Nice Lady

I wandered the streets eating garbage in the gutter, looking for anything to fill the hollowness in my belly. I frequented a big hospital in the neighborhood that often had overflowing garbage cans, finding wrapped tossed rolls that I tore apart and pats of butter that were meant to be spread on them. I slept in the stairwell there at night once everyone was gone, afraid of the bigger dogs that might hurt or even kill me, since they were hungry too.

I often trotted down the middle of the street; not understanding these big fast moving machines could cause me great harm. One stopped right in front of me! I froze as a human stepped out, word on the street, they are not to be trusted at all. I tried to run, but was afraid, so I stood very still and got very small, maybe she wont notice me, I could almost disappear. But she came to me and scooped me up, “where are you from”, nice lady asked. I whined and cowered, inside; where am I from, the street, and the gutter, nowhere?

I hope you are where I am going to be.

Suddenly I was inside the big machine sitting on the lap of a skinny girl with stringy hair, looking out a window and the hospital was just a blur as we drove past.

That was 13 years ago, the skinny girl died 10 years ago, I went to her funeral with a purple ribbon around my neck. My manners were still a little rough, so I only stayed for the mass that was outside; then another nice lady took me home. After a few days I thought that my nice lady would die too and then what would I do, I had not seen any dumpsters in quite some time. Food now showed up regularly in a dish with bits of meats and cheese. I worried, and cuddled with her. She stayed in bed for days, only getting up to fill the bowls with food and meat and cheese. After a while I realized that the reason she didn’t die was because of me and the other dog that lived with us. We needed her.

Now I am old, and I need her even more. I have a disease that requires me to go to the vets office and get lots of treats every month when they give me a shot, my eyes don’t work too well and she puts medicine in them 3 times a day to help me see better. I fell a few times this week, but I don’t want nice lady to know, because she needs me and if I am not here who will take care of her?