Andee

  ANDEE 

By Camille Clarke 

Grant held him in his arms and gave him a hug. “You are so cute. I am going to name you Andee. “ 

At that time a bus drove by with a loud noise from the muffler that blocked out the “ee. “Believing his name was “And. “His ears would poke up every time he heard the “word. “ 

After a while he got used to hearing the word “and. “ 

Andee was a young, small, cute, little Yorkshire terrier that had just been caught by the city pound workers. 

He was taken to the dog pound where he made some good friends. On certain days, visitors visted as Grant saw him, he fell in love. Andee fell in love also. Through the years Grant took good care of him.  He was a good owner who spoiled him rotten. 

“Andee, “he ignored his name being called and closed his eyes and attempted to rock back to sleep with his feet in the air. 

“You’re being called,” Andee opened his eyes.  Herald, another dog who lived with them, poked him and looked down in his eyes.  

“Me?” Andee asked. 

“Yes, something important. That girl is here again,” Herald pointed his snout in the direction of the front hallway. 

Andee got up and walked to the doorway. He only heard the words from his master, “care and this date.” 

“I didn’t get it all. Maybe she’s coming to take me away?”  He looked in the direction of the hallway. 

“You don’t know. You said you only heard a few words. Maybe they said something else,” Herald said, giving himself a good scratch. 

Andee paused and thought about it seriously. Maybe Grant was going to give him away. He frowned. 

“Maybe... “he tipped his head. 

“Maybe nothing. Go back to sleep, “Herald said and made himself more comfortable on a mat. 

But it did worry Andee. He had been with Grant for five years. Maybe he wanted him to have another forever home. 

Maybe he could live on his own now and be his own master. Grant treated him very good so why give him away now? He had matured since. Andee barely slept as he studied what was going on. 

The next day, Grant took him and Herald for their daily stroll around the neighborhood.  

I know how to get out of here. Andee pulls on the leash. Grant turned around and gave him a sideways look. 

The next day, I know how to get out of here, Andee said to himself. He pulled gently on the chain. Grant was distracted by a neighbor, but he still got a pat on the head. 

Herald gave him a hard stare. 

Later that night, Andee looked in the closet for his leash and loosened one of the cords. Suddenly, the light came on. 

“What are you doing in here? You been acting weird lately," Grant asked and lifted him out of the closet. 

The next day, Andee was able to separate the chain and started to run and stopped not far from Grant.  

Where am I going? Grant gave him a frown cautious look but gave him a pat on the head. 

“How did you get this undone? “Grant asked as he clipped back the leash. 

Next day it snowed. Grant looked outside. It snowed so they were left in the boring back yard. 

 The next day, Andee was able to undo the leash. Grant tapped his head. “You want to leave me?”  

“I just don’t want to be on a chain anymore. I was born without one. I want to be free. You want to give me away,” Andee said as he barked out his feelings. 

Grant frowned and lay down on the couch to take a nap with the laptop nearby. He did not know what Andee felt.  

Andee looked at the computer. Maybe he could find a nice owner to live with. He looked at the keyboard and studied the keyboard. “Who in here knows how to use this thing? Are you computer lit- illiterate, literate?” 

“You can’t even say the word. It is computer literate,” Herald said, giving himself a good scratch.  

“I know. He doesn’t know about it.” said Betsy, the cat, she gave Andee a nudge. Hours later…. Everyone looked bored. Everyone yawned. Even Betsy fell asleep. 

Grant woke from his nap and took them outside. 

Andee began to fiddle and wrangle with the chord. 

“I can’t let you out. You are supposed to be on a leash, and it is snowing so I can't take you to the dog park, “Grant noticed. 

The next day he escaped while Grant took him for a walk. 

He made it to a nearby alley and saw Grant shouting his name. Herald knew where he was but did not say anything. 

Grant looked down dejected and seemed as if he wanted to cry. 

Andee saw a nearby dumpster and ran behind it. Now he was on his own. He lay down on the cold concrete and waited for night to come. Night came quickly and a few characters noted where he was. 

“Hello, “said a racoon.  

“Me? “Andee pointed to his chest. 

“Yah, you. You have been asleep a long time. Aren't you hungry? My name is Steve.  I will get us something to eat, “he said and climbed on some boxes near the dumpster. 

Andee's eyebrows went up as he saw Steve with a slice of moldy pizza. 

“Here," said Steve eating some of the pizza. 

“Nah, I am good. I am okay," Andee said as his traitorous stomach growled. 

“Okay. More for me, “Steve said lifting some green cheesy-like substance.  

Andee felt as if he wanted to puke. He climbed on some boxes and looked down into the dumpster. He could not jump in there. He would have a hard time getting out of there. From what he could see everything in there had a gross color. 

He sat down near the dumpster and two birds flew down and landed next to him. 

“Hi, hi, “one of the birds shouted at him. 

“Hello, “Andee mumbled. 

“That racoon said you might be hungry. My name is Gloria. Here eat some of this. It tastes so good, “she said. 

Gloria proceeded to peck at the flecks of bird seed on the dirty ground. 

Andee just gave a side stare as Gloria ate until she was full. 

A nearby squeak made him jump. 

“Now. Who the hell are you? “Asked Andee as Gloria flew away as fast as she could. 

A fat rat came out of a manhole. He showed him a garbage can next to another fast-food outlet.  

“I was listening. My name is Toni. I live down there. We come up for food every day. You want to come with me. We could travel underground, “he said and showed the small hole he came from. 

Andee's eyebrows lifted. There was no way he could fit in that hole. He still felt very hungry plus he missed his pillow.  

He could not climb into the dumpster. The boxes could not hold his weight plus he could get sick from eating moldy food. He could not fly because he had no wings, and he was afraid of heights. 

Imagine if he had to do this every day...He wouldn't be able to live. He began to remember the comforts he had. He was given food and water every day. He had a plush pillow to lie on and Grant walked them to get fresh air every day. What the hell did he do? 

The next day, the pound city workers were on their rounds in the alley. 

Andee sat on his hind legs with his front paws up. He even smiled prettily as the city workers looked confused. 

“Okay, “the man said putting Andee in a cage in the back of the truck. 

The workers saw he had an identity tag around his neck and called Grant. 

There were animals and other dogs in cages at the pound. Some of the animals got so excited when they were visited. He listened to their sad stories, and he could not say anything because Grant was good to him. He did not have an abuser or someone who did not feed them for days. They just wanted someone to love them. He hung his head in shame. All of them would love Grant. He treated him real good. He even missed Betsy. He had a good life. Why did he not see that? “The next morning, Grant came for him. 

Andee was so glad he saw Grant. He barked and wagged his tail, anxious to hug him. 

“Don't do that again. We missed you, even Betsy did. Let's go home, “he said as Andee jumped on him. 

He was so glad to see Herald and Betsy. It seemed as if they missed him also. 

The nameless woman came to the house and surprised them with doggy treats and cat nip for Betsy. 

“I want to introduce you all to my new girlfriend. Her name is Jean, and she likes pets also. She works at the pet shop, and she was giving me advice on how to make pets happy, “Grant said smiling. 

Andee was surprised. He did not know. Now he had more people to love him. 

THE END