I walk along the road and the big, shiny monsters with glowing yellow eyes in front and glowing red eyes in back run on it. When they run past me, their growling becomes very loud and they blow big, cold breaths at me and make my fur blow apart and the wind hits my skin. I shiver and walk into an alley away from the road and the loud, shiny, scary monsters. I lie down by a Green Food Box and watch the mean old monsters run past.

Mother never called them monsters. She told us to stay away. I call them monsters. I call them this because one time, Mother was on a road and a big, loud, smelly monster with more than four feet didn’t stop. The monster ran on top of Mother and she fell asleep and never woke up. Me and my brothers and sister stayed by her after a Two Legs climbed out of the monster’s belly and put her on the side of the road. Mother never woke up for days. Biggest Brother took me and Little Brother and Littlest sister away from Mother.

I remember that Littlest Sister cried and whimpered every night after that. Biggest brother tried hard to make her quiet. He licked her ears and face like Mother did. The only times she stopped crying were when she went to sleep. I know that one day there was a big Dog that was the same color and shape as mother. Littlest Sister got excited and ran up to the big Dog, whom she thought was Mother. She bit the Big Dog’s tail like she would Mother’s. What happened next was fast. The Big Dog turned around and threw Littlest Sister against a wall. She hit the wall and couldn’t stand up. Biggest Brother, Little Brother, and me stayed near her for a few days. Littlest Sister didn’t want to eat. I think she couldn’t. She just laid there and whined and whined for Mother and because the Big Dog hurt her. One morning, Littlest Sister never woke up. Biggest Brother tried nudging and licking her, but she stayed sleeping.

Biggest Brother took me and Little Brother away from Littlest Sister. That day we went into the big grass place in the middle of where we lived. Biggest Brother knocked down a smaller Food Box and he, Little Brother, and me ate breakfast. Then a small Two Legs came over and snuck up on us. Me and Little Brother ran away, but Biggest Brother got stuck in something. Little Brother and I watched the Two Legs run her paw over Biggest Brother. Then another, bigger Two Legs came over and picked Biggest Brother up after using Two Legs Noises to communicate with the smaller Two Legs. They took Biggest Brother away. Me and Little Brother never saw him again.

I remember one winter later, me and Little Brother were walking along a Big Road, where all of the monsters on it were going the same way. It was a bigger pack of them, and on the next Big Road over, another big herd of the monsters were going the other way. Little Brother was now bigger in size than me, but I was still older. He saw a hurt Turkey on the other side of the Big Road. He told me to stay while he went and got it. He waited until there was space between the monsters and ran across the Big Road. After he got across and tried to catch the turkey, lots of the monsters ran across. It was a long time before the next empty space, and when the empty space came, I couldn’t see him or the Turkey anymore. He wasn’t not waking up on either of the Big Roads. But he wasn’t in between them, either.

I stayed by the Big Road for a few days. I never saw Little Brother again. I never gave up. I kept looking all over for him for those few days. I looked and looked and looked for him, hoping to see his tan and white shape somewhere along the Big Road. I smelled the air and could not smell him. I was hungry, but Little Brother told me to wait for him there. My tummy hurt with hunger and I whimpered. I wanted to stay and wait for Little Brother, but then I got afraid of not eating and then not waking up like Littlest Sister. And the Big Road so close made me think of what happened to Mother. I whined and moved back to the city. I missed Little Brother and everyone else.

So now here I am, lying by a Green Food Box and watching Two Legs and monsters walk and run by. A Mouse skitters in front of me and then behind me. I get up and run after it. I try and catch it, but it goes under another Green Food Box and I can’t reach it. I scratch at the Green Food Box and whimper. I am hungry, and my tummy hurts with the Hungries again. I am not tall enough to jump on top of the open Green Food Box and dig in the bags like Little Brother and Mother had been. I lie down again and whimper at the pain of the Hungries biting in my stomach.

I get up soon after and walk to the big grass place again and sniff around to find the best Food Box there. I find one I like and push it over with my two front paws. I dig in the food and find a yellow bag that smells good. I remember that the Two Legs call this “Mc Donald’s”. I eat the “Mc Donald’s” and lick the yellow bag. I push more things aside with my nose and find more things to eat.

The Hungries are gone and now I am full. I walk around the grass place, being careful to avoid Two Legs and their Dogs that they tie up and that listen to them. Some of those Dogs can be mean and hurt you when you as them to play. They think you are trying to steal their Master Two Legs. I find a Squirrel eating something on the sidewalk and run after it and bark at it. The Squirrel runs and I chase him. Eventually he runs up a tree and chatters down at me meanly when I stand up and put my two front paws against the tree he is in. I whine and get down and walk away.

