Chapter 1

25 3 0
                                    

I paced anxiously as my mother left me, cold and abandoned in this, this, box!

I whined.

Where was she going?  Where was that loving mother, who nursed me and my littermates?  Where were my littermates?

So many questions.  Too many questions, unanswered.

That one day, when mother became cold to us and barked, barked, at us when we came near.  Finally, she took us outside and led us away from the house.  

Two of my littermates were killed by cars, which I witnessed myself.  The others I don't know.  Seeking shelter, I climbed into this box, where mother sniffed indignantly, then left.

I lifted my nose and sniffed.

My ears perked up immediately.  I scented someone!  Maybe mother has come back for us, thinking how foolish she had been for leaving perfectly good pups out here in the cold.

I yapped, my bark sounding small and puny.

A face of a girl peered into my box.  I cowered away, sad that it wasn't who I was expecting.

A hand reached in a gently rubbed my back. 

"Hi, girl.  Or are you a boy?  Hi puppy!" a soft voice said.

Sensing that I could trust her, I nudged her hand, which lifted me up.

"Let me take you home, and we would be the bestest of friends ever!"

I know bestest isn't a word.

She carried me down a long sidewalk and stopped at a rugged house, a forest nearby.

"I know it's small, but it's all my family can afford right now.  They pay for my school, too," she said.  "My name is Susan.  How about you?  Maybe... Bella!"

Paw Prints (1.1)Where stories live. Discover now