Minka - FarView Great Danes and Spinone

Minka's Story

Based on factual events... with a little bit of fiction thrown in :)

Chapter 1 - A Story To Help Pass The Time

Somewhere, on the fringes of the Amazon Rain Forest.. lies a puppy. Small and delicate at her young age, she lifts her head to listen to the falling rain. Her life here so far has been good. Her mother always at her side had supplied her with milk and warmth and love through her first few weeks. Her littermates have played joyously at her side. Change is coming through, she can feel it in the air. Maybe at this point even some of her littermates have found their new homes and she is one of only a few left.. Her mother pads from the comfy couch over to her, as she knows the little puppy is worried about what lies ahead.. she licks her puppy and lays down next to her to comfort her and let her know that everything is just fine... and that somewhere far away, her new owners wait anxiously for her arrival. Her mother tells her she has never been to this far off place, but she knows it is different from the world in which she now lives. Never again will the little puppy see her mother, or her littermates, and she is sad with this knowledge, but she is excited in a way to see what this "new world" will look like. Will her owners love her as much as her mother and her mothers owner did? Will she have new playmates to romp and run in the grass with? Will there be the forest and all the unique sounds that eminate from it in this far off place? She isn't sure..

She has heard her mothers owner talking about an "aeroplano" and she asks her mother what that is. Her mother explains to her that it is a big steel beast with a hungry belly. Her mother tells her not to be afraid though.. The belly will swallow you up, and it will be a little dark for a while and the beast will be loud and it will take you high into the air. In a few hours the beast will land and some men or women will come and take you from the belly. You may ride in one or two beasts, but when the beasts are done, your new owner will be waiting for you. You will get to see many new things on your journey, her mother explains. Do not be afraid of them, they are wonderous to behold although some of them may be loud and some may be quiet, but they are not there to hurt you, only to help you get to the new world.

The little puppy listens, fascinated and now more than a little scared, but she trusts in her mother and she feels a love that is generating from a place she has not seen yet, but knows she is going towards. Her mother goes on to tell her that she has seen dogs that have come from this new world and reassures her puppy that they look very similar to the dogs from this land. She tells her puppy that she has been told the people in the new world speak a funny language, but it is not difficult to understand, and that all dogs speak the same language, so to not worry about that.

The little puppies mother tells her no more questions.. it has been a long day. Be certain, I will never forget you when you leave, and I will always love you no matter if you were in the new world or in our world. Her mother tells her that she is certain that her new family will love her.. for if not, her mothers owners would never send her on a trip so long and to such a far away place.

With that, her mother lays her head down, and falls into a deep slumber dreaming of her days when she was a great show dog. The little puppy tries to lay her head down to fall asleep, but can't. There is too much to think of.

Her mothers owner comes in and the little puppy gets up and goes over to greet her. She sees the carrier that is being placed near the door, and sees many papers with funny markings in a stack on the table. Her mothers owner bends down and hugs the little puppy, shedding a tear because she will miss her favorite puppy. She tells the little puppy that the time is now soon, and the preparations must be made, and she knows that everything will go as planned and that her new owners wait anxiously over the waters in the new land. The little puppy is sad to be parted from everything that she knows, and will miss her mothers owner as well. She snuggles into the arms of the woman that first held her when she came into this world, and wonders again how anyone could be as loving and wonderful as her mothers owner.

Now tired, the puppy pads back over to her mother and lays down for sleep. She falls asleep listening to her mothers owner speaking on the phone, checking with the "aeroplano" to assure the beasts flight times and temperatures in the new world. The puppy wonders why the temperature should matter.. surely it is as wonderful as the winter there is now. With these thoughts the puppy drifts to sleep and dreams of this new world and her new owners. She is ready to make the journey and to be brave for her mother and her mothers owner. Blissfully, she sleeps..... Her journey is about to begin........

In a far off land, a woman sits in the early morning hours, daydreaming about the little puppy that she is waiting so anxiously to see and to hold in her arms...

