Eight year old Chloe possessed a passionate love for so much in her life. She loved Jesus. She loved her parents, Rob and Susan Gendron. Chloe possessed a keen interest in geography --that interest passed down from dad -- so she loved the globe that had once belonged to her Grandfather Gendron, gracing the left corner of the mahogany desk in the center of his office until it was time for it to move to a multi-pastel colored shelf in Chloe's room. The globe was old, discolored; still showed Russia as the "U.S.S.R" and squeaked like a panic-stricken mouse when it was spun. Still, the little girl loved the globe despite its flaws and found it exceedingly utile.

As difficult as it was, Chloe loved her annoying 10 year old brother Timmy. But, please don't tell anyone that Chloe loved her "Freakazoid--Stinkazoid" older brother because if you do she'd be horribly embarrassed!

Young Chloe loved Carl and Tilda Gendron, who were her father's parents. Both had completed their earthly journeys within the past year: Carl dying while being treated in the St. Joseph's Hospital Health Care Center's E.R. in Syracuse for his second heart attack. Like Chloe loved her "Poppa" as he liked to be referred to, her Poppa loved his Camel Filters too much to give them up after Cardiac Infarction number one. Chloe was in the E.R. waiting area with her parents when Poppa could not be resuscitated for a third time. As hot tears streamed out of her eyes and her breath became difficult to catch, Chloe was held tight and soothed by a nurse named Ashley, who called her "Honey" and told her that she needed to be strong for her Daddy and her Grandmother. What made matters more difficult for Chloe was that it was the first time that she'd ever seen her always lighthearted father Rob crying. Rob owned a carpentry and home remodeling business and loved his work, although business was down during the this recession of 2009. Chloe's daddy was an extremely faithful and loving man, because his father Carl had set the example for him to follow. Rob took the loss of his father very hard, but was comforted knowing that he was now with the Lord. "Grammy" died just three weeks later, quietly in her sleep. It was the first night since her husband's death that she had found any rest.

Chloe never knew her maternal Grampa and Grandma, as they had both passed before Chloe's birth. The erstwhile Susan Grell lost her dad in 1977 at the age of 2; as he fought a fully-involved house fire as a volunteer for a small, undermanned fire department in Warners, a hamlet 10 or so miles west of Syracuse, New York. Art Grell entered the front door of the blazing house against the orders of Chief Stan Kay, as the interior of the structure was deemed unsafe for firefighters due to the heat and intensity of the flames. A little girl was screaming that her puppy -- named "Midnight" because of his ebony color --was trapped in her bedroom. Ever the dog lover, Grell braved the crippling heat and defied his limited training -- and his chief -- by pulling open the smoke-shrouded front door, where he was greeted by a hellish blast of flame that killed him nearly instantly. Art's wife Toni succumbed to bone cancer while her only daughter was pregnant with Chloe.

Painting was a passion for little Chloe -- especially "paint by numbers" sets. Chloe's favorite scenes depicted landscapes -- most specifically those involving trees, streams, and mountains. The young female DiVinci enjoyed the outdoors where she would hike, camp, and fish with her parents and "goofball" older brother Timmy. Chloe was not afraid of spiders, snakes, bats or any other of God's locally placed creatures--whilst her brother maintained a healthy fear of all the aforementioned. When little Sis grew tired of being picked on about whatever Timmy chose to torment her with, she would threaten extortion by promising to tell the boys on Timmy's Pop Warner football team that he was terrified of these pusillanimous and airborn critters alike. It was that lingering threat that would always keep Timmy from being too much of a bother, and yet...

"Purple leaves are retarded! Are you a retard?" Timmy taunted Chloe with this as he peered over her shoulder while she sat at the kitchen table tasking away at a paint by numbers image board. In actuality, it was because she wasn't painting by the numbers that this verbal abuse from big brother was being levied against her. You see, while Chloe loved the paint by numbers scenes, she rarely followed the numeric color key and instead applied her own impressionist's interpretation of what the colors in the image should be. When Chloe painted, it was though she saw a world that Timmy, her parents, or her friends could not see. She felt as though she was providing a sneak preview of some thing or some place that was so much more breathtaking than what one would partake of by glancing out their bedroom window.

