Paw Prints (1.1)

Chapter 2

As the days turned to weeks, and as the weeks turned to months, I grew.

A lot.

I now stood at Susan's knee.  I was so proud of myself that I was wagging my tail the whole day.

When she sang I would sing with her.  I am a pretty good singer if I do say so myself. 

Then one day, something changed.  Susan told me to come with her to school!  As the whole family walked, Susan was excitedly chatting with mom and dad.

"It's Bring Your Pet to School Day in sixth grade!" she sang.

"Wow!  That's great, honey!" they said.

Soon we were at the school's gate.  Mom and Dad said bye while Susan and I walked in the school.

Almost immediately we were pelted with students.  New scents filled my nose.

Susan cowered as some students began to walk toward her.  Sensing danger, I stood protectively in front of her.

The boy at the front began to talk in human language to Susan.

"Hey!  It's the girl in the rags!  Is this your doggy?  Looks nice, how did you afford it?" he sneered.

Kids howled in laughter after that statement.  I growled.

Sitting beside that nasty boy was a dog like me, with the same fur, but a male.  I ignored him for now.

But I growled at the boy.  

Unfortunately, the male dog stepped in front of me, covering easy access to the boy.

"Move out of the way," I growled. "Your master is a fur-brain."

"No, he is not. It's not my fault that your human's family is poor."

His words left me in shock. I have always know that my family was poor, but hearing someone else say that stings.

"Look! Even the dogs are fighting!" the boy laughed.

I jumped at the naughty boy, and his dog tried to stop me. Suddenly my instincts made me dodge. Looks like I was more agile than I thought.

I put my paws on the boy's leg and somehow made him fall.

Susan looked at me in surprise while I licked my paw casually. I was aware that many people, and animals, were looking at me.

Finally, a hot feeling crept into my skin. I looked up and saw the male dog looking at me with strange eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Lucky," he replied.

My eyes widened in surprise. Lucky? I was not expecting that.

"Surprised?" he asked.

Then a loud piercing noise rang throughout the halls. Susan quickly led me to a room with loud students.

"Class! Class! Listen here, in honor of Bring Your Pet to School day, I have a special vet that will determine the exact breed of your animal!" a lady said.

Suddenly, a tall man walked in the room with a big coat. He summoned every animal up and examined them carefully.

"Mix between a Pomeranian and a husky."

Eventually, I became tired with his antics and fell asleep, only to be tugged awake again.

I looked at Susan irritably. Can't she tell that she was depriving me of my great, great sleep?

"It's our turn," she murmured.

I groggily followed her up to the man. I waited impatiently while he looked at my eyes, mouth, fur, and then finally, my paws.

"Purebred border collie! Congratulations!" he boomed.

Silence fell over the class. The mean boy raised his hand.

"Excuse me, but how is that mutt a purebred? Mine is way better. And she's poor," he said.

"Well, if I remember, your dog wasn't a purebred," the man said.

After class, the boy walked up to Susan.

"Well, here girlie. I have a deal. Why don't you give me your dog and then you can go home peacefully?"

Susan's shock was not greater than mine. For I had a feeling that I could understand him talk.