Jacky picked up the shovel and slung it over his slim shoulder. The snow was melting, making the trudge back to the house an opportunity to get his pant legs all wet.

He should have put on his snow suit like his Mom nagged at him to. He just wasn’t in the mood.

Burying the little puppy was not only his responsibility, he had wanted to do it. He wanted to get away from everyone in the house and be alone with his friend one last time.

But the trip out to the area at edge of the woods that served as a burial ground for pets that had died was not the experience he had thought it would be. His mind was filled with memories of their short time together and sadness had overtaken him.

It was the first time an animal that he truly considered to be his had died.

He didn’t think he could ever forgive his father for not letting him get the young dog vaccinated. Everybody else got their dogs vaccinated. But his father was from the old school.

"No since in spending money on an animal we don’t know yet. He could turn into a real looser," his father had said two weeks ago when they had found the little guy by the side of the road.

And now the pup was dead.

"Parvo," the Vet had said with a dry voice before leaving the examining room.

There wasn’t anything they could do. Not that late in the game. The puppy died that afternoon.

Jacky put the shovel in it’s place on the wall of tools in the shed and shivered. It was so darned cold.

But he wasn’t ready to go back in. He might say something to his father that would earn him a whipping. Oh, not that his dad ever hit him hard. It was more the humiliation of it.

He looked at the barn and noticed the door was open a little. He must have forgot to close it when he had fed the rabbits. There was a doe about ready to have her kits and he was looking forward to seeing the little pink things she was bringing into the world.

Maybe he could keep one of them instead of selling them all at Fair later that year.

Even though his pants were wet, and even though it was as cold as his fathers heart, he decided to go see the rabbits he and his sister raised for 4H.

The rabbits sat quietly in their cages, their world untouched by the puppy’s death. Jacky stopped to scratch a pig behind the ear before continuing on to check the rabbits.

The old sow grunted appreciatively. She was one lucky pig. She had lost two litters earlier that year and if she hadn’t come through and produced a batch of piglets on her third try, she would have been gone.

He opened the cage door of their buck and petted the gray rex rabbit between the ears.

Tears fell down his face as his fingers, the ones that had petted the lost puppy for a last time, mingled with the rabbits soft fur.


The Moral