The Life Of A Greyhound
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Alexandra Curtis, Grade 4
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Short Story
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2022
I see a fluff ball in the distance, I don’t know why but - I FEEL LIKE I NEED IT!
A loud bang goes off and I start running! I see all my friends running along with me!
CRASH! Three of my friends crashed into each other!
Blood everywhere! A growling 2-leg picks them up and takes them away. I hear loud cheering as one of my friend’s crosses a line on the path ahead! I sprint as hard as I can but notice a friend behind me is hurt and trying his best to run. He falls…
“YAYYYYYY! WOOHOO YESSS!” 2-legs cheer around me as I cross the same line. I look back at my friend, he’s last to cross the line. People sigh and demand their money back. I don’t know what money is, but the 2-legs talk about it a lot.
Friend gets taken away… I think all is fine but when we go back to our small, cold, lonely, and stinky kennels Friend isn’t there. Neither are the other friends who crashed. As more and more friends come, more and more leave. I’m thrown dry, stinky, gross food every day and spend my days running with other dogs in front of barking crowds of 2-legs. When I’m not running, I’m locked up in a kennel. In there, it’s Hell. Hard rocky floor, no space to move and the place stinks up when I do my business! It’s a lonely place to go. I’m… alone.
On what the 2-legs call my 7th birthday I get taken away from the kennels and track. The only place I’ve ever known. I feel scared. The new place is bigger than my kennel, but I still feel frightened. A strange 2-leg reaches her paw out to me, she says her name is Suzy. I sniff a little… Suzy smells like home, a good home.
I don’t run much anymore. And I don’t sleep in a cage. But sometimes I still feel a little scared and have flashbacks of my old life, like when the growling 2-leg took Friends away when they were bleeding and hurt. When I’m with Suzy, I know I’m safe! I love my new place, it’s warm and Suzy’s 2-leg pups are really fun to play with! They give me lots of good food and pats. But sometimes they make me wear an itchy blanket on our walks. It has something important written on it that I can’t read. But when Suzy holds it up, she reads aloud in a hopeful voice “Ban Greyhound racing!”.
The people used to call me ‘Zoomer’ or ‘Stupid’ but now they call me Andrew. It’s a little weird not hearing “ZOOMER! RUN! FASTER STUPID!” but I don’t mind. I like hearing the 2-legs calling me Andrew.
“Andrew!”
“Andrew, Come!”
“Good boy Andrew!”
It makes me feel good, good about myself! Now I am a good dog! A loved dog. And I love them.