Chapter 2 - Into the Belly of the Beast

The puppy was woken by gentle rubbing on her belly. Her mothers owners stood above her telling her that it was time to go.. time to begin on her long journey to the new world and to her new owners. The puppy was sad, and yet excited. She nuzzled her mother who gave her one lick on the nose and gazed at her with loving eyes. Remember, the puppies mother told her... Remember that I will always love you.

With that, the puppy was lifted from the comfort of her mothers side and placed in her travel crate. The crate was comfortable enough... a nice blanket and plenty of room, but was nothing like being snuggled up to her mothers side. Wait! Wait! the puppy told her mothers owner, but it was too late.. the time to leave had come and there was no more time for long goodbye's. The puppies mothers owner shut the crate door and picked up the crate, the papers with the funny markings and opened the front door of the house.

Outside, the stars began to wink from the sky above. Their daily hibernation almost complete, they shone brighter and brighter with each passing moment. The puppy had never paid much attention to the stars before, but remembered her mother had told her that the beast would take her high into the air, and now wondered if she would be able to touch them. Her mother had told her, when she was smaller, that each bright spot in the night sky was a reminder for those dogs who had passed to the rainbow bridge... that they were there to give comfort to the ones left.. and that some bore names like Canis Major or The Dog Star. She wished that she had paid more attention and tried to remember which star was The Dog Star. She knew that this star, if she could only find it, would comfort her and help her to remember to be brave for her mother and her mothers owner. Before she could find it however, her mothers owner placed her into the small beast that took them from place to place on the ground. Surely, the little puppy though, the great beast must be like the small beast. I should have no worries!

The small beast took the puppy and her mothers owner very far... searching with diligence for the great beasts of the air. Every once in a while the puppy would see a moving spot on the air.. nothing more than a speck far above with a great white tail. She wondered, could this be the great beast? As time passed, she saw more and more of these small moving specks in the sky, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, a tremendous noise and a great thing in the sky appeared overhead. Its noise was thunderous as it fell at a graceful pace and landed on the great road that was like no other road she had ever seen. The Great Beast!!! That must be the Great Beast! the puppy thought. She looked to see more of the great beast, but her owner had passed it by with what seemed like no concern, and the puppy was comforted that her mothers owner found the great beast no threat. Her mother must have been right and the great beast meant no harm, even though it had made so much noise and had come from the sky.

The small beast that she and her mothers owner were riding in came to a stop. Her mothers owner picked up the puppy in her crate and began carrying her to a place that had many people coming in and out. It must be a very important place, the puppy thought, for so many people to come and go. I hope that they will play with me and I will get to run and show them my antics! But, her mothers owner never opened the crate door, despite all the pawing and play barking the puppy did.

Her mothers owner brought her to a counter... a counter that looked like the counter at home, but there was no food there or good things to eat. Her mothers owner talked to the man that stood behind the counter. The puppy heard click click click click as the man worked on his glowing box and she heard her mothers owner and the man talk about many things... things she did not understand. The puppy was too excited.. watching all the other new and strange people walking at quick paces and looking at other glowing boxes that were attached to the ceiling. What a strange place for a glowing box, the puppy thought. The puppy turned her attention back to her mothers owner and the man, who were looking at her now, and at her crate. She heard the man say something about the crate was OK and heard the word Dal-Las and Chi-Ka-Go over and over. She wondered if these words were words she would hear in the new world, as they were words she had never heard before. Her mothers owner leaned down to the crate and told the puppy to be good, be brave and that she would miss her. The puppy pawed at the crate door and tried to tell her mothers owner that she would, and that she was a little scared, and wasn't so sure now that she wanted to go to this new world.. but her mothers owner didn't listen. She put her fingers through the crate door, patted the puppy on the head and lovingly caressed her behind the ears... Suddenly the man picked up the crate and began to carry the puppy away from her mothers owner. No No! The puppy tried to tell them.. I want to be with my mothers owner for a little longer... but the journey was about to begin, and no one listened. She watched her mothers owner walk away and the little puppy sat further back in her crate, feeling more than a little scared now.

