It’s another hot evening in Miami, Florida. There, among all the houses, stands an ordinary house with a family of three (before I came in), a mom, a dad, and a girl named Gemma, as usual, sitting by the wooden table with her parents, trying to convince them.
The same whines and bargains, “Please, Mom and Dad, I’ll do my piano practice every evening; I just really need a dog,” and the same sighs from both parents.
The sun sets to Gemma’s everyday argument about getting a dog. But it could never happen. Gemma only wanted me because she was so lonely.
However, everything changed after two years of desiring a dog.
There’s Gemma in a park, green grass with palm trees. It’s now summer, no time to lose for Gemma, or at least, instead of whining like a dog for a dog all day inside, she still decided to hang out with her best friend, Claire.
They jump and run; they play hide-and-seek. When Gemma hides by a bush, she finds me!
“Whoa!” Gemma exclaims, looking at me.
Claire screams behind as she catches her breath, “Found… (sigh)… you!” Gemma ignores her and explains about me. “AWWW!” Claire says, “That is so cute! Man, you two look like you’ve bonded well in two minutes. Too bad your parents don’t let you have it.” “Yeah,” Gemma sadly sighs, agreeing. Claire changes the topic, “Anyway, it’s time for lunch. Want to head to my house? My mom prepared some burritos.” “Yum!” Gemma thought about Claire’s mom making food.
And that’s just the way it went for a few weeks—Gemma kept going to the park and finding me to play. But as we played, the two girls realized that I could have an owner, so they passed out flyers. No owner came by.
Until Gemma had an idea to keep me. She did have lots of fun.
That night, around the same wooden table full of food, Gemma again tried to convince them once more before she moved to plan B. “Mom, Dad, I need a dog. Claire and I have been at the park, and lately we found this little pup all alone. We should care for it. Plus, there’s no owner, no collar.” Gemma announced gently.
Gemma hoped this time she would be allowed, but again, it was a hard, firm no.
Gemma murmured, “Time to move to plan B!”
The next morning, as usual, both her parents went to work, leaving Gemma with a few chores she needed to finish before she was allowed to meet Claire.
When Gemma finished her chores, she and Claire immediately raced down to the park on their bikes, finding me and bringing me to Gemma’s home.
“If I can’t have the pup, I’ll take the pup!” hollered Gemma as the two girls brought me home.
From then on, Gemma hid me inside the secret little cabinet in her closet.
Originally, it was supposed to be a hidden vault 30 years ago, but things just cracked, making it now a hidden cabinet.
She filled the cabinet with blankets and a couple of berries she found in the fridge. It wasn’t gourmet, but it was way better than sleeping in cold bushes and eating whatever I could find.
We knew it would be the perfect little home, especially to hide when her parents were home.
For two weeks, it all worked perfectly, the same drill for me to be hidden and brought out.
But as we played together, Gemma realized all my dog fur; of course, her parents would notice, so she had to vacuum, except she didn’t know how to.
Gemma also couldn’t pick it up with her hands, so she decided to swing it with the vacuum.
After a few screams of fright while using it, she became a pro (that’s what she says).
It continued all along with the drill until Gemma started school.
Maybe if I hadn’t howled too much, I could still have stayed here, but it’s not my fault that Gemma forgot to feed me breakfast before she left.
That evening, I was put in a cage. Gemma’s mom found me when I was howling.
But putting me in a cage only made me howl more, especially when I saw Gemma cry.
Late at night, we went to the closest animal rescue place to return me. However, when we arrived, I recognized a lady. I didn’t know her, though, until she gasped, “You found our dog! We lost him two months ago. Here is the $100 reward,” she says as she hands over the crisp green bill.
Gemma’s mom and dad go to the side for a minute before handing me over. Neither Gemma nor I can hear them, so she decides to give me a belly rub the way I like it, before our final goodbye.
Who knew one howl could change a whole relationship!
The family of three once again had decisions to make. I really didn’t want to see, so I closed my eyes.
Ten minutes later, I’m in the car again, getting belly rubs. Apparently, Gemma’s parents thought I was a great influence, since she was a little bit more responsible for taking care of me for a while, so now it’s a family of four.
When Gemma sees me, she always says, “The Gem and the New Jewel.”
If you never knew, that’s my story… Yes, I’m Jewel the pup.
Written By Anisha Pradeep