I am a dog!
Do dogs have dreams?
Can we make a wish for when we are left on the streets to find someone kind to give us a home?
I had a home with not the best of comfort, care or food, but at least it was a home with a family. That changed one damp morning in December when somehow I found myself homeless. My owner, the man of the home, went for a ride on his bike and called me to run behind him. He usually took his bird on his early morning ride, but I never followed him far until this morning.

He kept calling me to follow him and rode a good distance through several streets. My legs were beginning to tire, but I did not stop because I knew he would get angry.
He finally rode across the road into an area with nice houses and a wide grassy playfield. He parked his bike and told me to play while he picked some grass for his bird. I did not want to play because I was too tired, but he shouted at me to go so I walked to the middle of the playfield where the grass was higher. I drank water from a small puddle and sat down, resting on the wet grass.

I must have dozed off because when I woke up, it was quiet and there was no one around. I ran to where the man had parked his bike, but he was not there, nor his bike. I hadn’t heard him call, though I’m a light sleeper, a habit he had beaten into me so I could always be alert.
Why did he not call for me?

My heart sank as I realised he had left me alone in that strange place. I ran up to the road that led into that area, but it was so busy with traffic, and there were many streets across the road; I couldn’t remember where I had come from.
How do I find home?

I went back to the playfield and sat right in front, looking straight down the road so I could see when he would come back for me. I thought maybe he had to go somewhere for something important and he would return for me but it was starting to get dark and the rain came down. I had to find shelter but where do I go? I ran through many connecting streets, but no one’s gates were open. I managed to curl up against fences with concrete, parapets where the rain did not wet too much and sometimes under trees that offered some shelter. I was half-wet, cold and hungry and I cried to myself that night wondering why that happened. I know I hadn’t been a bad dog.

Did he not want me anymore?
As soon as it was morning, I went back to the playfield and waited until the sun rose high in the sky. By that time, I was really hungry, so I went back running through the streets, hoping someone would offer me some food. I hardly got any attention. People were in their homes or gone to work, and others were just passing by with their vehicles. No one stopped to assist a poor homeless dog until late in the afternoon when someone noticed, and some food was put out for me.

I ate hungrily, but with the December rains, I had no shelter.
Then, two days later, early in the morning, a lady from a house resembling a castle looked at me curiously as she picked flowers to fill a small basket. I knew my condition was bad- I was rugged and skinny, so I wasn’t sure she would be interested in opening her gate to a strange dog because she had a cute, fluffy dog.

She went inside with her dog, and my heart sank again, wondering if anyone would want me, for my owner abandoned me. But she returned a short while later with some food and asked a resident passing from the back street, “Is this dog lost?”
The man did not know, and she asked again, “Did someone abandon him? He seems to be looking for his way home.”

The man did not know, but I knew the answer, and since I couldn’t talk, I hoped that someone would soon realise that. The lady left the food under a white flowering tree just outside her gate and went inside, looking at me concerned.
That gave me some hope.

She began putting water and food daily and called for me whenever she did not see me. She called me ‘Doggo’, and I now recognised a new voice that was softer and kinder than my owner. The close neighbours, seeing her kind gesture, began putting out food too and a nice man from the back street who had his own dog, stopped often to give me treats.

I was now getting enough food, hearing kind voices. The children ran and played with me, but no one opened their gates, so I was still in the streets with no place to call home with a family. From time to time, I would still stand in the middle of the playfield and look across the road with hope, but I guess the man was never coming back for me. Then, when I looked the other way, the castle-like house stood there like a dream and I wondered, “Could this ever be home?”

It was the Christmas season, with the colourful lights, the merriness, children’s laughter and aromas of delicious foods. On Christmas Eve, the rain came down with a heavy drizzle. I was sitting under a short palm tree near a beautifully lit Christmas tree, waiting for the lady to call me for food. She had some friends over, and the time passed, but I waited. I was getting wet but didn’t feel like moving, tired of looking for shelter. Then I heard her voice,
“Doggo!”
Standing by the gate with her daughter, the food in her hand, she said, “Come in.”
The gate was opened for me. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. Joy filled my heart, for finally, I had a home and a new family for the new year.