The best intentions of good people can often lead to tragedy. This happens to people all the time in everyday life. For example over this last spring break I had to go to a convention in Kansas City; we were set to leave as soon as dad got home from school that day. At 1 o’clock both my mother and I decided to start packing, my mom wanted help and called me just as soon as I started so I hastily threw some clothes into my duffle bag and went to her room to help her. As I left I listened for the thump and pitter patter feet that told me my dog, Joey, was following me. Two hours later everyone was just about packed as my dad burst through the door and questioned if we were ready to go yet. We packed the car up and I grabbed pillows and blankets pushing them into my back seat. I made sure my cat had enough food as my dad collapsed the dog kennel for Joey. I hooked the leash onto Joey and put him in the car, after stopping for gas in Council Bluffs we didn’t stop. I stretched my legs out making room for Joey and stayed just like that for the following three hours. We brought in the luggage and greeted my grandparents Kenny and Jackie. We all stayed up until about 9:00 at night and after that I went to shower groaning at the lack of conditioner. Soon after I stepped back out into the frigid cold air, I put my hair up into a towel to let it dry for a bit. I took it out and started the long processes of combing my knotted hair. 30 minutes later I stepped out hair braided and ready for bed. I climbed over to laid next to Joey and quickly fell asleep. Around 4:30 am Joey barked loudly alerting the whole house because my grandfather got up to get ready for the day as he always did, I quickly calmed him down and soon fell back asleep.
When I woke up again I throw the sleeping bag I had been using across the room and got my outfit out and ready for the day. It was a blue shirt with a lace undershirt, black heels and black skinny jeans. The day was basically the same, my dad called the kennel only to find out that every single kennel was full because it was Easter. My grandparents offered to watch him but nobody wanted to come home from the hotel early, so we called our other grandparents Shirley and Dave to see if they would watch him for us, they agreed and we started our trek to St. Joe, Missouri. We got there and the first place joey went was right under the table to hide from them. I told them when I took him out and when I fed him, everyone said their good byes and my family went out the back door, I turned around to see Joey right at my heels, I turned around and gave him one last scratch on his silky black ears telling him I would see him soon and shut the door behind me.
A couple hours later we were finally in Kansas City, we unloaded the car and got up to the room. I met up with Liz and we went to bible reading, everything was normal but I laughed during my performance. Around 9 we went down for drama practice, we finally went up for the performance, everything was fine but one of our props didn’t work too well. After that we went to bed and got back up at 7:30, we went to the meeting area for puppets only stopping for a quick Starbucks run where my brother and I got a hot chocolate, and Liz and my mom got some mocha thing. After practice we went to preform, everything was normal except that while we were setting up I fell off my bucket. My dad missed my performance but my mom and brother made it. So we went to watch Nathan do puppets and song leading. Right after his song leading Emily, Liz, Jacob and I all went to the crown center. We helped Jacob pick out his girlfriend’s birthday present, other than that everything was normal except that my favorite store was gone. We came back for chorus and the closing ceremony, m family bought another day though so we stayed an extra night. After getting Stake and Shake we went back to the hotel, my brothers and mom went to the pool and Liz and I went to the mall again, soon we came back and sat in the room, everything was normal except that my dad made us stay quite while we watched the Lion King. I went to bed at 1:30 that night excited to see my do and family members.
I woke up the next morning and went for a quick coffee run with my mom while my brother got a quick bath. We got back and I busied myself with eating breakfast while I was eating my dad leaned up in the other bed and looked at me.
“Miranda” he says, a grim look on my face.
“Yes” I replied through a bite full of frosty flakes.
“I need to tell you something and you can freak out… ok?” he says a grim look coming over his face, I nodded a spoon hanging out of my mouth. “We lost joey. Now we are looking for him and he MIGHT come home, because dogs have been known to do that ok?” he said with pitiful eyes, watching me for any kind of a reaction but none came. On the outside I was a total stoic but on the inside I was…. Well I was dying or at least that’s what it felt like. You know feeling you get when your boyfriend who you thought you loved so much breaks up with you, or when you’re caught in a big lie, that feeling of something dropping into the pit of your stomach. That’s how I felt but worse. Way worse. “Ok” I say and turn back to the television. After breakfast was done we went back to packing a couple of times I felt tears burn the back of my eyes but I brushed them away and continued packing away. We left after words driving to Stake and Shake to get a burger and some shakes. We went to the mall but only the Barnes and Nobel’s was open and no books were jumping out at me so we left soon. We went to my Great Aunt Mary’s house for Easter dinner. This should’ve been where I got Joey back and we had a hallmark embrace but that was not meant to be. I stayed quiet even though my Great Uncle Bob tried to talk to me. We sat around the table with Mary, Bob, Mom, Dad, Dave, and Shirley. Dave and Shirley. The reason I would never see my dog again, then came the time for the story of how my dog got out. “Well,” said Dave “I took him outside for a walk” (Please note they have an enclosed fence) “and when we got outside I changed hands and he shot of” (Please also note we got his leash back also). Shirley said she wanted to lay down and rest her knee so they went into the living room. After a while Dace came back out and had a different story tell, “Well we got out the gate and I bent down to hook the chain on him and he just shot off” he said. I know something happened this was just the story they had come up with to patronize me. we talked a while, had dinner and pie, then played cards. It was 5:00pm when we left. Everything was normal except that we left without my dog.
That Monday we had off it had finally hit me of how slim the possibility that we would ever see Joey again. My mom told me straight up. That night I cried myself to sleep because there was no awkward puppy at the foot of my bed. They say losing your dog is one of the most traumatic things that could happen, because you don’t know if their safe or if someone took them in, or if they’re dead, and I cannot say I don’t agree with them.