The man took the puppy to a big area with lots of other crates just like hers. She wondered what other things were in these other crates. Maybe other puppies!!! The man set the little puppies crate down next to a smaller crate and the puppy looked through the sides of her crate into the sides of the other crate. In it, sat another small dog. She didn't think this was a puppy, and she barked a welcome greeting to this new neighbor.

The dog in the crate next to her lifted it's head up and looked at the puppy. The dog in the crate told the puppy that her name was Towga and she was on her way to the United States. The little puppy told Towga that her name was Melinka. Melinka told Towga she was from here in this world and knew nothing about the U-Nite-Ed Staats. Towga told Melinka that it is all one world but the world is far and vast. Towga's owners took her wherever they went, and Towga had been to many famous places and seen many great things. Melinka told Towga that she had never been anywhere but in her world and that her mother and her mothers owners were sending her to a far off place. Melinka asked Towga about the great flying beasts. Melinka said she was scared, but had promised her mother and her mothers owner that she would be good and be brave and greet this journey as an adventure... but Melinka confided to Towga that she was more than a little scared. Towga told Melinka that it is not so bad. That the great beast does indeed make a terrible noise and that it will be a little dark, like nighttime... but that the great beast means no harm and will help her on her journey to find her new owner. Towga told Melinka that once, she too was a small puppy, and made a great journey to find her new owners in the belly of a great beast. Towga told Melinka that she too had been scared, but that the trip was worth it, as she found her new owners and loved them so much and that they loved her so much. Melinka was about to ask Towga about so many other things she had questions about, but a man came and picked up Towga's crate. As Towga was being carried away, she reassured Melinka that everything would be fine and to not worry and she hoped Melinka completed her journey soon and that her new owners would be waiting right when she got taken from the beasts belly. Melinka hoped so too...

It seemed like forever... waiting always does, and to a small puppy, waiting is not yet a refined skill. Melinka tried to entertain herself by biting in her feet and biting on her tail and doing other puppy antics that she sometimes enjoyed doing, but she was tired of waiting. When will this journey ever be over, she thought.

A very loud voice boomed from the sky... She heard the words Dal-Las again and wondered if that meant something for her. It must have, because a woman came over and picked up Melinka's crate and put her on a small beast that had no sides. There were many other crates that looked funny... no door on them and no holes in the sides. Melinka wondered what kinds of animals would ride in something like that. The small beast began to move, and the feeling of the crisp night air fell around her like a cloak. She looked up and again saw the twinkling stars looking down on her. She shivered with both excitement and a bit of cold, and (she told herself) only a very little fear.

The small beast picked up speed and Melinka began to see the outline of a great rigid wing. As they came closer, Melinka got her first up close view of the Great Beast. In awe, she looked at the Great Beast.. Inside of the Great Beast were people! You could see them through the holes in its side, and Melinka wondered if she were to be put with the people if she would get to play with them. At least that, she thought, would help pass the time.... Melinka soon found out though, that she was being put with all of the other funny looking crates, and that there would be no people there. As the men and women finished placing all of the funny crates into the beasts belly, they began to close the door. This isn't so bad, thought Melinka, and she waited patiently for them to open the door and bring her out into the new world. With a great lurch.. Melinka began to feel the Great Beast move. Again, Melinka thought how silly she was to have been so scared of the Great Beast. It is not so terrible or great or tremendous.. it is quiet and almost still, she thought. The beast came to a stop, and Melinka was happy that her journey was over and she was now in the new world where her new owners would be to greet her. This is the point, when Melinka noticed a low humming noise.. she listened intently for a moment.. but listening intently was only needed for that moment, as the Great Beast began to grumble and rumble and thunder, and the noise grew and grew and grew. With another lurch forward the Great Beast began to move forward again, and it's growling and rumbling began to get louder. The pressure of the forward movement pushed Melinka to the back of her crate. Melinka began to become afraid. The thunder noises became louder as the Great Beast became howled into the night. Mother! Mother! I am afraid Mother! Melinka thought. I cannot be brave! I do not want to travel in the Great Beast!

