On July 7th, 2025, Beau, a 7-month-old chihuahua, was declared missing. About 9 days later, Beau was found swimming in the Hudson River, barely alive. Countless news channels reported the story of Beau by interviewing her owner. However, there was one problem across every article: nobody knew the true story of Beau and her exciting, frightening journey across the thrilling streets of Manhattan.
It was just like any other day. Beau and her owner skipped across the overwhelming city of New York. Taxis and cars sped down the road without taking the time to look around and notice anything. Many large electric signs loomed over the streets far below, making tourists confused and overly excited as their eyes were drawn skyward while those who weren’t new to the area walked by unphased. As the small Chihuahua trotted along this area, she saw a puppy that looked just like the dog she had seen in the dog park several days ago. Excited, Beau longed to go greet the pup. Beau’s owner, however, continued forward and didn’t give the young puppy any time to greet her friend. In rebellion, she pulled against the leash, hard.
Beau’s owner, not expecting the tug, stumbled backward as the leash slipped out of her hand. Beau took the opportunity to see her old friend and ran towards the spot where she had just spotted the puppy, only to be met by clumsy crowds of people and loud, speeding cars. Beau stumbled around more, hoping to find her friend, but she didn’t see the golden retriever anywhere. Defeated, Beau stomped back towards her owner – or at least where she had left her owner – but once again Beau was met with just loud noises and foul smells. Millions of overwhelming thoughts raced through the puppy’s small head, and she bolted in panic. Unfamiliar faces and buildings flew by.
Beau skidded to a halt at a puddle in the middle of the sidewalk. Here, fewer people rushed past her, and most of the people who did pass her weren’t hurriedly walking without glancing around. The cloudy puddle, smelling of the city, still looked just like water to Beau. Her dry mouth craved water, even if it was dirty. She bent toward the water-like substance and began drinking, lapping up the liquid with her tongue. She leaped back as the horrible taste of the dirty water attacked her tongue. She scampered away, shaking, trying to force the harsh taste off of her tongue. Then, she spotted a bowl filled with cat food that smelled like Heaven. To Beau, who had missed lunch and dinner, that cat food was just the key to fill her hunger and drive away the bad taste in her mouth. She leaned in to take a bite, but was met with a sharp pain in her side. She looked up to see that she was in the middle of the air, about to hit the ground. As her small body hit the concrete, her eyes met the harsh glare of a man yelling at her and realized that man had kicked her. She picked herself up and scurried away once more.
After some time passed, the sun reached the horizon. Beau had found a worn out, old mattress. She spun around and settled on the comfy surface. Beau tossed and turned in her sleep as images of frightening cars, large rats, starvation, and many other horrifying thoughts haunted her. She woke up, eyes still heavy, before the sun had risen. The small puppy tried to fall asleep again, but she couldn’t find herself drifting away into her own dreams. Beau’s stomach dragged her around the city, searching for anything edible. Her dry mouth took her to many puddles, but Beau couldn’t drink from the cloudy liquid because she remembered the way the first puddle bit at her tongue.
Days blurred together, and Beau couldn’t tell how much time had passed since she last saw her owner’s face or drank clean water. Every other face she saw looked at her with disgust and called her a stray. Every puddle was cloudy and blinking traffic lights blinded Beau’s vision. Many other lights danced across the buildings. Worse than the blinding lights was the never-ending noise from people, cars, and other animals. Beau couldn’t even remember what food tasted like or what it felt like to be full. Then, as she was about to give up hope of ever returning home, she saw a shining blue body of water not too far away.
Beau ran to drink the water, not thinking to test how deep the water was. She leaped forward, thinking it was just another puddle, but as she bounded forward, Beau realized that puddle was a river. She tried to leap back onto the concrete, but she found herself hovering in the middle of the river. The current pulled the chihuahua further and further down the river against her will. She tried to stay above the waves, but the current was dragging her under the water.
Beau was stuck underwater for what felt like an eternity before she forced her head back to the top of the water. She was pulled back under the surface again, and she fought the current for almost an hour before Beau decided to give up. She let herself go limp and the water dragged her down.
Blurred memories flashed across Beau’s mind. Then, she saw a face she didn’t know emerge from a boat. His hand reached toward her, grabbed her by a tuft of fur, pulling, taking her out of the water. Her vision blurred again, and when she came to, she was in a room with white walls and many more people looking down at her. They kept talking with words the clueless chihuahua didn’t understand. Then, Beau snapped out of her drowsy state. She saw her owner’s face for the first time in a while. The pup’s eyes lit up, and she used the little energy she had to lick her owner’s face. Then she fainted again.
The days that passed were all blurry and distorted to Beau. During those days, the malnourished puppy didn’t even have enough energy to walk a little. Beau slowly began to recover. She started to eat and drink although she wasn’t able to eat much.
After many months, Beau was back to full health. She was no longer a puppy, and her skin didn’t cling to her bones anymore. Her fur was brushed and pretty rather than messy and coated with oil like it had been. Her bond with her owner was better than ever, and she stopped pulling on her leash due to the fear of living alone again. The chihuahua knew that she was not meant to be a stray.
