I Wanna Go Home(Debra Jean Walsh) I WANNA GO HOME!
A story told through the eyes of a dog.


I was hiding in the bedroom closet. The humans were yelling at each other and I had to hide, I was afraid. Suddenly, the male human stormed into the bedroom, flung the closet door open and threw a leash around my neck. He pulled me so hard it hurt my neck. I yelped and he screamed at me to shut up.

The male human was angry as he pulled me through the bedroom and down the hallway. The lady human was crying as she watched, the little humans were crying too. Something is wrong I felt.

The male human dragged me through the kitchen and out the backdoor to the waiting car. He jerked open the back door and screamed at me again to get in the car. I jumped in quickly as he slammed the car door, just missing my tail. I began to shake in fear. I didn’t know where he was taking me.

He lit up one of those smelling things he put in his mouth. Smoke came out his mouth and nose just like the dragon in the cartoons I watched with the little humans. But there was no laughter here, just fury.

We drove for a while, speeding through the streets, barely stopping at stop signs, running lights. I did all I could to not fly into the car seat. The car stopped abruptly – he got out of the door and opened my door. He took the leash and jerked me out of the car. I did not yelp this time, I was too afraid. My tail was between my legs. I didn’t want to go with him. I didn’t like the smells around me.

He dragged me into a building and spoke to another lady human. She smiled at me with a sad smile, then she took my leash. I had to follow her. I heard the other dogs all around me, barking and crying. I didn’t like it here, I wanted to go home to my little humans. We stopped for a minute and I closed my eyes. Praying that when I opened them, this would all be a bad dream. I would be with my little humans, hugging and kissing me and the lady human sneaking me small scraps of chicken from her dinner plate.

I heard a scraping sound and opened my eyes. A cage door was open and I was told to go in. I looked up at the lady human – I didn’t want to go in the cage – I didn’t like the cold, antiseptic smell, the cold metal on my paws as I slowly walked in, what was to be my new home. I slowly walked into the cage, laid down and curled myself into a ball in the corner. I was afraid and sad. Why did the male human bring me here and leave me? What did I do wrong? Did the little humans stop loving me? No, there were crying when I left the house, my home.

The nice lady who had put me in the cage, came back with a bowl of cold water and a bowl of dry food, but no chicken. I laid there for a long time, crying softly to myself. “I want to go home.” The lights suddenly turned off and I heard the humans leave and lock a door. The other dogs began to bark and cry – it frightened me even more.

I finally fell asleep. I dreamed of my home, my little humans running and playing with me in the back yard. The lady human coming out the backdoor from the kitchen, laughing at us. I run up to her and she gives me a small piece of chicken she saved me from her dinner. “Good girl,” she says. I smile….

A loud noise wakes me from my dream. Where am I? The horror comes flooding back. I hear dogs crying and barking and my heart sinks. I am in a cage, not at my home.

The humans were coming back in and I hear shoes shuffling on the floor near my cage. A male human looks in and mumbles something, I can’t hear what he says.

I was so scared during the night, I wet myself. Suddenly a stream of freezing cold water comes shooting through the bars of my cage. I had no where to run! Ice cold water came rushing over me, swirled around the cage and down the drain that sat in the middle of the cage, making a sucking and gurgling sounds as it got sucked down.

“I want to go home!” I cried… but no one was listening. The water finally stopped but I was still cold, dripping wet. I sat on the cold, wet floor, confused, my heart aching for my warm bed, my home.

Hours went by before the nice human lady I’d seen yesterday brought me food and water. Cold water, dry food, but no chicken.

The cage grew hotter as the sun rose in the sky. The front of my cage was inside the building but the back of the cage was outside. I was miserable. The metal floor began to get warm and uncomfortable to sit or stand on, let alone lie down on. I paced back and forth trying to keep my paws from hitting the burning metal.

“What’s that?” I heard little ones laughing and running! “They’ve come back for me! I’m going home!” My heart raced and a smile grew across my face but quickly faded. The little humans ran by my cage, never even looking at me. It wasn’t my little humans.

I curled back into a ball in the corner of cage. I felt hopeless, my broken heart sent me to the depths of despair. I would die here.”

"Hi there!” I heard a lady human’s voice.

“Is she talking to me?” I wondered.

“Hi sweetheart!” Her voice was soft and sweet.

“Come here girl…”

I opened my eyes and saw a beautiful lady human, leaning down, looking in my cage that was on the outside. “Was she calling to me?” My tail began to wag slowly. She called me again to come to her. I slowly got up, but kept my head down and my tail between my legs. I was still very sad, missing my family and not trusting of any human.

“I’d like to meet her.” I heard the lady say.

A hand reached to open my cage, a leash was put around my neck and I was led out to meet her. I slowly came out but the Sun was shining so brightly I couldn’t see and I blinked my eyes.

I felt a hand brush the top of my head and start to scratch my ear. It felt nice – warm and trusting. She took my face in her hands and caressed my cheeks. I stared into her kind eyes. I licked her hand thanking her for her kindness. I was hopeful but afraid to get too happy. “Will she take me home?” I thought. I suddenly lowered my head. I can’t trust humans anymore, and yet this one was different. I liked the way she smelled.

A male human walked over to her. My fur stood up, and I backed further away, back into the cage.

“Hey girl!” I heard him say. His voice was kind and gentle just like the lady human.

The lady human looked at the male human. “Well, what do you think?”

The male human smiled, “She is a beautiful dog and very sweet too.” He bent down to rub my head. It was a fun and friendly feeling. I started to move closer to him.

“I think I like these humans,” I thought.

“Wanna go home with us, girl?” the lady human asked.

My tail began to wag faster and faster. I heard the word home! I knew what that meant! A warm bed, a big yard to run in and humans who loved me.

They gently tugged on the leash. “C’mon girl, let’s go home.”

I broke into a trot I was so happy. A brief stop to talk to the nice lady human I met yesterday and then I was led to a car. The humans, my humans, opened the car door to the back seat, and I jumped in, feeling such joy and happiness! My door closed and the humans got in the car in the front seats. The car started and huge smile bloomed on my face.

“Oh my goodness! What’s that smell?” A wonderful aroma swirled around my nose, and my mouth began to water.

The nice lady took out a small plastic bag and opened it.

“Here girl, this is for you,” she said, and she held out her hand.

I sniffed the air, enjoying the scent before I opened my mouth and devoured the treat she held out for me.

“Chicken!” I was going home!

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