LUCKY – MIXED BREED
ELLINGTON, CONNECTICUT – ENTRY #1
Daddy’s-Home was my world. He was my morning and my evening. He was my food and my water. He was my pack.
When Daddy’s-Home fell asleep on the side of the hard-black, everything changed.
Two Ride-In-The-Cars screeched at each other before slamming together with a loud crunch. Daddy’s-Home and I were on the side of the field where we often went to watch young ones from many different packs get together to chase a black and white ball.
Daddy’s-Home stopped, as did I. His smell changed from puzzlement to fear as both Ride-In-The-Cars panted smoke. Their people spilled out on to the hard-black.
The string that kept Daddy’s-Home and me together went slack in his hand, and my tail pulled up under my belly.
A female with white fur on her head, rapidly changing to red, fell from one of the Ride-In-The-Cars. Her rage-filled howls were foreign to me. They weren’t like the gentle tones that Daddy’s-Home used when speaking to me.
The female was old like Wanna-See-Grandmom, but not like Wanna-See-Grandmom at all. She writhed on the hard-black, the redness flowing out of her.
A man, seemingly stunned but unharmed, wandered aimlessly back and forth on the hard-black, shaking his dark-furred head slowly from side to side.
“I’m calling 911,” shouted Daddy’s-Home at the man. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the chew-toy that I have been forbidden to chew. As he did, the female who looked like Wanna-See-Grandmom jumped to her feet and lunged at the dark-furred man. Her teeth gleamed in the fading light.
A moment before she clamped on to him, he reached his paws out to push her away, but instead, she grabbed them both, and yanked him to her.
The dark-furred man screamed as the old woman tore at the meat and muscle of his neck.
Daddy’s-Home moaned. I looked up at him. Something was terribly wrong. He grabbed at his chest, his smell escalating with fear. Seconds later, he fell to the ground.
The string that kept the two of us together, that had been there since I was just a pup, slipped from his hand and coiled in a heap on the hard black.
My ears fell back against my head. I was afraid. I was very afraid.
LUCKY - MIXED BREED
ELLINGTON, CONNECTICUT - ENTRY #2
At first, I wasn’t sure what to do. Daddy’s-Home lay sleeping on the side of the hard-black and the dark-furred man continued making horrible sounds. The old woman that looked like Wanna-See-Grandmom slurped and gurgled at his flesh, her bony paws clawing violently at his mangled white skin.
I may have whined, I’m not sure, but whatever small noise I made was enough to call her attention to me. She wheeled the dark-furred man around, still fastened tightly to his neck, and fixed her eyes on me.
They were gray.
I ran.
In the middle of the field next to the hard-black was the place where the young ones chased the black and white ball. Next to it was a stack of wood where Daddy’s-Home and other pack leaders gathered to watch them run. Sometimes I sat with Daddy’s-Home on the wood. Other times, I lay in the cool, shaded grass below and watched the young ones dash back and forth. When I was a pup, I wanted to join them in their romp, but Daddy’s-Home told me firmly and repeatedly “NO” until I learned that those times were reserved for their play and not mine.
I ran to the stack of wood with my tail still tucked between my legs. The string that Daddy’-Home dropped followed me like a shadow snake racing through the grass. I glanced back as I ran, only to see those gray eyes still glued to me, which only made me run faster. When I reached the stack of wood, I crawled underneath it to a thick bramble of weeds and lay down low to the ground.
“Keep still,” purred a silky, familiar voice, accompanied by a musty, comforting smell. A dirt-colored yowler with a broken tail and missing teeth slinked through the tall grass and came to lie next to me.
“Poos,” I panted desperately. “Daddy-Home fell down, and two Ride-In-The-Cars started fighting, and…and…I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Poos was of my pack, or indirectly so. She came and went as she pleased and often brought uneaten bits of field fodder to the entrance of Daddy’s-Home’s den. When Daddy’s-Home took me out for our daily smell, Poos often accompanied us, although I don’t think Daddy’s-Home ever knew she was there.
Now I was grateful to see her.
“She has gray eyes,” Poos observed. “They don’t have gray eyes.” A dirty scent wafted across the wind from the direction of the old woman.
“And the smell,” I whined. “They don’t smell like that, either.” I stared at the still form of Daddy’s-Home on the side of the road. “Why won’t he get up?”
Poos flicked her tail back and forth and twitched her whiskers, but she didn’t answer me. After a moment, the old woman who looked like Wanna-See-Grandmom dropped the dark-furred man to the ground. Even from our vantage point underneath the stack of wood, I could see glistening, dark, wetness covering her face and dripping from her snout.
