This article is special:  It was written by Summer, age 10, who is the proud owner of Lyric, a former CHA resident. We hope you love her story as much as we do!

I have always wanted a dog. Last Christmas, my parents and I went on a car ride for what I thought was to be a walk in the park. When my dad stopped at the animal shelter, I knew my dream had come true. That began our month of searching for the right dog. Finally, we narrowed it down to Lyric or one other dog, but it was determined that the other dog could not be placed in a home with children. That made Lyric my dog!

When we adopted him, Lyric was about 13 months old. He is an American Husky mix who is light brown with a white face, chest and paws. He has beautiful blue eyes, pointed ears and a tail that wags all the time.

In the beginning, Lyric was very active and energetic. Being big and strong (he weighs 60 pounds), he could pull someone over when he was walked. He did not listen to commands and chewed through the leash.

We began to train and work with him to change his behavior. We put a bell on the doorknob to our three-season room. Lyric learned to ring it so we would open the door and he could go into the room. He would sit in a chair and watch the birds, dogs and children outside.

A trainer named Kristen came to visit Lyric several times and taught us how to walk him properly. Now he is learning who is in charge on walks and that he is not to jump up. He still pulls sometimes and there is more work to be done.

One thing I have done to help is to design and build a dog cart. It is made of pipes, wood boards and bike wheels. Next, I will work to train Lyric to pull me in the cart so he can use some of his stored up energy and calm down a bit.

Another thing I did was join 4-H. There, I have learned more about dogs and how to train them.

In 4-H, I did a presentation about my dog cart and was awarded a “superior” rating. I was also selected to go to The Ohio State Fair. If it was not for my dog, Lyric, that never would have happened!