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A Chance at
Life
The young trucker
pulled his big rig into the yard
At Ft. Stockton,
Texas to unload his grain.
It was a small
town in the middle of nowhere
With nothing but
sagebrush and desolate terrain.
He saw
a little black puppy in the yard
And it was 'round
about high noon.
The owner
said if you want a driving
buddy take him
cuz I'm goin' shoot 'im in the head real
soon.
Some men were
calling the dog and when he came
They threw rocks
at him to scare him
away.
The trucker went up
to the puppy and he cowered.
Oh, he knew the
little guy was an abused stray.
He had a dog at
home and didn't need another one
He was afraid
the puppy could be sick with fleas and ticks
Yet he couldn't
leave him to suffer a horrible
death
The thought of it
nearly made him sick.
He decided the least he
could do was take him back
to the animal shelter
in the town where he was from
In hopes that he would
have a good chance at life
With a new home and
loving care from someone.
He picked him up and
said, "Come on little buddy"
He put him in the
cab and patted him on the head.
The dog wimpered
a bit and he gave him some beef jerky.
He was probably
hungry and they had a long road ahead.
They traveled from Ft.
Stockton to Carlsbad, New Mexico
some 400 miles in 7
hours back to his Texas home town.
Little Buddy went
behind the seat and laid on his flannel shirt
And throughout the long
drive he didn't make a sound.
The trucker made
it to the yard where he parked his rig.
He let Buddy out
and he gobbled down a dead bird.
He put him in his
pickup and when he got out to lock the gate
Buddy
began barking - the first sound the
trucker heard.
He stopped by
the house to get some water and food
And drove to
the pound for an after hours drop support.
He opened one of the
cages and spread out his flannel
Buddy seemed to like it
and it might give him comfort.
He placed
the water bowl and some treats
inside.
With Buddy now in
the cage his paws held tight to the rim
The trucker pushed his
paws gently back in
Telling him he
hated to do this but it was the best for him.
He closed the door of
the cage with an automatic lock.
Buddy started barking
and running around in fear
He'd go back to the
window to look at the young man.
Oh, this was becoming
much harder as the trucker felt a tear.
If he could have - he
would have opened that door
And without a
second thought taken him out.
He was probably the
only kindness Buddy had received.
He got in his pickup
and drove away with a heavy heart.
Oh, he knew he had done
the right thing.
Buddy had certainly
turned his heart around.
He probably would
have made a good driving buddy
As for 400 miles Buddy
never made a sound.
The trucker
went to the pound on Saturday morn
Buddy was curled
up in ball oblivious to all around him
He said,
"Come here Buddy" and Buddy raised his head
Walked toward him acting as if he remembered him.
He returned again the next Thursday
Buddy was happy to see
him and did respond.
On Saturday he got
back before they closed
He walked through
many times but Buddy was not to be found.
On his first visit
he put his name on the Buddy's card
With numbers
to be called if
he was to be put down.
He was both happy and
sad that Buddy was gone
Hoping a loving
home Buddy had found.
Poem by Carol Barton
Copyright 2005 ~ Carol
Barton
If you don't want
me, please don't throw me out like garbage
scared and all
alone to fend for myself and put my life in danger.
I need to to be
loved - I need to be cared for.
Please, take me to
an animal shelter and
give me
a chance at life
and a home with love.
Remember to spay
and neuter your animals.
The young trucker
was my son who cared enough
to save the life
of his little "Buddy".