian saw the leaf in Kaz's mouth and his half cocked head, ears perked, tail wagging, Brian squealed with delight and took off running across the lawn. Kaz happily bounded after him and they were fast friends from then on. I regularly brought Kaz over to play with Brian several times a week. Sometimes I would give his grandma a break and take him and Kaz to the park where they could both run and play. They truly had a bond that was unbreakable.