Sammy Boy

Mackenzie North looked at the collar hanging from the neck of the golden retriever that just ran into her in the local park.

The tag said “Sam” and had a telephone number on it.

In case the dog gets lost, Mac thought. She looked around her and wondered if the owner was in the near vicinity, seeing as she was walking through a park on her way home from work.

Home. She never thought she would call Pittsburgh her home considering that she had grown up in the Windy City. But, after being offered her dream job, she couldn’t turn down the opportunity to start a new life in a new city.

Mackenzie had gone to school in Chicago and graduated at the top of her class. That was back in May. Right after graduation, the twenty-two year old got a call from a PR firm that had interviewed her earlier that year. They had offered her a managerial level position, which was almost unheard of for a new graduate. She moved into her new apartment in July and started work last month.

At times she felt lonely being so far away from her hometown, family and friends, and had to remind herself that it would get easier. She was quickly learning the ropes at the company and making a few new friends in the process. She was still getting acquainted with the town: it was a big city like Chicago, but definitely different from where she had grown up. It was tough being “the new guy” let alone “the new guy” who was twenty two and new to the city.

Now it was September and Mac had been in the city for almost three months. She had been out with “the office” a few times and had generally had a good time. The people of Pittsburgh had been very friendly and accommodating to her; some of the girls from work had even offered to throw her a house warming party.

And now she found a dog. Mac sat on a park bench, set her takeout down and waited for fifteen minutes but no one approached her to claim the dog.

“Let’s see where your owner is,” she said to the dog as she pulled out her phone. She patted his head; he was awfully energetic but the Golden Retrievers she’d met in her life generally were.

She dialed the number from the tag and waited. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Voicemail.

“You’ve reached Sidney. Leave me a message.”

“Hello Sidney, um, my name is Mackenzie North and I’m currently with your dog, ha. Um, anyway, yeah, I found Sam in Riverview Park in downtown Pittsburgh. So, yeah, call me back and we can arrange a time for you to get him. Okay, bye.”

“Alright, Sammy Boy, let’s get going.”

Collar in one hand, Chinese in the other, Mackenzie set out for her apartment a few blocks south from where she was now.