animals

my first dog

I remember when I first got my dog, I was happy. I had joy rush throughout my whole body. I was very young, so I didn't know what facial expression I should've done at the moment. I was very surprised my parents had gotten a dog because they were never really pet people. I was a little scared of the dog biting me. I tried to keep my hands as close to myself just in case because if he were to bite me it would have felt like being stung by 100 bees.

He suddenly barked and I got startled because I felt like he would attack me, after that we fed him some food. I smelled it. It smelt so bad I pulled my head back so fast after I smelled it. I didn't even know if it was food or some random mixed foods combined into one hot mess. It smelled funky like if it were food that was left out for days in the sun. I still remember the atrocious smell to this day it was a horrendous stink just going into my nose. It makes me gag anytime I even think about it. That's why it's a deep memory and will always stay with me.

By Erik Zarate

on stage

I felt thousands of eyes on me, my legs quivered as I made my way to the rocky platform. There stood my Aunt, the aquarium lady, and a big Sea Lion. The Sea Lion greeted me with a wave of its paw, as if it had done it thousands of times. My dad's hands brushed along my back, silently urging me to step forward, to step closer to that aquarium lady.. And step closer to the Sea lion that looked about thrice my weight with a mouth shaped like a cat’s. I tried moving my legs but I couldn’t; they were glued to the ground and refused to move.I looked up to see the people on the stone bleachers, and they all looked at me with a sense of boredom. Some even yawned.

“Come on, Joss, don’t be scared, they won't hurt you,” my Aunt spoke to me in an unusually warm tone. Are you crazy? That thing could kill me in seconds!! That's what I would’ve said if it didn’t feel as if a knot in my throat was blocking the words' way to my lips. The aquarium lady looked at me with a smile that was slight but comforting. She wore a navy blue hat that matched the color of her uniform. Both the hat and the uniform had a small blue squiggly line to represent a wave, or more so, the ocean. Her brunette hair was held in a loose bun that stuck out of her hat. I tried to take a deep breath and swallow all my anxious saliva, but it came back in mere seconds. I think my dad started to get impatient, because he pushed me more onto the platform, causing me to be inches away from the seal. There I was, eye to eye with it..

“His name is Parker, by the way.” The aquarium lady informed me in a voice quiet like a whisper so only I could hear her. My voice was shaky as I spoke; it came out in squeaks. It’s okay. I told myself, I can’t embarrass myself more than I already have.

I stepped closer to the Sea Lion and forced a smile.“Hi Parker..” Even to me, my voice sounded weak and distant.

“Greatttt..” The aquarium lady dragged on her words and clapped her hands together. “Now pose for a photo, say cheese!” I nodded silently and put up the biggest smile I could. I felt a dozen phones pointed towards me. My family, strangers I’ve never seen, and even the aquarium lady who just so happened to be my Aunt’s cousin pulled out their phones for pictures. I flinched as I felt the sloppy, cold flick of the Sea Lion’s tongue touching my cheek, and I heard a long slurp. I tried not to gag, since his breath reeked of fish, but I held it in. For about 10 minutes, I stood while people took photos. Gradually, my feet shifted closer to the Sea Lion, but not too close where I was able to be bitten any second. He looked back at me, and his eyes squinted just slightly as he flicked his tongue out again. But this time, I didn’t feel as uncomfortable as I did before. My shoulders relaxed, and my breath became normal again.

By Jocelyn Cano

I screamed at the top of my lungs while running for my life with my cousin, almost getting bit .

The big dog was showing off its sharp teeth, intimidating us, and making us even more scared.

My cousin said, “I'm not scared”. I knew he was lying because I could see the fear in his eyes and hear it in his voice, but I was terrified.

The only thing going through my head is to keep running and not stop. We were running around the neighborhood. This dog did not want to give up and just kept chasing us. It felt like my legs were about to fall off. I don't know about my cousin. I think he was as scared as me.

This all would not have happened if we had never passed this dog's house, making fun of the dog and making it mad. My cousin jumped on top of my dad's car roof while I kept running, trying to lose the dog. I just wanted to go home and eat. My cousin got off the car roof and got away. I jumped a fence and taunted the dog. I could hear the anger in the dog's bark, but I felt safe on the other side of the fence. That dog really wanted to get me and my cousin. I don't know why. On my way home, I was hungry and thirsty. I didn't know where my cousin was or if he was safe. I was only 7, so I did not know how to contact him because I didn't have any type of phone at this age. I was just trying to get home, hoping the dog wouldn't see me and I wouldn't have to go through that chase again. I was almost home, and I saw my cousin hiding behind a bush, terrified to move or make any noise. He was shivering as if he had jumped into a freezing cold pool outside, but it was a nice warm summer day. I walk up to him, not noticing me. I say his name and he jumps and gets scared, but when he sees me, he is relieved it was me and not the dog. We were not that far from home, so we quickly walked home so we didn't see the dog. When we were walking almost home, we saw the dog from far away and ran home as quietly as we could, and we did not look back and didn't stop running. I've never seen my cousin run this fast ever. We made it home and ate a nice warm pizza and drank a nice cold fruit punch with ice.

By Esteban Rodriguez

Page updated

Report abuse