The Big Sadness
Story by Fantasia Dog
I am a very sad dog. I have a big sadness.
It is raining. It has been raining for days and days and days and days. It just never stops raining.
Usually, my human and I go for a walk every afternoon, but we don’t go when it rains, because I don’t like getting wet.
I’m pretty sure my human can do anything. She makes dog food appear when it’s time to eat. She lifts up the covers on the bed so I can snuggle right in when I’m cold. She opens the door when I want to go out to the back yard, and again when I want to come in. She can do anything, but she won’t make the rain stop.
She says we either have to walk in the rain and get wet, or we have to wait for it to stop. But it doesn’t stop. It just rains and rains and rains and rains.
We wait and wait and wait and wait, but we are not walking. I want to walk, I really, really do, but I don’t want to get wet.
So I am sad. The human asked if I wanted Bear. I did not want Bear. The human asked if I wanted Elephant, but I did not want Elephant. The human asked if I wanted Crocodile. I lifted my head a bit, so the human said, “right.” She went and found all of them: Crocodile, Crocodile and Crocodile. She put all of them beside me.
It didn’t help. Now I’m just sad with Crocodiles. This is the wrong kind of sadness, and it is too big for Crocodiles to make it better.
I will never be happy again, unless the rain stops one day, so I can have a walk.
Fantasia Dog
Fanta is a graduate of the Animal Welfare League Qld shelter, where she was known as Fantasia. On arrival at her forever home, her full name was declared too pretentious, and she became known as Fanta. Occasionally, when she emits noxious gases, she is known as Fartica or Fartica the Hellhound. She likes walks, playing, eating, more eating, and cats when they don’t bite her ears. She dislikes baths, cats when they do bite her ears, and dogs who bark at her when she’s out walking. Although she owns approximately a zillion toys, she only likes to play with Bear, Crocodile and Elephant.
Iris Carden, Author 