Beau

I truly believe that most children, at some point in time, want a dog. I of course, was not any different. I really can’t tell you how many hours I pleaded and begged, for a dog, and I had managed to get a “yes,” a few times. But every time something would go horribly wrong, and it would all end with misery for me. It would happen in several ways either the dog would destroy everything, he would attack me, or my mama would just decide that she had, had enough and each time my beloved dog would be sentenced to the pound. This happened several times, prior to getting Beau.

Beau was different, and I knew instantly that he would be different.

I remember the day Tracy told me about Daschund’s. She had one of her own, and he was the most lovable and loyal dog she had ever owned. Her stories about her dog were filled with love, and it was those stories, that had me convinced that, that was the breed for me. It was from that point on that I began to beg and plead for another dog. But this time I wanted to purchase a pure bred dog; I wanted a Daschund.

Soon after my pleading began, Tracy, had mentioned that she had a patient whose miniature Daschund had recently had puppies, and there was one ugly duckling who hadn’t been sold. It was the perfect opportunity, and I thought it would be my only window to get another “yes,” from my mama. Not mentioning anything to my mama, I asked Tracy if her patient could bring the puppy in during her next visit, and I could plan my next appointment around her visit. At first I thought my plan had worked wonderfully well, who can say “no,” to the little wrinkled paws of a Dashund puppy? Well my mama, of course. But she didn’t give me a solid “no,” all she said was that she wasn’t going to pay for him. Convinced that I would find a way to raise $300, I left all of my savings as a deposit for beau and began my fundraising efforts.

Fundraising for beau did not come easy, my mama was not willing to contribute, meaning I had to find other means to pay the price. I made calls to all of my aunts hoping that they would be willing to donate some money so I can buy Beau. The only one that responded semi-positively was Leticia, who was willing to loan me the money, but I had to repay her with interest. This option was kept open in case I had no other option, but there was no way I could repay her and much less with interest. I continued my family harassment, and finally found a way to raise the money. My cousin’s grandmother was having a garage sale, and was willing to split the profit with me, if I came to help her with the sales all day. So for three weekends in a row, I woke up at 4am to help set up the garage sale. By the last garage sale, I was really close to $300, but I needed to purchase puppy supplies and I also needed to think about his Vet visit, so I needed at least anther $200 to make the purchase possible. Not really seeing another way to purchase Beau, I contacted Leticia, and took her up on her offer. I never managed to raise the remainder of the funds that I needed, and my mama ended up paying Leticia back with interest. But I was happy, I was finally going to get my dog, and he would be perfect.

It was early December and I had recently turned eleven, and that was the day that my mama was taking me to go pick up Beau. I gave the lady the money and she handed me Beau. She had named him Beau, after his papa whose name was Boris, and so it stayed, he would remain Beau. Once I brought Beau home, I didn’t get many positive responses from my family. Beau was truly the ugly duckling. I remember when my cousin Sandra, saw him, all she said was, “Out of all the beautiful dogs there are, you chose that one.”

He was the ugly duckling and I was the curvy girl, and I am telling the story of Beau, because he made everything I went through so much easier. He was exactly the dog I needed; during the time I needed him the most. After my surgeries, Beau was always there. He never left my side. He was a friend without judgment, just understanding. He was the only one who knew all of my pain, and all of my tears. He was my dog, my friend, and my little angel by my side.