Hundreds died, but I survived. Way back in 2005, when I was just a puppy, Hurricane Katrina devastated my home. Before that I had a loving family who would take me to the park and play with me all the time. Every September, on my birthday, my family would take me to see all my other friends. “Fetch!” They would shout, and I and my friends would all scramble to catch the red flying disk; I would always catch it first.

I loved my family, and they loved me. They would have parties with tons of great food and shiny beads. Every day was an adventure with my family and I had loads of fun. Then the big storm came. My whole family seemed gloomy as they packed the car. That made me miserable and confused. I wasn’t sure why they were packing, so I went over to them and then, they petted me and said good bye for the last time. Then, as the rain started, they just drove away. I tried to catch them, but they were gone. I had no friends left; my neighbors left just like my family, and I was almost totally alone in this strange, wild new world.
That night, the winds became horrific. The house shook. I cried in the basement, scared and alone for the first time. I woke up in a deep puddle of water. It rained from the floor above, and I was cold. I got up and walked out of the basement, only to find the roof partially gone. The rain poured in, making it almost impossible to walk on the slippery floors. Sparks flew from the television and appliances as the water hit them. “I want my family” I whimpered. I was lost for the first time. I went into a closet and slept through the rest of the storm. The next day the whole basement was flooded with saltwater and a few dead fish. The streets were underwater, and the smell was horrendous. I waded along to find something to eat, and there were only a few stray dogs that were left. The rest had either fled or died. The ones that were left were just as frightened as me. We went for days without food. Then, we found a big building with a little food left in it, and we fought for what little was there; I found a dead rat, which turned out to be the last meal I ate for a long time.
One day I awoke to a surprising scene, the lights were bright, and the noise was loud as I was taken away in a helicopter. “Where am I?” “Am I going back to my family?” I asked myself. I tried to move, but I was tied down. I howled, and the dog lying next to me howled too. I wasn’t feeling well, but I hadn’t for the past few days. When we landed they gave me some food. I was happy. But then they took me and put me in a cage too small to move and I did not have any food for a few days after that. I didn’t like those people; they were mean to me. I missed my old family. Then one day, my new family brought me to a new room, where there were a bunch of angry dogs. That made me scared. I started barking with them. One dog was taken into the room next to us, and he did not come out. Then they took another one in, and he did not come out.
That happened all day until the two people came out for the last time for that day. They left us there, no food or water until the next morning. The next morning, they picked up my cage and started to bring me into the room of no return when suddenly a man rushed through the door. “Don’t kill him! Stop!” He cried. He was the nicest man I have ever met. He saved my life from those mean people at the old house. He brought me back to the North Shore Animal league, where I have spent most of my life; those years I spent there have been the happiest that I can remember. On the trip to the shelter, the nice man who saved me (who I found out later was named Oscar) gave me my name, Hurricane Charlie, and gave me more food than I could have dreamed of.
When we got back to the shelter, I was put with a whole bunch of other puppies and dogs to spend the night. The next day I found out why I hadn’t been feeling well; I was in the late stages of kidney failure and I had heart worm. That got me nervous. I did not know what that diagnosis meant (let alone what a diagnosis is), but it didn’t sound like something I wanted. It took a long time, countless hours and many new modified diets to help get me back to a normal pup. When I first got there I had felt as though I would never be a normal puppy. It is as though I left a part of me back in the big storm. I became defensive around my fellow canines when it came to feeding and play time. When they came near me, I felt as though they would take my food or hurt me. I kept having flash backs to the old shelter. But Oscar never gave up. He helped me to become trusting and loyal again.
I eventually recovered almost fully from my kidney failure and Heartworm, but never quite got rid of them completely. I needed another loving family to take care of me, like the one I had back at my old home. I missed them terribly, but they had left me, and I was in good care now. But as I got older, I did need to settle down in a smaller environment. I waited forever, and people came to visit me, but none took me home. I was worried that I would never find another family. Then, one day a big family, with young kids, and big kids came in all excited to see me and my friends. “This could be it!” I thought. “I could get adopted!” I wagged my tail in excitement, and the younger kids came dashing over. “Well, looks like we might have found a new friend for you, kids.” said the dad. Over walked Oscar and he recounted the story to them. As they heard of my unusual past, they cried as they heard of all the horrible things I endured. It truly was a poignant moment for us all, and it was then that I knew I had found a home.
Now, I have been adopted and made many new friends. My new family takes me to the park every September to frolic in the changing leaves and to throw the red flying disks to me and my new friends. I’ll miss Oscar; the hero who taught me to trust again, who helped me find my new home, and who helped me get through my horrendous ordeal. I’m still on my modified diet, and I still am scared of the big storms, but my new friends and family are there to guide me back to the life of a normal dog. I’m old now, and my future looks bright but short. There were just so many things I wanted to do when I was that young pup that I couldn’t, and now I look back with sorrow to see where those dreams went, but also with optimism. For one thing, I would never have found a family as loving as the one I do now, I never would have met Oscar, and my life would have no more meaning than that of an average dog. But now, there is a story behind me. I symbolize what it means to survive, and I show that no matter how bleak things look, there is always a way out. The North Shore Animal League showed me that.
Before my time comes to head to that big bone in the sky, I would like to finish my life’s To-Do list: I wish to make a full recovery from my kidney failure, which still ails me today, and to meet my original family one last time, to thank them for such a wonderful puppy-hood, and for me to make my new family happy. If I can complete those tasks, I know I have done something worthwhile.
I have led an exciting life, from the frolicking in the park to my near death experiences in both the big storm and the bad house, and from the rescue by Oscar, to the day I met my new family. My To-Do list is slowly being completed, and as the years roll by I grow older. Now I must be going, for the family calls…
- Sean Wright

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 8:34 am and is filed under Student's Corner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.