Stray by Cynthia Rylant
Summary: Stray by Cynthia Rylant is a short story about a young girl named Doris who finds a puppy and her deep want to make the dog a part of the family.
Characters:
Doris Lacey - The daughter
Amos Lacey - The father
Mamie Lacey - The mother
The Puppy - The dog
Section 1:
- On a snowy cold day a dog "wandered" onto the Lacey's property which included a "small" house
- The puppy was shivering and looked abandoned
- Doris, while shoveling snow in the drive, "spotted" the puppy and brought her into their house after trudging through the yard
- Mr. Lacey hinted where the puppy would end up, "the pound"
- The dog seemed to have some shepherd in it and was about 6 months old
- Mr. Lacey let the puppy sleep in the basement while Doris fed it food scraps because Mrs. Lacey didn't like wasting food
- In Stray, the puppy "was a good dog"
- Doris found that the puppy wanted to be part of the family and tried to convince her parents that it was so
- Nine days after the puppy came into Doris' family's life, a sunny day arrived and Mr. Lacey was making preparation to take the puppy to the animal shelter
- Doris didn't even name the puppy because she knew this day would come and she cried when the day did come
- Doris asked her mom twice if she could keep the puppy and Mrs. Lacey could only say no because they couldn't afford the puppy
- Doris dreamed of "searching and searching for things lost"when she cried herself to sleep
- Doris woke up before night and woke, exhausted from crying, wondering if she would have anything in her life
- Doris knew she would need to eat and she didn't want to pass the basement and face her parents but she "heavily" got up from her bed
- No one spoke when Doris finally made it to dinner
- Doris made a meal of powdered milk and a cold dinner
- As she was leaving the room, Mr. Lacey told Doris to feed the puppy lest it die of "starvation"
- Doris asked Mr. Lacey, "You didn't take her?"
- Mr. Lacey told Doris that he did take her but that the conditions at the animal shelter were terrible and that he wouldn't leave an "ant" there
- Rylant tells the audience through the father's actions and words that Doris' father did not have the heart to leave the dog in such a place
- Mrs. Lacey thought that she would never understand Mr. Lacey because of him not bringing the puppy to the animal shelter
- Mr. Lacey asked Doris if she was going to feed their dog
Other notes:
- Doris made an effort to keep the puppy because she saw something special in the puppy
- Doris always made a positive note about the puppy when she was talking about her to her parents
- It's hard for one not to cry when someone threatens to take away something that one loves
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