When I lost Baby, I was eight years old. It was a sunny day with the late afternoon breeze, so Dad decided to take Baby (my dog), and me for a short walk at the nearby grass field.
I tied the leash around her neck and we set off. I ran along with her as she went yapping loudly behind me, her ears flapping along. But I had a sensation that I was dragging her along as I ran and I went to ask Dad if we could let her off the leash.
“No,” he warned, “She might get lost.”
“Please Dad, the field here is so big. I’m sure Baby wouldn’t get lost. I promise I’ll take good care of her.’’ I begged him.
Dad frowned. “Very well, but it is your problem if we lose her.” He sounded very reluctant. He let Baby off the leash and she ran happily in circles as she ran further away, until she became a tiny brown speck of dust. Right at that moment, I immediately knew I was wrong. Right after I made my promise, I lost her. I knew we needed to find her right away. But where?
We called her over the top of our lungs for more than twenty times, but still - no Baby. I suddenly remembered that there was a car park nearby full of mostly lorries. Then, an abrupt gust of questions filled my mind.
Would mum scold me if I couldn’t find Baby?
What if Baby got runover by a huge lorry?
Would we ever find her again?
As I got even more scared by the second, we dashed to the car park and checked under every single lorry in there, until we saw a silhouette of a moving animal. We got closer. It was a cat, which meant no Baby. We looked everywhere all over again for hours until it was 6.30 p.m.. That meant that we have been out for two whole hours! My palms were starting to get hot and sweaty as perspiration dotted my forehead like millions of little beads.
As we exited the parking lot, Dad suggested that we should call the police. But I told him to wait first as I found a village while we rounded the corner. I could see that the sky was already starting to darken.
After checking a number of old cottages one by one, I saw the black shadow of a familiar dog! The door was open and sure there was Baby, sitting with an old lady and a young child about four or three. They were sitting on the couch watching television as the child gave her a piece of sausage. Baby gobbled it quickly and rolled over her back as the child gave her a little tummy rub.
I couldn’t resist but to step in and hug Baby. The old lady looked over and asked in a gruff voice, “Who said you could come in?”
“Oh, this is my dog by the way. I lost her while playing together in the fields. Also, thank you for taking care of her, I bet she loved your sausages!” I burst into a mixture of joyful tears and laughter. I hugged Baby warmly while she licked me all over.
From that experience, I learnt that you should always put your dog on a leash. In order not to ‘drag’ her, we even bought a leash that could be extended to two metres long!
~ The End :) ~
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