2017/2018
Vol. 13

The Worst Pet Ever

c. 1980; Fort Benning, Georgia, USA

Have you ever wanted a pet as a child? Well, so did my mom. My mom, Jennifer, was just six years old, and all that she wanted was a pet, but her parents constantly told her no. But one day my mom was surprised by a gift from her dad.

As the head of a poor family, my mom’s dad had to hunt for their food. On a frigid winter day my grandpa said he was going to “get a deer.” When my mom heard her dad was going to “get a deer,” she was so excited! My six-year-old mom mistakenly thought she was going to have a real live deer, the greatest pet ever! My mom could not wait to tell all her friends at school about the amazing pet she was going to have.

My grandpa set out with his neighbor, ready to “get a deer.” Through the trees my grandpa spotted a deer emerging into sight. My grandpa motioned to his neighbor to look at the deer. My grandpa took a shot at the deer and watched the deer fall, lifeless, to the ground. Below the trees was the dead deer.

When Grandpa returned home, his neighbor helped him skin the deer and hang it on my mom’s swing set. When Grandpa went back inside, he said he “had a deer.”

My mom dashed outside. She could not wait to play with her new pet. Standing in awe, Mom gazed at the dead deer. Blood dripped from the bottom of the dead deer onto my mom’s swing set. Mom screamed and cried like a newborn baby, tears falling from her cheeks. Mom sprinted inside and shoved her head into her pillow. Her parents uselessly tried to soothe her. My six-year-old mom learned that if her parents say no, then she should just let it go.

Even though my mom wanted a pet, she never expected a pet like that! A few years later my mom did get a dog but had to get rid of it a few months later. My mom still gets upset about what happened that day, but she still loves animals.

Owen Reinsch; Missouri, USA

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