Behind her, the sun sank low in the early evening sky. The clouds turned from pink to orange. We watched her, Poos and I, from where we hid underneath the stack of wood, until the light faded all together.
Eventually, she limped away down the hard black. Not long after, the dark-furred man stood up on his hind legs and slowly followed after her.
Daddy’s-Home didn’t stand at all, but I wished more than anything that he would.
LUCKY - MIXED BREED
ELLINGTON, CONNECTICUT - ENTRY #3
I dozed. When I woke, I found Poos curled into a circle against my flank, softly purring. Across the field a few figures were kneeling down in front of Daddy’s-Home.
“Wake up, Poos,” I gently sniffed as I watched the figures warily. “There’re more of them,” I said. “Wake up.”
“I am up,” she said without moving or lifting her head. “They smell terrible. I’m surprised
they didn’t wake you.”
“What are they doing?” I whined. She didn’t answer me. Instead, we just watched them from underneath the stack of wood.
After a while, Poos rolled to her right, stretched, and yawned. When she did, her mouth opened wide to show half a mouth filled with teeth and half a mouth with none. Poos never talked about her missing teeth. She came to be part of our pack after she had lost them. That first day, when she showed up near our den, I barked at her to go away, but Daddy’s-Home scolded me and shared some of his food with her.
After that, she stayed. Now, I’m glad she had.
“Smell them,” she purred as she stretched. Blood-scent gently caressed the wind, but it was all wrong. It smelled dank and dirty. Even though they were across the field, I could hear the figures crouching down in front of Daddy’s-Home growling at one another.
One of them pulled away something that looked like rope and began alternately sucking and gnawing on it.
At first I wasn’t sure what it was, but then I realized and started to quietly whine.
“I want to go home,” I said to Poos. “I don’t think Daddy’s-Home is coming with us.”
“I know the way,” she whispered to me. “We should leave now.”
Together, we slowly backed through the tall grass and out from underneath the pile of wood. Then we raced across the field and away from the figures that were kneeling down in front of Daddy’s-Home.
As I ran with Poos by my side, her tail held high, I could feel gray eyes on my fur. I didn’t like that feeling. I didn’t like it at all.
ELLINGTON, CONNECTICUT – ENTRY #1
Daddy’s-Home was my world. He was my morning and my evening. He was my food and my water. He was my pack.
When Daddy’s-Home fell asleep on the side of the hard-black, everything changed.
Two Ride-In-The-Cars screeched at each other before slamming together with a loud crunch. Daddy’s-Home and I were on the side of the field where we often went to watch young ones from many different packs get together to chase a black and white ball.
Daddy’s-Home stopped, as did I. His smell changed from puzzlement to fear as both Ride-In-The-Cars panted smoke. Their people spilled out on to the hard-black.
The string that kept Daddy’s-Home and me together went slack in his hand, and my tail pulled up under my belly.
A female with white fur on her head, rapidly changing to red, fell from one of the Ride-In-The-Cars. Her rage-filled howls were foreign to me. They weren’t like the gentle tones that Daddy’s-Home used when speaking to me.
The female was old like Wanna-See-Grandmom, but not like Wanna-See-Grandmom at all. She writhed on the hard-black, the redness flowing out of her.
A man, seemingly stunned but unharmed, wandered aimlessly back and forth on the hard-black, shaking his dark-furred head slowly from side to side.
“I’m calling 911,” shouted Daddy’s-Home at the man. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the chew-toy that I have been forbidden to chew. As he did, the female who looked like Wanna-See-Grandmom jumped to her feet and lunged at the dark-furred man. Her teeth gleamed in the fading light.
A moment before she clamped on to him, he reached his paws out to push her away, but instead, she grabbed them both, and yanked him to her.
The dark-furred man screamed as the old woman tore at the meat and muscle of his neck.
Daddy’s-Home moaned. I looked up at him. Something was terribly wrong. He grabbed at his chest, his smell escalating with fear. Seconds later, he fell to the ground.
The string that kept the two of us together, that had been there since I was just a pup, slipped from his hand and coiled in a heap on the hard black.
My ears fell back against my head. I was afraid. I was very afraid.
LUCKY - MIXED BREED
ELLINGTON, CONNECTICUT - ENTRY #2
At first, I wasn’t sure what to do. Daddy’s-Home lay sleeping on the side of the hard-black and the dark-furred man continued making horrible sounds. The old woman that looked like Wanna-See-Grandmom slurped and gurgled at his flesh, her bony paws clawing violently at his mangled white skin.
