"My New Life - A Doggie's Perspective" by Catlin (2N)

It all started on a rainy afternoon. I thought to myself, half the day has gone by, I guess this will just be another day for me to watch the time pass by. Not long after, I heard footsteps. Not just any footstep, confident and determined footsteps. It was a boy, short and stout, not more than 12 years of age but surely more than 9. I barked loudly, trying to get his attention. To my surprise, it was extremely easy to catch his attention. The next thing I knew, he was running over to my direction, and he pressed his chubby and round cheeks on the glass that stood between us. He watched in awe as I impressed him with some of my talents, such as standing on two legs and giving him my puppy eyes, trying to convince him to adopt me.

As I tried to impress him, I watched his shiny glittery eyes that were once big, staring at me, fascinated, slowly become extremely small, as a smile slowly appeared. His smile widened and widened, pushing his cheeks up, and his eyes became smaller and smaller. Not long after, he ran to his parents, and started talking to them with very big hand motions. I was a little bit puzzled with his actions, but it didn’t take me long to realize what was happening! I was going to be adopted! I ran around in my little cage, celebrating by myself, as my other friends such as Leo and Jack, gave me a jealous look, while my other supportive friends gave me a cheerful face. This happiness, one that I’ve never felt for a long while, had taken over my body, causing me to become very energetic. I was leaping from wall to wall and running around in circles.

The shopkeeper, that was ever so kind and caring, happily opened the door of my cage, picked me up gently, and handed me over to the chubby boy. He stroked my soft fur, and gave me a warm hug, and I felt very comfortable in his arms. He said “Snowy”, continuously, and so I assumed, I was to start a whole new life with the name, Snowy.

After that, everything was a blur. I remembered being placed in a box, bumping from wall to wall in the box. After what seemed like forever, everything came to a stop. The boy with the chubby cheeks opened the top of the box I was in, and gently took me out of the box. I looked around, and saw a very huge garden. This sight pleased me and I started running around the garden, exploring it and making myself at home. The chubby boy, also known as Tom, brought a tennis ball for me to play with. While I was busying biting it, he took it from my mouth, and threw it across the garden. I stared at the ball blankly, not sure what he was trying to do, but he started running towards the ball, and I assumed that was what I was supposed to do too. Tom ran to a small cupboard, and grabbed a container. He poured a whole lot of dog treats in it for me! I was over the moon as I ate the delicious food.

It didn’t take long for me and Tom to create a very special bond between us. I remembered the days when I used to be stuck in the pet store, and looked at where I was now. He often fed me, bathed me, played with me and even brought me to dog parks to play with other dogs, how fun! Tom never leaves me bored, and I am quite sure I do the same to him too. From being a nobody in the pet store, I was finally able to play an important role in someone’s life! Whenever Tom felt happy and cheerful, he would share his joy with me. However, when he was sad, I would just cuddle next to him, comforting him. I am extremely grateful to have Tom as my owner, as he takes great care of me.