Today we’ll be reading a story called Black Dog Waiting. Did you know that black dogs are often the last ones to be adopted at animal shelters? This is a story about a black dog who had to wait a long time to learn about home and love.

A Carefully Built Pretend podcast is written and produced by Melissa Oliveri - http://www.melissaoliveri.com

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All music by Cannelle - http://www.cannellemusic.com

Music and Stories brought to you by Things with Wings Productions and Phaeton Starling Publishing.

FULL TRANSCIPT:

Pssst! Over here!

Take my hand, I’ll take you to a Pretend Land!

Are you ready?

1 -2 -3, Wheeeeeeeeee!

Welcome to A Carefully Built Pretend. My name is Melissa, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Today we’ll be reading a story called Black Dog Waiting. Did you know that black dogs are often the last ones to be adopted at animal shelters? This is a story about a black dog who had to wait a long time to learn about home and love.

Are you ready? Here we go!

There’s a black dog waiting by the side of the road. She doesn’t remember much about her life before. There wasn’t much of a life to remember, I suppose. She spent every day outside, tied to a short rusty chain. Sunny days, windy days, rainy days, stormy days, snowy days... days and days and days.

One day, her chain got so rusty it broke. The black dog walked and walked and walked. She eventually found a road and sat for a while watching the cars go by. Big cars, small cars, clean cars, dusty cars, noisy cars, fast cars... Eventually the black dog god tired, and she curled up in the dirt to sleep. She slept in the sun, the wind, and the rain as cars drove by her on the dusty old road.

One day, a truck stopped nearby. The black dog lifted her head, too tired and hungry to stand up. Two people got out of the truck and started walking toward her. One of them had a rope... the dog thought the rope looked like a chain, the chain that she had been tied to for days and days and days. The black dog got sad. The two people got closer. The black dog got scared. The two people tied the rope to her collar. The black dog started to shake. The people pulled on the rope until the black dog stood up, and they lead her to the back of their truck and put her inside. Then the truck and the people and the black dog drove down the dusty old road.

When the truck stopped, the dog was led into a building. The black dog was confused, she had never been inside a building before, she had never seen a floor before. She was brought to a room with rows and rows and rows of cages. Every cage had a dog, and every dog was sad, scared, and worried. The black dog was put in the cage at the end of the row. Then the black dog got sad, scared, and worried too.

Day after day after day people came to look at the dogs in the cages. First the puppies got out, then the cute small fluffy dogs got out, then the young hunting dogs got out, then the big, beautiful dogs with the lush fur got out. Every time a dog got out, another dog came in. Then when that dog got out, another one came in. But the black dog never got out. Day after day after day people came and took a dog, and day after day after day the black dog stayed in her cage at the end of the row.

Finally, one day, the black dog heard a small voice ask “What about this one?”. The black dog lifted her ear a little. It sounded like the voice was nearby. “I like this one!” said the small voice. This time the black dog lifted her head. “Are you sure?” asked a big voice. “Yes, I’m sure,” said the small voice. The black dog stood up and turned around, and she came face to face with a child. The black dog had never seen a child before. The child smiled. The black dog had never seen a smile before. The child reached into the cage and gently scratched the top of the dog’s head. The dog’s tail started wagging. The black dog thought maybe she’d wagged her tail before, but she wasn’t sure.

A person came by with a rope, and the black dog began to shake. The child sat next to the dog and told her everything was going to be okay. The black dog leaned her head on the child and felt something... something warm, something good, something safe. The black dog was feeling trust, for the very first time.

The black dog was led to the car and sat in the back next to the child. She looked out the window and saw trees and houses and fences and people and other dogs. The car finally stopped, and the black dog was brought to a new building. Once inside the child walked with the dog and showed her some new things. 

“This is your bed,” said the child. The black dog wasn’t sure what a bed was, but it sure looked comfortable.

“This is your food bowl,” said the child. The black dog wasn’t sure what a food bowl was, but it sure would be nice to not feel hungry anymore.

“These are your toys,” said the child. The black dog had never seen toys before, but they sure looked fun

“This is your home,” said the child. The black dog had never had a home, but it sure felt safe.

“I love you,” said the child. The black dog had never felt love before, but it sure felt good. I love you too, thought the dog.

The black dog watched as day after day the small person grew, and the family laughed, and cried, and loved. They loved on sunny days, on windy days, on stormy days, and on all those days the black dog was comfortable, fed, happy, warm, and safe.

One day, the family brought home a new black dog. When they came in the door, the new black dog looked sad and scared and worried. The old black dog wagged her tail and walked with the new dog. 

“This is your bed; you will be comfortable” she said. “This is your food bowl, you will be fed,” she said. “These are your toys, you will have fun,” she said. “This is your home, you will be safe,” she said.

The new black dog wagged its tail, maybe for the first time, then curled up on the soft, cozy bed and fell asleep. The old black dog curled up next to him and whispered, “This is your family, you will be loved.”

Thank you for being here my friend, it’s so nice to spend a little bit of time with you!

I hope you enjoyed this story. Remember to take the time to look at the creatures and people who often get overlooked, there is a treasure inside each and every one of them, just like there is a treasure inside you.

Until next time, keep imagining, dreaming, pretending – and being kind – and I’ll be back very soon.

This podcast features original music by Cannelle and is brought to you by Things with Wings productions and Phaeton Starling Publishing. I’m Melissa Oliveri. Thank you for listening.

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