From Hatred to Love
Jamie always hated dogs. It all went back to when he was a chubby ginger-haired boy in year one, glasses slipping down his nose, backpack stuffed full of books and notebooks. One afternoon as he was cutting across a patch of waste ground behind the rows of terraces, a pack of stray dogs surrounded him.
The pack leadera lean black dog with rusty markings on its facelocked eyes with little Jamie. He cried and pleaded with the dogs to let him go, even broke up the ham sandwiches from his lunchbox to toss to them, but they didnt budge.
Every time Jamie tried to move, the leader would snarla low, guttural growl, lifting its lip on the right side and flashing yellowish teeth.
That pack kept Jamie trapped for over two hours before, all of a sudden, the leader cocked its right ear as if listening for something and dashed off soundlessly towards the park wood beyond the waste land. The rest of the dogs fell in behind, vanishing one by one among the trees.
Jamie wiped his tears, clutched his backpack tighter, and ran for home.
But he never made it home. The old timber terrace where he lived with his family and a few neighbours was burning downsomething had gone wrong with the old boiler.
His great-granddad, his fathers grandfather whom Jamie called Granddad Bill, didnt make it out. Granddad Bill was an old sailor, weathered by British tides. He had a beard as white as snow, which hed shave off only once a yearright after Christmas. Then it would grow out again, and hed plait it into a funny little braid, sometimes tying it up with a colourful band, or just tucking it behind his ear.
After that daylosing Granddad Bill and the run-in with the dogsJamie developed a stutter that stuck with him for years.
The second time a street dog chased after Jamie, he was in year ninetaller now, glasses swapped out for contacts, all the baby fat gone. That afternoon, he decided to walk the prettiest girl in his class, Emily Parker, home. Emily was, unfortunately for Jamie, already being courted by Sam, the notorious school trouble-maker and repeat student in year eleven. Sam ruled the school by fear, but Jamie still dared to walk next to Emily.
Out of nowhere, a big dog appeared and started pushing Jamie away from Emily with deep, threatening growls. Jamie backed away, giving in under the pressure of the snappy animal, and watched as Emily slipped round the corner to her house. The threat seemed to melt away in the next street.
Jamie sighed and made his own way home.
The next day, during maths, a note was passed to him with just three short sentences:
Dont walk with me. Yesterday Sam wanted to batter you. Sorry.
That was that for his friendship with Emily, and Jamies dislike for dogs only deepened.
Years rolled by, and Jamie grew up. He earned a brilliant education, eventually started his own company, and soon was a well-off businessman with all the right connections. Personal life fell into place not long after. That same beautiful Emily Parker, now Mrs. Parker, became his wife, and together they had a wonderful sonBen, named after Jamies beloved Granddad Bill. Ben, still only eight months old, didnt speak yet, but every time they passed a dog on a walk, he grinned and chirped:
Woof! Woof!
One Sunday, Jamie was out with Ben in the pushchair for a stroll in the park. He showed Ben the birds and squirrels, letting him toss seeds into little bird feeders and watching as a bold squirrel ran down an old pine to take a nut straight from his hand.
It was time to head home. Jamie steered the pram toward the crossing, waited for the green man, and pushed off.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a nutty little dachshund appeared, barking frantically, leaping in front of the pram and blocking Jamie from moving forward. Her yapping was so wild, it seemed shed burst a vocal cord if she werent careful.
Within seconds, a car sped pastmissing the pram by inchesbefore crashing through the verge and slamming into a lamppost. Teenagers spilled out of the car and scattered.
Jamies heart pounded so fiercely in his chest, he thought every passerby could hear it. He took a shaky breath. The dachshund had disappeared, but a crowd was gathering by the crashed car. Someone touched Jamies elbow.
You alright, mate? That car didnt hit the pram, did it? The strangers frightened eyes stared at Jamie.
Jamie shook his head and managed to mumble that everything was fine, Ben was unhurt.
He couldnt even recall how he got home. He decided not to tell Emilyno point worrying her when, by some miracle, all was well. But something changed inside Jamie that day, thinking about that little ginger dachshund. He felt real gratitude to the dog that had saved his son.
All evening he was quiet, turning over those three moments involving dogs in his mind, finally realising the animals hadnt meant him harm; theyd always tried to protect him, in their own way. Emily watched him, surprised by his unusual silence, but let it be.
That night, Jamie, Emily, and Ben went out in front of their flats for a bedtime walk. There was a gathering of neighbours by one of the far benches. As they passed, Jamie overheard,
What do we do now? Whod want him in this state?
Peeking over a neighbours shoulder, Jamie saw a box set on the bench. Insidea tiny puppy, chocolate brown, and completely blind, probably from some genetic fault. The puppy whimpered and lifted its little nose, sniffing around for a familiar scent.
But there was no warmth of a mother anywhere.
Jamie stood still for a moment, then, without a word, pulled off his scarfeven though it was spring, it was still brisk of an evening. Gently, with both hands, he lifted the pup. Its back legs were twisted, adding to its troubles.
A woman behind him gasped, and Jamie thought he heard her start to cry.
He wrapped the blind puppy in his scarf, holding it against his chest like a baby, and said softly,
Alright, little one. Looks like its my turn, then Come meet our mum. Shes a lovely lass, and I bet shes got some milk for you in the fridge.
He walked across to where Emily waited by the pram, beaming at him with the kindest, most loving eyesAs Jamie turned toward Emily, her eyes wide and shining, Ben reached out his pudgy hands, batting at the puppys floppy earunafraid, delighted, babbling his cheerful Woof! Woof! to the bundle in Jamies arms.
Emily smiledproud, tearful, full of a love deeper for the man beside her than ever before. Jamie kissed the top of Bens head and gave Emily a sheepish, hopeful grin.
The little puppy gave a feeble, grateful lick to Jamies thumb, shivering under the warmth of his scarf and something elsesomething like belonging.
As they walked home, neighbours melted away into the dusk, watching the odd little parade: the tall man who once never smiled at a stray, now cradling the weakest of them all; the boy gurgling with laughter; the mother, arm around them both.
Somewhere in the distance, another dog barked, echoed by Bens tiny laugh.
Jamie squeezed Emilys hand and whispered, Guess were a dog family now.
And as the soft lamplight flickered over their steps and the puppy settled against his chest, Jamie felt the old shadows liftthe fear, the grief, the stutterand in their place, a new kind of courage blossomed.
He didnt know what tomorrow would bring, but for the first time in years, as they crossed the threshold together, he hoped it might just bring joy.
