From Dumpsters to Dining Rooms

Daily Post Prompt: Cur

The sun was shining when she woke from a deep sleep that took a few moments to shake from her eyes. She smiled when she realized she could actually see outside, and it wasn’t overcast nor foggy like it’d been the past week. Although she’d woken up slightly later than normal, she took her time going through her routine of getting ready. The sunlight coming in through the windows was too nice to rush through.

As she drove to work she marveled at how the trees were coming into bloom and the grass was growing greener each day. She’d missed the sun the past week, but the rains had really given way to some beautiful plant life. She clocked in on the dot, even after having taken her time in the morning. ‘It must be a sign it’s going to be a good day’, she thought to herself.

“Hey Laurel! Did you hear Robbie moaning about that cur out back last night?” Deborah called to her as she started setting things up for the mid-morning rush of sandwich-buyers.

“No, I didn’t. Was it still out there this morning?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

“I haven’t seen it, but I’ll bet it’s there somewhere since he threw trash out when he was cursing about it.”

Laurel thought about the poor dog and what a rough life it must have to be hanging out back of a sandwich shop looking for scraps. She decided when she went to lunch she’d take it out back and see if she couldn’t coax the dog out of hiding.

Sure enough, when she went out a few hours later to enjoy the sun and eat her own sandwich, a scruffy-looking dog appeared seemingly out of nowhere. “Hey boy, want something to eat?” she asked gently, tugging a piece of her sandwich off as an offering. “That’s a good boy,” she whispered as he came right up to her outstretched hand and gently lifted the bread off. Laurel marveled at how well behaved this dog was for a supposed stray mutt. She quietly finished what she wanted and gave the rest to the dog. “Okay, if you’re still out here when I get off, how about we take you home and get you cleaned up?”

She gave him a quick pat on the head and walked back inside. Laurel didn’t know what she’d do with a dog if he was out there when she got off work. She decided on giving him a nice bath first, and then making some posters. Surely someone out there was missing this kind and handsome dog!

When she got off later that evening he was still there, and only too happy to follow her home. She did give him a bath, and he let her soap and rinse him until he was almost unrecognizable. The next day she made posters at the library, and hung them up around her block and the sandwich shop where he was found.

When no one had called about him in almost a month, Laurel decided Jack was hers to keep. She’d grown too attached to give him up now, and vice versa. What had once been a mangy cur was now a well-mannered and well-kept companion for Laurel, and neither could be happier.

 

Thank you for reading through my weekly Thursday posting! I couldn’t be happier to share an actual short story with you all this week. Please don’t forget to check out Yonder Worlds as well. S.R. Anand has been helping to push me with my writing endeavors and I couldn’t be happier nor more thankful!

I hope this post finds you all well. Take care!

---

In crisis and in the United States? Text ‘Hello’ to 741741 and a trained Crisis Counselor will be there to support you.

Advertisement