Encourage Your Students to Write Memoirs

The Sad Tale of Sadie
by: Olivia Lane
Grade 5

The loss of a beloved pet is sad.  You may feel angry at first, but you can look the bright side of it, too.  Maybe you will feel these emotions and more?  I lost a pet not too long ago.  I felt sad, not angry, and I thought about the bright side.  In my ten years of life, losing my first pet, was the saddest occurrence of all.  Sadie-girl was always so happy, healthy, and beautiful.  The day I found out was a very hard day.

“Good Night, Miss Beverly.  Thanks for having me over,” I said, kindly.

“You’re welcome, Olivia, it was nice having you here,” our elderly neighbor, Miss Beverly, replied.

I opened the door to my house and sat with my family, talking about cartoons and video games, for a while.  After a few minutes of goofing around, the sad news was given to us.

“Sadie is very old and she may even be in pain,” explained Papa.

“But she looks fine,” I stated.

“I know how sad it is to hear this news and I feel the same way, Olivia,” Papa said about Sadie having to be put to sleep.

I cried for a long while as I imagined how different it would be without her.

I knew it wasn’t my choice to make, but how I felt was. I always fed her, took her outside, and loved her.  Without her lying in her favorite corner, it would be strange.  Only feeding and letting out one dog would be even more strange.  Knowing she wasn’t going to be there was the absolute hardest.  I hoped I would get over it sooner than later, though.

The day she left our house, it was as dark as a giant crow’s shadow.  When she left, my heart drifted off into unhappiness.  Then when Papa came back alone, he cried along with Mama.  I cried, too.  It was very depressing.  She had filled us with so much joy and happiness, and now she was gone.

Even if I won’t ever see her again I know she is not suffering, and we will always remember her.  From my memories, I know she was a happy and loyal dog.  Before she lost her bark, nobody would want to know what kind of dog was barking behind the closed door.  It turned out that it was only a lovable chocolate lab.  She was very protective of us, she loved us, and made us very happy for a long time.  All I know is that she was the best dog ever.

Mishelle’s Note: Olivia is a wonderful writer. She can often be found writing in any of her various journals.  It is something that I encourage her to do, as she is very good at it. This particular writing was inspired by a book called Remembering Ruby, written by Melissa Wells.  You can also read my entry about Sadie, on my blog Secret Agent Mama.

Tagged as: children and the loss of a family pet, fifth grade writing, journal writing, loss of a pet, Melissa Wells, memoirs, Mishelle Lane, olivia lane, pets, Remembering Ruby, Remembering Sadie, student writing