From far away, her mother felt Melinka.. she felt her fear, and felt her panic, and from far away, her mother sent to her this thought. Be Brave my Melinka. The journey is just beginning. The beast will not hurt you. Be Brave my sweet baby.

From far away, her mothers owner was thinking.. be brave my Melinka, I will miss you so. The Journey is just beginning.. but your new owner is waiting for you and I will always love you.

From far away, her new owner sat in her chair thinking.. be brave my Melinka. I am waiting for you. Your journey is just beginning but will be over soon. I am waiting for you to love you and hold you in my arms.

Melinka felt these thoughts, and was comforted.

The Great Beast bumped a few times and then Melinka felt as though she were being pushed down as the Great Beast took flight. She thought of her mother, of her mothers owners, and wondered what her new owners were like.. what did they look like? What other playmates would she have? Would her new owners have a bed that were as soft and comfortable as her old bed? Would there be a forest or a city or any of the things from her old world? These thoughts went round her mind until she was too tired to think anymore. She drifted into a deep slumber.. a slumber that only puppies and children can sleep when they are very tired. She dreamed of her mother, her mothers owners and of what the new world would look like. She dreamed of Towga and remembered the kind words from Towga. She dreamed of all of these things, and took comfort in the thoughts from her mother and her mothers owner, and dreamed of a love that was coming from her journeys end.

Bump... Bump bump bump.. Melinka woke to bumping and the Great Beast making a new noise. The bumping jostled her in her crate and she felt a pressure different from the first two.. this pressure wasn't forward and wasn't down.. this was a pressure forcing her towards the front of her crate, and the bumps felt like those that the small beast made when the road was rough. Was this the end of my journey, Melinka thought. Are my new owners here?

The Great Beast slowed and finally came to a stop. She heard voices from outside the belly of the Great Beast and wondered which one was her new owner. The Great Beasts belly opened up. Sunlight flooded the belly and smells and noises that she had never heard before eminated through the belly. She stood up in her crate, wagging her tail. New owner! New owner! Where are you?

Another man came and took Melinka from the belly of the Great Beast and put her on another smaller beast. Melinka took in the wonders of all of the new world. Where was her new owner? Was the journey to the far off land now over? Where was her new owner?

With these thoughts, Melinka stood in her crate and looked and looked and waited and waited..

Her mothers owner, in a far off place, knew that Melinka had arrived in the place called Dal-Las, but that her journey was not over yet. In her bed, her mothers owners sent this thought... Be Brave my sweet Melinka. Your journey is not over yet. You will soon be home.

Her mother, in a far off place, knew that Melinka was still on her journey, but it was not over yet. Laying next to her owner, her mother sent out this thought... Be brave, my lovely puppy. Your journey is not over yet. Your new owners wait eagerly for you.

In a far off place.. one that Melinka was destined for.. a woman yet again sits in the wee hours of the morning, and sends out this thought... Be brave, my darling baby Melinka. I wait eagerly for you.. to love you and hold you in my arms. The time is soon.

The woman begins to gather her paperwork.. places a collar and a leash lovingly in a bag. Water and a small dish with some treats and some food are placed there as well. The time for her journey is also soon. She waits for the moment when the crossing of two paths will be complete.. when a promise will be fullfilled.. and when a new future will begin....

Chapter 3 - "Chi-Ka-Go" or "The Rest Of The Story"

The small beast Melinka sat on began to wind its way through the Great Beasts of the air and all of the smaller lesser beasts who went from here to there, then back again with an urgency that Melinka was sure only they could understand. She peered out from her crate wondering, in almost desperation now, where was her new owner? The trip had been very long and very far and surely this was the far off land and the new world!

