Hopie's Long Day

Hopie sat waiting. She just knew that they would be back. After all, it had only been a day since they had left. They would be back. They had never left her before. But something seemed different.

She looked around the house and saw that the couch she loved to sleep on was gone. Her dog leash was gone. Her food dish, water bowl, all gone. In fact, everything in the house seemed to be gone. Where had her owners gone?

Hopie had the most amazing owners, Charles and Nicole. They had adopted her when she was just a few months old. They did everything with her. They played games, took her on car rides, threw toys around the house. Life was good. But now they were missing. What had happened to them? Where could they be?

She took another look around the house. She walked into the living room, but it was empty. Then she wandered to the kitchen, also empty. Finally, she looked in the bedroom and saw that the bed was not there either. Everything was gone. Worst of all, Charles and Nicole were gone too.

Hopie sat and thought about what she could do to find them. Where would she look? They were not in the house so she would have to look somewhere else, but where? She walked to the doggy door at the back of the house and went outside to the back yard. They were not there either. What should she do?

She started sniffing the yard to see if she could pick up their scent. She walked around to the front yard. Normally, she would not have been able to do this, but they had left the gate open.

As she looked around the front yard, she noticed another alarming reality. Both Charles and Nicole’s cars were gone! This never happened when they left together. Hopie began to panic.

She thought long and hard and realized that her owners were gone. Really gone. But they could not have left her on purpose. That did not make any sense. No, they loved her dearly. They must have forgotten her. Fear set in. 

OK, she thought, I know that they are gone and there is no way that they left me on purpose which means it must have been a mistake. I must find them!

It was settled in her mind. She would go on a search for her beloved owners. But how would she find them? Where would she look? Where could they possibly be?

She thought for a minute, When we go for walks, we always go to the park! She knew where the park was, so she darted down the street and headed four blocks down to the city park. She ran and ran as fast as she could, but when she got to the park her owners were not there.

Don’t get upset, she thought, this is only the first place that I have looked. There are tons of places to look, but where should I go next?

She looked around and saw the church that her owners attended. She knew the location because she was once recruited to be a pet in the Christmas play that the church put on every year. So she ran down the street to the church and looked around the building. But there was no sign of Charles or Nicole, and their cars were not in the parking lot.

She headed back to the street but did not know where to go next. Why could she not find them? Where could they be? Did they just not want her? NO! I cannot think like that, she thought. She knew she could not let fear get the best of her. She must keep searching.

Back to the street is where Hopie headed next. She looked up and down the block and headed to the Barber Shop where Charles would get his hair cut. She had been there before with Charles and Nicole. Hopie had waited outside with Nicole while Charles got his hair cut inside. As she arrived, she sat outside and looked in the window but did not see either of her owners.

She was crushed. She had thought for sure that she would find her owners by now, but they were nowhere to be found. How could this be?, she thought, People don’t just disappear. They have to be somewhere! She did not know what to do. There was nobody to help her. She was abandoned. She was alone. The only thing that she could think to do was to head back home.

Hopie hung her head and walked slowly back to her house. This was it, she was all alone. What was she going to do for food? Where would she get water? There was a puddle near the house today, but what about tomorrow? And worse, who would she have now for a companion? Charles and Nicole had been her owners since she was just a puppy. She had known nothing else. And now they were gone.

Gone. She could not get the word out of her head. She still did not want to believe it, but reality told her she must accept it. Her owners were gone.

She arrived back at the house, went through the gate to the back yard, and through the doggy door into the deserted home. Empty, she thought, still empty. And I am still alone.

Hopie began to cry and whimper. She wanted to be loved. She wanted someone to scratch her ears. She wanted someone to throw her toys around so she could run and bring them back. She wanted her couch so she could lie beside Charles as he read a book at night. But none of that would happen now. She was all alone, and Charles and Nicole were gone.

The sun was now setting, and it would be dark soon. Hopie walked into the master bedroom where her bed used to be. Another empty room. She laid down in the corner and cried herself to sleep.

A few hours later, Hopie was awakened by a commotion outside. She heard a car door slam and feet rushing outside. Someone was coming to the door!

Could this be them?, she thought. She ran to the door, barking wildly! She started jumping up and down barking with all of her might, paws scratching at the door. 

The handle turned, the door opened, and in walked Charles and Nicole! It was them! They had come back for her! She knew that they would not forget her forever. She knew they loved her!

She tackled Charles to the floor, licking his face over and over. Charles laughed and gave her an enormous hug while scratching her head and back.

“We came back for you Hopie!,” cried Charles, “We are so sorry we forgot you! We would never leave you on purpose!”

Hopie was so happy! Her owners had not forgotten her completely. They came back for her. They loaded her up into the car and drove across town to their new home.

As they got out of the car, Charles opened the door and let Hopie into their new house. She ran into every room. She found her toys; she found her food and water bowls; she found that wonderful plush couch that she loved so much. Charles and Nicole looked at her and just smiled.

“We could never forget our little Hopie,” Nicole said with a tender smile. And with that, Hopie went to the bedroom, crawled in bed and went to sleep content and loved.