Daisy and Beanie

Daisy’s POV

Today is the day we say goodbye to Fat Brother and Pretzel. We’re all going to our new homes, so we wake up early to the call of our current owners and they prep us for what they refer to as “go home day”. We watch them pack bags with all our stuff. “Pink fish” and “blue fish” stay on the ground, but in goes “blanket” and “rose toy”— they’re coming along for “go home day”, too!

We watch our owners get everything ready, and then they move to the room they call the “kitchen”! We know what “kitchen” means! It means: food, food, food! Our stomachs growl because we know what’s coming. We run around the kitchen and stumble over each other, our tails wagging. There’s dry food on the ground, but it’s our milk that we’re waiting for! Our owner sets down a bowl and we run for it! Our little tongues lap up the warm milk, and our owner says, “That’s all for now, pups. You don’t want upset stomachs on the long ride.”

“The long ride! The long ride!” we bark.

Wait… the long ride? Is that part of “go home day”?

After we’ve eaten our fill, our current owners give us kisses and hugs, and we wag our tails until our rear ends grow tired from shaking so much and we have to sit down. They carry us to the back door and they let us into the big, fenced-in yard. It’s our last chance to go to the bathroom before “go home day”, so they tell us, “Go potty! Pee-pee time!”

We run around in the cool weather. The air is dry and brisk. Even though our fur is thick, I can feel the coldness rush through me like a breeze, and my paws don’t like stepping on the hard, frozen grass. We dance around on our paws and bounce about to keep warm. But Beanie and I still shake. Finally, we do our business and we go back inside.

We get “yummy treats”, and our current owners grab their things. Then, the next thing we know, Pretzel is staying behind, and me, Beanie, and Fat Brother are put into a mesh carrier. The three of us are so small that we fit inside easily, all snug and cozy. There’s a soft blanket that smells like us on the bottom and there are the rose toys!

“Rose toy!” We chew and we chew, and it makes a fun crinkling sound!

The mesh carrier is finally lifted into the air, and we go with it. Time for a ride! Our current owners carry us outside and back into the cool atmosphere. It’s cold, but it’s also very sunny. It’s not grey or snowy like the other days have been. Today, I think, will be a good day!

Our current owner lifts our carrier into what looks like a small house made of shiny metal (something I hear her call a “car”), and it’s got big, rubber wheels on it that look like they’d be fun to chew! Only… we’re too small to chew on wheels that big! I stare out the netting of the carrier, and I take one last look at our old home before the door to the small metal house closes and it’s off to “go home day”!

“Time to go home, Mousey!” my current owner chirps.

We all stand alert in the little mesh carrier as the small house on wheels begins to move. My eyes travel around the inside, and I see that we’re surrounded by plush sofas, just like our room at home! But, other than that there’s not much to look at because the carrier is blocking my view.

Beanie goes right to sleep, her body curled into a little ball of fluff, and I continue to chew on the ropey stem of one of the rose toys. Meanwhile, Fat Brother can’t seem to sit still. He seems nervous to be in the small house, and I can tell he doesn’t like being away from home. I nip his ears and try to play with him to put his mind at ease, but he’s still too nervous, so I finally leave him alone and decide to rest, as well.

I close my eyes and let my head fall between Beanie’s shoulders. We sleep for most of the ride until we hear a gagging sound. Groggily, we open our eyes and we see Fat Brother sitting up, heaving. He doesn’t look so good. I don’t think he likes these car rides at all. He salivates, his mouth wet and drippy, and then he throws up… all over my back!

“Fat Brother!” I let out a whine.

My fur is now all sticky and gross. I smell like Fat Brother’s last meal! But, I can’t reach the fur on my back, so it just sinks in and I have to ignore it. I glare at Fat Brother for a moment, and my nose twitches. But, then I let out a sigh. Poor Fat Brother. It’s not his fault.

We fall back asleep to the humming of the car and, when we open our eyes next, the car is gone but we’re still moving. Our current owner has grabbed our carrier, and we are back in the open, chill air. I can hear the rumble of loud car noises and the chatter of people, just like our owners. We enter a bright building, and there is barking and squeaking and squawking. I can smell other animals, but it’s hard to see much outside the mesh netting.

Our current owner plops our carrier down into a basket with wheels, and she opens up the top. She smiles down at us and she says, “We’re here. Time for go home day! Good pups. Good girl, Mousey!”

