“Sammy come here boy.” My owner said while patting her thighs.  

They tell me that I am a Boston terrier.  I know I’m not the biggest or best breed in the world, but I like to think I have traces of Doberman Pincher and Great Dane in me.  My life could not be better. I have a loving family made up of my owner, the man she is always kissing, and a house in the countryside for me to play and explore.  I even have an entire patch of woods behind my house. My first birthday was a couple of months ago.  Mara, my owner or as I call her, mom, put a hat on my head and sang a song to me.  

Today is a very special day because I get to go through the woods with my mom.  I was so excited I was nearly jumping out of my skin as she was getting my leash. My favorite place besides my house is the woods.  There are so many new smells and sights to see.  One time I tried to bite something black and white, assuming that it was a cat.  It wasn’t. Mom wasn’t very happy with me that day.  

Once we emerged from the first set of trees, I knew I wasn’t in a safe place, but that’s what made the woods so much fun.  I always remind myself not pull on the leash holding me back.  I know it hurts my mom but I can’t help wanting to run everywhere. There’s nothing more satisfying in the world then when I am able to run and catch something.  It doesn’t happen often but whenever there’s a possibility to go on the chase, I take it.  So you can understand why I ran after a deer.  It was eating something on a tree, not doing anything important for society.  In that moment, I couldn’t think of anything besides that deer.  I didn’t even think of my mom or my home or the fact that I was supposed be with my mom.  I didn’t even look back until I realized I was alone and lost in the forest.  

I barked as loud as I could but I feared my mom couldn’t hear me.  Everything smelled the same. I wanted to run back but I didn’t know which way was back. The forest was covered in the same green stuff, and the trees looked like they went on for miles. My barks slowly started turning into whines as time progressed.  I wasn’t used to being on my own. I was always with my mom or her person.  

I looked around trying to decide what to do.  I knew it was still quite early in the morning because we left somewhat early in the day.  If I was ever going to see my mom again I needed to do it before the sunset.  After that, I had no chance of survival. The only issue with my plan was I didn’t know which direction to get start walking.  If I went the wrong way, it could be deadly.  

“Hello.” A wolf emerged from the bushes. 

 The wolf had a low, gravelly voice and was brown with a white belly.  I knew about wolves.  He would certainly eat me if he got the chance. 

“Hi,” I returned. 

I hated how I sounded compared to him.  My voice sounded frail and weak next to his.  

“I saw you, you ran away from your human. I assume you want to get back to her, yes?” 

I automatically replied yes and heard him laugh at me.  He must have thought I was some poor lost morsel he could give hope to before eating.  

“If you head over that way,” he said, pointing his head slowly to the left, “then you should find your human soon enough.  Based on how far you ran, I would say it’s not going to take you too long to get back to her.”  

I should have thanked Mr. Wolf but instead I ran as fast as I could in the direction he told me to go.  

I felt like I didn’t have a purpose without my mom, as if nothing mattered to me anymore.  That’s why finding her so important to me.  I couldn’t wait to find my way back to happiness.  As I went the way the wolf instructed, hoping for the trees to clear or something.  I looked for anything that showed me I was close, but I found nothing.  The forest went on forever.  It seemed to move and change as if trying to prevent me from leaving.  Eventually I found the clearing where my mom had been, but it was now empty.  It was a start at least. In the middle of the clearing, I saw a rabbit.  It had white fur and tall ears, and its feet looked brown.  It couldn’t sit still, practically bouncing off the trees.  

“Hi, is there something wrong.”  

I tried to sound casual even though on the inside I was worried about finding my home.  

“Wrong?  No, no, no there’s nothing wrong.  Whatever could be wrong?”  

His personality matched his voice.  It was high and hyperactive.  

“Um okay, I’m looking for my mom.  A wolf told me to go in this direction but I cannot seem to find her.  Do you know where she is?”  

The rabbit looked angry at the mention of the Mr. Wolf, but I didn’t know why. 

“If you think I would help you after you’ve talked to a wolf then you’ve got another thing coming for ya.”  

The rabbit threw his arm in the air and screamed at me.  It appeared that he was going to charge at me. I didn’t want to take any chances so I ran as fast as I could in the other direction.  As I was running, I heard him say I would never find my mom. 

As soon as I thought I was safe I slowed my pace to walk.  I wasn’t used to running this much. When I was home, I would do a little bit of running around the house here and a little bit of barking there.  If everyone had to leave the house, I would go with them, but not in a purse of course.  Only a respectable dog walks with their parents on a leash. I couldn’t wait to go back to that life.  Home is the place where I truly matter, to myself and to my family.  

