The Chancellor’s Queen Nalah
Ryan C
3^rd grade
Oak Park School District 97
Prose

The Chancellor’s Queen Nalah

On April 28, 2003, my family bought a new dog. She was a brown and white Basenji. We chose her because when we went to the breeder’s house, she was the first puppy to come to us, and she played with us the longest. We laughed as we watched her lick all over my brother, Luke’s face. Since Basenjis originate from Africa, my mom thought she should have an African name.  Our family decided to name her Nalah. We settled on this name from the movie, The Lion King.  Nalah means African Queen.

Nalah was a cuddly dog. She liked to lie in our laps and in her window bed. When we were playing, Nalah just had to be with us. In spite of her bad habits of eating electrical cords and chewing all of my plastic toys, I loved her. However, her worst behavior was escaping the house and scampering around the neighborhood. She was as-fast-as lightning. When we tried to lure her back, she would dart away. After each of her many excursions, we felt relieved and lucky to get her back. On my sister Kelley’s birthday, August 7, 2004, we weren’t so lucky.

Kelley and I were playing on the Slip n’ Slide at my Grandma and Grandpa Chancellor’s house. Mom and Dad had just left for the nursing home to visit my great-grandma. Mom had given Nalah’s leash to Grandpa to hold. Nalah saw a squirrel, and in a split-second, she jerked the leash out of Grandpa’s hand and bolted straight for the busy street. When I looked up, I felt so terrified that my heart was beating fast, my legs were shaking, and my fists were clenched.  Immediately, I chased after her. Diving towards her, I barely touched her leash, but I was unable to grab it. In the next moment, Nalah was hit by the front of a car. Horrified, I watched her roll under the car. Bravely, I ran into the street and picked her up.

Nalah was crying at first, but stopped as I carried her to the driveway. The driver of the car stopped. Shaken, he told us how sorry he was that he was unable to avoid her. Nalah was bleeding from her nose, but she was still alive. We called for Grandma, who was inside the house, to get a towel for us to wrap around Nalah. Grandpa got the car. Grandma called Mom and Dad to tell them the disturbing news. They said to get to a veterinarian immediately.

Subsequently, we all met at the vet’s office. Grandpa sat with Kelley, Luke, and I, while Grandma, Mom, and Dad talked to the vet. Waiting for the news, I felt very sad, scared, and nervous. I was most nervous thinking that she might die, and what I would do without her.  Upon further examination, the vet told Mom and Dad about Nalah’s injuries: severed spinal cord, paralyzed from the waist down, torn lung, and nose/throat trauma. This was not good news. He explained that she probably would not survive and suggested that he put her down to stop her suffering. Broken hearted, we took his advice. Mom pleaded for her body to be returned to us, so we could bury her at our family farm. Even though it was against the law, he gave her to us in a big brown box.

After my family traveled out to the farm, Grandpa drove out the backhoe and dug a hole right next to where my cousin’s dog was buried. We were all crying. I felt crushed. Frantically, I ran around the pond looking for some flowers to put in the grave with her. When we were ready, Grandpa finished covering her with dirt, and Grandma placed a small plant on top of the mound. Our small burial was over. I could not believe it had happened. It was like a nightmare.

That night we drove home. We became very quiet as we pulled up to our house. It was difficult to see all of Nalah’s belongings, especially her empty window bed. Another painful reminder was finding my toys with Nalah’s teeth marks in them. Mom made some phone calls to my Aunt Kelley, Grandpa Fehr, and Grandma Nancy to tell them what had happened. Exhausted, we finally went to bed.

The next day, Grandma Nancy sent us an email. She wrote how sorry she was to hear about our dog. She also reminded us how lucky our dog was to have lived with us. Grandma mentioned that Nalah was never hungry, thirsty, cold, or lonely because we took such good care of her. That comforted us.

For me, this was the saddest thing that has ever happened to my family. However, I know that many other families have had this, and worse situations, happen to them. I am grateful for our time with Nalah. I miss her still, but I look forward to this Spring when we will get our next dog.