She gives us all pets and love. Fat Brother whines, seeking attention. He’s still a little sick from the car ride, and he’s anxious… we all are! But I’m also very excited! Our current owner speaks gently to him, and then she picks him up out of the carrier and holds him close to her chest. He snuggles into her body as she cuddles him. Then, with Fat Brother in her arms, she pushes us around in the little basket.

We walk around for a bit, and Beanie and I are lulled to sleep by the rhythmic movement of the basket. The world grows hazy until it disappears, and all I can see is darkness and dog bones. By the time my eyes open next, Beanie is still asleep but there are new people standing over us!

Could this… could this be them? Our new owners? My heart smiles.

Excitedly, my paws tingling, I climb all over Beanie, who is still fast asleep, and I try to get a better look at them. There are two girls, a woman, a boy, and a man. Our current owner pets Fat Brother, and she talks to the new people. I put my paws on the edge of the carrier and push myself up to grab their attention. The girls and the woman stare down at me and Beanie, and they reach their hands into the carrier to pet us. They smile and they laugh.

“Hi, little ones,” they say. “Oh, you’re so cute and small!”

“You’re so crazy, little one!”

They pet me for a long time as I wiggle and bounce around in the carrier, and, in that time, another woman appears. My current owner turns to her with Fat Brother, wraps him in a blanket, and hands him off. She tells the woman all about him and how to take care of him, and then the woman disappears with Fat Brother in her arms.

Beanie wakes up just in time and blinks slowly at them. We watch the woman walk away. Bye, Fat Brother, we think. And now it’s our turn. The first woman (who had showed up with the two girls, the boy, and the man) reaches down to pick me up. She holds me close and talks to me in kind words.

“You’re so cute,” she says. “You’re such a good girl.” And then she notices the throw-up on my fur— Fat Brother’s throw-up. It’s all wet and yellow and caked in there pretty good. “It looks like someone might have peed on her…” she says, offering a small laugh.

“Oh, that was the boy,” our current owner says, indicating towards the direction that Fat Brother has gone. “He didn’t do too well on the car ride down.” She takes me from the woman and holds me in her arms, and then she pulls out a wet towel and begins to scrub my fur. She holds me high in the air, and I feel like I’m flying— you know, except for the fact that I’ve got Fat Brother’s throw-up all over me.

I whine, and I try to attack the wet towel. She draws it away from my mouth and continues to clean up the dirty fur on my back. This is a fun game! But… ew… all I smell is Fat Brother! And then I think, I wonder… will Fat Brother come back?

Our current owner speaks over my thoughts. She tells the new family that I’ll be needing a bath later — I like baths! — and then she goes over how to take care of us, the same as she told the woman who left with Fat Brother. She explains how to tell us apart, but, now that we’re a little bit older (8 weeks old!), it’s pretty easy! I’ve got the lighter of the cream fur and the shorter snout, and my right ear flops! Beanie is a tiny bit bigger (I’m 1.6 lbs and Beanie is 1.9 lbs), and she has darker cream fur. Although we both look so similar, Beanie has more of the characteristics of a Pomeranian with the thicker, double-coated fur. I look more like a Maltese!

Our current owner wraps me in a blanket that smells like home (it’s got all our puppy scents on it!) and then she hands me off to one of the girls.

I wriggle around, trying to get a good look at her. I lick her hands and her face, and she laughs and smiles down at me like I’m the greatest thing she’s ever seen. I can feel all the love radiating off of all of these new people, and I can see it in the shine of their eyes.

Next, our current owner takes Beanie out of the carrier and she gives her to the other girl. Beanie doesn’t like heights too much, so, while she seems to be frozen, too scared to move, one of her paws shakes as a sign of her fear. But, the girl holding her speaks to her softly and holds her close.

“You’re a good girl,” she says. And Beanie gives a small wag of her tail.

Meanwhile, as our current owner talks about us, I just want to play. I squirm around in my blanket and let out small whines. I don’t want to sit still anymore… I want to run around! The girl holding me plants kisses on my head, and I kiss her back. She says, “It’s okay. You’re okay, little one.”

“Do you have names yet?” I hear our current owner say.

“Yeah, we do. We feel bad changing them… but, it’s going to be Daisy and Beanie. Daisy’s middle name, though, will be Mousey.”

Our current owner watches us with bitter-sweet eyes, and she gives us our last goodbyes. She takes me from the girl and pulls me in for a hug. She kisses my nose and ruffles my fur, and she says how special I am. “They’re both good pups, but this girl is different. She’s special,” she says with a smile, gazing down at me. “I know you’ll take good care of them.”

