I don’t remember where we were going
Only that it was far
Some special family vacation
To be taken in the car
Wild breezes gasped
Through our old truck’s door
I searched for something to stare at
And found something more
A little dog tied to a tree
A little girl crying beside him
Barking madly at the sky
Standing on its hind limbs
The girl was desperately sobbing
She looked an awful mess
Holding up a sign pointing to the dog
Reading: 50 cents or less
The little girl kissed the dog’s head
And ran crying down the road
Leaving the poor dog
All on its own
Although the odds were stacked against me
In life’s chancy deck
I turned to my dad in the driver’s seat
And asked if we could stop for a sec
He reluctantly pulled over
And I got out, face set like stone
I picked the little dog up in my arms
And asked if we could take him home
Dad frowned at the dog
Like it wasn’t worth his time
Nah, he said, just leave it
And I said, but he’ll die
No, Dad said firmly
We can’t afford to keep it
Put him back by the tree
Tell him to lie down, or sit
I placed the puppy back on the ground
Sadness was what I felt most
Tears rolled down my cheeks
I had been so close
But I got back in the car
And as we drove down the road
I cried like the little girl
Who left the dog alone