The mall looked like a huge village full of stores. The floor tasted dusty like a shoe covered in mud. The people were really loud, there was music playing and people shouting. The mall smelled like pretzels covered in salt right from the oven, or smoothies made out of fresh fruit. Near Dunkin’ Donuts, in the food court, someone had placed a water bottle next to a table. The water bottle had art all over it. A person wearing a blue jumpsuit came and put the water bottle in a trash can.
Annie was a seeing eye dog. She was a pomeranian, which was very unusual for a seeing eye dog. Annie was puffy, with light brown fur and short legs. Every Saturday Annie came to the mall to go shopping with her owner. She liked coming to the mall. Most dogs couldn’t come to the mall, but Annie could because she was a seeing eye dog. She didn’t care if the mall was loud because she had to be with her owner 24/7.
She also liked pretty colors. When she saw the water bottle near Dunkin’ Donuts, she thought wow, it’s really colorful. But the man in the blue jumpsuit threw it in the trash. That made Annie sad and furious.
She barked at the man. You’re so mean, she wanted to say.
Her owner said to “be quiet.”
Annie listened. If she didn’t do her job then she won’t be able to go to the mall and she wouldn’t be able to help her owner. And she loved to help her owner. It made her feel helpful. But the water bottle was in trouble, too!
The question was, how could she save the water bottle?
She decided to be good, stay with her owner, and later she would get the water bottle. That seemed like a good idea. So she waited until the right moment.
When the owner told Annie to take her to the store to buy some furniture, she decided it would be good to get the water bottle now. She dragged her owner to the garbage can. But her owner refused to get it for her! Her owner didn’t understand. Her owner thought it was just trash.
Annie was so mad!!! She whined and whined to her owner that she needed the water bottle.
“Did you lose something special?” her owner asked.
Annie barked excitedly.
The owner reached into the trash. She brought out a banana peel. Then she brought out an old pair of boots. She also found a half-eaten apple. Finally, she found the water bottle.
Annie barked happily.
The owner said, “this water bottle has stickers peeling off it, and I think it’s dirty. I don’t think it’s good for you to have this.”
Annie whined.
The owner ignored her and made her keep going. They went to the drug store.
All of a sudden, Annie spotted an aisle full of water bottles, and they looked more beautiful than the other water bottle that she had spotted!!! They were shiny new! The problem was that all of them were so pretty!! She wanted all of them!
Annie was so excited that she leapt up, knocking water bottles off the shelf. The store manager rushed over. He told the owner that Annie was crashing the water bottles, so then the owner apologized.
She asked, “are the water bottles from the trash?”
And the store manager said, “no, they’re brand new.”
The owner told Annie, “you can have one water bottle.’
Annie spotted the same water bottle from the trash, except it was new. Annie thought it looked better than the old one and she liked the newer one better. She whined to her owner, and knocked it off the shelf.
The manager said, “I’ve had enough of this!”
The owner said, “we’ll buy that water bottle.”
The manager sold them the water bottle, but said, “after today, you and your dog are banned from this store.”
So Annie and her owner bought the water bottle and left.
Annie felt sad that she had knocked all the water bottles on the floor and gotten her owner banned.
But her owner wasn’t mad. The owner heard from a friend that there was a better store where there were more seeing eye dogs, and even random dogs were allowed. That store was called PETS FROM EVERYWHERE.
And Annie and her owner went there every Saturday instead of the mall.
The End