Harley And His Name

Harley And His Name

When Harley was still young enough to be called a Puppy, he was found alone on the street and brought to a local Animal Shelter. What he didn’t know, of course, was he and the other younger Dogs were taken there to give them a second chance, hopefully to be placed in a home where they would be cared for, fed, taken care and perhaps loved. 

On a Saturday afternoon, three days after he arrived at the Animal Shelter two older humans, a female and a male, and two younger humans, a girl and a boy, came into the Animal Shelter around noon, and the girl and boy studied the younger Dogs up for adoption. 

Within fifteen minutes, both the girl and boy focused on Harley as they talked to their father, then to the mother, though he didn’t know it the time,  about the name they decided to give him if they adopted him.

After talking to the woman who was in charge of the Animal Shelter, a conversation that didn’t last long, Harley noticed the older woman signing some paper. And he quickly found out he was gong to be taken to their home. To say Harley was scared would be misleading. He was confused. But, while waiting, he noticed the woman who was in charge of the Animal Shelter hand the man a large bag of Dog Food and Harley decided, as long they didn’t beat him or hurt him, where they were taking him was better than living on the street where he had been left

Where they took him was to where they lived, which turned out be their home. One, he learned quickly, had a large, fenced in back yard and a lot of trees in the back yard. To the left side of the pack porch, was what looked like to Harley a smaller version of a human house. 

And Harley figured soon enough that when the girl and boy mentioned the name Harley they were talking about him. And the older adults were talking about him, too. And, to his advantage, he learned the younger girl was called Dianne and the younger boy was called Doug he could trust and, in the early evenings and much of the weekend, they spent a lot of time with him, playing games, playing catch with a Tennis ball, taking short walks up and down the street where they lived and, on the weekend, because Harley didn’t know yet they were gone a lot during school days and when there was no school, sometimes neighborhood friends of Dianne and Doug stopped by and a few times a girl named Carla, brought Lucy, her adopted Dog, to visit them. Harley liked Lucy and they had fun playing together. And sometimes, Dianne and Doug and their folks would take him to visit other families on the street.

And Harley never thought about what he looked like and couldn’t remember if he had sisters or brothers. The first hint came when he was in the room where Dianne lived and slept in and she suddenly hugged him while looking in a mirror. Harley saw her hugging him and he though he might look a little like a Hound Dog because a couple on the street sometimes walked a Dog they told Doug was a Hound Dog and Harley noticed it on the street.  And Harley also learned that the parents of Dianne and Doug were called Joyce and Karl, names they called each other when they talked to each other, and  when neighbors talked to them.

 

During an extended school break, an older couple visited them. When Harley looked at the older man he looked a little like Karl and Harley assumed they were related, possibly brothers. While the adults where sitting in chairs on the covered, wide back porch Harley heard his name mentioned sever times.

Then the possible brother said something they thought was funny.

“No, Ralph, Harley does not have his own little bike to ride. That’s funny, but he was given the name Harley by Dianne, after she and Doug talked about it, because that was the first name of Joyce’s Uncle,  who the kids really loved being around,” Karl told him. 

“The one who had and drove a classic 50's truck? I only met him once, but Ralph told me about a about him,” replied Clair, the woman Harley assumed was Ralph’s mate.

“Yes, and he had a Model T. But I think, to an adoptive pet, as long as they receive the attention, care and security they want and need they wouldn’t care why they were given the name they have,” Joyce replied.

By the time she replied Harley was already heading towards the Doggie Door to go inside to find Dianne or Doug.