The Journey Of Freedom

Bonnie awakened in a dark, cold room. “Brr”, she said as she stretched and yawned. Her feet were tired, swollen and sore from all the day’s previous walking and her mouth was very dry.

“I need some water”, she thought.

This room was so much warmer when I came in yesterday, she complained to herself. She had been walking for hours before she found this spot. An old abandoned warehouse of some sort, now dusty and long forgotten but a welcome sight to her and her tired feet. She had snuggled up in the corner hoping to get a little sleep before she had to move on.

She knew she had to keep moving to stay ahead of the man following her. She first noticed him right after she left that house where she was tortured all the time. Very little food, locked in a cage, a very lonely existence. The man had been tailing her for days now and came close to catching her on two different occasions. She had managed to find a hiding place the first time and stayed there for a day while she slept fitfully. The second time, she simply was able to outrun him and disappear around a corner.

She walked out the door, turned left and ran right into him.

Now she had gotten caught and was so frightened she would be returned to that house of horrors.

“Please, I don’t want to go back,” she whined.

“Shut up,” the man yelled at her.

He drove for a while, whistling the whole time. They drove over very bumpy roads that only made her more sore and extremely anxious about where they were going.

“I don’t have to go back there, do I?” she whined again.

The man yelled again. “SHUT UP!”

They stopped at a building that was not her old place and Bonnie sighed. What a relief. She thought anything would be better than her old place.

She had lived at that place for 9 years and hated every moment of her existence. They treated her so badly. She was hit all the time, made to lie on the cold concrete floor and never had enough to eat.

She got into the garbage one time and ate some of the leftovers, but when she got caught, it only brought about another beating, but she thought it was worth it to have gotten something to eat.

The squished discarded hamburger had ketchup and relish on it which she didn’t really like, but she happily ate the burger knowing it might be days before she got any more food.

Her bed was barely a bed but it did belong to her and she was sent there more often than she cared to admit. She didn’t think she was such a bad girl, but apparently her family did.

The car finally stopped after about 10 minutes and the man said, “Let’s go, get out.”

They walked through the door and Bonnie could now hear some dogs barking and her heart sank. They’re taking me back, she thought.

The lady opened the door and Bonnie was met by a large black dog with matted hair. In the corner was a brown and white dog, shaking and trying to avoid the others. The two dogs on the floor slept fitfully. Chasing rabbits Bonne thought.

She was pushed into the cage and she went to the corner and started to lick her sore paws.

The drink she took from the water bowl was very satisfying. The water was dirty but she was so thirsty that it didn’t really matter.

The big black dog came to her and said, “So beautiful, where are you from? Did your people just not want a dog anymore or are you a stray?”

“I had people that weren’t very nice to me so I ran away. They used to hit me all the time and I thought I might be better on my own. Where is this place? It looks nice enough and it has to be better than where I was.”

The brown dog in the corner said “Are you kidding? This is the pound. No dog wants to be here.”

“Why not?” Bonnie asked. “It looks nice enough and you don’t look skinny so there must be food. You’re out of the rain and there are blankets to sleep on.”

The big black dog just laughed at her. “You think this is better than where you were?

All the other dogs laughed at her. They knew what being at the pound meant if you weren’t adopted.

Bonnie settled into the corner opposite the brown and white dog and took a nap.

When she awakened, she still was thinking the same thing . . . this doesn’t look so bad. A bed, food, shelter and new friends.

She wanted to question the big black dog again, but he looked to be deep in thought about something.

She padded over to the brown and white dog, sat down and asked, “What is so bad about this place?”

The brown and white dog just looked at her.

“You know you’re here waiting to be adopted. Right? Well, if you don’t get adopted, they dispose of you, as they put it.”

Bonnie whined, backed into the corner and waited.