The Dog With no Tail
This is a story about a small dog named Sparky, who was born with no tail. His brothers and sisters all had tails. He was the only one without a tail. The owners of the puppies were able to sell all the other puppies, but no one wanted Sparky. Some people even laughed when they saw that he had no tail. The little boy from down the street, Jack, thought that people were not being very nice making fun of Sparky. “Sparky is a very nice dog and he would be a great dog for anyone who would take him,” Jack told the owner of the puppies. “I would like to take him if it is okay with my grandmother. I will take very good care of him and I am sure that he will be very happy with me.” The owner handed Jack a collar and a least for Sparky, then told Jack to bring the puppy home so his grandmother could meet him. Jack reached down into the box that Sparky was lying in and picked him up. Jack put on his collar and leash, then said, “Let’s go see your new home Sparky!” If Sparky had a tail, he would be wagging it, but even without a tail, Jack saw that Sparky was trying to show him how happy he was that he was going to be Jack’s dog.
Jack brought Sparky to his house where he lived with his grandmother. He went into the kitchen where Nana was cooking. He said, “Look Nana. Look at this puppy with no tail!” Nana looked at Sparky and said, “Oh Jack, what a cute puppy! Let me hold him.” Jack picked up Sparky and handed him over to Nana. She cuddled the puppy in her arms. Jack told her how people were laughing at the puppy and Nana said that it was a shame that no one liked him because he is really a friendly dog. Jack said, “Can we keep him Nana?” Nana looked at Jack, then looked back at Sparky and finally said, “I guess we can.” Jack ran over to Nana, gave her a big hug and said, “Thank you Nana!” Nana said, “I would like to hear that when you have to take care of him. There is a lot of work that has to be done to take care of a dog, especially a puppy like Sparky.” “I know, Nana, but I know I can do it,” Jack promised. Nana nodded and said, “Go back to the neighbors and tell them we are going to keep Sparky, then you and Sparky stay in the yard because it’s almost dinner time.”
Jack was excited to tell the neighbors that his Nana said he could keep the puppy with no tail. Then Jack and Sparky went into the backyard and were having a good time chasing a ball around when the kitchen door opened and Nana called for Jack to come in for dinner. “We’re on our way Nana.” Jack said, “Come on, Sparky. Let’s go have supper.” Sparky and Jack both ran up the stairs and into the kitchen. Nana told Jack to go wash his hands before he sat down to eat. Jack went over to the sink and said, “Nana, what should I do with Sparky?” Nana said, “Well, he can't come to the table. Just put his leash back on, then tie it around the door knob. When we are done with our supper, we’ll feed him.” Jack put Sparky’s leash around the door knob, then sat down at the table. Sparky just laid down on the floor and fell asleep. Jack looked over at the sleeping puppy and said to Nana, “Boy that Sparky is such a good dog.” Nana smiled and said, “Yes he is!” Nana and Jack said their prayers then ate their supper.
After dinner, Jack helped Nana clean the dishes, then he took Sparky off the leash and watched as the puppy ate his supper. After Sparky had his belly full, Jack said, “Come on Spark, let’s go watch some TV.” Sparky looked up at Jack and, as we all know, he had no tail to wag, but he did wag his hiney. He was one happy dog. He jumped up on Jack’s lap and fell asleep again. Jack watched a movie, until it was time to get ready for bed. Sparky climbed into bed with Jack and this time both of them fell fast asleep.
The next morning, Jack woke up first and he had to pet Sparky to wake him up. They both got out of bed and went down to the kitchen where Nana was making pancakes. She said good morning to Jack, petted Sparky’s head then asked the puppy how he slept. Sparky wagged his back end (because we know there isn’t a tail there to wag). Nana said to Jack, “I guess that means he slept well!” Jack said, “I think it does!” Nana said what a shame it was that poor Sparky can't have a tail like other dogs. Nana said, “I feel sorry for him. I wish there was something that we could do.”
Sparky was like one of the family. Everyone that met him liked him. He was one happy dog. Jack always took very good care of Sparky. When Jack would come home from school Sparky would be sitting on the porch waiting for him. Not only was Sparky happy to see Jack, but Jack was happy to see Sparky. Sparky grew out of the puppy stage and grew into a medium sized dog. He was a good looking dog, even though he didn’t have a tail. Nana said, “I am going to do something for Sparky about getting a tail. Let me think of something we can do about it.” Jack said, “Nana, I know you are good about doing things, but I don’t think that you can fix this problem.” “You will be surprised when you see what I am planning to do for Sparky,” she said.
