Days Like This

Sophie McLeod

The happiest day of my life was around five years ago. The sun dazzled through the window as I woke up that morning. My parents told my sister and me that we were going to look at a car for my dad. To be honest, we could not think of anything worse to do with our Saturday afternoon. We drove past all the car showrooms and many thoughts went through our minds, as we wondered where we were going. As we went further into the countryside the hot oranges and yellows were bursting out with excitement as the sun shone on the healthy green hilltops. The white furry cotton wool animals cried "baa" as we went past. I remember my sister and me looking at each other wondering what was happening as we had still not arrived

My dad turned into a dirty old farm with a caravan and a boat wreck in the corner. When we saw all the cats we discovered it was a cattery. This farm did not look the most attractive place but I decided to give it a chance and went inside. My sister thought it was awful and refused to get out of the car. I reluctantly stepped slowly into the house. Laura, my sister was made to come in. We heard loud barking from a distance. For many years my sister and I had been asking for a dog. If it was our birthday or Christmas, we would ask for a dog but the answer was always no. I perched on the end of the sofa waiting to see when my dad was going to look at the car. I wondered what we were going to do while they were away. A King Charles Spaniel came running in; she was very friendly and happy. The next minute, a band- sized puppy was brought through to the lounge. It has brown spots and a white fluffy body with a diamond sized beauty spot on the tip of her nose. Her tail was something out of the ordinary- it was nearly as big as her! It was big, furry and as soft as velvet. The one thing that I found most attractive about her was her long soft plaited like ears. Her beautiful puppy eyes opened as she glared at us. The puppy had massive pupils that shimmered in the light. The lady asked if I wanted to hold her. My heart started to beat faster and faster as she wandered closer. She slowly put the puppy into my palms. My face lit up with joy and a shiver of happiness washed over me as I held the dog. Her name was Chelsea. Eventually, my parents told me that the only reason we were there was because we were getting a dog: I was holding her. I sat in shock for a minute, not believing that I bad finally got what I had been asking fore all those years. A cheesy grin was painted indelibly on my face. At that moment, all I wanted to do was tell everyone that I had got the prettiest dog in the world. We called my Gran and told her that we had a surprise. Early that week, my mum had been talking about getting her a new mirror; she thought that we had gone and done just that. She walked up stairs and Chelsea was sleeping in her new basket. My Gran thought it was the last thing that we would ever be allowed to get. For the rest of the day I told everyone I spoke to about Chelsea.

She has grown up to be a lovely friendly dog, which everyone stops to speak to in the street. Sometimes 1 get forgotten because she gets treated like a human not a dog! She hates being left by herself and cannot bear to be without my dad. Her tail bangs against the wall as she meets people or just says hello to us in general. It's always wagging. When we got Chelsea it was a wonderful day and one I will never forget. I will treasure a day like that which does not come along very often. Every time I look at my puppy, I remember that day and imagine her so small and cute. Chelsea is very precious to my family. I could not visualise my life without her.