Clover (Minature Poodle)

The Angel from the Poconos Hi! My name is clover. I am a miniature poodle and I have some great adventures to share with you. During the first part of my life, I lived with some humans on the 37th floor of a busy apartment building in Manhattan. It was fun. They would play with me and take me outside for walks on the sidewalk several times a day. But, I had the most fun when they took me to the park and I could explore everywhere. There were always lots of other people around and there were big noisy smelly things that moved it up and down the streets. But my master and I always stayed close together on the sidewalks or played in the park. One day, my life was suddenly changed. Things started innocently enough when we were on a walk and I saw a little bird flying by. I like to chase things and wanted to play tag with this bird. He was good, but I thought I could catch him. My master did not understand, as he held me back on my leash. But I was strong and pulled hard. Suddenly I was out of my collar and I was chasing after that little bird. He fluttered here and there and I was right on his tail. The bird would land on the ground and then fly off just before I could catch her. I looked back and saw that my master was also involved in the chase, but he’s not as fast as I am. He had a hard time keeping up. I was going to really impress him when I caught that little bird.

I chased the bird down an alley and it flew over a closed gate. I am small and I was able to crawl under the gate and followed the bird. We played and played and I almost caught her a couple more times. The bird must have gotten tired of this game, because he finally flew off in the air and I lost sight of him. This is when I turned around to look for my master. He was nowhere in sight. I sniffed the air, but I couldn’t catch his scent. I had come a long way, but I figured that I could backtrack and find him. I tried and tried but I just couldn’t find him and I didn=t know where my nice, warm apartment-den was located. The sun was starting to go down and it was beginning to get cold. I found part of a hot dog that someone had dropped along with a couple other street treats became my dinner that night. I was still hungry and it was dark now. I was getting cold. There were some cardboard boxes and newspapers in a corner in the alley and I curled up in them and went to sleep. I spent days and days going up and down the streets looking for my master and trying to find my apartment-den. But, it was a big city and all the buildings looked the same. I was always hungry; it was very hard to find things to eat. One afternoon I thought I saw my master over on the other side of the street and I ran toward him. I was so excited and happy, but one of the big smelly things moving down the street did not want to let me cross. It smacked me hard on my left hind leg and I rolled over and over several times. I yelped - it really hurt badly and my leg didn=t work right anymore. I looked around and could not see my master anymore. So, I limped back to the security of my boxes and newspapers. For the next couple days I hardly moved because my leg hurt so much. I was hungry, thirsty and cold; I decided that I had to learn how to walk and then run on my three good legs. At first it was hard, but I knew I could do it. After all, I am a poodle.

I spent a couple weeks hopping around on three legs and I got pretty good at it. But my bad leg always hurt a lot and I was still always hungry. One day when I was coming back to my newspapers and cardboard box home, a big man grabbed me. I yelped wen he touched my leg. He said he was sorry and put me in a little cage in the back of one of those big smelly things. After a long ride I was taken into great big building full of other animals in cages. It was always pretty noisy in there with lots of barking. But, it was warm, there was water right in the cage, and I had a soft place to curl up and sleep. After a while someone even brought me a big bowl of food, to eat. I ate it all. It was mor food than I had had for weeks. The next day someone took me out of my cage and had my bad leg examined. They seemed to be very concerned about how badly it was hurt. I heard them say that I was lame and would have to be destroyed but, I didn’t know what they meant. I just tried to be friendly and lick them a lot so that maybe they would help me find my master. I spent a couple days in that building with all the other dogs until this nice lady by the name of Kathy came to see me. I could see from the start that she loved animals; so, I gave her lots of licks and nuzzled her neck. She seemed to like it and I heard her say that she was going to take me with her. Before we could go I had to get some vaccinations and she had to pay some money for me. I must be very special dog for her to do that for me. She said that she would take care of everything and that I would not have to be destroyed.

She put me in her car and drove me out into the countryside. There were a lot of different sniffs along the way and the trip was really fun. After a very long ride we arrived at her house. It was a lot colder there than it had been in the big city and there were big trees all around. The ground was covered with a white blanket of cold stuff that Kathy called snow. There were some other dogs and cats around and this place was a lot better than being in that building full of cages. I got to know a couple of the dogs there pretty well and we played and played. But I wasn’t as good at most games because of my bad leg. But, I still had fun even if my leg hurt. I heard Kathy on the telephone calling all over the place to see if she could find someone to fix my back leg. Finally, I heard her say that it would be expensive, but that she would do it. I didn=t know what it meant when she said that there might be surgery. A week or so later she took me to meet a very nice veterinarian at the hospital who told me that he could fix my leg. Kathy decided to get my leg fixed right away. She wanted me to be able to play like the rest of the dogs and cats at her house. The vet gave me a shot and I remember getting very sleepy. The next thing I remember was waking up and discovering that someone had shaved off a lot of my beautiful coat. My leg hurt some, but it was not as bad as it was before. Kathy picked me up from the hospital the next day and gave me medicine to make me feel better. It tasted good! I like Kathy! She was good to me and the other animals.

