Auntie Tara found a call for short stories for a great cause at
My short story was inspired by one of my favorite childhood shows,
I wanted to be the littlest hobo when I was a kid.
Sure, he was a dog, but he was a hero and had an adventurous life.
Here's my story:
The air was ripe with the new smells of spring. Some people sneezed and blew their noses, unable to concentrate solely on the search for the missing toddler. The German Shepard kept his focus and sniffed at the ground. His nose blew out the tang of pollen and found the warm scent of the boy.
No one led him by a leash. No collar jingled around his neck. The dog looked for the child because he was needed. He never questioned his instincts or shied away from danger. He was needed and that was all that mattered.
He wove through the trees, crawled under low hanging pines, and ignored the needles that pricked his paws. The child had went this way and hurt his bare feet. A hint of the coppery smell of blood urged the dog into a trot. A helicopter flew over head and somewhere a woman was crying. The compelling sound let him know time was running out.
Splashing through a series of mud puddles, he almost lost the child's scent. This was a baby, a pup. He couldn't have gone far, and all directions except one led up rocky hills. The boy would take the path of least resistance. The dog loped down into a sinkhole and skidded to a stop.
He cocked his head to the side and twitched his ears.
The faintest sound of a creature sleeping. The dog stuck his head into a hollow log and nudged the child with his warm wet nose. The boy whimpered and curled up.
The German Shepard pulled his head out, not wanting to frighten the poor thing, and called to the other searchers. His barks echoed through the woods. Three men came running, and he showed them where to find the boy.
There were cheers and tears and much celebrating. The boy would be fine.
Before anyone had a chance to thank the dog, he was gone. Something was pulling him on to the next town. His tail wagged behind him.
LOVE this story, Christine!
ReplyDeleteAnd oh, I really enjoyed the Littlest Hobo. Now that's brought back memories.
It was the first thing I thought of when the prompt called for heroic and heartwarming tales of animals. I love listening to the theme song.
Deletethat was brilliant! german shepherds are the best! way to write christine!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was fun to write.
DeleteDamn you for tearing my eye this early in the day, Christine.
ReplyDeleteI'll discreetly pass you a tissue.
DeleteGreat tale, Christine. Loved all the detail you packed into this little story. I loved dog shows, too, when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was never allowed to have any pets, so I loved dogs all the more for it.
DeleteI loved that, it was so sweet. And I like happy endings.
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteAw, that was a wonderful story. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteGood dog! It's like a super hero. I'm a sucker for any dog story. You made my evening.
ReplyDeleteThe Littlest Hobo was a superhero to me. Thank you and you're welcome. :)
DeleteLove the tale... dogs are so adorable... Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It makes me want a dog all the more. One day we'll get our backyard fenced in.
DeleteI've never heard of the story that inspired this piece, but I really liked this, and it makes me think I'd like the original, as well. And yay for finding the boy!
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z
Thanks! The Littlest Hobo always had the happy warm fuzzy feeling endings.
DeleteThis is a very fun story. The dog is a true hero because he did not wait for praise or thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe Littlest Hobo was my hero as a kid. Still is a hero in my eyes. Ah, if only we could see more of that type of hero on TV these days.
Delete