Alex, the dachshund that nobody believed in, once did something major. That major thing was save the world.
"She's useless," Melanie, my girl, complained to her parents one windy night in November. Her gleaming hazel eyes glared at me in disbelief...
*Alex* ^ A dog's purpose novel about how a dog who seemed useless saved the world.
First thing's first. Everyone has a beginning. Everyone has a purpose. Everyone has a story. And mine was unforgettable.
I woke up one morning on January 17, 2010. This was a very important day, because it was the first day I was ever on this earth.
I was born.
At first, everything was blurry. I couldn't walk straight. In fact, I couldn't walk at all. Whenever I tried to move, my stubby legs trembled and I would fall to the ground.
Mother knew about this, so she'd just walk over to me and my siblings and feed us her milk one by one.
When it was my turn, I made sure I got as much as I possibly could. When my belly was finally full, a family of three walked into the room, all with smiles on their faces that showed their pearly white teeth.
"Oh! You must be the Steins!" My owner, Lindsay, said, surprised.
"You guys are surprisingly...early," she said, staring at them.
"Is that supposed to be a threat," a man said, moving closer to Lindsay.
"N-no..." Lindsay said, taking a step backward. "It's just, it's 5:03. You guys were supposed to come at 5:23," she reminded them. "I just wasn't prepared yet."
"It better not be," he snarled, finally moving away from my owner.
"Just give the dogs to us so we can get out of here," a woman said to Lindsay. Then, Lindsay picked up me and my sister, Curly, and gave us to the family.
"What should we name them?" The mom said as they looked down at us.
"Actually, they already have names," Lindsay interrupted their thinking.
"What are they?" The dad said, annoyed about her small interruption.
"Um, well there's Curly," Lindsay pointed to my sister. "...And there's Alex," she then pointed to me.
"Why the heck would you name a dog Curly?" The dad said, looking at Lindsay like she was insane.
"Um, maybe you should check your dachshund facts before you get one," Lindsay said back. "Curly, as you can see, is a curly eared dachshund."
"Um, excuse me?" The mom said, and she stepped back, like she was just shot in the heart. "Don't you dare talk to my husband like that ever, and I mean ever, again."
"Mommy," a little girl interrupted.
"Yes, Melanie?" The Mom said to a little girl, and then she sighed.
"Can we let Curly have, um, puppies? With Alex?"
"Oh, I don't know sweetie. Letting your dog have puppies is a lot of—"
"Actually, you don't have to worry about it. Alex is a girl." Lindsay informed the new humans.
"Thank goodness," I heard the mom mutter. But Melanie's reaction was different.
"Aw, darn it," she looked down.
The dad sighed and said, "Let's get a move on, people. How much are the stupid dogs?"
"Since this isn't a professional dog-selling place, they're not going to be $500." The dad looked at his watch so Lindsay sped up. "They'll be $20."
"That's not too bad," the mom said, taking a rectangular piece of leather out of her pocket. She seemed to somehow open it and begin to take out something, but Lindsay cut her off.
"Each."
"So you expect me to pay $40 for two pathetic doxens?" She stretched out the word 'pathetic'. "Even if the curly eared one is a little cute."
She then shook her head.
"Melanie, let's go. We can't pay this much for some filthy dogs."
"Mom! This isn't nearly as much money as normal dogs cost!"
"You decided to get them," Lindsay muttered.
"AUGH! I ALREADY HAD TO CANCEL 3, AND I MEAN 3 BUSINESS CALLS! JUST BECAUSE OF THIS CRAP!"
"Enough! You guys can think about it and come back tomorrow. You don't have to act like animals!" Lindsay said.
The mom sighed and slammed two green pieces of paper that both said $20 and had an old man on it into Lindsay's pale hand. "Here's your 40 freaking dollars."
"Good. Now you can put Alex and Curly in those cages over there." Lindsay pointed to two little cages, about a little taller than a normal dachshund size.
"We're not idiots, we obviously know what to do," The dad said, annoyed.
I loudly yipped goodbye to my siblings as we headed out of Lindsay's small island home, just a few blocks away from where my home would soon be.
We took a car ride—the most fun thing ever!—to my new home.
As soon as I walked in the front door, smells wafted everywhere! From the kitchen to the living room, I was in heaven.
But there was also lots I had to get used to. Lots of discipline. Things like no chewing on the shoes. No pawing the people. No biting the people. And definitely no peeing on the special carpet, or any other floor in the house.
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Overall, I have a feeling I'm going to like it here.
