My Dog B.B.

This post is dedicated to all of the fourth graders who adore dogs.

This was my dog, B.B. She was a Miniature Schnauzer from my childhood in Iowa. She was the greatest dog in the world. She was the first dog I became really attached to. She even slept at the foot of my bed at night. I loved to snuggle up with her and pet her velvety, grey fur.

The funny thing about B.B. was that when we got home, she would squeeze through the door before we opened it all the way and run outside at record speed. She just took off down the road and didn't even look back. She was too fast for us to catch her. She would eventually trot home with a mischievous "whisker grin" after chasing squirrels and barking at other dogs in the neighborhood.

Once, B.B. ran outside and didn't look both ways before crossing the street. She ran straight into the wheel of a moving car. She fainted out on the side of the road and my mom ran out screaming to see if she was still alive. She picked B.B. up and set her on the grass, trying to bring her back to life with C.P.R. The miracle was that B.B. woke up an hour later and was just fine. We wondered if she cooked some brain cells in the accident, though, because a few weeks later she ran off a high cliff in the woods and dove head first into rocks, tree trunks, and pile of leaves. She survived the fall without breaking any bones. We thought B.B. was an absolutely crazy dog. She was invincible. Nothing could get in her way. That is what I thought, at least.

Then, one summer day my mom came with the news that B.B. was hit by a car. I shouldn't have been surprised at all, considering how crazy B.B. had been all those years. However, the news shocked me. I was devastated and broke out into a crying fit that lasted about 72 hours. My face turned hundreds of shades of red while tears streamed down my face. My mom tried to comfort me, but I didn't have the strength to talk over my tears. A few years later, we got another Miniature Schnauzer. His name was Chuck. I'll tell you about the time an alligator almost ate him in Mississippi another day...