by The Sparrow

Created on: July 09, 2009   Last Updated: July 13, 2009

Devin was an eight year old boy who had very little. He lived with his mother, step dad and his five year old sister, Angel, in a sagging old house with many broken windows. Some people don't know,what "very little" means. But, Devin did. Very little, meant , often, there were no utilities and more often, very little to eat.. "Very little," meant hot summer days with no air conditioner and swarms of flies to fight off of your body for a little sleep or worse, to fight off of your food. Devin had very little and it was then that Chaos found him. Chaos also had very little.

Chaos, as he came to be called, was a gold-black, tiger-stripped pit bull, a stray or possibly, a runaway. He looked meaner than a junk yard dog and showed signs that he had been abused. His belly was touching his backbone when he came upon Devin. He had no home and Devin knew what that felt like. He had been there, himself once. The dog was hungry and tired. All things Devin knew and understood. So Devin took the dog to heart and home.

The process of naming the dog, was quick and easy. He chased cats, chewed up shoes and chairs. He would push the doors open on the house and tear out the garbage. In many ways he was a lot like Devin. Yes, Devin himself, was sheer chaos, but he had a good heart, just like Chaos. They were like two peas in a pod.

Times were hard and it was soon evident they could not feed the dog. Devin would take odd jobs in the neighborhood, working for dog food. He walked peoples dogs, cleaned out dog pens and picked up aluminum cans. But, Chaos behaved most ungratefully. He took a dislike to a man in an electric wheelchair, chasing him mercilessly. The man vowed to take a gun to him. The news was always full of people who had been attacked by pit bulls, so, no one could blame the man if he did shoot the dog.

One day a man came by who wanted Chaos. He promised to give him a good home. Devin's parents were thankful to be rid of the dog. But, as the man was leaving, with Chaos, Devin's screams of agony, along with his relentless pleadings, caused the man to leave the dog behind.

Devin had tried tying Chaos up, but he would just chew through the rope. One day Devin had tied him to the swing set, that was a mistake. The whole swing set was turned over and the dog was gone. Who could blame Chaos, he had to eat. Although Devin tried to feed him, it just was not enough nor often enough. A growling belly will drive a dog to dig through every garbage can around. He could not do that if he was tied.

Then one day Devin found Chaos lying in the road, shot through the head. Devin knew what it was to have "very little". He knew also what it was like not to be able to keep what you had, even if it was very little. To Devin , Chaos was everything. Having Chaos had made all the wrong things in his life slide into the background. Devin carried Chaos home and buried him in the yard of the old neglected house. Harsh words and yelling were echoing from the windows and doors as usual, as the young boy gave his beloved pet a final goodbye. Tears fell uncontrollably for what seemed an eternity. Devin did not blame the man in the wheel chair, for he knew that man also had very little. Devin just blamed life. In a life that was chaos, Devin had found a reason to live in, Chaos. Now he was gone.

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