The small beast came to a stop in front of a very large house that sat in the middle of one of the great roads. Is this my new owners house? Melinka thought. All of a sudden, the small beast did something unthinkable. It drove right INTO the house! Melinka was a little amused at this at first, then became a little worried when no one seemed to care that the small beast was actually IN the house! She hoped that this was not her owners house, as she did not want to share her blankets with a small beast, no matter HOW small it was, or HOW quiet it was.

The man that was riding on the small beast came to Melinkas crate. Are you my new owner, Melinka tried to ask him, but as with most of the other people she had met on her journey, he was too busy to answer her. As soon as he lifted her crate off of the small beast, he drove the small beast away, leaving Melinka to sit, feeling small and alone, in the middle of a house that let beasts of all sizes come in and out and once again, she felt afraid.

Melinka barked and barked and pawed and pawed at the front of her crate. I'm tired and I want out and I'm thirsty and I'm hungry and I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THIS CRATE ANY MORE! WHERE IS MY NEW OWNER! But no one came and Melinka became very quiet.

A little while later, a woman who smelled of good things and wonderful new smells came over to Melinka's crate. She looked into the door and said something that Melinka did not understand. Melinka didn't really care though because she opened the crate and Melinka thought THIS must be my new owner! The woman knelt down placed a collar and leash on Melinka and took her from the crate. New owner! New owner! Pick me up and put your arms around me and love me! But the woman did none of these things. The woman looked at Melinka all over and poked and prodded her and looked at the paperwork on top of her crate. The woman called a man over to her and spoke to him in words that Melinka could not understand. The man did the unthinkable! He took Melinka's crate and took all of the things that smelled like home out of her crate and replaced them with some new papers. Melinka was relieved to see that her small yellow bone was put back into the crate, but she wished he hadn't taken her home smell things away. She thought though, that her new owner would take her somewhere quiet and give her something good to eat and some water, but the woman did none of these things. To Melinka's surprise the woman put her back into Melinka's crate. The woman bent down, patted Melinka on the head and closed the crate door. She did not understand what the woman was telling her, but she did understand that this was not her new owner, and that her journey was not complete yet. Melinka was relieved that this was not to be her new home, but sad also because she wanted her journey to be done so badly. The woman spoke again to the man and said the word Chi-Ka-Go. Melinka thought this Chi-Ka-Go place must have something to do with her new owner... was it her new owners name? She thought it must be... so she settled down in her crate and waited for Chi-Ka-Go to arrive and take her to her new home in the far away land.

She did not have to wait long, as yet another man in a grey suit with large red ears came to Melinka's crate. He picked up her crate and carried it to another part of the house, where another man waited with another small beast. Her crate was placed on this small beast and she wondered if this small beast was to take her to Chi-Ka-Go. Oh how she wished that Chi-Ka-Go would get here soon.. Melinka was tired and hungry and thirsty and to a small puppy, these things are very important.

The small beast took them back out onto the great road and soon it was very apparent to Melinka that she was headed towards another Great Beast. In dispair she cried out NO! I do NOT want to go on another Great Beast. I do NOT want to go to the far off land. I want Chi-Ka-Go here to love me and pick me up in their arms and hold me! but no one listened and she was delivered back into the belly of another Great Beast. The beasts belly began to close and Melinka cried. She cried because she was tired. She cried because she was hungry. She cried because she was thirsty. And she cried because she wanted the journey to the far off place to be over.

In a place that used to be home, Melinka's mothers owner felt these cries and sent out this thought.... Be brave my beautiful Melinka. I will miss you and will aways love you. Your new owner waits for you. Your journey is almost done.

In a place that used to be not so far off, that was now a far off place, Melinka's mother felt these cries and sent out this thought.... Be brave, my sweet sweet puppy. Your journey is almost complete. Your new owners wait eagerly for you. Remember.. remember I will always love you and think of you often.

In a place that used to be the far off place.. that was becoming less and less far off as the moments ticked away.. her new owner felt these cries and sent out this thought.... My sweet Melinka. I am waiting for you. I am waiting to love you and hold you in my arms. Your journey is almost over, the time is soon.

