Have you ever encountered young people, always accompanied by an adult, standing (or sitting) outside the front door of your favorite grocery store asking for a donation or selling something that you really didn’t want? These young people are usually collecting money for a team trip, a cheerleading competition, a charity, or selling Girl Scout cookies (my personal favorite).
Well, just call me Ms-I-Donate-to-Any-People-Hanging-Outside-the-Grocery-Store-Door. Sorry, but it’s true. I do! I’m a sucker for these kids. It doesn’t matter if they give me something in return because I’m going to give them money just the same.
Thinking about this made me think back to a time when young kids would sit outside the grocery store door holding a box of free puppies or free kittens.
One such day way back when, my mother allowed me to drive to the grocery store (I was a teen with a “new license” attitude) provided I took my younger sister with me. If ever there was a reason to crank up the family station wagon to run an errand, I was there ready, willing, and able to make the trip. Unfortunately, these trips usually meant that one of my younger siblings would have to go with me.
On this particular trip, my sister and I were leaving the grocery store when we spotted two kids (accompanied by an adult, of course) sitting on the sidewalk holding a box of free puppies. Being petless at the time, my sister and I thought it would be a great idea to give a puppy a new home … our home.
It was FREE! How could anyone turn down a free puppy? Also, it’s hard to look at small, tow-headed, wide-eyed kids holding a box of free puppies and NOT take one home. So, we made our puppy selection, loaded up the car and drove home.
Mom was not happy (that is putting it mildly). She suggested that it would be a great idea for us to load up the puppy and drive back to the grocery to return it. As our good luck would have it, the puppy people were gone. What choice did we have but to drive back home with our new pet?
We were all smiles! Mom was all frowns! Dad said, “Oh, what a cute puppy, now find her a new home.”
While waiting to find a home for our puppy, my siblings and I decided to name her. Sooie! That’s what we named the puppy because she looked like a little pig. Sooie! That seemed like a swell name for a puppy that looked like a pig. Mom and Dad were not happy. They didn’t want us to name the puppy because then we might have to keep her. Things were not looking very good for Sooie, if the truth be known.
As much as my family loves animals (and we had our fair share growing up), I can say truthfully that Sooie was the dumbest dog we ever had as a pet. It was only by the grace of God that we found someone to take her and give her a good home.
Not long after, I seem to recall the person who took Sooie said something to Mom about wanting to return her. This story did have a happy ending, but I seem to have forgotten what happened to Sooie or the person who took her. Maybe they moved to Maine. That would have been my choice.
Today, just as expected, teens were outside the grocery store door asking for donations for a road trip. They are going to represent our city in a national softball tournament, or something like that. Today, just like always, I gave at the front door!
© Catherine Evermore. All rights reserved.