CC the Rescue Chi

This week’s blog post is a feel-good dog rescue story that I wrote a few years ago. The art was also created then. Maybe someday, I’ll make this into a children’s book. I hope you enjoy!

Laura Chalk. Laura's Creative Cottage. CC the Rescue Chi.
CC the Rescue Chi. Pastels on paper, by Laura Chalk.

CC the Rescue Chi

By Laura Chalk

Slam! The front door shut loudly behind Jack.

“Aunt Annabelle!” he shouted and waved a paper in the air. “Look what I made at school!”

“Oh, my, Jack. You are so excited!” said Aunt Annabelle. She smiled and took the paper from him. “This is very good! Please tell me about your drawing.”

Aunt Annabelle and Jack looked up as the front door opened and closed again. This time, it didn’t slam.

“Hi, Ella!” Aunt Annabelle said as she laughed. “Did Jack run ahead of you again?”

“Yes,” said Ella. “He wanted to show you his picture.”

“Well, good,” said Aunt Annabelle. “We’re all here now, and Jack can tell us about his drawing.”

“It’s a dog! My dog! I mean the dog I want.” Jack got down on all fours. “He would run around like this!”

Aunt Annabelle and Ella giggled as Jack ran around and barked.

“He looks like a friendly dog,” said Aunt Annabelle as she studied the picture. “He has black, brown and white patches. Very cute!  Let’s go back to the art room and we can all draw pictures of dogs.”

Jack and Ella came to Aunt Annabelle’s house every day after school. Her house was close to the school and next to the neighborhood park. They spent many afternoons in her large art room. It was full of paints, colored pencils, chalk, markers, paper and canvas.  Aunt Annabelle was always working on something. She was an artist.

“Can I paint a doggie?” asked Ella. “A pink one?”

“Of course!” Aunt Annabelle smiled. “You can make your doggie look however you want.”

Jack sat on the floor with some crayons and added more brown patches to his dog. Aunt Annabelle helped Ella to put a canvas on an easel. She took a plastic bin off of a shelf. On the plastic bin were the words “Ella’s Paints.” Ella loved to paint like her aunt.

They were quiet as they worked, and then Jack sighed. “I wish I could have a real dog. Jeremy got a dog last night. I want one, too.”

“Oh, I see. Well, that’s very exciting for Jeremy. What does his dog look like?”

“Kind of like this one,” said Jack as he looked at his picture. “I think it’s the most perfect dog in the world, and I want one just like it.”

“I’m sorry, Jack. You know that your mom doesn’t want a dog.”

“I know,” Jack sighed again.

“Dogs are a lot of fun, but they’re also a lot of work. Your mom and I never had a dog growing up. I don’t think we would know what to do with a dog!”

“I know how to take care of a dog. They need dog food, water, and lots of time to play. I would take very good care of a dog,” said Jack.

“Hello!” said a voice from the living room. “I’m here!”

“Mommy!” Ella squealed. She put her paintbrush in the cup of water and ran to the living room. She jumped into her mother’s arms and gave her a hug. “Mommy! Jack really wants a dog. Can we get one please?”

Jack and Aunt Annabelle came out of the art room. “Jeremy got a dog last night,” explained Aunt Annabelle. “Jack feels like he wants one, too.”

“Oh, sweetie, we’ve talked about this before,” said Mom as she rubbed Jack’s back. I don’t think that would be a good idea for us. We’re gone too much and that wouldn’t be fair to a dog. And they’re messy. I’m sorry, Jack.”

“I know,” Jack said quietly as he hung his head and walked out the front door.

The days were getting longer and warmer. Now when they came to Aunt Annabelle’s house after school, Jack and Ella spent more time outside in the park next to her house. Sometimes, Matt and Amy walked home from school with them. One afternoon as the children played, Aunt Annabelle planted pink petunias on the side of her house. She heard a rustling in the bushes. She stopped digging. The bushes kept rustling and she also heard a little whimpering sound. Aunt Annabelle slowly crept toward the bushes. She lifted a few of the branches and gasped when she saw what was making the sound. It was a little white puppy!

Aunt Annabelle gently scooped up the puppy.  “Hey baby, it’s okay, it’s okay,” she cooed as she stroked the dog with her hand. The dog squirmed, then settled down as Annabelle comforted her. The tiny dog didn’t have a collar, and something was wrong with her left eye. It looked infected and sore. 

Aunt Annabelle carried the puppy and walked slowly to the playground. As she got closer, the children saw what she was carrying. They ran over to her, talking over one another as they came.

“Oh! Oh!”

“A puppy, a puppy!”

“Let me see! Can I have it?”

“Shhh, quiet, please,” said Aunt Annabelle. The dog squirmed again. “Be still, kids.  She’s hurt and scared.”

The children took a step back and got quiet.

“Where did you get it?” whispered Jack.

“I found her in the bushes.”

“What kind of dog is it?” whispered Ella.

“It looks like a little Chihuahua,” Aunt Annabelle said as she gently stroked the dog. “Kids, we need to take her to the vet. Her eye is hurt.”

They all walked back to the house. Jack helped Aunt Annabelle wrap the puppy in a blanket, and then they all piled into Aunt Annabelle’s car. Jack held the puppy as Aunt Annabelle drove to the vet’s office.

After sitting quietly and patiently in the waiting room, a nurse called them to an examination room. Dr. Baker came in.

“What do we have here?” he said as he slowly reached out to let the puppy sniff his hand.

Jack spoke up. “Aunt Annabelle found her in the bushes. Her eye is hurt.”