Melinka felt these thoughts and was comforted. She settled back into her crate and began to wait.

As before, the Great Beast began to thunder and rumble and roar. She knew, however, this time that the Great Beast was not there to harm her and she tried to entertain herself, as puppies do, by biting on her feet and biting on her tail and doing anticts that puppies do when they have no one to play with. She felt the Great Beast take flight and knew that the time was soon.. and that her new owner, Chi-Ka-Go waited for her at the end of this journey.

Bump... bump bump bump went the Great Beast. Melinka was surprised, as this Great Beast must be able to go very fast. This journey was not so very long. She wished the first Great Beast had not been so lazy or tired as it would not have taken as long to get from her home to the place called Dal-Las. She was glad though that this Great Beast was young and healthy and that it had gone very fast and Melinka became excited that the Great Beast was almost done with the journey.

The Great Beast had not stopped yet, and Melinka could still feel it moving. She wondered when the Great Beast would stop and where the belly would open up. She wondered if her owner Chi-Ka-Go would be there to greet her and love her and hold her in her arms when the belly opened up. She wondered what Chi-Ka-Go would look like and what Chi-Ka-Go would smell like and if Chi-Ka-Go would have water and treats and food. She waited and waited and waited. It seemed to Melinka that the Great Beast would never stop, but finally, it did.

Sunlight flooded the belly of the beast as the belly opened up. She was glad to feel the warmth of it as it flowed over her body like a golden river. Melinka basked in the warmth of it, but only for a moment as she spotted another man with large red ears and a grey suit come into the belly of the Beast. Chi-Ka-Go? She tried to ask the man. She wanted so very desperately to know that Chi-Ka-Go was here and waiting for her! The man squatted down by Melinnka's crate and said many things to her that she could not understand. She did understand however that the man knew Melinka had come a very long way and that her journey was almost over. The man called to another man that crawled into the belly of the beast and they sat there for a moment gazing lovingly at Melinka, speaking in excited tones about her and reaching their fingers into the door of the crate to caress Melinka's ears. Melinka became very excited now! Surely one of these men MUST be Chi-Ka-Go! Melinka danced in her crate and did her best bark and pawed at the front of the crate. She tried to ask them where Chi-Ka-Go was and tried to tell them she wanted out of this crate and wanted some water and wanted something good to eat. One of the men must have understood her, as he took her crate and placed it in a different spot on the ground than all of the other funny looking crates that she had ridden with on her journey. Melinka tried to tell all of the other animals that must be riding in the funny crates to be good and that their journey was almost over. Melinka was not sure if they heard her though, as the noises in this new world were very loud and she could hardly hear herself bark.

The man with the grey suit and the funny red ears came back to Melinka's crate, peered inside of it one last time, and began carrying her crate. The man carried the crate for a very long time, and Melinka was jostled around and skidded and skittered from one end of it to the other. She was not sure how this man with the funny red ears could even pick her crate up... her crate was very large and this man with the funny red ears was very small. Melinka knew that sometimes very small things could be very strong, but she had never yet encountered anything quite like the man with the funny red ears. She wasn't sure she would like this new world where all the men and women had funny red ears.. but she thought she might get used to it after a while.

The man took Melinka to another house on the Great Road. This was a very big house with many things inside. There were shelves with things stacked so high you could not see the tops, and things stacked in big squares with funny paper that you could see though going all around them. There were things in every corner and every place in between and a very big fence that went around it all that went all the way to the top of the house. Melinka wondered if this was her new home. She saw new kinds of small beasts and was placed on a bright yellow one that had two horns sticking out of it's head. The horns went up and down and Melinka was curious about this new kind of small beast that she had never seen before.

