a comical story entitled:
Accept Them the Way They Are
When Abbie was born her parents were overjoyed. She weighed 8 lb. 3 oz. and had a beautiful mane of hair unusual for a newborn. It was a lovely shade of golden. By the time she was six months old, Abbie was already starting to show interest in books. Her mother would read to her every night, and Abbie showed a special interest in stories about dogs. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree if a Lassie, Fido or Rover came into the mix.
This went on until Abbie turned 4 and by then, could read all her favorite animal tales by heart. One day, Abbie went out to play and disappeared as her mother was putting away the dishes and lost track of her daughter for a split second as she was putting a big tray away. Her mother ran out, frantic to find her. After searching high and low, and at her wit’s end, suddenly she heard the phone ring. It was her mother’s sister – Abbie was across the street with her Aunt Judy, sitting with her dog Punch, watching cartoons.
From then on Abbie’s mother lectured her that if she tried a stunt like that again, she would have to put a leash on her. Abbie did not seem frightened by the threat, but rather, thrilled. She asked her mother to take her to the pet store, but her mother said that while she was not happy with Abbie wandering off, that putting a leash on her was just an idle threat meant to teach her a lesson about roaming about like she did with Punch and Judy.
A few months later, her parents thought that Abbie was maturing too fast and in a rather peculiar way. They noticed golden hair growth on their daughter’s arms, and every now and then the girl would emit a growl when she was not pleased. Other than that she appeared normal, except for the fact that day in and day out, Abbie would beg her parents to let her have a pet dog. “You’re too young,” they replied. When you are 6, we’ll get you a dog, but you have to know that dogs have feelings too, and you have to treat a dog with respect, like it is a member of the family. Abbie uttered her first bark, and her parents were so startled that they did not know what to say. They decided it was just Abbie’s way of bonding with her future dog.
Abbie’s sixth birthday party was a big event. All the neighborhood children came and there was a big cake and lawn games. When it was time for the presents to be opened, there was one large one that was moving around, as if something lived within.
Abbie ripped open the box, and out popped a Golden Retriever puppy. Abbie was so happy she yipped and barked with joy, and her family and friends were hard-pressed to tell who sounded more dog-like – Abbie or her new pet, who she named Earl.
From that day Abbie and Earl were inseparable. Wherever he went, she followed, and vice-a-versa. Her mother had to have the dog registered as a service animal so that Abbie would not shed tears when she had to be separated from the dog when going to school.
As Abbie grew older into her grade school years, her teachers and parents noticed that Abbie did not progress as quickly as the other students, with the notable exception that she knew by heart any story involving dogs and could memorize all those words, but only those words, in such books. As time went on, she became known as a kind of rare savant, gifted in all things having to do with dogs, and especially Golden Retrievers. However, when it came to just about any other subject, Abbie drew a blank and it began affecting her school work and friendships. She spent more and more time with her dog or at a local kennel dog walking and other volunteer activities. Her parents began to get used to her absence surrounding her dog activities. If she wasn’t home, they just assumed she was at the kennel volunteering, or walking her beloved pet around the neighborhood.
Pretty soon, they stopped checking at all, especially after their son was born. He was a beautiful boy with a lovely strawberry coat of hair. His parents doted on him, and he on them, since a part of them had had to give up on their daughter, who they had lost to the dog world and its all-consuming packing and herding instincts. They weren’t going to lose another child to the dogs. So little Mittens as they liked to call him was spoiled and doted on to the point that he felt he could call the shots. Half the time, when they called to him, he wouldn’t even come. He would just put his nose up in the air and see how long it would take for his parents to come begging for his affections. When he felt he needed some affection himself, he would simply purr…
You know what I’m getting at by now...
Abbie and Mittens never did get along, as often happens with growing siblings, but what transpired as they approached adolescence is another story. Let’s just say, dogs will be dogs and cats will be cats?
Word has it that Abbie ended up in the pound and Mittens’ fur balls can be found in often scattered places across the mid-Atlantic regions of North America.
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I have recently had surgery but there are still over 12000 products to choose from.
