Liebchen’s Wild Ride!

By Gammy

Gammy’s dog Liebchen was a very tiny one, even after she was no longer a puppy. But Liebchen didn’t think she was tiny. When a bigger dog six times her size came near her yard, Liebchen would bark and bark “Woof woof, woof woof woof!” The bigger dogs would just stare at her in wonderment thinking, “don’t you see how big I am?”

Liebchen hated getting her hair cut at the pet shop. Arriving home all fluffy, smelling of shampoo with a pink bow in her hair. Immediately she would wiggle and squirm along the rug. “Rrrrr, rrrr, rrrr” until the sweet smell was gone and the bow had fallen off her head. At Christmas, Liebchen loved to open gifts right beside the rest of the family. She would scratch at her tissue-wrapped presents until a little toy or doggie biscuit popped out.

What fun she had chasing rubber balls across the lawn. One by one, Gammy and her brothers grew up. They left home for college, jobs, weddings. Gammy’s Mom and Dad were still there, but Liebchen needed a new place to rest. She tried Gammy’s old bed but it was too big, too sad without Gammy. She tried sleeping under a desk, under a dining room chair, even next to the piano. They were awful. Then one winter’s day, Gammy’s mother left a fluffy white winter coat on a big swivel rocking chair in the living room. Liebchen looked to the left, she looked to the right. No one was around to tell her it was a bad idea. She jumped up and the chair moved a little, up and down and side to side. Liebchen kept her balance and dropped into the coat.

The coat was a soft as a cloud. She found her new bed. Liebchen continued chasing rubber balls and barking at dogs until the day everything changed. The doorbell rang and Gammy’s mom answered it and of course Liebchen barked. “Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” Mom welcomed 6 people into the house that Liebchen had never seen before. “Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” They brought boxes, tissue paper, tape and markers. They began wrapping up all the plates, pots, pans, pencils, pad, putting everything in boxes with a sticker on every box. Liebchen cocked her head at the boxes with tissue paper wondering if all this meant Christmas was coming. But when a huge truck pulled into the driveway, Liebchen sensed something was big was happening. Liebchen heard words she did not understand. New job, new home, Chicago. Airplane. Mom picked up Liebchen, gave her a kiss and placed her into a travel box, with graded windows on the side and a handle on top. The door was shut and Liebchen peered out. It will be alright girl, Gammy’s mom said. Liebchen wasn’t so sure. After the car ride to the airport, Mom held the boxes as they walked through the busy terminal. She knew her family was carrying her so everything would be fine. Then it wasn’t. Mom looked at Liebchen’s box and said, “I’m sorry but you’re not allowed to fly next to us so you will be going into a special part of the plane just for animals. This lady will take you there. It will be alright so be brave, we’ll see you in Chicago.” Soon Liebchen was riding on small open-air truck with other boxes stacked around her.

Up ahead she could see a huge plane, a man in a blue uniform gave Liebchen a big smile and carried her to a special corner of the plane. When the big doors shut, Liebchen began to cry a little. “Mmm, mmm, mmm” She felt lonely just like the first time she met her forever family and had to sleep under the bathroom sink. She tried barking and barking “woof, woof, woof”, no one came. The plane’s engine began to rev up. Then the plane began to move faster and faster until Liebchen felt like she was floating. Liebchen cried a little more “mmm, mmm, mmm”. Then she grew tired of crying.

She remembered that her mom said to be brave. If she could bark at big dogs, scratch bows out of her hair and unwrap Christmas presents, she could certainly fly in a plane. This was almost fun! After a good while, Liebchen heard a big braking sound and the movement of the plane stopped. Soon the doors opened and another man with a big smile said, “Welcome to Chicago!” He picked up her box and carried Liebchen off to her family. They took the box to her car and lifted her out of it. Liebchen stayed very still. She hardly moved. Her eyes were closed. “Oh no Dad, what has happened to our precious dog?”, said Mom. “Don’t worry, she is exhausted, wait until we get her home. She will love her surprise.” Surprise? Liebchen opened one eye. She loved surprises! When they reached the new house in Chicago, Dad carried her inside placing her into her favorite rocking chair with the fluffy coat spread out just the way she liked it. Liebchen was happy again, and glad her first and only plane ride was over.

07 - Liebchen’s Wild Ride by Gammy