My stray dog

      My  stray dog A

I'm Saka, the third child of the family. I'm twelve years old. I have two brothers older than me and one younger sister. 

      I had never seen any puppy or dog at home. My school friends always talked a lot about their pet animals. Some had dogs  others had cats or rabbits. I asked my dad on my last birthday to gift me a puppy. But he was adamant not to have any pet at home. I felt dejected. I wanted to know the reason why our family showed no interest in pets.So one day my mom disclosed the truth.It was that my  elder brother when he was eight years old,he flung a stick at a stray dog. The animal got furious and bit him on his leg. Since that day, not only my brother but also everybody in the  family hated dogs. 

     One Saturday when  I opened my gate, I caught sight of a young ,white dog with a few brown patches on its body. It was on the  other side of the road where stood a grassy plot of land. As usual, dogs coming there ran away when someone opened the gate. The poor animal looked at me and gave out some soft whimpers. I drew closer to it. It kept on casting scared and sad looks at me. I wondered why it didn't run away. To my dismay, I noticed that one of its legs was hurt and was bleeding. I patted its head to give it the assurance that I was going to help it.

    As my parents and  my elder brother weren't  at home,  I knew that at that moment nobody would prevent me from giving care to this poor animal. My younger sister stayed beside me and helped me. I rushed inside the kitchen and managed to get some milk in a small old bowl.Very quickly it drank it. Seeing that I was caring and friendly  the dog allowed me to handle it. With my sister's help , we carefully dragged it  inside the yard. We put it on a mat. We took a piece of cotton wool and cleaned the wound. I remembered my  dad used to put a  medicine on our injury. I reached out for the bottle containing  it and I used it with the dog. Then I took a wet cloth and wiped its body clean. After cleaning it , we noticed that it looked cute. My sister stroked its back softly and it seemed to like this treatment. We gave  it some soft biscuits and it ate them. Two hours later , my dad and mom came back. At sight of the animal and its leg injury , they looked at us and didn't say anything. I felt scared, thinking how they would react. Then my dad started: “ Why did you bring it inside?” 

    Then I explained in what condition I saw the animal outside the gate and I brought it inside only to treat the wound. I promised my  dad that once I finished, I would put it back there. 

   My  dad reminded us that it might be the dog had a master who  might come around to look for it. 

     I asked my dad to allow me  to keep the animal for one or two days so that its injury might start healing and so find its own way back home. 

   Considering my good intentions , my  dad allowed me to do so. 

      My  parents got inside. My sister didn't want to leave her new friend. I heard her talking to it. “Don't worry,  you will soon get better”

    Half an hour later , my dad, after having changed, came towards us. He said:” Where  will  you put it to sleep at night?”

    While  I was still  thinking, my  dad asked me  to  follow him. We  went to that side of the garage where  he  had kept a few wooden boxes. He chose a larger one and asked  me  to  help him carry it. He then  removed one side of it,using a hammer and a saw . He then looked for a piece of woollen cloth which he put inside the box. I could easily guess how much our new pet would relax there. 

   While dad was busy trying to give a cosy  resting place to our  new comer , I wondered about the big change in him.He was the first in the family to object the keeping of any pet in the house. That stray dog was lucky. We named it Lucky. Mom brought some food on a plate and we were pleased to see it gulping.

Three days later, we noticed that it looked much better. We opened the gate and let it go outside ,thinking that as it could walk , it could find its way back to its former master's  house. But it didn't go. We even closed the gate , leaving it outside. Yet it didn't leave. It gave out soft barks, as if asking us to stop that silly game. We opened the gate and it entered, wagging its tail.

       We understood that it was happy here and didn't want to leave. 

     My  elder brother brought two chains,one  long and one short. The wooden box was further improved and reinforced to become a comfortable kennel.Most of the time, it was leashed to the longer chain so that it  could have a wider area to move.

     Already ten months since Lucky became part of the family. Almost every afternoon, my brothers or I would take it out for a walk. It really enjoyed this, expressing it by its lovely,soft barks and hanging ears. Besides, it created an opportunity for us to exercise.

Lucky became friendly with every member of the family. It was always present to welcome them with its pleasant, soft barks. 

    Once Lucky fell ill. It had lost its appetite.

Everyone got worried. Mom took it to a vetinary clinic. After receiving a treatment for a week, it started eating well. It looked bigger and healthier. 

      I gave it a bath once weekly using a special shampoo. My second brother cooked Lucky's special food. 

    As days passed by, Lucky became more playful. When the weather was fine, we removed its  chain and allowed it to run freely in the  yard. My elder brother would throw a ball in different directions and it would be amazing to see Lucky racing to bring it back. Even my parents would enjoy watching it . I felt elated to watch Lucky being admired by all members of the family. 

     It had a strong sense of hearing. Whenever someone came near our gate,it would start barking to arouse our attention. Once it knew that any member of the family was dealing with the stranger,it would stop its barks.

    I was astounded when I  saw  my  dad coming home with a big bag of dogfood for the first time  I wondered how could someone who didn't want to see any pet animal at home,could do so much for Lucky. Dad looked at the instructions on the bag and explained  mom about the cooking method. I was delighted to note that my pet dog was having the proper food and the right care.

    This wonderful companion had changed our family life. There 

 was greater bonding among us.

    I couldn't believe that a helpless stray dog could bring such a positive change in our family. It made our family life more meaningful and enjoyable.