Always by your side

  I was born in the middle of March. My mom gave birth to me and my brother and sisters. Everyday we would sit in a large playpen waiting for someone to take us into our forever home. I would wait for hours on end, but no one would come for me. After my siblings were gone, I lost hope. I knew I would be at this place for the rest of my life. But one day, I saw a red pickup truck pull up into the dirt road. I saw a little boy in the back, who was smiling at me.

   “Daddy Daddy I want that cute golden retriever puppy,” he shouted. “He’s so cute.”

    At last, those were the words I wanted to hear. The little boy scooped me up and carried me into the red pickup truck. The old man who was driving grunted all the way home.

    When I got out of the car, I was so happy, I accidentally peed on their rug by the front door.

 “See I told you Spencer, it’s not a good idea to get a dog.” Yelled the old man. “It’s a lot of responsibility.”

     “But Grandpa my mom loved Bailey and I wanted to get this little boy to remind me of her,” cried Spencer.

      A month passed and I was living the time of my life. My name was Dexter and I was one wild dog.

      “Dexter come here boy fetch,” yelled Spencer.

My favorite game. I loved it when he would throw the old beat up tennis ball. I would bark and run as fast as I could to catch it.

     One day, I was sitting around waiting for Spencer to come home from school. But, he never came home. All of a sudden the phone rang and his grandpa answered. His eyes grew wide and then filled with tears. I wanted to know what was wrong, but he never told me. It turned out Spencer had an illness and was really sick. He was at the hospital for weeks on end, and when he came home I knew there was something different about him, or not right. He would cry every night and tell his grandpa he couldn’t see. Then he would say he wanted Dexter. It turned out he was blind. I needed to be there for him. I needed to be his guide dog, to help him. I would do whatever it took to help my boy. Spencer’s grandpa enrolled me in training school, so I could help Spencer. He sent me there for 14 weeks of intense training. Everyday, I would listen to whatever my trainer said. After all, this was for Spencer. I needed him to be ok. After my intense training, I got back home to my boy. When he saw me he leapt with joy and shouted with happiness. 

     “Dexter, I know you're happy even though I can’t see you,” cried Spencer. “I hope you can help me.”

      I barked as loud as I could. All I wanted was to be there for him and make him happy. 

     Life pretty much returned back to normal, except I had to go to school everyday with Spencer. Then, when things were just getting to be normal. Things took a turn for the worst. We were all eating dinner when all of a sudden Spencer’s grandpa started acting weird. Then all of a sudden, he fell to the ground with a thud. 

     “Grandpa,” shouted Spencer. There was no answer. Spencer slowly began to cry. I had to do something because I was now his only family. I ran out the door and began to bark as loudly as I could. I wasn’t going to stop, until someone came to help. All of a sudden, a lady came because she heard Spencer crying. She gasped and quickly dialed 911. The ambulance quickly came and took Spencer’s grandpa away. The lady stayed with us until it was time for his grandpa to return. I would always make sure Spencer was happy and laughing all the time. After all, I was his brother and my job was to cheer him up. The next morning, I heard the phone ring. The lady answered it and then, her eyes filled with tears.

    “Spencer,” she shouted.

    “Yeah,” he said.

    “I have some bad news.” Your grandpa passed away.”

Spencer had already gone through so much now he had no one in his life. Except me. 

   “Do you know any of your relatives Spencer?” The lady asked. He shook his head. “Well you know I have 3 kids, so I can’t watch you forever. The rest was a blur. The lady made some calls, did some paperwork, and drove us to this dark and gloomy building. Inside, there were lots of kids or orphans. I was the only dog there. All the kids were swarming around me trying to pet me. Spencer sat on the bunk bed and went to sleep. I felt bad for this kid. I needed to do something to make home feel better.

    Weeks passed by and then months and then years. It had been 5 years since Spencer’s grandpa had died. He was now 10 and still no one wanted him. Maybe it was because he was blind and he needed me to help him. I didn’t know. But, what I did know was that I would always be by his side no matter what.

      One day, a nice couple came to the orphanage. They were looking for a kind boy. Then, they laid their eyes on Spencer. Then they looked at me. They knew it was meant to be. Spencer was at least happy to have loving parents. The man's name was Mike and the woman’s name was Sheila. They were looking into adoption and they found Spencer. And then me. I knew we were going to be one happy family. Just me, Spencer, Mike, and Sheila. At least that’s what I thought. Until we got home we met Howard. He was Mike and Sheila's son. He was 16 years old and had a mind of his own. When we arrived I was scared of him. He would always bully Spencer when his parents weren’t watching. I knew I had to protect Spencer. I will always be by your side. And your life long friend. After all, why do they call me man's best friend.