Buddy Unchained
- 1. Daisy Bix (text) and Joe Hyatt (art), 2006
- 2. Not long ago, I was chosen by a family to live with them.
- 3. I have food in my bowl. I have clean water to drink.
- 4. Sometimes I get a treat!
- 5. They take me for walks.
- 6. They play with me.
- 7. They teach me to know what they want from me.
- 8. But I used to live in a different place. I slept alone in a garage
- 9. Every day I was put outside. My collar was clipped to a chain. When it rained, my fur was wet clear through.
- 10. Once in awhile, kids threw things at me. I couldn’t protect myself. I don’t know why they did that.
- 11. When I got twisted in the chain, I couldn’t sit down or move until someone from the house came and untangled me.
- 12. Many days those people forgot to change the water in my dish. It tasted bad. I was so thirsty I drank it anyway.
- 13. Sometimes they forgot to feed me. I was hungry most of the time.
- 14. When it got very cold, my paws hurt.
- 15. One day I was so cold that I lay down and couldn’t get up.
- 16. A person I didn’t know came and took off my chain.
- 17. He took me away from that place.
- 18. He brought me to a place where they took care of me.
- 19. A person carefully clipped my claws. They were so long I could hardly walk.
- 20. When I was feeling all right again, they put me into a place with food and water.
- 21. The people I live with now came to visit. They chose me to be part of their family for always. They call me Buddy.
- 22. “ Good dog, Buddy,” they say to me every day. They give me pats and hugs.
- 23. I have friends to play with.
- 24. I have my real home. Now I have everything.