"Since when are leaves blue or pink!? Are you crazy!? That looks really dumb, as usual!" Timmy continued his caustically unfavorable critique of the nearly completed piece of art. "Hey, Timmy, is that your coach's phone number stuck up there on the fridge? Maybe I should call him and tell him that his star quarterback screamed like a little sissy today when he saw that Garter Snake slithering across the front lawn?" Chloe ever so coolly retorted with. "I hate you" is all the older brother could offer as a reply as he dashed out the back door of the kitchen that opened up to the Gendron's spacious Town of Manlius backyard. Susan and Rob had often reminded their beautiful, brown haired and green eyed little angel that Timmy didn't really hate her and that he would miss her terribly if she wasn't around. Chloe took comfort in this and knew it to be true.

It was an interesting picture to say the least. The background of the painted by numbers canvas that wasn't painted by the numbers featured a skyline with majestic mountains. The sky itself was streaked with hues of Lilac, Salmon, bright Orange, and bits of Navy Blue and light Green. The airspace was punctuated by several puffy clouds that were deep purple. This combination of color gave the impression of a most beautiful sunset -- the kind that entrances and romances the eyes and causes a indescribable longing in the heart for something unseen and utterly unfathomable. The mountains were painted with Burnt Orange below and Navy Blue as the eye was drawn closer to the peaks. This too, gave the impression of a setting sun casting its end of day's light across these gargantuan works of a Holy God's creation -- topped off with a garnish of snow that was actually the familiar white!

Through the center of the image and appearing to emanate from the mountainous background flowed a creek that if you were to stand on its bank would appear to be twenty feet wide. Chloe had applied rich shades of Navy and Royal Blue -- not ever being afraid to mix paints together to create lighter and darker hues. The stream was streaked with thin touches of white to make it appear as though it was flowing briskly. Like the snowcaps on top of the mountains, the stream was colored in a way that the human mind would expect to see. Still, this briskly flowing body of water almost appeared to have a life of its own. While trapped within the prison of a motionless image, the manner in which Chloe applied the blues and the whites created the impression of motion and life and a sense of continuance. This stream was alive and yet it was only an untrained child's work of art. The stream alone would make many a professional impressionist envious if they were to view it.

Grassy banks bordered both sides of the straight-flowing stream; narrow and yet vivid green like a lush, late Spring lawn that has been blessed with ample rain and has not yet been scorched and parched by a week of hot, dry August days. Chloe mixed the greens just so; as to not be too pale or too deep. It was grass alright -- and it looked like it had been cared for by an experienced landscaper or gardner.

Yes, there were trees populating the meadow that the lively blue stream rushed through. It was a section of forest on either side of the stream that provided a floor for those trees; trees with unusually colored leaves. The trees were Oaks and Birches and Maples. The numbers called for typical greens, and Chloe obliged in some instances. But, the leaves on many of the trees were anything but usual. There were Oaks with Purple and Royal Blue leaves. There were Maples with leaves of pink and blue. There were leaves that matched the Salmon and Lilac shades of the Skyscape. In the bottom right-hand corner of this two feet by two feet image was a patch of flowers that Chloe created herself over what was originally boulders when the cardboard background was printed. The flowers were shaped like Daisys and yet they were brilliant red in some cases and a light pastel blue in others. The stems and leaves were not the anticipated green but instead Navy Blue.

"Wow, Chloe, you sure have a vivid imagination" Rob Gendron offered to his child as he walked into the Kitchen and surveyed and appreciated his daugther's latest work. "You really have talent, Kiddo. How would you like to take art lessons?" Chloe's forehead wrinkled and she replied to her dad markedly matter-of-fact "nah, Daddy, I just want a puppy."

"A puppy? My goodness, where did that come from?" a surprised Rob asked Chloe. "Well, daddy" Chloe replied, "my best friend Sadie has just gotten a Beagle, and I've always -- forever and ever-- wanted a doggie, and I told Mom and she doesn't mind, and.."

