The Story of Roncesvalles: Yearning for a Place to Belong

It's not easy being in the middle. My brother Swansea (now Charlie), the other middle child, got lucky and got himself adopted by an older couple who lavish him with loving attention. They even let him sleep at the foot of their bed.

But I'm still here, along with my older siblings, Rosa & Lev, and my younger brother Forest.

Rosa & Lev are the cool kids; as the firstborn daughter & son they get to train for and eventually take over mom & dad's jobs. They got it made & they know it. Rosa is mostly pretty cool with me, but Lev can be a bit obnoxious with his swagger & sense of entitlement.

My younger brother Forest isn't thrilled with the situation either, but I think he's going to have a much easier time finding a family to take him in. He's a big, good natured floof, like my other brother Parkdale, who was the first to find a family to take him in. They already had three kids but felt they had enough love for a loveable galoot like him.

I'm worried that I'm never going to find my people. I'm really clever and have a lot of nervous energy and do everything with full intensity, maybe too much for some.

Mom is really hard on me, perhaps because she is the same and it didn't always work out well for her in her life. Dad is a much more laid back type, but he doesn't really seem too interested in us kids. He's mostly focused on mom, his job, and sleeping, in that order.

My aunt Harriet is kind and does her best to engage us, but she's one dog and we are so many.

Sometimes when I go for a run in the woods to get away from it all, I dream about finding my new family. A family with no other dogs so I don't have to compete for attention. A family that values my smarts and independence and intensity rather than seeing it as a problem. A family as eager to love me as I am eager to love them. I know they are out there somewhere. I just need to find them.

I’m just going to keep on dreaming this dream until it comes true. My friend Carl told me about the Dream of a Thousand Cats. I guess I just need to find enough others to dream this dream with me to make it real. Spread the word, fellow pups!