The Box That Carried Her Home
MeAsia Hendon, Age 16
Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine
Detroit, Michigan
We had to save her. Our brand new family friend, a brown-and-black puppy with a purple tongue, was stuck underneath the wooden doghouse in my mother’s friend’s backyard. We figured that she got stuck trying to play with her brothers. My sister and I lifted the doghouse but she wouldn’t come out. She was shaking and crying because she was afraid of all the staring eyes. So little that she could fit in a bowl and so cute that she could make the front cover of any magazine, I instantly fell in love. The only girl, who was also the very last of the litter (German Shepherd and Chow mix), was ours. The only problem was that she wasn’t coming out from underneath the doghouse.
I must admit that I was frustrated with the fact that we had to save her. I began to think, Why do we need this puppy? Why can’t we just drop the doghouse and pick up another one? I didn’t even ask for the dog, and I didn’t know that it would be this difficult to get one. I knew in reality that those were cruel and selfish thoughts, so I quickly got rid of them. My older sister, EnDia, then said, “I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry up,” I yelled, because now I was the only one holding up the house. I didn’t understand what she was doing or why she said she would be right back. I felt my arms getting weak because the weight of the doghouse was heavy. I could feel the wood biting into my fingers and the grass underneath my slippery shoes as I was holding it up. I knew I had to hold it up though, in order for us to save her. I cared so much about this little creature that I suffered from pain in my arms and legs.
EnDia came back from the car with a medium-sized, gray, cardboard shoebox in her hand, me still lifting the doghouse and her trying to get our puppy from under it.
“Come here, it’s OK. We got you,” EnDia said. I lifted my head down, only to see her face in a confused state. She turned to look at me sideways, as if she were looking at the stars. “It’s OK, you don’t have to be scared,” I exclaimed. My mom started whistling and my little sister started clapping her hands.
This time, after all the baby talking, hand clapping, and whistling, she started to move. I guess my sister made her feel safe and that’s what made her come out. We all made an aww face as her little legs tried to climb out of the giant hole underneath the doghouse and into the shoebox. She was struggling, but it was so cute that we sat to watch her climb for a minute. EnDia then grabbed her and placed her in the box. The box, despite the fact that it could be dark and scary, made her feel safe because she knew we were there, even though she was just stuck in a dark and scary place: underneath the doghouse. I was very happy that we got her out of that situation.
After we saved her, we thanked my mother’s friend, got into our car, and went home. We played with her and her box all night, which made her feel comfortable. We named her Diamond after our previous dog who had died five years before that. She made all of us happy because we worked so hard to save her and that’s what made our friendship with Diamond so special.
After that experience, it made me feel like I was her mother, wanting to protect and hold her close all of the time. I got the chance to prove that to her over the years, as someone who knows how to love. She is now five years of age and seems very happy about the way we raised her as a pet and also as a family member. Even though the box is gone, my feelings toward her never changed. Moments like that are what make me appreciate friendship because I work so hard to keep those type of relationships by proving that I care.
Artwork by Natalie Marion, nataliemarion.com