Here’s a confession: I did not enjoy writing stories when I was a kid.
Why?
I couldn’t think of interesting topics except for one about my dog. Each time a teacher gave a creative writing assignment, I would tell the same anecdote with various enhancements as my skills improved. After rereading the same story I’d written for different teachers, my mom, who was always complimentary of my work, finally said, “That’s a nice story, Sallie, but can you come up with anything other than My Dog?”
If I could travel back in time, I’d teach myself a trick to conjure more content. Read the true tale of My Dog and see if the secret materializes before your eyes!
Chosen by Scruffy
One late-spring morning, when I was six years old, a big hairy dog appeared at our kitchen’s sliding-glass door. My two sisters and I immediately forgot about our breakfast. I was apprehensive, but as my eldest sister stepped outside, she said the dog’s wagging tail was inviting us to be friends. Pretty soon, we were petting and hugging “Scruffy” and receiving doggie kisses.
Since our parents were at work, we phoned them with the good news: we had a dog! She wasn’t wearing a collar, so our mom and dad said we could keep her if her original family didn’t claim her. We then took her to the vet and learned she was an Old English Sheepdog. After a bath and trim, she was a beauty, although we continued to call her “Scruffy,” a name she seemed fond of.
Seven Puppies
We played with Scruffy all day, every day, and she never left our yard. At night, she slept in our garage. When we called her to play or eat, she always came quickly. Therefore, when she went missing for an entire day, we were frantic. Thankfully, the next morning, we saw her coming and going through the door to the crawlspace under our house.
Aha! That’s where Scruffy had given birth to a litter of puppies!
They needed a safe place to thrive, so we set up a nursery in our garage. While we kept Scruffy calm, our mom bravely crawled under the house to retrieve her babies. It seemed like forever when our mom finally emerged with a hamster-sized ball of fur in each arm. She continued carrying out one or two a few more times until Scruffy and all seven of her puppies were reunited.
A Blissful Summer
We had the best summer ever spending every waking moment with Scruffy and her puppies. Each one had a unique look and personality and a carefully chosen name to match. We adored them all and could no longer imagine our family without dogs.
One Puppy
After starting first grade, I continued to spend my afternoons and weekends with Scruffy and her adorable pups. Our parents had told us we would keep only one, but I wanted to believe they’d reconsider. Inevitably, though, one by one, our mom found good homes for Scruffy’s puppies. She gave them away while we were at school, which was hard, but six tearful goodbyes would have been unbearable.
Preventing a disagreement over which one we’d keep, our mom selected Blondie based on her heartiness and gentle temperament. In the years to come, we’d learn that she’d chosen the prefect dog.
If I ended the story there, we would have lived happily ever after with Scruffy and Blondie.
A Cruel Lesson
Fatefully, a member of Scruffy’s prior family had been hired to deliver newspapers to our section of town. The teenage boy, who traveled on his bike, stopped when he saw her, and Scruffy happily greeted him. He petted her but made no attempt to take her, and Scruffy ran back to us. Our parents didn’t hear from the family, so we assumed they were pleased—or at least willing—for us to keep her.
A few weeks later, after being away from home for a few hours, we were shocked to return to find the family had taken Scruffy and trapped Blondie under our house. While there, they’d spoken to our neighbors but never called us, not even to say thanks for all the love and care we’d given Scruffy and her puppies.
Selfish and Unselfish Love
A few weeks later, Scruffy found her way back to us. We were overjoyed but not for long. The same teenager returned to fetch her. When he attached the leash to her collar, she obediently left with him, but her heart wasn’t in it. I’d never forget the sight of her looking back at us.
Our parents tried to convince us that Scruffy’s other family loved her as much as we did. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have come for her twice.
We hoped the family would invite us to visit Scruffy, but they never did, and we eventually learned that they moved from our town.
My Dog
To honor her, we pledged to give our dog double the affection: all the love we had for Scruffy plus all the adoration we had for her. We did, and precious Blondie reciprocated every moment of her long life.
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Almost anyone could understand why My Dog, the story of how my best friend throughout childhood joined our family, would remain the story of my life for many years. While worth telling in its entirety, each component—Chosen by Scruffy, Seven Puppies, A Blissful Summer, One Puppy, A Cruel Lesson, Selfish and Unselfish Love, and My Dog—was full of memories and lessons.
And that’s the point! I could have composed seven stories, possibly more, from My Dog.
Comprehensive stories, lessons, etc. contain multiple themes. Therefore, if you’ve developed a thorough presentation, weigh the pros and cons of giving away everything at once. Instead, could you create a series of meaningful but digestible parts taken from the start-to-finish narrative? To note:
- Each separate subject should have sufficient merit to stand on its own.
- At some point, you could pull everything together and share all the content in a chosen format, such as a book.
Back to my mom’s question: “That’s a nice story, Sallie, but can you come up with anything other than My Dog?”
What do you think?
Sallie W. Boyles, a.k.a. Write Lady
Thoughts or questions? Please contact Sallie Boyles, owner of Write Lady Inc., to exchange ideas about effective communications and gain from professional writing and editing services. Receive monthly tips and insights by subscribing at https://WriteLady.com.