“Poodle” the Yorkie

We exited the vehicle and entered “Doggy Doggy.”

This time a tall lady was reading a newspaper while seated behind the counter. Her expression altered as she turned to face us and became slightly benign. She smiled broadly as she greeted us. When my mother informed her that we were interested in purchasing a dog, the woman replied that they “only had one dog left in the shop as we just sold two dogs to one lady in the past hour.” I ran inside to find out that the dog I wanted was gone. I cried and cried and felt like my soul has just yanked out. The last dog that was remaining in the shop was a tiny “Poodle.” My mom tried to make me laugh by saying the word ’Poodle’ funnily and caused me to cry even harder. The woman behind the counter asked me to describe the dog that I wanted and then she got on the phone and made some calls. The good news came after a few minutes, by sheer miracle the customer who had purchased the dog agreed to bring him back.

We had to wait for the dog for 2 hours.

I demanded that we would stay and wait, so nobody else would take him. I was thrilled to get the dog, even though I knew that I had wasted my mom’s only day off. I left the shop and poodle became the main fixture in my life. On the way home I stuck my head out of the window with my new dog. I wouldn’t let the dog sit all alone in the back so I held him on my lap all the way home. I ran my hand through his fur and I felt and stroked his large ears. By looking into his eyes, I felt like I had a deep connection with my new pet. My mum thought I was fussing too much over the ’canine’ but she was content to let me be. I think she was still processing the day’s events that ended up with her buying a dog.

I was six years old when poodle came into my life.

It was a tradition for me to go to the farmers’ market with my mom, every Saturday morning. The first time we got delayed and reached the market a bit late. My mom had to make a few stops on the way to the market which she usually never does, so in my mind I already knew it would be a “different” type of day. When we entered, we saw a crowd that flooded the corridors. We tried to find our way around the people and into our specific booths. I walked behind my mom who very keenly moved towards her favorite spot in the market. I suddenly felt a transition of attitude in her as she started pushing people relentlessly to make way. I looked at my mom and suddenly realized following another woman. I panicked and ran here and there trying to find my mom, but it was all in vain.

Being a kid comes with an overwhelming amount of stupidity.

So I started walking out of the market without any thought. There was no way that I would’ve considered going home because I knew that it was a long drive from my home to the location we were in. The air was fresh and soothingly warm. When I reached the parking lot, I kept on walking. I did not stop for a long time until I saw a small sign on a shop called ’Doggy Doggy.’ It was a small pet store, and without giving it much thought, I walked into the shop. There was no one on the counter, inside the back room that was adjacent to the central shop area. The room was not well lit, but I could see that there were a lot of cages and in some of the pens, there were dogs. The first one I saw was a tiny dog who had minuscule eyes, but they were shining like little bulbs. He looked at me, and it melted my heart. Looking at the dog gave me a sense of his loneliness I couldn’t explain, and I just wanted to take care of him. I remember seeing tears in the corner of his eyes. That very moment made me realize that I needed to find my mom and tell her to get me this dog as my pet.

I started running towards the Farmers’ market.

And it was then I realized that my mom might be searching for me. I knew that I was fine and I thought that was probably enough to keep her calm. When I reached the entrance of the market, I saw my mom standing near the entrance talking to someone on the phone. Just by looking at her, I knew that I was in trouble because she seemed very upset. Her face showed misery I had never seen in her loving face before. Her eyes were red, but she was trying to keep her composure and not cry. When I reached a little closer, I shouted ’mom.’ She looked at me, paused for a second, put her phone in her bag and ran towards me. I could not comprehend the urgency that she felt as she took me in her arms and hugged me. I hugged her back without understanding why she was so dismayed. She kissed my head and abruptly pushed me back to look at me as if to make sure I was okay, and then kissed me again. She asked me a thousand questions in a matter of seconds without waiting for answers.

I suddenly said ’I want to buy a dog.’

She looked at me without saying anything. She was shocked at such a sudden request for a pet because pets are big decisions for families. She told me that she would, in fact, buy me one, but I had to promise never to do that again. She said that I had taken her heart out of her chest and pounded it with my bare fist, by doing what I did and just wandering off on my own. I stood there thinking, ’as long as I get my pet.’ But first things first, we had come to the market for a specific purpose, that is, to buy fruits and vegetables. We went into the market and purchased some of our necessities and left. I showed my mom the pet shop, and she got angry at me upon realizing that I had gone so far away without her. She scolded me again with tears in her eyes and cautioned me about straying again. She then asked me to take her to the pet store where I had seen the dog.

When we arrived home, I was given the honors to name my new dog.

I named him “Poodle” because the name sounded funny to me. The breed of the dog as I later found out was Yorkie. My mom said I loved my dog too much because I played with him non-stop day and night. Poodle had become an essential part of the family and my life. I took him everywhere I went, and he soon took up the time that I would usually spend with my friends. Once I lost him at the mall, and I turned the whole place upside down calling out to ’poodle’ with tears streaming down my eyes. This was the extent of my connection with my first pet. Poodle had wandered off at the mall where I had gone with my friends, I just lost concentration for one second and he was gone. My friends thought it was good riddance, but seeing how distraught I was they joined me in searching for poodle. We couldn’t find him for six hours. With dusk quickly approaching, a friend suggested making a report to the mall security about my lost pet. By then I was almost hysterical. The security officers at the mall did a better job of minding my pet. Apparently, one of the officers on duty had come across the dog and announced it through the public address system. When no one appeared to claim him, he had called the pound. I was reunited with my pet amidst tears and I swore never to let him out of sight.

However, as the time passed, I started getting busier with school work.

I paid less attention to my dog and more attention to my friends and my social life. Poodle still tried to stay relevant in my life by greeting me at the door when I came back from school every day. However, I feel like the connection that once existed is no longer there. My mother feels like I should be paying more attention to Poodle. The dog has nevertheless become a part of the life of everyone at home. Everyone treats him like a member of the family. My younger sister spends more time with my pet since I am not available anymore. He also gets gelled with the rest of the family.