It doesn’t see me yet. I creep towards it. All my life I’ve wanted to catch one. They're always right under my nose, but I just can’t seem to get close enough. I take two more steps. I think it saw me. It’s now or never. I have to make my move! I dash towards the squirrel as it scurries up the tree. I get closer and closer until I get yanked back by the leash around my neck. The squirrel is out of my reach. It’s sitting on a branch screeching at me. I don't know what it is, but there's something about them that makes me go crazy. Is it their wild tail? Is it the way they smell like acorns? Or maybe it's the fact that I've never caught one before. I bark and bark at it, hoping it will be so terrified that it'll fall right into my paws. Everything is planned out, but Mom keeps pulling the leash around my neck. The more I resist, the harder she pulls. “STELLA, COME ON, LET’S GO!” I finally give and continue my walk.

While I trot down the sidewalk, I stop every once in a while to sniff the ground and look for something to eat. Mom doesn’t like me doing that, but I still ended up getting a couple of bites of grass and an old French fry. We get to my favorite spot where grass is everywhere and trees are everywhere I look. I like to sprint through the trees to get that feeling of freedom before the leash pulls me back. We turn around and start to head back. I’m wagging my tail keeping my head held high, enjoying the smells of Scooby, the white and gray terrier next door, the fresh cut grass, and the McDonald's bag we passed two houses ago. Getting out in the fresh air is a relief after being imprisoned inside all day with nothing to do but lay there like a slug and watch everyone around me eat pepperoni pizza without even sharing the crust.
The walk’s almost over, and another day passes where I didn’t catch a squirrel. Mom takes me around to the back of the house. I take one step onto the porch when Mom whispers, “Stella, look! A squirrel!” Most of the time she imagines this, but I decided to check it out anyway. I look around the backyard and there it is. It has a big bushy tail and little black eyes. It was definitely a squirrel. I slouch my back, and I squat down as far as I can without touching the ground. I stalk the squirrel as it snacks on acorns. It’s the same process every time, but this time I think it will work. The only thing stopping me is this stupid leash around my neck. But this time I'm one leap away from it. There’s no way it could stop me before I grasp the squirrel. The closer I get the faster my heart races. This time I’ll try to catch it by surprise and jump it before it even knows I’m here. There are no trees around, so it has no where to go. Nothing could go wrong. I’m inches and seconds away from getting it. Just before I’m about to make my move a loud squawking bird flies right in front of my face. I got distracted and just started sprinting. The bird must have scared the squirrel because it was already on the other side of the yard by now. There was no way I could make it over there with the leash still around my neck. Mom doesn’t even have to say my name. I drop my head down and climb up the steps to the back door. Mom opens the door, takes my leash off, and heads off into the other room. I gulp down my bowl of water and plop on the couch. When I close my eyes, I’m back outside chasing squirrels. There is no leash holding me back, and there are squirrels covering every spot of grass in sight. Some day soon I know I’ll catch one for real.