Lisa and her Dog

By Phillip Bell

One day Lisa was walking home from school, and she passed a pet shop. It was the same one she passed hundreds of times. This time as she passed by the window, she just had to look in, and when she did, she saw the prettiest black dog she had ever seen in her lifetime. It had a red bow in its hair behind its ears. She was black as coal.

Lisa just had to run home and tell her mommy that she saw the gift that she wanted for her sixth birthday next week. Lisa ran fast as her legs would carry her. She ran through the front door as fast as she could, slamming the door behind her and telling her mommy that she had just seen the prettiest dog she ever did see in her lifetime.

She asked, “Mommy, you think I could get the dog for my birthday?”

“I don’t know,” her mommy replied. “It depends on what your father has got to say about you getting a dog.” Mommy was in the house cooking dinner.

Lisa walked into the living room and turned the TV on. Her favorite show was on. As she was watching her TV show, her mommy said, “If you want to get your daddy to let you have a dog, you need to get your homework done before your daddy comes home.”

“Okay, Mommy!” Lisa got up and turned off the TV and got her schoolbooks out of her backpack and started doing her homework. She could hear her daddy pulling up into the driveway and getting out of the car.

He walked up the sidewalk, and he stopped and grabbed the evening newspaper. He walked on into the house and laid the newspaper on the coffee table. He walked on into the kitchen where his wife was at and said, “What made Lisa want to start her homework early? She usually waits after dinner.”

Then the mother said, “Well, she just thought she would start her homework earlier tonight, and she would like to ask you a question about what I can’t say, but she will tell you all about it.”

Then the dad said, “Alright, then I will go and ask her.” So then he walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room where Lisa was busy at work doing her homework.

Then Lisa asked, “Daddy, do you think I can get a pet next week for my birthday?”

“Funny you should ask, that because Mrs Lench across the street got a sign up in her yard.  It says free kittens to a good home. I was thinking along the same lines myself. Maybe you would like to have one of Mrs Lench’s kittens for your birthday?”

“No, Daddy! I would like to have a dog for my birthday!”

Daddy said, “But they cost a lot of money to get a dog. Where did you get this idea about a dog?”

Lisa said, ”From the dog I saw today in the pet shop down by the schoolyard.”

“Your mother and I have to talk this over first, but of right now, my answer is still no because you don’t even keep your room clean at times. It would be hard for me to believe that you have grown up enough to handle the responsibility of owning a pet. You will have to show me first that you can love and show enough passion to take care of a pet and not poke your responsibility off onto me or your mother.”

Lisa knew right then she had a lot of sloppy ways that she had to change first in order to show her parents she could handle the responsibility of owning and caring for a pet before they would ever agree to let her have a pet of her own.

Then Mommy hollered out, saying, “Dinner’s ready!”

Then Dad said, “We will talk more about this dog idea after dinner. Let’s go eat!” So Lisa and her dad walked back into the kitchen for dinner, and they sat down at the table and started eating their dinner.

Then Lisa’s mother asked, “Did Lisa ask you that question yet?”

He said, “Yes, she did, but I told her no dog at this moment.  Maybe later on someday she can have one, but not right now.”

Lisa asked dad, “what do you have against me so much of owning my own dog?”

He said, “For one thing it’s because they cost too much money and take too much time. It takes a lot of responsibility to care for a dog and you ain’t shown me any signs of growing up enough yet that you will be able to handle that kind of responsibility of caring for a dog. I told you earlier Mrs Lench will be giving away some kittens in a few weeks and maybe I will get you one of them if you have shown me by that time you can handle that kind of responsibility of caring for a pet.”

Mom said, ”She wants a dog!”

“I know she wants a dog, but we can’t afford a dog right now.”

“We said she could have anything she wanted for her birthday.”

“Alright since you put it that way. She can get the dog. We will pick it up first thing in the morning.”

Then Lisa said, “Oh, thank you, Mommy and Daddy! I am going to bed right now!”

Then Mommy said, “So early honey?”

“Yes, Mommy! I can’t wait till tomorrow morning gets here.”

Then Dad asked, “Do you have a name yet for the dog?”

“Yes, I have! I called her Coal since I first saw her. She is black as coal.”

