The Tail Of The Dog In The Pound

Once upon a time, there was a puppy with long floppy ears, a tail much longer than his body, and legs so long that he constantly slipped and stumbled. He spent most of his time in the corner of the room, staring at the one wall of long metal bars, shaking in terror. He didn't know his name, and remembered no existence prior to his life at the pound. He really didn't know much other than sadness and terror, and hunger, (even though he didn't feel very much like eating). He felt utterly alone, and without hope, even though the pound was "home" to nearly twenty other dogs. None of the other dogs seemed as terrified as he, although once in a while, he could smell their fear, as one of their number was taken from them, never to return.
As time went on, he did leave his corner sometimes, but usually the larger, angrier dogs would send him scurrying back. He was so distracted by these angry, vicious ones, that he rarely noticed the metal bars anymore, or anything else, for that matter. He could never let his guard down. One would nip at his long floppy ears, now in tatters. Another would knock him off his feet, as a third would grab and yank his tail. There seemed to be more vicious ones each day, and these vicious ones would often lead the other dogs to attack him too. Somewhere, deep down inside him, he knew that he couldn't stand it much longer, that he would go crazy from such sadness, terror, and despair.

     Finally, one day, all the dogs were after him! He was yowling, and howling, and yiping in terror and misery, stumbling and running in circles. His mind had finally reeled at all the violence, a blank, except for the certainty that they would kill him. In thoughtless terror, he leaped toward something shiny on the wall.
     A tremendous crashing sound stopped some of the dogs, and brought them to their senses. Glass shards fell to the floor; some of the dogs already yelping in pain from stepping on the slivers in their frenzy.
     Although completely unaware of it, he had landed on something soft and green, after knocking over the metal trash can, its contents spilling out onto the lawn. And then he ran. He ran and ran, and then he ran some more. He ran until he had to give up, exhaustion finally overcoming his terror. He lay, and he slept. He whimpered in his sleep, his sadness coming to the surface in spite of his exhaustion.
     Two gentle hands picked him up and stroked him, as they would stroke him ever so gently many times during the next few days.....

He woke on something soft and warm. Someone stroked his ears and forehead, and smoothed the fur on his back. He sniffed and could smell no fear, nor sense any danger. He felt something new and warm in his chest, which seemed to come from his master. He didn't know the word "master", of course, or any other words, for that matter, but he knew this one always fed him, kept him warm and safe, and had rescued him on that fateful day. He had grown quite a bit since his escape from the pound. He loved running in circles on the green grass, happy for the grass, the sky, and his new home. His ears had healed, and he liked the way that they would flap and fly as he ran circles around his master. His master smiled at him all the time, and that warm feeling inside kept growing. He was glad that he had such a long tail now, it made bigger ripples of gratitude in the air than other dogs could!