I wanted to play with the other animals and chased a cat down the stairs. Kathy was a little bit upset and said that I had to take it easy because of my leg surgery. After that she kept me separated from the other animals except when she was there to supervise. I tried, but I couldn’t escape. A few days after my trip to the hospital my leg was much better but I still couldn’t walk on it. Kathy told me that I was going to go and meet some nice people. She put me in the back of the car for a short ride. This is when I met Jack and Tricia. Right away I could see that they really liked me. I heard them say how cute I was and I wagged my tail. I liked the way they touched me. It was very cold so Tricia took me into the warm car while Jack and Kathy talked a lot. The big people always seem to talk a lot and it bores me. I would rather play. It was nice in the car, but I kept my eye on Kathy. She is my angel and I love her a lot. Pretty soon Jack got in the car and started to drive. I was distracted and when I looked up, I couldn’t see my Kathy. Where was Kathy? I whimpered for her and looked all over the back seat. She was gone! What was I going to do now? Where would I stay? Who would take care of me? I didn’t give up, I kept looking for her. I had to find Kathy. Would Jack and Tricia really know how to take care of me? Where was my angel Kathy?

I rode with Tricia for a while and then with Jack. I kept looking for Kathy. After a very long time, Jack stopped the car next to a building with some giant golden arches. I think that he went on a hunt inside the building because he came out with something in a bag that smelled real good. He gave me little chunks of something called that he called a burger. It was still warm and it was good. I was careful not to bite his fingers as he gave the burger to me. I ate all that he gave me and he gave me a lot! I decided that Jack was the best hunter around! He also had a cup of water and I drank my fill. My tummy full and I was a little bit sleepy. It’d been a long, exciting day. I curdled up on Tricia’s lap and rested. Soon I was dreaming about my Kathy and the other animals that I had met at her place. Jack drove and drove and never seem to get tired. I woke up a couple times, looked around, and then went back to sleep. Jack and Tricia were nice, but I worried about Kathy. After what seemed like forever, Tricia woke me up and said that we were almost home. When the car stopped in the driveway, they let me out. The world was a lot different here. There was no snow and it was a lot warmer. Jack took me on a short walk and there were different sniffs around here. I could tell that there were other dogs in the neighborhood, but I did not see any of them. Next they took me inside a big den. It was nice and cozy. They said that it was all mine. I did not know what to think so I began exploring. I looked and sniffed everywhere, behind chairs, under tables. There were steps that went down somewhere, but it was dark so I did not go down there. It was scary. They offered me some Hills Science Diet dog food and I wagged my tail even though it was not as good as that burger thing. I hope that Jack catches more of those burger things. They are really good!

After dinner we went back outside for a longer walk and I began to mark my territory so that the other dog packs would know that I was here. It was a fun place just like a park. There was grass, big trees, bushes and sidewalks. It seemed like a dog friendly place, but I still did not see any of the other dogs. They were all in their dens. After the walk, Jack carried me upstairs because of my leg and there were even more places to explore. I checked everything out. Jack and Tricia played with me a lot and then said that it was time to go to bed. I was blessed - they placed me in the center of a great big bed and both of them laid down beside me. I snuggled up to Jack and he rubbed my ears and neck. I began thinking about my day. It had been fun and exciting with all of the new things I had experienced. But, I still missed my angel Kathy. I wondered how she was doing. As I fell asleep, I began planning how I would go about becoming a member of this new pack. I didn’t realize it then, but they had already adopted me. I fell asleep with my head resting on Jack’s shoulder. I was a lucky, lucky dog. They took very good care of me and it was not long before I realized that I was a full member of this new pack. Jack and Tricia used a leather harness instead of a collar when we went on dog walks. It fit me well and held me securely. I would never be able to escape from that harness. It was also easier on my neck when I came to the end of the line. They took me to see their veterinarian to have my leg checked. He said that I would have a full recovery if we careful and exercised my leg correctly for a few months. Jack also had the vet place a computer chip under my skin. That way, if I were ever found alone again, I could always be returned to them. Jack said that I would never be lost or alone again. When we got back to our den, Tricia gave me some nice toys to play with and some really good things to eat. I am a happy girl now. Although Jack and Tricia call me their Angel from the Poconos, they don’t really understand things the way I do. I know that my Kathy is the real Angel from the Poconos. She was there when I needed her. She a very special person and I owe her everything. She saved my life and found Jack and Tricia for me.

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