Then Lisa ran upstairs and went to bed, and she went fast asleep before she knew it. It was in the morning she could hear Mommy and Daddy saying, “It’s time to get up and to go get Coal.”

Lisa got up and got dressed quickly and ran downstairs to the kitchen where Mommy and Daddy were at. Daddy said, “I have already fixed you a bowl of cereal.” Lisa ate it fast, and her bowl of cereal was gone.

Then Mommy said, “Let’s go and get Coal!”

Then Lisa got up and ran to the door and got into the car. Then Mommy and Daddy got in. So Daddy started up the car and took off across town heading for the pet shop. They finally reached the pet shop parking lot and parked. Lisa got out of the car with her mommy and daddy, so they walked across the parking lot to the pet shop.

Lisa took a quick look through the petshop window and saw a cashier taking Coal down out of the window. Lisa ran fast as she could to get inside the pet shop. She asked the cashier, “Why did you just take her down out of the window?”

A family just phoned a few minutes ago just before you got here and asked us could we hold her until they got here.

“Since she is still here and nobody bought her just yet, why don’t you sell her to me instead of selling her to them?”

“I can’t do that honey because I already gave my word I would hold her for them until they got here.”

“Is that the only reason you won’t sell her to me right now?”

“Yes dear, that is the only reason why I can’t sell her to you at this moment.”

“Why can’t you tell them another little girl wants her a whole lot more than they do?”

“I can’t do that because they are supposed to be on their way already to get her. Honey, you can leave me your name and phone number just in case they don’t show up or change their mind about buying her.”

Lisa told the cashier her name and phone number. “Let me know something soon when you find out if she sold or not.”

“I sure will. I will let you know something in the next few hours.”

About that time her parents came walking through the doors and said, “Lisa, don’t you ever run that fast or get that far ahead of us again like you just did a few minutes ago. Sorry about that, Ma’am I hope she ain’t been making a pest out of herself.”

“No, she ain’t been no bother. Matter of fact she was a little sweetheart. I was just explaining to her how this dog is on hold right now for a customer that is supposed to be coming after her in a little while.”

Lisa and her family turned around and walked back outside to their car and was about ready to get in when the cashier came running out of the pet shop, across the parking lot saying, “Wait a minute, come back! I just got off the phone with the customer that put the little puppy on hold and their son changed his mind about getting her. He decided he wanted a little kitten instead of a puppy.”

Lisa turned around with a smile and ran to the cashier and hugged her and said, “I am getting Coal after all, and she is really going to be mine after all of this time of waiting to get my hands on her. I am going to never let her again out of my sight.”

Mommy said, “We see why you called her Coal!” Then they opened the door and walked on inside the pet shop.

Then the cashier said, “How do you know the name that we called her?” The cashier said, “We want fifty dollars for her. Do you need some dog bowls and a bag of dog food?”

Then Daddy said, ” Yes, we do need them, and a dog lead with a collar.”

The cashier said, “We have got the first time owner special for thirty-dollars. It comes with all dog accessories that you will need as a first-time dog owner.”

Then Daddy said, “We will take it!”

“Your total is eighty-four dollars and eighty cents,” the cashier said.

Then Daddy handed the cashier a hundred dollar bill, and she gave him back fifteen dollars and twenty cents with a receipt.

Then Lisa put the collar and dog leash on Coal. She opened the pet shop door and walked outside, heading toward the car with Mommy and Daddy following right behind her pushing a cart. All at once, Lisa stops and picked up Coal and gave her a great big hug, and they all got into the car and drove away, heading toward home.

Lisa saw an ice cream stand and asked her parents if they could stop and get one.”

They said, “No, Honey, we spent too much money as it is getting Coal and pet supplies.”

Then Lisa told her dog, “If Mommy and Daddy had the money they would have stopped and got you one.”

Then Mom said, “Honey, why don’t we stop and get some ice cream, they can’t cost that much money?”

“Okay Honey, since we already went this far by getting Coal, the least thing we can do is get some ice cream.”

“Lisa, Honey, we are going to turn around, go back and get some ice cream for us and Coal.”

“Thanks, Mommy and Daddy! It will be like a ‘welcome to the family’ treat for Coal.”

So they drove back and bought some ice cream from the ice cream stand.

- Total nr. of readings: 15,213 Copyright © The author [2020] All Rights Reserved. This story may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author except for personal use.