~~A Greyhound's Special Christmas Gift

I watch the snow fall through the glass.
My Christmas is full of Joy at last.
So much has happened since the dawn
my story could go on and on!

Pull up a chair and rub my tummy,
pull a treat from my stocking, oh so YUMMY!
While roaching here you'll hear my story,
so lately filled with Christmas Glory.

It started about 10 days ago,
Mom and Dad hurried out through the snow.
The little boy to Grandma's went.
Alone I was, my poor heart rent.

The left me there, so forlorn.
No one to snuggle till the following morn.
I thought that I was plain forgot.
Loneliness again was my sad lot.

The next morning Dad burst in the door,
distraught he forgave the messy floor.
"Poor, poor hound, your forgivess I'm beggin',
but we had to see to the birth of Megan!"

A new little human came home three days hence.
I peered at her from behind the fence.
She made strange sounds and stranger smells,
but the boy and I think she's just swell!

The routine here was torn asunder,
Megan's cries like midnight thunder,
She cuddles great and looks so cute,
The boy think's she is quite a hoot.

Mom was tired and dad so proud,
the boy excited and Megan loud.
One piece of the puzzle yet remained,
Would Christmas Joy in just 5 days be obtained?

...

Some distance south in warmer climes,
a little greyhound passes time,
peering out through metal bars,
wishing she could see the stars.

From her cage there at the track,
she does not know what it is she lacks.
She thinks somehow there's something wrong,
but she doesn't know for what she longs.

A new guy started making rounds,
petting, talking and loving hounds,
from head to toe in white and red,
his hearty laughs chase away the dread.

He stops in front of the little girl,
she roos, he laughs, her ears he twirls.
A gentle pat, a few words so kind,
her wagging tail and shared joy sublime.

"A few days lass it all it takes.
Be good dear one, for all our sakes.
I'll be back again, you'll soon see,
keep up that chin and think of me."

Her head sinks down, her eyes then close.
There she sleeps with a heart that glows.
The last thought she had in sleepy haze,
was that Christmas will be in just 5 days.

...

Mom and Dad were very busy,
the pace around here made me dizzy.
Decorations flew up at breakneck pace,
3 Days remain to finish this race.

Boxes arrived and Dad went shopping,
the activity showed no signs of stopping.
There's no way they'll get it done,
Christmas waits for no one!

2 days left and there's no signs of slowing,
from dawn to dusk we just keep going,
Dad said to me that we'd be just fine,
we'll get it done in plenty of time!

It must be true for out they went,
a little time alone was spent.
Truthfully they were back real quick
and both the kids had Santa pics!

The boy went on about his list
and telling Santa about how he wished
for toys for his beloved sister
and how he took his Santa picture.

A new day dawned with just one left,
I began to think I'd be bereft,
Hope I tried to keep in vain,
so very few hours yet remain!

...

The man in red and white leaned near,
"Keep your courage up my dear,
I must leave you now and be on my way.
Christmas is in just 2 days!"

No sooner did that jolly man go
than did several familiar faces show.
The oft-heard sound of the truck soon followed,
a lump of fear the poor girl swallowed.

Hounds got on that truck before.
They were heard of never more.
She didn't guess and couldn't know
just where those hounds did ever go.

The door opened and her heart quickened,
the muzzle went on and her stomach sickened.
Pulled and yanked into the truck,
she truly thought she'd lost her luck.

Hours later, bounced around,
finally allowed to touch the ground.
The other dogs were just as scared,
the uncertainty was not all they shared.

They all knew dogs that had gone away,
carted off this self-same way.
No way to know where they'd been
never seen nor heard from ever again.

A quick pee on grass never seen before,
tossed in the truck behind the closed door.
Bouncing and lurching, back on their way,
the sun coming down, on hard straw she did lay.

Hours like days passed in the dark,
light peeking through when the truck was next parked.
The humans unhappy, their faces all frowns,
"Call for a tow, John, the truck done broke down."

"We'll surely miss the pickup, there's nothing we can do.
The transmissions's shot and the oil pan too!"
The poor little hounds huddled in the cold
had no earthly idea what the future would hold.

The tow truck finally rolled into sight
and an odd mechanic clad in white
leaped from the cab and set things straight,
but nothing could stop them from being late.

...

The 24th dawned on a peaceful house,
sleeping late and laying about.
Breakfast was a true delight,
but something was still not quite right.

They gave me love and a place to live,
I only had this one gift to give.
In spite of the happiness around,
my Christmas Spirit was truly down.

Hours passed with no relief,
the sun fell down and I lost belief.
Christmas carols they all sang,
pretty stockings they would hang.

Happy shows on the TV,
but no happiness inside of me.
Soon enough it was time for bed,
no sugarplum fairies danced in my head.

...

Christmas day and squeals of delight,
Mom and dad were up before first light!
The boy's sheer joy was infecting me,
I put on a happy face at least.

After the frenzied present fray,
the wrappings gathered and toys put away.
Mom and Dad seem all aglow,
The boy was always go, go, go!

I had no gift for those who love me so,
No token of gratitude for me to show
that I love them as they loved me,
no way to show them my heart-felt esteem.

I was at my lowest then,
misery my only friend.
I had just laid my poor head down,
when from the hallway there came a sound.

The boy ran to answer the door bell,
a muffled hello followed by a yell!
This brought Dad there in a hurry,
then came Mom in a flustered flurry.

I thought that maybe I should go too,
when suddenly I heard a happy roo.
I lumbered from my lonely perch,
my startled heart gave such a lurch!

I stopped short and looked out the door
and there my jaw dropped to the floor.
A rumbling truck pulled a way so grand,
with a happy wave of a red gloved hand.

The little hound and I made friends.
My happiness now knows no end!
The family bewildered looked happy and puzzled,
there stood a fresh groomed little girl with a pretty new muzzle.

We played for a while and she met the kids.
We made zoomies around in joyful skids.
Dad sat bewildered and Mom made a fuss,
sharing her love with the both of us.

I could not begin to tell you how grateful I was,
my heart all a twitter and my head all abuzz.
I gave them the gift once given to me,
and to the hound also - soon she will see.

That's how my day went from trash unto treasure.
You've now had my tale in its full measure.
Pass me a treat and just one more head pat,
My morning was hectic, it's time for nap.

The little fawn girl seems happy too,
raptly watching Meg when she makes happy coos.
We'll chat she and I in just a short while.
She's happy here, I can tell by her smile.

...

Hours later, Dad has a thought,
"There's something to do, something I forgot."
He picks up the phone and dials a number,
He speaks in the phone, his voice full of wonder.

"Ms. Lisa, you saint, you made Christmas Day great!
We never called to say that we weren't gonna make it."
Words were exchanged and Dad looked amazed,
He walked around in a bit of a daze.

"Honey," he said, with a bit of a frown,
"the adoption was cancelled because the truck had broke down."
"Ms. Lisa was happy the fawn girl has showed,
but the dogs weren't due until at least tomorrow."

A faint thread of laughter could be heard through the house,
A startled look passed between Dad and his spouse.
a streak of red and the sound of a sleigh,
It just couldn't be this late in the day!

But oh, happy readers with moistened glad eyes,
Christmas couldn't happen without a Christmas Surprise.
The Hounds of this world and the Children, too, know,
It happened that way, it happened just so.