Melinka was taken to a small room, away from the small beasts that went here and there like busy ants by their anthill. This room was quiet an very bright and there was a man there that took Melinka out of her crate. Chi-Ka-Go! Chi-Ka-Go! Melinka knew this must be Chi-Ka-Go and that Chi-Ka-Go was here to take her home. The man picked up Melinka and held her in his arms and Melinka was very happy. There was something wrong though.. she did not feel the great love she had felt eminating from the far off place when she was still at home. She did not feel any thoughts that comforted her and she did not see the man smile like she knew her owner would be smiling. The man spoke soothingly to her and poked and prodded her and felt her belly and looked at her teeth and did everything that the man at home did before her pricked her behind the neck. Melinka thought she did not want to be stung again but the man never made her neck hurt. He was gentle and spoke soothing words to her and petted her.

When the man had petted her enough (and Melinka thought.. poked her enough with his fingers) he put her down on the floor and offered her a drink of water. Melinka was so very happy about this, she drank and drank and drank. She drank until her belly swelled and the man took the water away from her. Melinka suddenly knew that she had to piddle... had to piddle right NOW! She tried to tell the man that she wanted to go to the grass, but the man did not listen, so Melinka piddled right in front of the man on his floor. Melinka thought that she would get in trouble for this, but the man just smiled, grabbed a towel, and cleaned the mess up. Melinka tried to tell the man she was sorry, and that she knew piddling in the house was not what good puppies do, and that she would lick his face and amuse him by biting on his white coat if he would forgive her, but he did not listen. He picked up Melinka and placed her back into her crate. Melinka dispaired. She thought the man was angry at her for piddling in his house and even though she now had a drink of water, she was still terribly tired and wanted to be out of her crate and be free to run and romp and play. She began to cry again.. she began to howl, and she began to bark. Melinka thought that the man was not pleased with this because he picked up Melinka's crate and took her back out into the great house and placed her crate by the fence. Melinka did not care now and she cried even louder and barked even longer and howled with such force that everyone in the great house turned at looked at the tiny puppy that had come so far to this new world. Melinka did not know it, but everyone in the great house also hoped that her new owner would arrive soon.

In a far off place, her mother heard these cries and cried a little to herself. She knew her puppy was tired and hungry and wanted to be out of her crate. She knew that her puppies journey was almost done and she hoped her new owner would be there soon to comfort her dear puppy. She sent out this thought... My sweet sweet Melinka... Your journey is complete.. you now must wait for your new owner.. they will be there soon. Be patient my sweet puppy, and remember that no matter where you go, or where your travels will take you, or what part of the new world you will be in, I will always love you. You are my special puppy and I will never forget you.

In a far off place, her mothers owner felt these cries, and shed a tear herself. She knew her puppy was in the place called Chicago.. half way around the world. She knew her puppy was tired and hungry and thirsty and wanted out of her crate. She worried for her puppies new owner and hoped that the puppies new owner was there waiting for her. She sent out this thought... My darling Melinka.. your journey is over. Your new owner will be there soon to love you and pick you up in their arms and give you good things to eat and let you romp and play and run. Be patient my lovely puppy.. the time is soon. Know that I will always love you and will remember you and I hope that you will remember me.

In a room, 2 doors away, a woman stands at a counter. Her journey has taken her many miles to bring her to Chicago. She wears a face pinched with worry and fear. Her hands tremble as she gives the clerk the paperwork she has carried with her these many miles. She only half hears the clerk ask her some questions that require answers and asks the clerk to repeat them several times. She is listening for a little puppy.. a noise, a howl, a bark.. anything that might assure her that her puppy.. baby Melinka, has arrived and is OK. The clerk tells her to go down the hallway through the first door, then left, then left again and a man will help her there. She half walks, half runs to this door, then left, then left again and sees a man sitting behind the fence. She gives the man her paperwork that the clerk gave to her. The man, who appeared gruff and uncaring with a hard face, looked at the paperwork, then at the woman, and a broad smile sneaks to his lips that eventually coveres his entire face. So.. he says... You're here for the puppy?

