Not Just A Pet - Winner of the 2026 Foothills 6th Grade Writing Competition

My name is Mikaeyla Eleanor. I’m a thirteen-year-old girl with social anxiety and panic disorder. Life isn’t the best, but I manage it all thanks to my service dog, Bandit. Bandit is a border collie who is a former search-and-rescue dog for the Bay County Search-and-Rescue before he was retired due to a compound leg fracture that gave him a permanent limp. I’ve had him for three months now, and it’s been the best three months of my life.

I’m sitting in the front seat of the bus with Bandit at my feet.

“Hey, you!” A snobby voice calls out. I turn around and lock eyes with Jeremiah, he
adjusts his bright red glasses, “you’re not supposed to have a dog on the bus! Ms. Mary!” But before he can say anything more, Ms. Brynn shushes him and explains why I’m allowed to have Bandit with me, which makes me feel awful. I hate being labeled as ‘different’.

The bus slowly pulls up to the science centre, and screeches to a halt in front of the
building, I cover my ears. Bandit looks up at me, I take a deep breath and grab Bandit’s leash, he stands up and the bus doors swing open. I lead him out and step onto the pavement. Ms. Brynn walks out behind me. My classmates hop out until the bus slowly pulls away.

“Alright everyone, time for attendance.” Ms Brynn calls out, clutching her clipboard.

“James.”

“Present!”

“Mikaeyla.” My head shoots up as she calls out my name. I look around, wait for a moment and then another until, “She’s here!”

I looked down. I can’t even form a single word without overthinking it. It felt as if
everyone’s eyes were locked on me until Bandit whined, signaling my attention. I looked at him and petted his head, took a deep breath and began to walk with the rest of the class into the building doors.

“Welcome Eastbrook Middle Schoolers, to the California Science Center!” A lady in
front of us says enthusiastically. I can’t help but feel overwhelmed at the brightness of this place, and I think I’m the only one, because what feels like everyone is gazing in awe at the place. “You guys can go ahead and wander anywhere in here!” She says, “except for the staff room!” She adds with a laugh. Ms. Brynn nods and turns to us. “Alright, we’ll head to the washrooms first,
then we can go ahead and explore.” the lady continues, “you can put your bags down here.” I set my backpack down and follow the rest of the girls into the washroom. Most chatter about makeup and boys, while I lean against the wall waiting for everyone to leave so I can, too.

After what seemed like forever, they cleared out. I’m last, of course. We all follow Ms. Brynn to a giant, walk-through heart, a food chain diagram, a sound wave tunnel to an ocean display. It was made of a resin-looking material full of fish and sea creatures.

“Jeremiah! Get your hands off the glass!” Ms. Brynn yelled. I was genuinely interested in this exhibit, unlike all of the others, this one just felt oddly real. Bandit seemed interested too, he was gazing straight into the exhibit, head tilted. “This is pretty boring...” I heard Elianna, one of the most popular girls in class, say to her group of followers. Bandit whines and paws my leg. I look down at him, confused. He whines again and then barks. A few kids turn to look at him, but
they go back to chatting quickly. Bandit then pulls me towards the exit. I hold him back, but he persists. The ground below me then lurched violently. I stopped dead in my tracks and almost let go of Bandit’s leash. The other kids seem to notice as well, their voices rising in confusion. "Back up from the shelves, stand close together.” Ms. Brynn bursts out. My breathing quickens and Bandit continues to whine and tug at his leash. “Is this an earthquake!?” Some kid blurts out. “Well, we don’t know for sure, but to stay safe-“ An ear-splitting sound rakes through the air as the ground shakes violently. A glass display case falls to the ground and shatters. Panic erupts throughout the class as a crash echoes through the room and the ceiling collapses in on itself. I feel my leg being crushed and kids around me yell. A beat of silence, and then Bandit begins to bark. His barks slowly fade into a blur of shapes and sounds. “Get these kids out!” A deep-voiced man calls out, another yells out, but the sounds around me begin to blend in together and my eyes slowly shut.

I wake up in a white room, looking to my side I see my mom and she gasps. “Oh
Mikaeyla!” She pulls me into a hug. “What happened?” I ask when she finally pulls away. “Well... When you were on that field trip an earthquake hit, and Bandit... he basically saved you.” My eyes widened a bit, “Where is he?”

“He’s with the BCSaR right now.”

“His old company...why?”

“Well, they want him back. They realized he’s just as great with his limp.” My mom said with a pause, looking up at me sympathetically. I take a minute to process this information and then I add, “they...they can have him.” My voice cracks. “Honey...are you sure?”

I nod, biting back my tears, “he can save lives!” Mom rests a hand on my shoulder, “alright, I’ll tell them to bring him in to say goodbye.” She disappears for a moment then comes in with two men from BCSaR and Bandit. He hops up onto the hospital bed and licks my face, I pet him for what feels like the last time and before I know it, he’s gone.

But I know we’ll meet again, one day.

If you want to contribute to next year's Foothills 6th Grade Writing Contest, or if want your school to participate in next year's contest, feel free to reach out to us at fwg@foothillswritersgroup.ca.