Madeline Croyle — Grade 7
I hadn ’ t missed her , because she ’ d always been there .
MY DOG ROONEY
So when my dog Rooney slipped in the rain on the Fourth of July last night , I hadn ’ t thought much of it . My parents went to the hospital right away to see what had happened to her , and I just kept swimming and splashing in the pool with my family . It was the Fourth of July ! And Rooney could tear a stone-hard , frozen-in-the-winter bone apart , so nothing was too tough for her to handle .
Of course I was worried about her ; she was practically the most important thing that ever happened to me . But she was a survivor . She ’ d had a really bad home before we adopted her , and she got through that and became a great dog . So I ’ d barely given it a thought .
I was watching the news with my grandfather who was asleep ( because that was so comforting ) and it was supposed to be a clear night , no clouds , and a beautiful sunset .
But life wasn ’ t always beautiful .
The phone rang , and it was my father . I picked up . “ Dad , hi ! Why aren ’ t you home yet ? It shouldn ’ t take that long for them to test Rooney , I ’ m surprised you had to even go overnight .”
My dad didn ’ t respond , but I could hear him breathing heavily on the other end of the phone . He only breathed heavily when he was angry or devastated . But I had a feeling .
“ So when ’ s she coming home ?” I asked , eager . I couldn ’ t wait for her greeting . I had missed her running upstairs to the overwhelming beep of my alarm clock that wouldn ’ t let me shut it down for the summer , jumping on my bed and wagging her tail to wake me up .
“ Madeline , I really don ’ t know how to tell you this ,” my dad took a deep breath . Devastated or angry ? I didn ’ t think he had much to be angry for , but … devastated ? Then it hit me like a brick to the face .
“ Rooney ’ s not coming ba-
That ’ s all it took . I dropped the phone on the floor and it barely avoided shattering on the marble . Then the tears came , and I fell back on the couch . Aunt Lynn looked at me , and in one second she understood . My world was being tuned upside down and my favorite girl in the world was gone .
She was just gone .
“ Madeline ? Madeline ?” My dad said . I heard static and the call dropped . Overwhelming cold spread through my heart , I was a frigid glacier : unable to move . Tears flowed silently down my face . It felt like somebody had sucked the purpose out of life and it was suddenly a black