Biography of my best friend

On a blustery April afternoon, I squeezed out into the world.  The world was dark and cold around.  I huddled close to my five siblings and reveled in their warmth.  Mother close at hand gave comfort in nourishing and her smell.  The first few weeks passed in a blur with few waking moments.  Then one day, the sun teased its rays on my eyes, forcing those lids to open wide.  I hobbled to my mother to be the first to be nourished soon crowded by the rest of the brood.  Soon after, out in a box we went into the garden pen.  I hobbled and toppled over the others moving in directions unknown.  I grabbed a brother’s long ear or nudged a sister aside.  My big paws trampled the grass beneath me, my ears tripped my strides.  The play lasted just a few minutes but left me exhausted for hours.  Huddled together, I slept soundly with my siblings back in the box.

Weeks turned into a month.  Play time became longer as our bodies grew stronger.  We all had long, low hanging ears and a flag tail that stood up with pride.  Our noses got us into trouble as our keen sense of smell took to us further away from the pen.  We grew bigger but I stood out from my siblings.  My coat was not normal, this I noticed quite soon.  The tri-color frame matched my own but our shades were not the same.  I looked pale and a giant among the brood.  They noticed all that I saw and pushed me aside as a freak.  I sulked in the corner questioning my fate.

The day came when mother was moved away.  Brothers and sisters lived together and ate from a bowl.  I was big and strong and did not shy away from the food.  I remained playful and cheerful, but felt apart from the brood.  A family came and picked out a sister to take home.  Another family came and picked out a brother to take home.  The others were not to be adopted but trained for a show.  Then there was I.  Nobody wanted me, nor could I be in a show.  It was my coat…the color of a rain swollen cloud.  While others had black, brown and white, I was steel gray, beige and white.  They called me Blue.

On a bright spring day a little girl picked me up from my pen.  She scratched my ears and whispered loving tunes.  Her smell lured me to nuzzle in her arms.  Her playfulness awoke my mischievous side.  We rough-housed and chased and played in the open grass, not far from our mothers’ sight.  I fell asleep in her arms and woke next to my siblings.  Time passed, I’m unsure how long but there she was again with a big bright smile.  Gathered in her arms, I climbed into her car.  Lulled by the ride, I fell asleep on her lap and woke to a new home, new family, new life and a name – Jazz!