Dr. Baker bent down to look into her eyes. “Hmmm. Let’s put her on the table so I can get a better look.”

Dr. Baker gently took her from Jack’s arms and placed her on the table. The puppy squirmed again. Jack and Aunt Annabelle spoke softly to the puppy as they came around her to make sure that she didn’t jump off of the table. Dr. Baker also spoke softly to her as he checked her out from head to tail. He looked into her eyes, mouth and ears, and felt her all over.

“She’s underweight. She’s probably been on her own for a while and hasn’t had enough to eat. Her eye is causing her a lot of pain, and the infection has been bothering her for a while. Medicine won’t work for her now. She’ll need surgery to remove her eye.”

Aunt Annabelle and the children gasped. “Oh, no!”

“I know it sounds bad,” said Dr. Baker. “But if we don’t take the eye, the infection can cause more problems for her. Once we take the eye, she’ll be a lot happier. She won’t be in pain anymore. And then, she’ll feel like eating. Do you know who she belongs to?”

They all shook their heads. “We’ve never seen her before and she doesn’t have a collar,” said Aunt Annabelle.

“If you promise to nurse her back to health, I’ll perform the surgery for free. You’ll have to bring her back for a couple of check-ups after the surgery.”

The kids all looked at Aunt Annabelle. She didn’t hesitate. “Yes, thank you, Dr. Baker. We will take care of her. Thank you for doing the surgery!”

Jack and Ella looked at one other and beamed. A puppy! A puppy to love!

“Annabelle, I’ll call you in the morning after the surgery. You may come and visit her tomorrow if you would like, but I’ll keep her for a couple of days after the surgery to make sure that she’s healing nicely and is not in any pain.”

“Thank you, Dr. Baker! Goodbye, sweet little one. You’re in good hands,” Aunt Annabelle reassured the little dog as she gave her a final pat. “Kids, let’s think of a name for her on the way home.”

It was a short ride back to Aunt Annabelle’s house, and they thought of names the whole way. 

“Princess!” said Ella.

“Sadie,” said Jack.

“Petunia, since I was planting petunias when I found her,” said Aunt Annabelle. The children giggled.

“Candy!” said Ella’s friend, Amy.

“Candy Corn!” said Jack’s friend, Matt. Everyone laughed, even Aunt Annabelle.

“Candy Corn. I like it!” said Jack. “It’s cute. We could call her CC for short!”

“CC the rescue Chi,” said Aunt Annabelle in a singsong voice.

“The rescue Chi?” asked Ella. “What’s that?”

“Chi is short for Chihuahua. We rescued her, so she is CC the rescue Chi.”

Their new puppy had a name!

The next day after school, Jack and Ella raced to Aunt Annabelle’s house.

“Hi kids!” she said as they came through the door.

“How’s CC?” asked Jack.

“Dr. Baker called me today and said that she is doing fine. Let’s go see her.”

When they arrived at Dr. Baker’s office, a nurse walked them back to where CC was resting in a kennel. They approached her slowly and quietly. CC had been sleeping, but she woke when she heard them. When she saw Aunt Annabelle, Jack and Ella, her tail began to wag.

“Look!  She’s happy to see us!” Ella could hardly contain her excitement.

“Hi CC,” said Jack.

“Hi little CC,” said Aunt Annabelle.

“She’s been doing very well,” said the nurse. “We have her on pain medication to keep her comfortable. I’ll open her kennel and pick her up so that you can pet her. Just make sure not to touch the bandage on her eye.”

The nurse opened the kennel door and picked up CC. She cradled CC in her arms as Aunt Annabelle, Jack and Ella took turns petting and talking softly to her. CC’s tail wagged and she gave kisses to all three of them.

“She’s happy to see you,” said the nurse. “I think she knows that you rescued her.  Rescue dogs usually feel close to the humans who save them.”

At the end of their visit, they all gave kisses to CC and told her they would be back tomorrow. As they piled back into the car, Aunt Annabelle said, “Hey Jack and Ella, let’s go to the pet store. We need to get some supplies for CC.”

Aunt Annabelle, Jack and Ella walked the aisles of Friendly’s Pet Store. They filled a cart with things for CC. Ella pointed to a pink and white bed for small dogs. Aunt Annabelle nodded and Ella put it in the cart. Jack found food and water bowls. The manager at Friendly’s helped them to select the right food for CC. Then, they chose a few toys.

When they got home, Jack put the food and water bowls in the kitchen. Ella found the perfect place for CC’s bed, and they put her toys next to it. They were ready to bring little CC home!

The next day after school, they drove back to Dr. Baker’s office. This time, CC’s tail wagged even more when she saw her new family. She had plenty of kisses for all three of them.

“Are you ready to take her home?” asked Dr. Baker.

“Really, can we?” asked Jack.

“Yes, she can go with you today. I’ll send some instructions home with you for her care. Just be very careful not to touch her bandages, and don’t get them wet. Bring her back in a few days so I can take a peek and make sure that she is healing nicely.”

“That’s great!” said Aunt Annabelle. “We can’t wait to take her home!”

Jack held CC on the way home. Ella sat next to him and stroked CC’s paw. When they got to Aunt Annabelle’s house, Jack carried CC to her food and water bowls. He set her down in front of them and she drank a little. He picked her back up and carried her to her bed. Jack, Ella and Aunt Annabelle sat on the floor around CC. They each took turns petting her. She snuggled down into her bed and looked so comfortable.

“Thank you, Aunt Annabelle. Thank you for letting us keep her.”

“You’re welcome, Jack. But really, you should thank CC. She chose us!”