Chico

A puppy sat in the corner of the pen filled with straw. He could see people staring at him through the glass. He could hear tapping on the glass as children tried to get his attention. Tap, tap, tap. He ignored everyone.

Three other puppies were in the box with him. One was brown. One had spots. One was grey.

The brown dog ran to the glass. He stood up and wagged his tail, back and forth, left and right, up and down. He could see all the children with smiling faces and their hands against the glass as they looked at him.   The brown puppy could see happy smiles and he knew someone would pick him. A pair of hands reached down and took the puppy out. "Bye," he squeaked in his little puppy voice.

Now there were three little dogs left in the straw. Two puppies began wrestling with each other. Up and over. Around. Down, up, and sideways. They toppled over each other and everyone watching laughed.
The pups tried to pretend they didn't care if they were picked or not. But they so wanted to be picked and taken to a different home. They knew people liked happy dogs. Dogs that are cheerful or good-natured
are always picked.

The golden puppy sat in the corner. He casually looked around. His nose twitched. His eyes watched everything. He didn't want just any home. He wanted a special home. A home where the owner would be kind, generous, loving and with a good heart.

The golden dog limped across the straw. He limped back and forth. No one wanted the limping dog. Nobody picked the limping dog. The spotted dog was taken away. A little girl watched the limping dog. She could see he was beautiful. "Poor puppy, no one wants him because he is not perfect," the girl whispered to her mother. The mother shook her head. The mother pointed at the other puppy. The little girl said some thing to her mother. The mother shook her head. The dog watched the exchange between mother and daughter. Finally, he saw the mother nod. The little girl smiled.

Two hands lifted the golden puppy. His golden body was placed in the girl's arms. They looked at each other. He had yellow-green eyes. She had grey-green eyes. It was love at first sight.

When they got home she put the doggy down. "I'll call him Chico," she said. The dog limped across the floor. "I hope you are not making a mistake," the Mother remarked, "he limps and who knows what else is wrong with him?"  The little girl smiled and said, "I love this little puppy. He will be my baby. Would you not like your baby if it limped?"

She knelt down on the floor and called, "Come here, Chico." The dog ran to his new owner. A child who understood love. A child who saw beauty within. A child who looked beyond. He ran around her, he jumped up, he licked her hand, and stopped limping. The doggy was happy. He loved his new owner. He had found his home, his special home, and he never limped again.







This short story was
written for my granddaughter
about when her mother
picked a puppy from a
pet store.