A Family At Last

She stayed as far into the rear corner of the wire crate as she could, curling her body into a ball.  This new place was similar to places she had been before.  There were other greyhounds there, too.  Some were pacing in their crates, loving any attention that the people were giving them.  Others, like her, were quietly staying back, watching, waiting to see what this new experience would bring them.

But this new place was different, somehow.  There was nobody yelling at the hounds, and they hadn't chased the furry bunny around the track, either. A few times today, the nice lady she had been staying with lately came and coaxed her out so that different people could hook a leash to her new collar and walk with her in the big yard.

Oh, how she wished she could stay with the nice lady.  She learned how to walk up and down stairs from this lady, and was given a soft pillow to sleep on at night.  This was very nice, especially since she was used to jumping up into a crate every night, and only talked to when she went to play with the furry bunny.  But the people at the track usually yelled at her because she wanted to play with the others like her, too, and sometimes lost focus on the bunny.

Suddenly, the nice lady was there again.  This time, there was a man there. 
"Oh, yeah, I remember him! He talked really nice to me a little while ago. He seems really nice!" She couldn't help noticing how nice it felt when he scratched behind her ears. Now there was a lady with him, too. And she was talking nice, and saying how pretty she was.

The nice lady snapped the leash onto her collar, and handed it to the man.  They went out to the yard, and walked around a bit. She kept glancing shyly at the couple, who talked to her softly the whole time. When they stopped walking, she couldn't help herself from leaning into the man's legs. "Maybe if he really likes me, he will stay with me!" she thought.

She was really disappointed when she was taken back to the crate, and all three of the people went somewhere that she could not see.  But, then... "Is it? Yes! It's the nice people, and they're coming back to me!"  She was taken again from the crate, and agian the leash was snapped onto her collar.  But, they did not go outside yet. Instead, they went to a small office, where the man signed some papers, and shook the nice lady's hand.  Then, the man and his wife led her outside, to a place where there were cars parked.  They helped her inside the car, and the lady stayed with her in the back, while the man got in front.  She couldn't help herself from shaking a bit, this was all very new to her, and to be hosnest, she was scared!  But the lady kept petting her, and telling her how beautiful she was.  So she laid her head on the lady's lap and wondered what was next.

Roxy never thought much of those times anymore.  Life was sooo different now, and fun!  Mommy and Daddy, her people, were really nice to her.  She slept in their bed with them (and sometimes without them...didn't they know it was time for bed?!) She loved palying with all her squeaky plush toys, and Mommy wrapped them up at Christmas time so that she could have fun tearing the paper off of them.  She had gotten over her shyness within a few days of being at her new home.  "Home!" She just knew this was where she would live forever! After all, what could be better? She had toys, and treats (but sometimes her 'peoples' had to be reminded just how good she was, and she had to show them where the treats were!)a nice soft bed of her own that she rarely used (so much better to snuggle up to Mommy or Daddy!), she got to go for walks every day, and best of all she had Mommy and Daddy, who still kept telling her how beautiful she was and that they loved her!

Mommy and Daddy hope that Roxy still knows how much they love her, and miss her.  How hard it was that morning, waking up and finding her that way.  No warning, just gone from them.  The heart that had been mistreated those years before finally wore out, and Roxy went on to a new home.  No tears will ever bring her back to them, but as the years go on they notice that the laughing memories outnumber the tears. Run free and happy, Roxy. Mommy and Daddy love you.