Brown Cardboard Box
By: Jack Budde
A cute and curious head pops out of the bland cardboard box, and everybody is in awe of what they see. Ever since I was young, I have loved dogs. The playful, fun and most importantly adorable animals have been something I always desired. I had countless books on dog breeds and other dog books. One day, everything changed.
Day to day I would talk to my parents about getting a dog and try tricks like asking which breed would we want to get. So when they replied, it sounded like that's the dog we were adopting. I even made slideshows to show that we should get a dog; my sister joined in too.
“I think we should adopt a labradoodle because they are hypoallergenic!” I said. Everyone in my family, other than my dad, all have minor dog allergies, although my allergy never stopped me from playing with every dog I saw. “Hmmm, I don’t know if you're ready” my dad replied.
The biggest question my parents had was, was I fit to have a dog? To prove that I was, I would dog-sit our neighbor's dog. He had an adorable lab named Dalton. I would take Dalton around my town on walks. It was so peaceful. The tall green trees towered over us, that leather leash in my hand, Dalton next to me, and beautiful sites around the city; nothing could be better. I would even talk to him, I knew he would never respond; but I would say, “There’s that tree, with the smooth silver rocks around it.” Or, “Don’t you love the way the sun hits the leaves to create a golden glow? It's almost like the trees have the Midas touch.” At the end of the walks, I would fill up his doggy bowls and give him some pet; I always loved running my hand over his silky coat.
I also learned how to take care of a Smaller dog, a Yorkshire terrier named Dulche. She was about my age at the time, 10 years old. I would entertain her by doing tricks like having her spin in circles and dance with me. She still loves that. In life, you have to learn to not only take care of the playful big dogs but also the relaxed older dogs. Learning how to take care of big and small dogs, would prepare me if I ever got a dog. There is a certain piece to the Ying & Yang of life.
It was January 29, a Wednesday, a crisp day. Like a normal winter day in San Carlos, with a light frost on the grass, and a chill breeze. The only exception was that my dad was away for a few days on a business trip. I came home from school with a few friends, and we played video games and some board games after finishing our homework. They left after a couple of hours. I went to watch TV. Then I heard a key turn, click, and the door open. I knew it was my dad.
I went to say hello and gave him a big hug. My parents asked me if I wanted to go back to watching TV. I was baffled by that because it’s always the opposite, but I didn’t refuse their offer. About 10 minutes after that, I heard my Mom call me for a “Family Meeting!!” I popped my head out of the hallway and saw a brown box with a bow on it; the bow had a sparkly red with shoots of orange and blue, but it wasn't what I was focused on. My eyes were locked on this little head bobbing up and down. I sprinted over to the box with tears of joy in my eyes. I was just in utter shock. Here in this brown cardboard box was the cutest puppy I had ever seen. He had a black heart-shaped nose, floppy brown ears, a white spot on his paws and tail, and adorable hazelnut eyes; our little Australian Labradoodle. My parents placed him in my arms, and I just melted. Here I was holding the cutest thing on earth, my dream since I was a young boy, right in my arms. I gave him pets and so much love and then carefully passed him to my sister who did the same. All with me smiling ear to ear. I just embraced my parents for so long, they loved seeing me and my sister so excited, and it was impossible to express my gratitude, but I still tried. It was the best feeling ever.
The next few days I was still in utter shock. I would play with him and throw toys and loved seeing him romp around our house. I loved this little guy. But there was still one thing left, a name. My parents wanted to name him Tama, as in the beach in Australia, called Tamarama, where we used to live nearby. But A thought crossed my mind: Auggie, meaning Awesome Doggy. My parents loved it but I wasn't convinced, but It grew on me.To this day, one of my favorite things is to play around with my dog, throwing his favorite toys and frolicking with him.
Still, as I sit here writing this today, I love our dog, my mom loves our
dog, my dad loves our dog, and my sister does too. We all have different bonds, but it's something special that we cherish in life, it's an important thing to treasure a great relationship because it doesn't always last. This isn't a story of just an ordinary kid getting a dog; its the start of a beautiful friendship, between not just me but others too, because not just dog-to-human relationships aren't the only thing we need to care for, we need to tend to the people around us who we care about.
