|
Once upon a time, a little black Lab puppy
was abandoned near the Everglades with his brother, a yellow Lab.
The bugs thought the little puppies were good homes, so the puppies
wandered, bug infected and hungry. It even rained on them. In
the rain they walked along a roadway, looking for food or for their
mommy.
A pickup truck passed by and the driver saw
the little puppies dangerously close to the street. The man parked
the truck on the side of the road, and got out in the rain. He
scooped up the wet little bundles of fur and put them in the truck to take
home with him.
When the puppies arrived at the man's home,
they had to take a bath - a special bath to get rid of all the fleas and
ticks that had made their home on them. The bath water turned black
with bugs. Then the man fed the puppies and they were very
hungry. Also living at the house was a big, Great Dane. His
name was Bruiser. There were also two pugs, Milo and Pugsley to play
with. The black cat wasn't very friendly though.
The man let the puppies crawl on him and
all over his room. He made a bed for them out of a comforter and they fell
asleep with full tummies in a warm, soft, dry bed, curled up
together.
As the days went by, the puppies got better
and put on weight. The man knew he couldn't keep two more dogs and
set about finding them a home.
He thought about a friend who had enjoyed
having Bruiser visit and decided the little black puppy would live with
her, even though she lived very far away. The yellow puppy went to a
lady who jogs. He would get good exercise!
The lady who was getting the little black
puppy had always wanted a dog named Elway - after John Elway, the Denver
Broncos quarterback. But one day, the little black puppy was playing
in the man's dirty laundry and the lady decided Elway wasn't a good name after all.
In the meantime, the little black puppy
became good friends with Bruiser. Bruiser let him tug on his ears
and even sit on his head!
It was a sad day when the yellow puppy went
to his new home and left his brother with the man, but the black puppy had
Bruiser and the pugs to play with and the man took good care of him.
He even got shots so he wouldn't get sick!
Everyone thought the man was mean, but he
really wasn't. He was very big and sometimes scared people. He
wanted people to think he was heartless. A woman had once asked if
the man had a heart in his chest that was as big as an Icebox. So
the puppy's new owner decided to call him Icebox, because he was as black
as the man wanted everyone to think his heart was. But the little
puppy was also as warm and friendly as the man could be.
Soon another friend came to take the man,
Bruiser, and Icebox to Icebox's new home. He had brought a collar
and lease and a stuffed animal to keep Icebox company on his ride.
It was a long ride.
When Icebox got to his new home, he was
very happy. He and Bruiser played tug-of-rope and ran
around the yard together.
His new owner took him to the vet, who
checked him out and gave him more shots so he wouldn't get
sick.
Icebox learned all the rules of the
house. He had to go outside to go to the bathroom and he went for
walks on a leash. The man, Bruiser, Icebox, and his new owner took
him for walks and to PetSmart!
All too soon, it was time for Bruiser and
the man to go home. Icebox missed Bruiser. For a few days he
lay on Bruiser's bed and didn't want to eat. But his new owner
played with him and walked him and took good care of him. He made
many new friends and they all liked to play!
Icebox got bigger and bigger. He
learned to go for long rides in the car and went to NH for a weekend and
Florida for a week! He learned to sit and walk on the leash without
pulling. He likes chasing a ball best or chewing on a bone or some
rawhide.
|
