MATTIE'S CHRISTIAN PAGES

A DOG NAMED STRAG

 

In an old rundown apartment house lived a boy named Ronnie and his mother.  Ronnie’s father was killed in service and his mother worked long hours as a waitress.  This left Ronnie alone after school with his dog Strag..

 

Strag was quiet and patient while Ronnie did his homework; then when Ronnie finished Strag would bark and bark to go out and play.  The landlady hated dogs, especially when they barked and disturbed her rest.

 

One day, when Ronnie’s mother came home, the landlady met her at the stairs and told her they had to get rid of the dog or move.  “She couldn’t have barking dogs in her apartment house,” she told her.  She gave them one week to get rid of Strag or move.

 

Ronnie’s mother knew Ronnie needed his dog in the long hours she worked and had to leave him alone; but they didn’t have enough money to get another place in which to live.

 

That night, a fire broke out in the apartment building where Ronnie lived.  Strag went from door to door barking until he awoke everyone in the building.  All of them got out safely, including the landlady.  When the fire was out and all was back in the building, the landlady went to Ronnie’s apartment and told them what a wonderful dog he had and that he would always be welcome in her building.  Strag was a hero!

 

Verna Louise Danklefs

Sept. 28, 1981
©1981-2000 All rights reserved