She then hands off a bag of stuff for us, including our rose toys, and she says how she usually likes to give lamb toys to all her new puppy homes, but there weren't any left— so we got roses instead. But the roses are so fun to chew, and they smell like home. Our current owner made a point to make sure that we had our blankets and our toys from home so that we wouldn’t feel homesick on the first few nights.

I feel bad that Fat Brother and Pretzel are going off to live alone— but I’m glad that Beanie and I get to be together. It makes me happy to know that we’ll still be able to sleep with each other and play with each other and grow up side-by-side.

Our current owner says goodbye again and thanks are passed. By then I’m growing restless and I’m whining because I still want to run around and play. But… then it’s official: these two girls, the boy, the man, and the woman are our new family. They speak to us kindly and pet us and kiss our heads and tell us how good we are — and then they walk us away from our old current owner, and we go back outside. As we leave the building, we hear people saying, “Oh, so cute!” and “They’re so tiny!” and “What breed are they?”

And our new owners say to us, “It’s ‘go home day’!”

Today, my name is Daisy.

They carry us to a new car, and it’s back on the road again! Once we’re sitting down, it’s easier to relax because there’s not as much going on. I get lots of pets and lots of kisses, and they hold little screens to my face. I hear them say, “Pictures!” And, at one point, I’m staring into the screen and there’s a pup that looks just like me staring back! I tilt my head and move around, and it echoes my every movement!

Beanie goes to sit at the front of the car with the boy. They refer to him as ‘Brother’. And I am in the back of the car with the two girls and the woman, while the man sits behind the wheel. I enjoy all the love and pets from my new owners, and then I get so tired that I just close my eyes and curl up on my blanket in My Girl’s lap.

The car ride feels like it is over pretty quick because I’ve been asleep for most of it. I don’t get car sick at all— until the car stops. My stomach does a little turn, but then I’m okay. Beanie gets a little sick, too. But, not like Fat Brother. He didn’t like the car— at all.

We get out of the car. Beanie is in Brother’s arms, and I’m in My Girl’s. They take us inside a big house, talking to us all the way. It smells like dogs in here! And… something else… Another animal… But, I don’t recognize this scent. We go up a flight of stairs, and when we get to the top, there’s a small dog! But… not just any dog! It’s a Shih Tzu… a Shih Tzu! I know them! We lived with Shih Tzus back home!

I wag my little tail as the Shih Tzu comes over, and we touch noses and sniff each other. The other dog is calm and kind, just sniffing me and wagging her tail back and forth. She seems so excited to see everyone, and even more excited to see me!

I’m passed around from family member to family member while they sit on a big sofa, and I hear “pictures, pictures, pictures” again and again. Beanie and I climb all over our new owners and kiss their faces. And then— oh, no! In all the excitement, I realize I have to pee, but I don’t see any training pad yet. I stare at my new owners, and I give a small whine, trying to let them know.

And, right away, they seem to understand. “She needs to go to the bathroom!” I hear someone say. And there’s a rushing of feet as two of my new owners run to the other room to grab something. But, I can’t hold it any longer. I let out another whine, telling them that I’m sorry— and I pee all over the couch and Brother’s leg.

Brother gives a surprised cry, and I hear them say, “Oh, no, we’re too late!” and “It’s okay, Daisy. It’s okay.”

Our new owners hold out the leashes and harnesses that they had gone to fetch just a minute too late, and then they fasten us in. The harnesses go around our bodies and feel so weird. But, at least they’re soft and comfortable. Beanie doesn’t like to move in hers, but me…? As soon as they put me down on the carpet, I bounce and bop around like a little bunny! They attach a long leash to the end, and I nip at it and growl and pretend it’s some sort of snake!

And, now that I'm on the ground, I can see the other animals. There are three creatures that have long legs and soft fur with pointed, triangular ears. They are as big as the Shih Tzus, but they can’t be dogs, can they? They smell so different and they don't really do much but slink around and stare at us like they’re trying to figure out what we are. But, Beanie and I are just as curious. What are these other animals?

We never get the chance to find out. Our new owners take us back down the flight of stairs and we go outside. There are two Shih Tzus in this house, and they both follow us. My Girl lets me down into the grass— it’s cold and a little wet— but I bop around, anyways. The Shih Tzu that welcomed me when I first arrived stands by me as I bounce on my paws and try to attack her tail. The other Shih Tzu keeps to herself. I don’t think she likes me very much.