If the wolf was wrong and the rabbit didn’t help me how was I supposed to get home.  I couldn’t rely on my own knowledge because there wasn’t a trail. It was just endless rows of trees going on forever.  If I could smell something familiar then I might have a chance, but even that was a small chance.  Looking around I noticed, the sun was starting to set.   I didn’t have much time. 

“Yoo-hoo, what are yoo doing down there?”  

I looked up to find an owl in the trees staring at me. It sounded female with a light and airy voice.  She was too high up in the trees for me to see what she looked like.  

“I’m trying to find my human mom, have you seen her? She has dark brown hair and a round face and today she was wearing red.”  

If she had seen my mom, then I was home free or at least that’s what I thought. 

“Oh her, of course I’ve seen her, she was looking for a lost little dog by the name of Sammy.”  

“That’s me!”  

“I think she went in that direction.” 

 The owl pointed with her wing to the direction right of her.  Instead of rushing around as I did last time, I walked.  I didn’t want to stress myself out or go in the wrong direction.  

“What are yoo doing walking?  You can still find your mom, go now, NOW.”  

Suddenly the owl launched itself from the tree and flapped its wings at me.  Its claws were out in full force as she scratched me to get me running. In turn, she ruined my beautiful black coat.  

I hated the forest, it was full of mean animals that only want to scratch and hurt you.  I now had another reason why I wanted to leave this place and go back home.  I had no choice but to run as fast as I could just to get away from the owl.  The darkness was starting to set into the forest. The trees looked sinister and deformed.  I heard noises all around, clicking or chirping but every once in a while I heard a growl or footsteps coming ever closer.  I had to think of mom so I wouldn’t be scared. 

I never did like how the world looked in the dark.  Any prominent color disappeared in the dark. If an animal didn’t know their way around during the day, it certainly wouldn’t know it in the dark.  At this point, I still believed I could make it.  I had all odds against me and no one was willing to help me but I had to get back to her.  If I wouldn’t do it for myself, then I would do it for mom.  I would beat everyone who said I couldn’t or put me in the wrong direction.  I had to believe I could, hope was the only thing left for me.  

I heard whispers all around me telling me that I should turn around and go back or that I should just stop looking all together.  I ignored them and just kept going, no matter how much my legs hurt or how hard my heart was hitting my chest. Even if it killed me, I was going to see my mom again.  If I didn’t try I would have never forgiven myself.  So I just kept running and running.  There was no opening in the trees, no houses, no lights, nothing at all.  I was just looking for one sliver of hope, and I found it. 

I collapsed in order to catch my breath, and in doing so, I smelled something familiar. It smelt like mom, this meant that I was on the right track. If I could smell one thing of hers then I would be able to smell where she went. I didn’t waste any time trying to follow the trail of smells. Turn after turn after turn, I felt like I was going in circles. Eventually I finally saw some lights.  After that, the houses came into view and finally I was out.  I had freedom from the forest.  I barked and yipped to get Moms attention, as I could see her shadow going back and forth across the window.  My mom stopped and looked through the curtains. Once she saw me she rushed outside. I couldn’t stop moving, I ran in circles around the house just waiting for her to come outside.  

I was so happy I tackled her.  I licked her face as she cried.  I did her a service and licked up her tears as well.  As my burst of energy started to fade, my body wracked in pain, lots of pain.  The running hurt my legs to the point I thought they were broken. My paws and nails hurt from how hard I was running on the uneven ground.  To top it off my heart felt like it was about to break my ribs open.  My heart wouldn’t stop racing. I had been lying in my mom’s arms for what felt like an hour and it still was racing. Suddenly I was tired and I was starting to see spots in my vision.  My body began to go slack and soon I couldn’t hear my mom screaming my name. I got my wish however.  I was able to see her one last time. I received a death worthy of a good and faithful dog.  I died in my mom’s arms while she held me tight and cried into my fur.  

As my eyes closed for the last time, I reflected about everything I had been through.  I may not have been the strongest or smartest dog in the world but I gave my love freely and offered happiness.  I defeated my internal enemies and bested the odds against me.  Otherwise I might have been just a lost little dog but instead I was found. 

“BEEP BEEP.” 

A loud noise erupted through my ears.  I slowly shook my head and looked around, realizing it had only been a dream.