UNDERSTANDING
HONORS Karina Eide Young Writers Awards
TOMMY, 13
Minnesota
Chippewa Middle School
I would like to thank my mom and my dog Georgie for inspiration.
Puppy mill 1
I open my eyes for the first time. I look around and I see tons of yipping puppies and about 12 medium dogs. I think we're in some sort of barn. I hear a loud whoosh and then I hear lots of tiny thuds like rain. I look around and I see a bunch of brown kibble raining from the sky. Instantly all the dogs sprint to get the food. I don't know what to do. My stomach is rumbling like an earthquake, and I want to eat but I don't want to fight the other dogs for a little bit of food. It's not worth it. Just as I was thinking that I see my brother get picked up and taken out and no one bats an eye. I run up to Mom and tell her what happened.
“Mom, Jamie got stolen. We need to find him.”
My mom looks at me and says," Which one are you again? Anyway, that's not a rare site. 15 of my kids were kidnapped today.”
“That's crazy mom” I say, “and also I'm Georgie.”
“Oh yes, the one that's too cute to fight for food. if you keep acting like that you won't be big enough for them to pick you up. Just look at what happened to me. I never ate my food and now I'm never getting out of this place.”
I look at Mom in a weird way.
Mom says “oh right your newborn. Just open your eyes, I guess. We're in a puppy mill. This is all they do: they breed us, make us have puppies, take those puppies and sell those puppies.”