"Woof  morning, class.  Today is day three and the final day of our lessons on dog urban legends. The first story was about Beethoven and the sacrifice he made in order to save his owner's life. I am sure you all remember the second story about Lassie and how brave she was in helping save the neighborhood. Today we will see what can happen as a reward if we are brave and loyal pets.This story begins with Beethoven reading a brochure as he waits to board his flight at Kennel Club Airport."

Many miles away from the California coast and beyond Hawaii lies a beautiful island. This is nooo ordinary island! It is a sanctuary for dogs on vacation and a reward for being a great pet. It is called Paradise Island- an island where all dogs want to go at least once in their lifetime. Every two or three weeks twenty new flights of dogs come in and spend a whole two and a half months on the island.

" Woof afternoon. We are now boarding  flight one fifty two," said the attendee.

Beethoven quickly gathered his belongings and stood patiently in line. He noticed all different breeds boarding the plane too. He was very amazed at how many great pets there were in Rhode Island. Finally, it was his turn to board the plane. A bit nervous, he found his seat and waited for directions. He overheard others talking about how beautiful the island was, comparing the number of times they had been, and what they did to get the opportunity. This was Beethoven's first time and he knew no one.

"Woof-woof, we will be taking off shortly. First we will fly to Oklahoma City and then to Paradise Island."

Barks and howls filled the plane as everyone prepared for lift-off. The flight attendants made sure everyone was fastened in, explained safety and emergency procedures, and made sure everyone was okay. Shortly afterwards the pilot took off.

Beethoven sat alone with no one next to him, wondering the entire way to OKC what Paradise Island would be like. The finally arrived to OKC and dogs began to board the plane. Beethoven instantly noticed a beautiful collie boarding the plane. She walked through the plane looking for her seat, and stopped at Beethoven's row.

"Is this row E? I'm looking for row E."

"Yes, it is. Hi, my name is Beethoven, " he said before she could take her seat.

"And my name is Lassie."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," said Beethoven.

The entire ride to Paradise Island the two of them shared their stories with one another. They told each other how it felt to be a hero and how it felt to see the smiles on their owners' faces because their dogs had so much courage. Before either of them realized how much time had passed, the pilot came back on the intercom.
"Welcome to Paradise Island. Please fasten your seatbelts and wait for the plane to come to a complete stop before moving. Thank you for flying AKC Airlines!"
When they got off, they were all greeted by bellpups, who helped with the luggage. The President of Paradise Island greeted them next.

"Welcome to Paradise Island. It is my pleasure to have all of you great pets here to celebrate, relax, and enjoy yourselves for a job well done. This will be your home for the next two and a half months, so go and have some fun."

Beethoven and Lassie spent every day together and stayed in touch afterwards. They both went at least once a year every year afterwards.

"Class, you see if we as pets are loyal, brave, and whatever else it takes to be great, then we will be rewarded. Now in today’s lesson we learned how being both brave and loyal pays off. I hope all of you will remember Beethoven and Lassie and the loyalty they had for their owners. Now I will reward you all for being such great students.Let's go to recess!"

Coverpage

Introduction

Beethoven

Lassie

Author's Note:

In the original story the sanctuary for dogs was a false legend that took place on an island off the coast of Florida. In the original the story was only a description of what exactly Dog Island was. The legend behind Dog Island originated from people's fears about dogs being used for food in Asia, and the Dog Island website was a hoax that played on the name of a company in China that supposedly raised dogs for meat.   In my story I used the description of the island as just an introduction and description of where Beethoven was going.  I changed the name from Dog Island to Paradise Island. Instead of it being a place where dogs go to live it is a place where dogs go as a reward for being great pets. I also added the flight to Paradise Island to give the story more. The ultimate part of the story is when Lassie joins Beethoven on the trip to the island. The purpose of this legend was to show the students at Paws University how dogs are rewarded for their excellence as pets.

Image information:

Picture of Island(web source)- Paradise Island
Picture of Island View(web source)- Landing

Bibliography:

Dog Island- Snopes.com