“Muffin, come in. It’s raining outside.”
After the voice, a cute little puppy ran
back toward that voice. An old lady grabbed and kissed on that fluffy hair. She
held the puppy tight to her body while it tried to lick her chin. They both
went inside the house. What happening was observed by Dough, a little puppy
around the same age living in the box that some people put it there as a
shelter before he was born. Dough, who was now wet and tumbling, looked at what
appeared in front of him as if he tried to remember everything.
“Dough. Hurry up. Come in here, son. You
gonna catch a cold.” said his mom.
The puppy ran through a wet and dirty
street of a small alley to his mom, who stayed in the box that his mom always
called “home”. He tried to shake off water from his body while his mom tried to
lick him.
“Mommy, why don’t we have a house, like,
Muffin’s?” he asked. His mom responded while licking on his body, “Well, Muffin
has a big house and you have a small house. So you both have a house, don’t
you?” The little dog thought before gave her a nod to show that he agreed.
“That is true, mommy.” He helped his mom
to lick his front left leg. “Mommy, do you think Muffin stays in a nice bed?”
Now his body was dry and clean. “Come on,
here. Stay close to mommy.” His mom said, “Yes, I’m sure that Muffin has a very
very nice and comfy bed. What about you, sweetie?” His mom turned her face and
looked at him. Dough was now laid against his mom body. He felt so warm and
secured.
“I don’t have a real bed but do have your
tummy. I can sleep well every night.” The young dog giggled and tried to push
his head between the front legs of hers. She smiled.
The rain stopped and everything turned
very quiet. It seems that the city was about to sleep but two dogs still had
their eyes open. Dough looked at the stars scattering all over the sky. It was
the dark night and no city light.
The puppy broke a silent with another
question, “Mommy, do you think Muffin have good food to eat everyday?”
“What do you think?” His mom asked him
back.
“Yeah…I think so. I see that nice lady
gives him a lot of food either from can or box everyday. He cannot finish them
all though.” He said.
His mom’s head laid on the ground and her
eyes looked further ahead through the dark. She said, “Are you hungry, son?”
“No, mommy. I’m so full. I think I ate a
lot today. I love that pasta from the garbage that we went this afternoon.” He
smiled and responded.
She asked her son, “Do you have a good
time going out some new places and try different food?”
The young dog raised his head and nodded
quickly. He answered with excitement, “Yes. Yes, mommy. I have a great time. I
like going out places and places, and have a chance to try new food.”
Suddenly his ears dropped and he faced
down.
“What happens, son?” She worrying asked
the puppy.
“I just don’t like when we go to the
restaurant. I sit nicely, look at people and ask for food. They sometimes kick
me out. It hurts.” He said sadly.
“But there are also many nice people who
give me their food, like, two girls this morning. I think they are nice.” He
smiled again.
“Yes, sometimes we have to meet nice and
not-so-nice people but it’s up to you which one you choose to think of. Don’t
you agree?” His mom turned the question back to him.
“Yes, mommy. Just like those two girls. I
just wish that I can meet those nice people everyday. So I have food from
them.” The puppy continued, “I just think about Muffin. He must be bored with
that food. He can’t finish them.”
His mom looked at him and asked, “What do
you think? Will you be bored having the same food everyday?” Dough nodded
instead of saying yes.
It’s getting cold at night. The puppy
tried to push his body further toward his mom. His mom tugged him in tightly.
“Mommy, do you think Muffin will miss his
mom?” He asked innocently.
“If mommy wasn’t here, would you miss
mommy?” She asked.
The puppy responded sadly, “Yes, I would
miss you desperately. If I feel cold, who will tug me in? If I had a lot of
questions, who would give me the answers?” He now pushed his head between the
front legs of his mom as if he could lose his mom anytime.
“Even
though Muffin doesn’t have mommy, I’m sure that the lady loves his so much as
well. Although they cannot talk to each other, I’m sure that Muffin feels that
he has someone who really loves him.” She responded with smile.
The young dog felt so happy.
It’s a different night. It seems that
there were so many questions came into the puppy’s mind. He thought about many
things. It’s, like, he tried to understand who he was.
“Mommy, how my dad looks like?” He broke
the silent with the question he never asked before.
His mom raised her head and turned to
him. She looked at his eyes and slowly said, “You just look like him.” And
continued, “He is the German Sheppard, strong and tall. You have his eyes and
his color, son. That’s why I tried so hard to protect you from people who tried
to take you away from me. You’re just like him, Dough.”
The small dog smiled. He can feel
affection that his mom passed through the way she looked at him.
All of sudden, his mom asked him, “Have
you every felt sorry to be born as a stray dog?” It was the first time that he
had been asked this question although he had heard from people around him kept
calling him that. It’s just the first time he heard from his mom.
The puppy turned his face high and looked
to his mom as if he wanted to ensure that his message could get through it
correctly.
“I sometimes feel sorry of not living in
the big house or having food waiting for me. I sometimes feel sorry for being
push away by people just because I’m a stray dog. Many times I have questions
why my brothers and sisters taken not me. But you know what, mom?” He stopped
and stared at his mom’s eyes. “I’ve never felt regret being your son and
protected by you at any single moment.”
The puppy tried to make his voice as
serious and mature as he could, “Mommy, I’d protect you when I grow up. I’ll be
a strong dog. I’ll take care of you when you’re old. I promise.”
If the puppy could see through the
darkness, he would notice tears of joy in his mom’s eyes.
It’s very late at night. The puppy slept
tightly tugged by his mom. His face looked so peaceful and full of smile. With
a thought of a young puppy, he told himself that he didn’t know what would
happen the next day but determined that he would make a better day of his mom’s
life and his. He realized that what he had was something so precious. There’s
no one could take that away from him.
“I’m the luckiest dog in the world.”
