MY NEW HOME
by Lucy (as told to Nancy Woods)

 It was the worst day of my life.  I was so sad and so scared.  I had lived with Betty forever – six years.  I knew something was wrong when a neighbor came to the house and said that Betty had died.  I had no idea what that meant but I knew it was bad as the neighbor was crying.  The next day she took me to a huge park with lots of dogs to find me a new home.  People came and looked at me and I put on my happy face but I didn’t feel happy.  So very sad.  A lady stopped and immediately hugged me and said, “This is just the dog I’ve been looking for.  Look at her tail wagging a mile a minute.”  What, my tail?  I thought my best features were my big brown eyes and cute floppy ears.  But my tail?

I heard that her name was Nancy.  She drove me to her house then hurried to get a black dog named Inky, just a little bigger than me.  We went for a walk up the hill then back to the house. I guess it was kind of like a meet and greet.  When we went in the house I saw a basket filled with my favorite things – squeaky toys and bones.  It made me feel a little less sad.  That night we slept together on her big bed and snuggled up. 

We settled into a routine – Nancy, me and sister Inky.  We went on walks and I made new friends like Chewy and Ginger.  Over time, I began to feel more at home.  I wagged my tail all the time. The best thing happened at Christmas.  Under the tree were two large bones, one for Inky and one for me.  I was so excited.  Nancy said that Santa brought my bone but I knew it was really from her.  She knew exactly what gift I would love.

Time passed and I wanted to do something special for Nancy – show her how much I love her besides just wagging my tail.  I had the perfect idea.  I buried my Christmas bone on our bed under her pillow.  When she found it she laughed, hugged me said how sweet it was of me to give her such a precious gift.  I’m not sad or scared anymore.  I am loved.  And I love my new home.  


Nancy Woods is a writer living in California.