A New Home!

• Marisol Carey, Grade 4, Our Lady of Mt Carmel Primary School
• Short Story
• 2017

Excellence Award in the 'Spread The Word 2017' competition

One dark and gloomy day, a small puppy named Pupstar found an owner. Pupstar was a small cavalier and loved to explore. Her new owner was tall with big blue eyes and long brown hair, her name was Ella. She found Pupstar in a small brown box saying: UNWANTED PUPPY FOR FREE, HER NAME IS PUPSTAR. So Ella took Pupstar to her home and gave her a bowl of fresh water and lots of crunchy dog biscuits.

Ella had a dog called Barnaby and he was a big Golden Retriever and liked to run a lot. One day he got off the leash and ran across the road and sadly he was hit by a car and passed away. So Ella was happy to have another dog in her life.

Pupstar felt happy that she was in a warm place with lots of food and water. When Pupstar finished eating, she had to go to bed because it was very late. Pupstar was very tired but when Ella was taking Pupstar to bed, she said, "Whatever you do, don't go in the forest." Pupstar didn't even think of going into the forest until Ella said that. She just couldn't get the thought of going into the forest out of her mind.

When Ella turned the lights off, Pupstar jumped out of bed, and quietly ran through the dog flap and through the backyard to the forest. All she could see were trees around her so she looked to see if there were any houses but there were none. Pupstar suddenly realised she has lost her direction. Scared and frightened, she walked towards an old bench and hid under it until sunrise came.

She was awakened by the bark of another dog so she ran up to the dog and asked, "What is your name?" The other dog replied, "My name is Sweet Beat." Sweet Beat is a yellow Labrador." What is your name?" "My name is Pupstar. Do you want to be friends?" asked Pupstar. "Yes!" Sweet Beat replied. They walked along the forest and then sat on the soggy grass. "My owner must be worrying about me" said Pupstar. "Why?" asked Sweet Beat. "Because I escaped in the middle of night...well I mean I got lost. I just wanted to explore the forest but I lost my direction." said Pupstar. "I don't have a house I'm just a wild dog." Said Sweet Beat. Pupstar felt sorry for her. "You can and live with me." Said Pupstar, "But first we need to find my home."

Suddenly they heard more barking. "Let's go and follow the barking." said Sweet Beat. Soon they were at the other side of the forest and they could hear the barking even louder. The barking came from a Fire Station, located across the road from the forest, where another dog was sitting. The two dogs thought he looked like a Dalmatian.
When the Dalmatian saw the other two dogs, he ran carefully across the road to Pupstar and Sweet Beat. "Hello, what's your name?" asked the Dalmatian shyly. "I'm Sweet Beat and this is my friend, Pupstar." Said Sweet Beat. "Mine is Sbark" The Dalmatian replied. "Can we be friends?" asked Sbark. "Of course you can!" replied Sweet Beat. So off they went looking for Pupstar's home.


Look!" exclaimed Sbark, "A dog catcher run!" The dogs ran away from the dog catcher as fast as their little legs could take them but Pupstar got caught in his net. No matter how much barking the dogs were doing, the dog catcher was ignoring them and threw Pupstar in the Pound Truck. The other two dogs chased the truck Pupstar was in until they arrived at the Dog pound. "What shall we do now?" asked Sweet Beat. "You keep guard and I can go in and get Pupstar out." said Sbark. "But how will you get in?" asked Sweet Beat. "Look! The window of the pound is open!" said Sbark. So he went into the pound and then he saw a red button. It said on it: OPEN ALL CAGES.

There was no sign of anybody there so Sbark pressed the button and all the dogs were free! They all ran in a different direction. Some looking for their home and some looking for a safe place to hide.

Sbark found Pupstar and they ran out to find Sweet Beat but she wasn't there. She was missing! They looked all around the pound but they couldn't find her. There was only one place for her to be, at the RSPCA. Sbark and Pupstar ran to the top of the hill to the RSPCA and went through the open crack of the door as quietly as possible. They saw Sweet Beat in a small cage with a key hole but no key in it. "We have to find the key." said Sbark. "Look over there on the cupboard. It says: KEYS." Said Pupstar, so they went and opened the cupboard with their mouths and looked inside it. "Which key?" asked Pupstar. "On the top of the cage it has these numbers written on it: 385. So I think the keys have the same number on them." replied Sbark. "They do! And here's 385!" said Sbark. The two dogs opened the cage and let Sweet Beat free.

They saw two other dogs there and decided to be friends. Their names were Arkie and Oreo. They all went out and walked along the hill. At the top of the hill you could see the whole town. Pupstar suddenly shouted, "My home! I can see my home! Let's go!" "We need to hurry up because it is starting to rain and we dogs are scared of thunder and lightning." said Oreo. So the dogs raced down the hill to Pupstar's home and ran through the dog flap. It was nice and warm inside. Then they all saw Ella and jumped on her. She fed them all, gave them water and lots of toys. After a long day, it was time to go to sleep. All the dogs slept together because they had their own bed to sleep in and they were finally safe and sound.