Sparky was like one of the family. Everyone that met him liked him. He was one happy dog. Jack always took very good care of Sparky. When Jack would come home from school Sparky would be sitting on the porch waiting for him. Not only was Sparky happy to see Jack, but Jack was happy to see Sparky. Sparky grew out of the puppy stage and grew into a medium sized dog. He was a good looking dog, even though he didn’t have a tail. Nana said, “I am going to do something for Sparky about getting a tail. Let me think of something we can do about it.” Jack said, “Nana, I know you are good about doing things, but I don’t think that you can fix this problem.” “You will be surprised when you see what I am planning to do for Sparky,” she said.
Every night after dinner, Nana would go into her room and wouldn’t let anyone but Sparky come in. Nana worked on her secret every night for about a month. Then one night Nana opened her bedroom door and her and Sparky came out. Nana looked the same, but Sparky looked really different. He had on a sweater made out of a wool blanket. It went from the back of his head to the back of his hiney. Jack couldn’t believe his eyes! There at the end of the sweater was a furry tail. When Sparky would wiggle his hiney, the tail would wag back and forth like a real tail. Jack went over to Nana and said, “This is what you have been doing all that time in your room?” Nana looked at Jack and said, “Isn't his new tail wonderful? It looks like a real one!” Jack said, “Yes, it does. I think Sparky really likes it too.” He went over to Sparky and asked, “Do you like your new sweater tail Sparky?” Sparky wagged and wagged his new tail as if to say yes, he really likes it.
Nana said, “This is his winter sweater. When the weather gets warmer, I’ll have to make him a summer one too because this one will be too hot for the summer.” Sparky looked at Nana like he knew what she was saying, and wagged his tail even more. Nana and Jack laughed. Nana had made Sparky so happy. She knew that even though he is a dog, he still does have feelings.
One day Jack was taking Sparky for a walk down a busy street. Sparky saw a little boy bouncing a ball a little further down the sidewalk. All of a sudden, the ball went into the street and Sparky saw the little boy run out into the street to get it. He also saw a bus coming down the street right towards the little boy. Sparky pulled his leash from Jack’s hand, ran out in the street, grabbed the little boy by his shirt with his teeth and pulled him to safety back on the sidewalk. The bus put its brakes on just a few feet from where the little boy was standing. If Sparky had not grabbed him when he did, the bus would have hit the little boy. He was one lucky little boy that Sparky was there!
The mother of the little boy came over to Jack and told him that he had a very good dog. Jack smiled and said, “He sure is! Thank you.” The woman said, “No, I am the one who should be thanking your dog! He saved my son from getting hit by the bus.” Other people had seen what happened and also came over to tell Jack what a good dog he had. They all said Sparky deserved an extra treat for what he did today. Jack said he would definitely make sure Sparky got all the treats he wanted. Jack and Sparky had to head back home. As they walked away, all the people started to clap and yelled, “Good dog! Good, good dog!”
When they got home, Nana was sitting in her rocker on the front porch. She saw Jack and Sparky and told them she was starting to get worried because they were gone for so long. Jack said, “Yes, but we had a good reason for being gone so long.” Jack sat down on the steps and told his Nana the whole story. She was so surprised. She called Sparky over to her. She pet Sparky on his head and told him how proud she was of him. Sparky wagged his sweater tail so much it was flying back and forth.
The next morning Nana was reading the paper when she jumped out of her chair and ran over to the couch where Jack and Sparky were sitting. She sat next to Jack and showed him the article in the newspaper about Sparky and how he saved the little boy from being hit by the bus. Jack showed the newspaper to Sparky and told him that it was all about him. Sparky didn’t have his tail sweater on, but he wagged his hiney so much that Jack and Nana knew he understood. Jack looked at Nana and said, “From the first day that I saw Sparky when he was a puppy, I knew he was going to be a good dog, tail or no tail!” Then Jack hugged Sparky and said, “I love you so much Sparky and I am so glad you are my dog.”
