A Christmas puppy, that stole and broke the heart of a young boy

Christmas Pedro A brown and white puppy, the gift from a friend, Brought home on a street car, a box he was in, I named him Pedro, a good name for his like, Always playing , a cute little tyke, Small by nature, he grew kinda slow. But the mischief in him, it knew how to grow Chewing holes in stockings, scratching up chairs Stealing clothes from the closet and rugs from the stairs, Protests from mother, bad looks, get the mop!, Train him , train him, but he wouldn’t stop, There are only a few things, the human can bare, But the killer instinct melted in that innocent stare, But not all was trouble, we sure had our fun, Playing hide and seek, always on the run, All thruogh the summer, play in the park, Running while listening for his shrill little bark, Crouched and hiding behind a big maple tree, He tore up the park, just looking for me, We had plenty of fun, as much as could be described, Until in October, when tragedy arrived, While teaching him to walk down ,the second floor steps, Trusting in me, he crouched and he leapt, I didn’t catch him !, he hit at my feet, Falling two stories on that solid concrete, His body was broken, his little life near an end, Holding him close was no use, i had failed my best friend Pleading eyes gazing up trusting to mine, As the life in his body began to decline, Whimpering so softly as he was dying, Not for his pain, but for me, I was crying.   tom leftwich © 2016