Here is a story [verbatim] that I wrote about my dog, Beau in the eighth grade. Beau was the best dog in the whole world – I miss him.
It was a t-shirt kind of day when I let my dogs out to play and run around.
It was about an hour after I let them out. My old, small Beagle Tinker returned shortly after I called for them. When she returned, I decided to run around. I came back, and my young, black Labrador came back. I knew my golden Labrador would return with Lady, my black dog, but he didn’t. I knew something was going on. I crossed the barbed wire fence slowly over the top slightly cutting my leg. I got onto the other peoples property and walked at least for a 4th of a mile and started getting mad at my dog. Usually he comes when I call, and he always obeys me. He is my most loyal friend. Finally I say him running in my direction, I was walking furiously along the truck cleared path with trees covering the top. He was running toward me, and I was strutting toward him ready to beat him..but I got to looking around and noticed how much fun it would be to go searching through the woods with my dog Beau, who was still running toward me. So a smile came to my face as I walked toward him. I crossed a puddle carefully, and while I was standing in the middle of the mud, I say Beau collapse before my eyes. His chest as sinking in fast, and he was breathing abnormally fast. His tongue was hanging out more than usual with dirt and leaves on it. I screamed and cussed, I couldn’t to loud because I was crying so much: I knew he was going to die. I was fixing to run back for help. Beau tried to get up to follow me, he was dragging his back legs and fell to his side in pain. Not knowing, I pumped his stomach thinking he was choking. I tried to rip down a vine out of a tree: it wouldn’t come down. I reached under him carefully, begging him not to die. I lifted him with a violent yell and started walking quickly with him in my arms. I crossed the puddle to fast, slipped and almost fell. I started walking faster.
Even though my adrenaline was going so much I had to stop many times and let Beau down so we both could rest, and I could regain my strength. Beau’s breathing slowed down a little, but I knew I still had to hurry.
Finally, after about a half a mile of walking, I saw my Beagle Tinker, pined in the barn looking at me with Beau in my arms. Tinker knew something was wrong. I sat Beau down beside the barn next to our house.
I ran to the house almost hurdling our wooden fence. I opened the door, caught, and screamed “Mom, Dad, something’s wrong with Beau!” I slammed the door fast hearing “David, Hurry!” which was my Mother telling my Dad.
My parents came sprinting out’ I was kneeling next to Beau telling him to keep fighting. My parents came to where I was, and my Mom cried mournfully “oh God he’s dying.” My Dad said he was going to get the truck so I dragged Beau away from its path. My Mother got in the truck in the middle, and I sat next to the window with Beau’s head in my lap. We drove about ten miles to the vet and we rushed Beau in. They gave him shots to help him stabilize.
Beau’s temperature was 105 degrees so they put him in a bathtub and began to cool him down. The veterinarian let him sit in the tub and gave him a few more shots. Beau started shivering so we helped put him on a counter and wrapped him in towels to get him at normal temperature.
The vet and my parents were talking, I said to Beau, “You’re going to be all right”. I stepped back almost falling over because of dizziness and exhaustion, I rested against a counter for a while.
My Dad came over and said, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
May 1990 By Josh Janicek