It was eleven years ago today that I first entered this world.

I was born in Orlando, way out past the airport, I lived there with my brothers and sisters for almost two months and then “she” bought me. I will tell you I thought I was one dead dog on the way home. She brought a crate to put me in. Can you even imagine that—ME in a crate? Please, I don’t even want to think about that any more.

Then after putting me in the crate, she put the crate in the back seat while she drove us back to this place that would become my home. I have to tell you I never thought I would make it. The crate fell over and I landed on my head, she didn’t stop, maybe she couldn’t, I don’t know. When she finally did stop all she did was set the crate back up, she didn’t even think about the indignity she was putting me through.

When we finally got here, I hid behind the piano whenever I could, I just didn’t trust this woman. How could I? I was sure she kidnapped and was trying to kill me. I wouldn’t even eat at first, I thought she would poison me.

Lots of her friends came over and brought me presents. My mom told them I wouldn’t eat so one of them gave me food, I trusted that person so finally I could end my starvation campaign. Everybody loved me and said I was sooo cute; I was beginning to like them. But I still wondered about “her”. At night she put that crate on a table next to her bed, and ME back in it.

Once I got that crate opened, I joined her in her bed, well that didn’t last, she put me right back in that crate. I didn’t think this was going to work at all. I was trying to figure out how to escape. I thought maybe when she took me out to the back yard I could just wander off and she wouldn’t know it. That didn’t work; alas, I was stuck.

Somehow we learned to coexist. She learned pretty fast that I would do the crate on my terms, not hers. Other things changed too, she was slow in learning some stuff, but I got her trained over time.

Now we do things my way, as it should be. I sleep on her bed, I eat only human food and she does things around my schedule. Just ask any of her friends about that.