Winston

Hi my name is Winston! I'm home, but daddy's not here. I'm worried I might be lost... Daddy has been gone for a long time, and me and everybody have been living with this real nice lady since he went away. She takes really good care of us! But she isn't my daddy...

I go home sometimes, but no one else comes with me. Our house is dark, but I still want to be there. I sit on the front porch, wondering where daddy went until the nice lady shows up and takes me back to her house. I wonder sometimes if daddy left us forever, and he's forgotten us...

The nice lady got a new friend for us today! She's very pretty, but kind of shy... Her name is Applesauce! And her and the other ladies get along real well! I tried to talk to her, but I'm really shy, too... I hope her and me can be best friends soon!

When the nice lady let us out today, I went back home again. I know daddy still isn't there, but I like to sit on the porch and pretend he's in his chair, reading. I felt really sad, that daddy wasn't there anymore, and I thought I was alone. I realised I wasn't by myself though, when Applesauce jumped on me! She scared me real good! It turns out she isn't so shy after all! We ran around in the meadow together and I even dug up some pretty flowers for her! They were bluer than the other ones, so I thought she might like them... 

We went back to the nice lady's house after running in the meadow. The nice lady yelled at us. I think she was upset because she couldn't find us for so long... I was ok with her yelling at us, daddy would have been worried too... Applesauce was sad though, because she said her parents from before would yell at her then leave her out in the rain. I asked her why they would ever do that, but she just looked really sad, and told me "some humans just don't care." I didn't understand, but I told her she could come live with my daddy and everyone else anytime she wanted!

She was a little happier after that. 

Me and Applesauce went on a run again today! I'm glad she comes with me, it's nice to not be alone. We play in the fields and chase the sheep when they're out. We wrestle sometimes, but she always wins. She's stronger than I am! I think she might even be stronger than Berney*. We went back home to the nice lady's house today, instead of waiting for her at daddy's. On the way back, I dug Applesauce up some more flowers! I told her they were pretty, like her! And she kissed me on my nose then ran away. I was so happy!

The nice lady brought us all to daddy's house today. She let us go inside, and I showed Applesauce everything! I showed Applesauce our beds in front of the fireplace, I showed her where daddy slept, and I showed her the kitchen! Everybody got real excited when we heard a car coming up the road and the lady moved towards the door!

We heard a door slam outside, then the lady let us outside! I saw my daddy, and we all ran up to him and jumped on him. I was so happy he hadn't forgotten us! I jumped on him and kissed him all over his face and he laughed and scratched my ears. He asked who Applesauce was, and the lady told him. I don't really understand when they talk, but I didn't like how upset daddy looked. The lady put Applesauce on a leash and kept talking to daddy. I didn't like the way her voice sounded, and I was worried about daddy. I poked Applesauce with my nose, but she moved away from me. She said we couldn't be friends anymore! That the lady was taking her away and we wouldn't see each other anymore!

I ran away from everyone, out into the meadow. I dug up a bunch of flowers as quickly as I could: blue ones, yellow ones, and green ones! I ran back home as fast as I could, but just as I was running back towards everyone, the lady was driving away. I could see Applesauce in the back of her van. I yelled for her. I yelled and yelled and yelled. Daddy came over to me and rubbed my head. He seemed just as sad as I felt. I whined, because I didn't even get to say good-bye to her...