Puppy Paws

The Escape

In the morning, I open my bleary eyes. I can't even remember falling asleep last night. I look through my bars at Rogo, who is bright eyed, staring around with a hunger in his gaze. Carazo is up beside me, pacing and muttering to himself. When he sees that I'm awake he quickly comes to the side of his cage.

"Paws. You're awake. Good."

"When do they let us out?" I ask him immediately, licking my lips in anticipation of the food and water (no matter how gross, I'm still hungry), the fresh air, and, of course, escaping this prison.

"Soon," says Carazo.

I look down excitedly at Bitzo, who is pacing restlessly. As I glance around my cage, disgusted once again at the metal bars and cold floor, I realize that my own coat is dirty and rough. I try to lick myself to clean up, but my fur is too matted to work through. Sighing, I give up. I'll wait until we're free, and then Mama can groom me.

In just a little while, the door bangs open at the end of the room. The white coats are here to take us out! This white coat has the same boring look as all the others have. The dogs in cages are slowly brought out. I can't wait for my turn. Carazo seems to notice my excitement.

"Settle down, Paws. They might suspect something."

I gulp and nod, but my anticipation is too much. I'm a puppy, and I need exercise. This... Place is no place for a dog, much less for a growing one.

Finally the white coat reaches me. The human looks into my cage, its hard eyes staring straight into my soul. I'm worried it can see the plans for escape in my eyes and I shut them quickly. The human sighs and grabs my cage and slides it out of the space in the wall.

The now familiar feeling of sliding around in my cage doesn't phase me. I can feel my heart thumping in my chest. We make our way out of the long room, through the big hall, and out the door. It's cold outside, and a chilly wind ruffles my fur. The human lets me out in the small outside enclosure and I shiver. The other dogs around me do their business and sniff each other, but I make my way through the throngs quickly and quietly, searching for the pack. I find them gathered by the troughs, which are on the side of the enclosure closest to the building. Bitzo stands a little to the side, looking awkward. Carazo nods at me.

"Listen, when the human comes in with the food and water, we don't get caught in the mad rush of dogs. We all run to the back," here Carazo points with his nose to the side of the enclosure that faces a small barren field with the comfort of the woods at the end of it. "And jump the fence. We can all do that, yes?"

Larry and Skitter glance at each other nervously, and Alice and I share a worried look. The bigger dogs could do it, but us smaller ones? Carazo looks at the four of us fiercely.

"You little ones can do it if you really want to," he growls. "And believe me, you really want to."

We nod. Carazo continues.

"We'll run as fast as we can to the woods, and once you're there, follow me. Any questions?"

"Will this work?" asks Amber softly.

"Yes," replies Carazo. "It has to."

Mama nuzzles me gently.

"Why didn't you think of this before?" inquires Larry bluntly. Carazo thinks for a moment, not phased by Larry's slightly harsh tone.

"I... Wasn't myself," he finally says.

"Um..." squeaks a little voice.

Carazo laughs. "I almost forgot. This is Bitzo, everyone."

The pack introduces themselves to the brown mutt like they did for me on my first day in the wild.

Just then, the human who has been surveying us comes into the space with a clang of the gate behind it. It's carrying food and a jug of water. The dogs start to move toward the troughs and our pack moves to avoid the oncoming rush.
I look at the fence we have to jump. It's big, wiry, and intimidating. Carazo looks at us all and then at the human. The human grunts and turns away to go back through the gate. It's fat and grumpy looking. We back up to have space to gather momentum, and Carazo counts: "One, two, three!"

We rush as one to the fence. I see Carazo leave the ground in a graceful leap, his black body soaring above the fence and the wild in his yellow stare. Next to fly above is Rogo, who leaps as easily as a deer. By now I hear humans shouting behind us, and I pick up the speed as the wire wall comes even closer.
Mama and Amber jump over, their stomachs brushing the top of the fence.
I can't do it, a voice hisses in my head.

"Yes I can," I say out loud. I picture our clearing and the wonderful life I'll have in the wild and then the fence is right in front of me. I leap, and my giant paws scrabble the wires and push myself up, up, up! Suddenly I'm over the top and I tumble to the ground outside the enclosure, landing on the packed dirt.

I'm free!

I start to run toward the woods where I see Carazo and Rogo looking back at the rest of us. Mama and Amber are sprinting down the field. Then I look back. Alice is falling like I did from the top of the fence, and Larry is in mid- jump. Bitzo is right behind me, running full speed. Humans are going crazy, shouting and talking to little boxes in their hands, and some rushing inside the enclosure.

"Run!" I scream at Alice and Larry, who have both made it out. But little Skitter can't make it over the fence. He tries and tries, desperately jumping again and again. He's just too small.

He looks at me sadly through the fence.
"I can't do it," he says, shaking from effort. I have no time to waste. I grab the wires in the fence and pull as hard as I can. Humans are rushing toward us full speed. The wire rips away from the fence, leaving a space just big enough for Skitter to squeeze through. Then I turn around and run through the field, way behind the rest of the dogs. I reach the woods, exhausted, and look around, gulping for air. They're nowhere to be seen. My heart skips a beat. Did they leave without me? Suddenly a flash of red fur catches my eye. Larry. I dash into the bushes where it came from. A trail of pawprints leads me to a tiny hollow deep in the undergrowth, where the pack is gathered in a mess of fur and legs, panting heavily.
"Shhhhh!" says Carazo, nodding me over to the group. Mama gives me a relieved look and nestles me against her side. Then Carazo quietly stands up. He counts us all under his breath.
"Rogo, Amber, Rosa, Larry, Alice, Bitzo, Paws... Where's Skitter?"

My eyes widen. Had the hole I'd created not been enough? Did the humans get him? Just then, a noise interrupts my frantic thoughts. It's a crunching noise. Skitter comes into view, crunching through frosty dead leaves. The pack sighs as one, a sigh of relief and exhaustion. Skitter joins us, a little scratched up, but safe.
"Thanks, Paws," he whispers to me. "You saved me."
Humans shout at each other in the near distance, and I hear pounding footsteps getting closer by the second.

Carazo stands at the mouth of the hollow.

"Alright, everyone. Get up. We have to travel as far from here as possible."