I may have whined, I’m not sure, but whatever small noise I made was enough to call her attention to me. She wheeled the dark-furred man around, still fastened tightly to his neck, and fixed her eyes on me.
They were gray.
I ran.
In the middle of the field next to the hard-black was the place where the young ones chased the black and white ball. Next to it was a stack of wood where Daddy’s-Home and other pack leaders gathered to watch them run. Sometimes I sat with Daddy’s-Home on the wood. Other times, I lay in the cool, shaded grass below and watched the young ones dash back and forth. When I was a pup, I wanted to join them in their romp, but Daddy’s-Home told me firmly and repeatedly “NO” until I learned that those times were reserved for their play and not mine.
I ran to the stack of wood with my tail still tucked between my legs. The string that Daddy’-Home dropped followed me like a shadow snake racing through the grass. I glanced back as I ran, only to see those gray eyes still glued to me, which only made me run faster. When I reached the stack of wood, I crawled underneath it to a thick bramble of weeds and lay down low to the ground.
“Keep still,” purred a silky, familiar voice, accompanied by a musty, comforting smell. A dirt-colored yowler with a broken tail and missing teeth slinked through the tall grass and came to lie next to me.
“Poos,” I panted desperately. “Daddy-Home fell down, and two Ride-In-The-Cars started fighting, and…and…I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Poos was of my pack, or indirectly so. She came and went as she pleased and often brought uneaten bits of field fodder to the entrance of Daddy’s-Home’s den. When Daddy’s-Home took me out for our daily smell, Poos often accompanied us, although I don’t think Daddy’s-Home ever knew she was there.
Now I was grateful to see her.
“She has gray eyes,” Poos observed. “They don’t have gray eyes.” A dirty scent wafted across the wind from the direction of the old woman.
“And the smell,” I whined. “They don’t smell like that, either.” I stared at the still form of Daddy’s-Home on the side of the road. “Why won’t he get up?”
Poos flicked her tail back and forth and twitched her whiskers, but she didn’t answer me. After a moment, the old woman who looked like Wanna-See-Grandmom dropped the dark-furred man to the ground. Even from our vantage point underneath the stack of wood, I could see glistening, dark, wetness covering her face and dripping from her snout.
Behind her, the sun sank low in the early evening sky. The clouds turned from pink to orange. We watched her, Poos and I, from where we hid underneath the stack of wood, until the light faded all together.
Eventually, she limped away down the hard black. Not long after, the dark-furred man stood up on his hind legs and slowly followed after her.
Daddy’s-Home didn’t stand at all, but I wished more than anything that he would.
LUCKY - MIXED BREED
ELLINGTON, CONNECTICUT - ENTRY #3
I dozed. When I woke, I found Poos curled into a circle against my flank, softly purring. Across the field a few figures were kneeling down in front of Daddy’s-Home.
“Wake up, Poos,” I gently sniffed as I watched the figures warily. “There’re more of them,” I said. “Wake up.”
“I am up,” she said without moving or lifting her head. “They smell terrible. I’m surprised
they didn’t wake you.”
“What are they doing?” I whined. She didn’t answer me. Instead, we just watched them from underneath the stack of wood.
After a while, Poos rolled to her right, stretched, and yawned. When she did, her mouth opened wide to show half a mouth filled with teeth and half a mouth with none. Poos never talked about her missing teeth. She came to be part of our pack after she had lost them. That first day, when she showed up near our den, I barked at her to go away, but Daddy’s-Home scolded me and shared some of his food with her.
After that, she stayed. Now, I’m glad she had.
“Smell them,” she purred as she stretched. Blood-scent gently caressed the wind, but it was all wrong. It smelled dank and dirty. Even though they were across the field, I could hear the figures crouching down in front of Daddy’s-Home growling at one another.
One of them pulled away something that looked like rope and began alternately sucking and gnawing on it.
At first I wasn’t sure what it was, but then I realized and started to quietly whine.
“I want to go home,” I said to Poos. “I don’t think Daddy’s-Home is coming with us.”
“I know the way,” she whispered to me. “We should leave now.”
Together, we slowly backed through the tall grass and out from underneath the pile of wood. Then we raced across the field and away from the figures that were kneeling down in front of Daddy’s-Home.
As I ran with Poos by my side, her tail held high, I could feel gray eyes on my fur. I didn’t like that feeling. I didn’t like it at all.