The Striped Dog
My daughter Amanda joined my household near to her 9th birthday. Our house included one English Setter dog named Lady Sara Jane, and one cat named Cosette, and me (the Mom). Before this, Amanda had lived in about 13 foster homes. In all the places she had lived, there were other kids. So she always had someone to play with. In my house, there was just a dog and a cat.
Amanda had difficulty making friends, even though our neighborhood had lots of kids of all ages. So, lots of times, she played with Sara Jane. Sara Jane was a medium sized dog, almost all-white, slim, athletic and comical. This nutsy dog loved to dive into mud puddles, chase shadows and flashlight beams, and blow bubbles in the toilet. A bucket of water could keep her busy for hours. Sara Jane was an interesting dog.
Amanda loved to play with art supplies more than dolls or other kinds of toys. So I got her sidewalk chalk for playing outside in our driveway. She enjoyed drawing cats and dogs and houses and sunshine.
One day, however, Sara Jane arrived at the door alone, barking to come in. I opened the door, and she was covered in streaks of pink and green chalk! Oh my, I thought out loud. I have a pink and green striped dog. Amanda came to the door next, a sheepish grin on her face. “Sorry, Mommy.” We both laughed.
I gave Sara Jane a bath. The pink chalk came out far easier than the green. We had a white dog with stripes of green for weeks. Not everyone can say they have had a striped dog.
Dr. Wendy C. Kasten, Writer 