Abandoned

He was chasing after Emma in the huge green grass. She was fun to chase after and she let him catch her from time to time. When they got tired of that game, they rested together, bodies touching on the deck in the sun. They fell asleep together like that. When he woke up, nothing was as he remembered it. They called his name and invited him into the house. He did not recognize the voices or the smells in the house. The kids were friendly and happy to see him, but something was not familiar. They were not the kids he was used to.

After dinner, the mom took him on a walk. It was nice to be out, free again to smell the fresh air and to be with Emma. But where was his other mom? He felt unsure and nervous. Should he be going with this woman? Was Emma going to be with him or would she be going home somewhere else? Emma did not seem to be worried about anything. So, he decided to forget about home and his mom and his family and enjoy the moment with Emma and his new mom.

He couldn’t sleep in this new room. The sounds and smells were becoming more familiar, but he still missed the old sounds and smells. He’d take cat naps and then he’d wake up again to this unfamiliar place with his new family. As time went by, he got used to the new place and eventually he fell asleep.

The next day, he went for another long walk with Emma and afterwards fell asleep on top of her on the deck. Emma jumped up to the sound of the car on the drive way, he jumped up too. They both went down the stairs and waited eagerly to see who would come out of the car. He didn’t have a deck in his old house, he liked following Emma and doing as she did. To his amazement, he saw his old mom and family rushing to the stairs calling out his name. He was so excited, he couldn’t contain himself. His tail was wagging furiously and he was crying in delight. Yes, this was familiar, he knew everything about these people and the smells, oh the smells were like heaven!

Questions to Ponder:
1) Have you ever felt abandoned or left without any explanation? If so, how did that feel and how did you handle it?
2) How comfortable are you in new situations or with new people? For example, if you went on a trip or took a weekend class and had to share a room with someone you hadn’t met before, how would you feel about that? Nervous? Uncomfortable? Excited?
3) Think of the word, “familiar” and now come up with 3 quick names or nouns that pop into your mind. Now do the same for the word, “new”. Sit with your feelings and consciously pursue one (familiar or new) to experience in the near future and see how that feels. Best wishes!

P.S. In case you were wondering, the story was based on what I imagine my dog went through after spending the weekend with a pet sitter.