Lucy

The first time I saw her
I was three years old.

Mommy and daddy and brother and I
All sat in the corner of the pet store
Surrounded by a waist-high red wall
And the manager brought her to us.
“She's a Miniature Pinscher,” she said
And I didn't know what that meant
But as soon as I saw her I was hers.

You could have tied a string
to her stubby little tail
And she would have woven us
the web of a dream catcher.
Running to mommy, then daddy
Then to brother, then me
Again and again;
She wouldn't, couldn't stop
Not even long enough
For a pet or cuddle or kiss.

But mommy said, “She's too expensive.”
We left the pet store without her
And I cried the whole way home.

Later, Daddy left to run errands.
“I'll be back in an hour,” he said
And an hour later he returned--
With a kennel and a leash
And our little Lulybelle.

“Now, we have to take responsibility for her,”
Mommy said, and I didn't know what that meant
But I looked into her eyes and I knew she was mine.

~~

RIP Lucy: 12.3.92 - 9.29.11