Member-only story
Rusty the Weiner Dog
Rusty was feeling sad. All of his friends were gone. As he rested his head between his paws on the cement slab his eyes darted left and right, wondering who would be his next roommate. As each dog approached he made a quick assessment. The one with spots looked angry. The coffee colored one looked too excited, which would be annoying. After hours of this analysis, Rusty began to think that he wouldn’t have a new roommate. Maybe he would get a cage all to himself. Maybe, just maybe, he would get adopted himself. As soon as the thought entered his head, he pushed it out again. He didn’t want to allow himself the vulnerability of having his feelings hurt again. He ate his bland dinner and had a little drink of water. He didn’t want to drink too much because he didn’t like to do business in the cage; his previous owner would be appalled if she knew he had already done this for weeks. He curled up in the corner and fell asleep. He dreamt that he was running in the grass of his old back yard. The children were with him laughing and jumping, just like he was. He was so happy he thought his heart would burst. He could smell the clean air, and hear his owner’s voice as she called the children and himself back into the house.
He awoke with a start. One of the people at the facility was standing in front of his cage with a man who had a beard the same color as his own fur. The man’s eyes were blue and kind. Rusty couldn’t help himself as his tail began to sway back and forth, slowly at first, but then faster and faster as he realized…
