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Mike and Me-Sha
By Lolita Morris
Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2012 Lolita Morris
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4669-6169-2
Chapter One
This is a story about a boy and his dog. Meet Mike, a seven-year-old boy in second grade. He is an only child to his parents. Mike likes to play with his neighbor, John and John's little brother, Chris. John and Chris have a dog named Buddy. Buddy is a Doberman Pinscher. At first, Mike was scared of John's big dog because he was really large. After a while, he came to realize that Buddy was a very friendly, playful dog who thought of himself as a little dog. Buddy would try to sit on his family's lap like a baby.
Over time, Mike realized he wanted a dog just like Buddy. He decided to ask his mom one day if he could have a dog, too. Mike's mom asked him if he was ready for the responsibility of having a dog. "Well, sure I am," Mike replied.
"Well, ok, but this would mean feeding your dog, picking up the poo, grooming, and walking your dog. And, it would mean a full time job. This means, that you cannot just stop because you want to do something else."
"I can do this mom, I promise." Mike kissed his mom and ran off to tell his friends.
When Saturday arrived, Mike's mom announced that it was time to go to the animal shelter to find a dog to adopt. Mike asked his mom, if they might find a dog like Buddy. "Well," his mom explained to him, "Buddy is a full breed type of dog and animal shelters may or may not have a full breed." She gently grabbed Mike's hand. "Animal shelters rescue all dogs that need a home. What we are doing right now is saving a dog." Mike's mom tilted her head and sighed. "The animal shelters have too many dogs, and many dogs have to be put to sleep because there is no room for all of them." "Put to sleep?" Mike asked. "Yes, they are put to sleep and then they go to doggie heaven. When mama dogs and cats have babies, they have a lot of them at once. Then, there are too many dogs and cats and not enough people to take care of all of them." "Well, I wish we could adopt them all, I don't want any to go to sleep!" Mike exclaimed. Mike's mom gave a gentle smile. "We will have to start with one. Maybe we will get to have a dog who is a mix of breeds. That means we could have a dog that has all the traits of a full breed. They are, at times healthier because full breeds can have certain health issues. There are great advantages to having both a full breed and a mixed dog."
The first thing Mike noticed when they arrived to the shelter was all the loud barking coming from the building. Mike became real excited imagining that his new friend in there could be one of the dogs he heard barking. They were greeted with an animal police officer who introduced himself as David. David took them on a tour of the building and asked if they were interested in seeing the cats, who were housed on the other side. They decided to take the full tour. Mike saw all the cats and kittens in large crates. Some kittens were sleeping and others were playing and crawling all over each other. "They are so adorable," Mike's mom said. When the officer took them to the other side of the building, Mike noticed that they were outside. There were kennels on both sides down a large aisle.
There were large dogs, small dogs, and dogs of all different colors. Mike walked slowly down the aisle. One dog came up barking really loudly and made Mike jump. Mike's mom told him it was ok, because that dog was maybe scared, too. Mike continued walking down the aisle hoping to see a dog that looked a little like Buddy. Mike's mom knew what he was thinking and reminded Mike that any one of these dogs could be just like Buddy. As Mike was about to turn around, he heard a little whimper coming from a kennel. He thought the kennel was empty at first until he heard the noise again. In the very back was a little ball of fur in the corner.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Mike and Me-Sha by Lolita Morris Copyright © 2012 by Lolita Morris. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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