"Your mother is in on this too? She never said anything to me! This smells like a conspiracy!" Rob was smirking, but it was hard to tell if he was amused or agitated as he and Chloe walked into the living room.

"Well, Darling, I think that a dog would be a great addition to our home" Susan Gendron chimed in as she entered the living room, walking in on the conversation and kicking off her high heels, having returned home from the office she managed. "I told Chloe that a puppy would be a big responsibility and she would need to do her part as far as taking care of it is concerned." "She understands that it's not all fun and games" Susan spoke affirmatively as she walked up the stairs and entered the bedroom that she and Rob shared. Upon entering, she first freed herself from the shackles of her blouse, skirt and pantyhose. Next, she laid down on the bed and lit up her eighth Marlboro Light of the day without bothering anyone else in the house with it. After finishing the smoke Susan felt like she could just stay on the bed and fall asleep, but she got up and dressed in her preferred, more comfortable attire of gym shorts, t-shirt, and bare feet and then returned downstairs to the family she loved.

"Ah-ha, this is a conspiracy!" Rob replied with a hearty chuckle. "Truth be told, I've been wanting a dog myself. You know, Chloe, Tom Case from church has a litter of puppies that he'd like to give away. His black Lab got out while she was in heat and mated with a Border Collie male. They've got six growing babies that need a home."

"Can I please, oh please, oh please, Daddy?" Chloe begged her father with a considerable dose of little girl drama for effect. "Yes, honey. Tom says that the pups are old enough now to be taken from their mother" was Rob's reply. "Yippy skippy!" Chloe yelled...

Several days later, Jack came to join the Gendron home, wearing his shiny black coat, big paws and floppy ears. "Jack isn't a dog's name, dufus!" Timmy chided Chloe, with which she replied "but Timmy is a Freakazoid Stinkazoid's name and you're one! I like the name Jack and he's MY dog, so that's his name!" She didn't like raising her voice to her brother, but he just drove her CRAZY sometimes!

The pup was playful and a bit aggressive. When he would nip at the hands that would pet him, he'd get a firm whack on the nose. Jack ate like a horse, his consumption included a gingerbread house that Chloe had worked on meticulously. The structure was left on a small table that sat too low to the kitchen floor and the ravenous pup found it delectable. Chloe shed tears of disappointment at the sight of sugar and crumbs stuck to the jet black fur on the pup's mouth, even though the image of Jack's tongue working double-time to remove the sweet goo from his face was comical.

Jack had a difficult time remembering that the newspaper on the floor was the place to do his business -- not directly on the floor! But, as he grew the puppy began to learn what the paper was for and not to nip and bite the hands that fed him and loved him. Jack become increasingly affectionate as he grew, often licking Chloe's fingers and face with the same diligence that was applied to the removal of the gingerbread. He would whine whenever she left him alone, which made school days excruciating for the needy pup. Jack would sleep in Chloe's room every night. He followed the young girl all around the house and began to accompany her on trips into the outside world so he could "make his mess." Of course, Jack always wore a black leather collar attached to a red leash, as Route 92 through Manlius where the Gendrons resided was very busy with traffic. The speed limit where the Gendrons lived was posted at 30 MPH; however it was rarely heeded by local drivers and almost never enforced. Tom Gendron would often comment with bitterness that "all traffic laws in Manlius are optional."

Jack wanted badly to be outside. Whenever the front door would open, the growing black puppy would run toward the door in an effort to get out. Susan frequently reminded Chloe and Timmy to "watch the puppy around the door. He cannot go out by himself." Timmy would often torment Chloe by saying "When you're not looking, I'm gonna let Jack out." Chloe doubted that Timmy would follow through with his threat, but she couldn't allow herself to be sure. Rob and Susan were adamant that Timmy would never purposely allow the pup to sneak out.

Jack was maturing and began to bark whenever a stranger came to the door. He was fiercely loyal to his family; especially so to Chloe. If dogs possess the ability to feel love, Jack did for his Chloe. Chloe loved Jack and was as responsible in regards to his care that her parents hoped that she would be. She loved regaling her friends at school and in AWANA with funny Jack stories. He was such a good, kind, and wonderful pet.