Heise 8

Cage 208

By: Shanna Heise

From a safe home to dungeon for a house.

From soft hand to hard foot,

a thick board to a sharp knife.

From safe arms to the cold, hard floor of a pound.

One little hand slid over my brown and white dirty dog hair,

but found something fuzzier and much more clean.

With in seven days I feared the needle of death.

But I thought I saw the light.

What I didn't know,

is it was a pitch dark light of pain.

Sold to a lab is all I heard.

But I had a home, or so I thought.

I thought of land, green and full of vibrant color.

With laughter of old and young.

With other animals at my side to play!

I dreamed of one big soft bed.

The love in someone’s young or old eyes,

Soft warm arms wrapped round both my sides.

Sunshine above, with a tree of shade nearby.

With stars that bit throw the velvet black night sky.

I imagined wishing on shooting stars.

And howling to the moon,

in a pool of moon light above and around myself.

Laying curled by the fire,

at the feet of my beloved owner,

Pulling my wet noise from the cold glass window.

I wagged my tail and began to sway.

We walked through big white doors.

As my joy began to fade away,

I was filled with fear.

I dropped low to the ground.

Than began to cry.

It made no difference.

They dragged me across the crimson floor

I screamed out as if I would be saved,

from the men and women in white coats and rubber gloves.

I squeezed my eyes closed,

And wished upon my shooting star.

I wished for love in old or young eyes.

When looking into their eyes,

I would see that I was not to be saved,

But only sacrificed.

I managed to look past their evil looking eyes

to see the pain of other precious animals lives.

I wished to play with those other animals.

Not share in their incredibly, horrid pain.

Now I did not sway with happiness.

But only from the feeling in my gut.

And the voice in my head that repeated itself saying:

“Run and hide!”

Trusted in my words that I would have ran for safety,

if they had not held me down, tight to the ground.

A hand grabbed me by the neck.

Harshly throwing me in a small metal cage.

Now I knew I would have no name.

Just a Procter and Gamble cage, a cage that said 208

They shoved tubes into my pink and white belly.

Only to test a new brand of Sunny Delight.

But there was more than that.

I felt it in my veins; I felt it as it slowly began to drink my life away.

Even without the burns in my side

I felt like digging my own little grave!

The wish of a family, the sun, and the moon,

had all begun to fade away.

I can no longer remember the love in eyes.

Only evil and hostility.

The fire was no longer watched,

Only put inside and on top of me.

No warm arms, only arms cold and hard.

I felt it up and down my sides.

With death’s finger running up and down my spine.

I was about to die.

Without ever seeing a velvet black sky,

other than behind my eyes.

The only sky I would ever see again,

is when I close my eyes so tight, I see multicolor skies.

I was soon just to be another dead beagle in cage number 208.

Don't pray.

Don’t cry.

Save the puppy that is looking into my eyes.

Don't let its heart go cold and hard.

Let it be free in the park.

To play and not share in with this pain.

Please as my dieing wish:

Don't let this puppy looking in my eyes,

become just a puppy in a numbered cage.

Give it a name.

A home of love and play.

I will give it all my last wishing stars.

I will give it all the suns and moons of mine,

that have just about faded away.

Please just save it in anyway.

Don’t let death proclaim a victory from its pain.

I beg!

I wish!

I plead with you!

Just say yes:

I will save the puppy staring into your eyes.

My 28 to 90 days have flown by with such pain.

I feel it in my legs as it creeps to my dying heart.

I am to die.

There is no light.

I was right,

death from pain is darker than any velvet black night.

But once again I beg:

Please save the new puppy in cage 208!