It’s cold out here, but it’s fine once you’re moving around. Beanie, however, doesn’t want to move in her new harness, and she just shivers and sits in the trim grass. Her Girl takes her back inside so she won’t catch cold, and I’m just left with Brother, the woman (who they call “Mumma”), my girl, and the man (who they call “Daddy”). I continue to run around, spinning in circles and sliding all over the place and playing with the Shih Tzu, as my new family laughs and says how cute I am.

Before we go back inside, I try to approach the other Shih Tzu, but she backs away like she’s scared of me. She has black and white fur, and she’s quite old. The other Shih Tzu, the one that likes me, is tan and white. I wonder why the black and white one is scared of me. She’s not unfriendly… But maybe she just doesn’t know how to make friends…

But, boy, I am making so many new friends today! My Girl, Her Girl, Brother, Mumma, Daddy, and now… Grammy! We’re back in the car again, and we’re off to the place that they call “home”. It’s just a short drive, and Beanie and I get to sit together in My Girl’s lap the whole way! When we get “home”, they let us down and it’s… hardwood! Just like our game!

“Keep off the hardwood, keep off the hardwood!”

There’s even a training pad!

But, there’s something even better… a rug! We love the rug! The rug is our favorite spot! We flock to the soft rug, Beanie and I, and we run around and bounce on our paws. There is so much to explore in this room and it’s so big! I stare around with wide eyes, and I take it all in. I see food and water bowls. I see a crate, I see a basket full of so many toys (!!), and I see… are those more furry little animals?

I sneak on my paws over to a cage in the corner of the room, and I see little animals no bigger than Beanie and I just scurrying around in the cage. As I approach, they stand on alert and then run away as fast as they can, kicking up little strands of hay and pellets. Loud squeaking sounds emit from their mouths as they peer curiously around the corners they’ve just run to.

“Hello! My name is Daisy!” I whine, poking my little nose through the bars of the cage. “I was Mousey. But now, I’m not. Who are you?”

They stare at me with their small beady eyes, and they squeak some more. But I can’t understand a thing they are saying. They’re cute and curious little creatures, though, and I resolve to learn more about them later on!

Beanie and I explore the room, going this way and that, and we say hello to “Grammy”, a new woman who has appeared in our new home. She picks us up and takes more of those “pictures” with a big screen that she holds out in front of her. We sit on her lap and lick her face and give her lots of love as she fawns over us.

Daddy stayed at the first house we went to, but Mumma, Brother, Grammy, My Girl, and Her Girl are here. Everyone is so nice, and there’s so much to do! We play with our basket of toys (we especially like our roses from our old home and this fun yellow chicken! They both crinkle when you bite on them!), and we chew on our blankets. Beanie and I play tug-of-war with our roses and chicken, and we nip at each others tails. Our new family shows us our food bowls, and I don’t realize how hungry I am until the bowls are beneath my snout. Beanie and I scarf it down!

There’s both wet food and dry food— the same kind from our old home— but I go for the dry food, first!

When we’re done eating, it’s back to playing! And, boy, there is no shortage of playing! Our new owners are having so much fun, and so are we. They pat the ground and crawl around with us, and we raise our paws and bounce around, tails bobbing. I like when they play with us and call us by name!

“Look at your little paws,” they say, laughing and smiling. “Look at your little paws!”

“Little Daisy… Who’s my little Bean?”

We play for a long time, and then Beanie and I grow tired. One minute I’m on my back and Mumma is petting my belly, the next minute I’m closing my eyes because I’m so content. And then I fall asleep! In half a daze, I feel Beanie curl up beside me, and she falls fast asleep, too.

When we wake again, it’s to our owners putting on our harnesses and leashes once more. Brother, Mumma, and Grammy are at the door like they are about to leave, so it must be time to go back outside. My Girl takes me in her arms, and we all go outside. By now, the day has mostly passed and the air is dark and chilly. My Girl and Beanie’s girl set us in the grass. Beanie still doesn’t like to walk much in her harness and stays where she is, but I bop around to do a little exploring.

We’re only out there for a minute, and I’m already cold. I start to shiver, but thankfully, My Girl picks me up and we go back inside where it’s warm and cozy! Our new owners take off our harnesses and we get to roam around again! We get some warm milk, we have fun playing with our toys some more, and we even use the training pad (and get lots of praise for it!), but we’re still pretty tired from all the excitement of the day, and it doesn’t take long for us to both curl up on our blanket, side-by-side, and fall asleep.

What a day.

“Go home day”.

Our gotcha day.

The day that I woke up as Mousey— and became Daisy.

“Who’s a good girl?” I hear as the world grows dark. “Daisy-girl.”

My Girl.