Big-haired Texas girl journeys to Colorado

I’m Meg, a big-haired girl from southern Texas now living in Colorado. I had a rough start to life, but things are much better now.

It all began when I was little. One day I fell down while playing and over-extended my wrist. My parents took me to the doctor, who found a small fracture, but thought it would heal up normally. It didn’t, and to this day I can’t put much body weight on it, or it will hurt.

One morning, as an adolescent, my parents said goodbye to me and loaded me onto a van. There were a lot of other passengers just like me – most of them young, and a lot of them were scared. Some of them were so afraid they lost control of their bodily functions. We went for a long, long ride – it took day and night, we we all arrived in the early afternoon. None of us knew where we were going, or what kind of life would await us when we got to our destination. We finally arrived in an unfamiliar place that people called “Colorado.”

A woman in a lab coat jabbed a needle in the base of my neck and said it was for identification. Then a stout, middle-aged man arrived and said, “You’re coming with me.” He loaded me up in his car for a shorter ride this time, about half an hour. He stopped at a park, and had me walk with him. I noticed the trees and plants were different, and a huge mountain range loomed on the horizon. The air was cooler and drier than anything I experienced in South Texas. But it felt good to walk around outside for an hour. Then he took me to his home.

I was afraid I’d hurt myself again climbing the stairs. The man waited a bit and tried to encourage me, but I just couldn’t do it. He helped me get up the stairs.

Once I was upstiars, he gave me dinner. I was so exhausted and afraid, I slowly picked at my food. But it tasted better than the food I had in Texas, and I ate it all. Then the man showed me my bed. After such a long and frightening day, I was exhausted. I collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, the man gave me breakfast and took me to another park to walk around. I was afraid of the wooden foot bridges going over the creeks. But when he knelt down on the bridge, I knew it was safe and followed him.

Days like this passed and turned into weeks. It took a while, but I learned to get up and down the stairs without falling or hurting myself. The better food, walking in the nearby parks, and the man’s quiet, peaceful home made me feel much more at ease. I began to feel something I hadn’t felt since before this entire ordeal – I felt playful again! The fear had subsided, and for the first time in ages, I wanted to run and stomp around again. The man was happy to see my new lease on life, and brought home a box full of toys. He played with me every morning before he had to do something he dreaded, something called “work.” He told me, “I have to do this to keep a roof over our heads.” His friends and family came to visit, and they all showered me with affection.

Could it be, this man would be my human? The one I was waiting for, the one who would love and protect me?

Then he told me, “You’re going to school!” Once a week, he took me to the pet store, and another man joined in and helped me “learn to be a good dog.” “School” went on for three months. My human was so proud of me when I graduated, and told me I was a good dog! I beamed with pride.

Now 18 months have gone by, another pup has joined me, and I know I am in my forever home. “Meg” is short for “Nutmeg,” the name my human calls me. I still have big hair that sheds all over the place – much to the consternation of my human – but he cleans it up without complaining. He said that without me, his house would be clean and his wallet would be full … but his heart would be empty.