Momma had been wandering the streets with her pups for a week. Each night they huddled in doorways or cardboard boxes or under cars. So far only one of the babies had been adopted, but Momma kept searching for likely candidates.
A commotion brought one of the puppies to the edge of their alleyway in front of her. She tried to hold her little girl back, but she was too curious.
A young woman with red hair covered with flowers was running--or rather stumbling--toward them. She tripped and fell into a puddle, crying out. The woman glanced back over her shoulder in fear, but there was nobody following her. Was she crazy?
The puppy whimpered, obviously wanting to go help. The woman heard the sound and gasped, looking up at them.
"Who are you? What do you want? Stay away!"
The little black pup ventured forward and whined.
"Oh! You're just a baby! You wouldn't hurt me, would you? But I might hurt you. I'm dangerous, you see. My skin is toxic to most people." She held out her pale shaky hand, staring at it sadly. The puppy sniffed at it, tilted her head and then licked her fingers. Both the woman and Momma held their breath, but nothing happened. They sighed in relief.
"You're not allergic to me!" She picked up the tiny dog and cuddled her close. She looked into Momma's eyes and with an unspoken agreement she took the baby with her.
This adoption was just as hard as the last one, but she was happy her little girl would have a home. She turned back to her four remaining puppies and led them down the alley to find a comfortable place to bed down for the night.
YOU ARE READING
This Dog's Journey
Short StoryFormerly "Le Grande Danois (The Great Dane)". It's my version of how Batman adopted Ace The Bat-hound. My husband, Mick Gray, is a comic book inker who worked on Batman & Robin for years. In that series was a large black great dane named Titus. Bruc...