Melinka had settled down in her crate. Not a peep, not a noise, not a single whipmer. Her howling and crying and barking had tired her out. She lay in her crate and was so very sad. She wondered if her journey would ever be over.. if her new owner would ever be there.. if she would ever be let out of her crate. She had learned that this place IS Chi-Ka-Go and that Chi-Ka-Go was not the name of her new owner. She was not sure now, where she was going, or what her new owners name was. She had held on to the knowledge of Chi-Ka-Go as a child hangs onto a security blanket.. taking comfort in the words and knowing that the new world was going to be OK.

For what seemed like the thousandth time that day, the small horned beast came by her crate. But now, it turned towards her, and began to creep closer. Melinka became more than a little afraid.. the horned beast came closer and closer and closer until it appeard it was going to run over Melinka and her crate. She cringed into the back of her crate and wondered why her mother and her mothers owners had sent her to this far off place inthe new world... only to meet her ancestors in the sky like this.

Something surprising happened though. The small beast lowered it's horns and picked up Melinka's crate and the ground that it sat on and lifted her up into the air. The horned beast began to move and took her towards the small room where she had first visited after coming into this great house with all the beasts and all of the people. It took her past this room, however, and they went far far to the other end of the great house. The horned beast came to a stop, and gently placed Melinka's crate and the ground it sat on, back on the floor. Melinka was a little puzzled. She expected to be put on another small beast that would take her to a Great Beast, but neither of these things happened. Instead, Melinka saw a crowd of many people by the fence. She saw a person that did not look or act like anyone else in the great house, nor like anyone else she had met on her journey. This new person was a woman, and she seemed to be looking for something.. she seemed to be nervous about something, and hope beyond hope sprang in Melinka's heart. After all of her travels and her long journey to the far off place and the new world, Melinka began to know. The woman began to walk over to Melinka's crate. Many people had come with the new woman, and they asked her many questions and spoke in excited voices. The woman seemed to not notice all of these people that had not noticed Melinka. She had a look of a far off place in her eye... she came closer to Melinka's crate.

The woman who had given the clerk her paperwork, then given the gruff man with the broad smile even more paperwork, saw a fork truck driving by with a crate and what looked like the tip of a nose of a small puppy. Hope beyond hope sprang in the womans heart. Was her baby OK? Why was it taking them so long to park the truck? Why didn't these people understand that her baby had been on such a very long journey and that the woman wanted to see her puppy and see her NOW to make sure she was OK? Yes yes.. I'll answer all of your questions, just let me see Melinka! No I was not on the plane she came from.. Yes, I brought her all the way here... Yes, I have waited a very long time for her.. No I haven't seen but only pictures of her... YES!!! I WANT TO SEE HER NOW!!!

Melinka saw the woman... the woman saw Melinka. Their eyes locked and both of them knew... they knew that Melinka's journey was over.. they knew that the promise had been fulfilled.. they knew that they were meant for each other. The woman knelt down, and opened Melinka's crate door. Melinka took a tentative step forward... then exploded from the crate in such sheer joy and happiness that words could never describe. Some feelings are like this... no amount of words can ever explain the core of emotion that we feel at times like this. The woman scooped Melinka up into her arms, and Melinka nuzzled her face and nipped at her cheeks and licked away the tears of happiness that fell from the womans eyes. The woman spoke words to Melinka and it did not matter what language they were spoken in, for Melinka understood completely. The woman knew that the words did not need to be spoken because bonds that have been forged that were as close as theirs, no matter if they have been over miles and miles or have been made between two close friends that have known each other for decades need not be spoken of. They simply are. The woman told Melinka that yes, she was Melinka's new owner. The woman told Melinka that she was here now, and would always love her and that she would hold her in her arms. Melinka wiggled, and jiggled and squiggled. She knew that she was home. She knew her new owner loved her beyond spoken words and she was happy to have made the journey to this new world.

With that, the woman began to walk away from the great house, holding her beloved puppy in her arms... each of them telling the other of their great journey to Chicago and of all the wonderous things they had seen.

Both knew this part of the journey now over for them... Both knew a new journey had just begun. Life is a journey. Embrace it with all the love and wonder that each day brings