Then a strange smell hits my nose. It smells important. It smells good. It’s not good like Squirrel or Male Dog, but it’s still a good smell. I follow it to another place with grass in it. The grass is long and tickles my tummy. I am behind an old Two Legs Den, but there is no smell of Two Legs living there. I sniff around for the good smell and I find it. I follow it deeper into the small grass place and find where it is coming from.

It is coming from a large box with lots of holes in the side. I walk over to it and sniff it. The good smell is coming from inside the box. It is a small red bowl, and inside of it is some sort of food. I tilt my head to the side and scratch at the side of the box and whine. The box rattles and I jump back. I circle the box and see that it is missing a side. I wag my tail and walk inside the box and start eating the food. Then I hear a loud snapping noise and I jump. Another side of the box came out of nowhere! I am closed in! I am sacred and I lie on the ground and whine. Soon I fall asleep.

When I wake up, I am still in the box and I look around. I hear Cats crying. Are they stuck, too? Are they all in boxes like me? I begin to shake and then I throw back my head and howl long and loud. I am scared and sad. I don’t know where I am or what’s going to happen to me. I stop howling when I hear a noise. It sounds like one of the monsters that run on the roads. I freeze and be quiet. The monster stops growling and two Two Legs walk around from the front of the Two Legs Den. They are wearing dark blue and the smaller one picks up a box from the bushes. It is a smaller box than the one I am in and there is a grey and white Cat in it. She mews and hisses at the Two Legs that picked her up and he makes gentle Two Legs Noises at her and she stops.

A little while later, the two Two Legs dressed in dark blue pick up yet another box. They had picked up lots, and they all had Cats in them. This box has another Cat in it. He is a big, grey and black striped Tom Cat, and he is very, very mad at the Two Legs that picked him up. He hisses and growls at the Two Legs. The sound disappears when he is brought to the front of the Two Legs Den. Finally, the two Two Legs come back to where my box is. They look at it and I can smell Surprise on them. They make Two Legs Noises to each other and they both pick up my box and make gentle Two Legs Noises at me. They bring me to the front of the empty Two Legs Den and I see their big, white monster sleeping on the very small road in front of the Two Legs Den. They put me in the back with all of the boxes with Cats in them and I see that all the cats are sleeping. Some are snoring. I feel a big bug bite my neck and I fall asleep, too.

I wake up and my neck is stiff. I hear lots of barking, growling, whining, and howling. I stand up and see that I am in another box. Only this time, I am not outside. This box has only one side that I can see out of. The last wall in the back, the two to my sides, and the one on top of me are solid grey. There is another bowl with food in it in front of me. This food isn’t mush like the food that attracted me into the box outside of the empty Two Legs Den, this is dry pieces that smell better. Next to it is another bowl. This one has fresh, clean water in it. I look up from the bowls and freeze.

Across from me in another box is a very big Dog. He is tan and has a dark brown face and small, floppy ears. He is lying down on the floor of his box and looks very tired. Then I see that he has some white hairs on him and realize that he is old. His box is different than mine, as well. On the front of his, there is a red thing hanging down from one of the bars.

I look around and see that there are more Dogs on both of his sides, and on top of those boxes in more boxes as well. The Dog to his left is big and all black, and the one on the other side is a little smaller than the Dog on the left and black and white. The Dogs on the cages above them are a little smaller, and their boxes are shorter. Finally, the Dogs on the very top row are very small and have the smallest boxes. All of the Dogs except for the very old Dog and myself are making loud, scared, angry barks and howls and other noises. I hear little Puppies crying and whimpering right above me.

As time goes by, I begin to feel the fear and sadness that the other Dogs feel and I begin to bark and whimper as well. The other Dogs start to grow quiet when a Two Legs enters the room. This Two Legs does not have dark blue fur like the ones that took me and the cats away inside of the big white monster. This one has grey top fur on his chest and tummy and back and black fur on his legs and rear. The fur on top of his head is dark brown. He looks down at me and then stops at the old Dog’s box across from me. He takes the red thing off of the front of the box and pulls the front of the box to the side. He puts something around the old Dog’s neck and makes gentle, nice Two Legs Noises at him. The Two Legs Noises he is making sound nice, but they also sound really sad. The Two Legs Noises make me sad, too and I whimper. The Two Legs leads the old Dog away.

I am still here, and it is a few days after the old Dog was taken away. He never came back. More Dogs had been taken away after the red things were put on the fronts of their boxes, and just as fast as they had been leaving, more Dogs were coming in. Some Dogs, however, left and didn’t have the red things on their boxes. When that had happened, more than one Two Legs came in and took them out. I wonder where they go?

The Dogs in the room are quieting down again. I guess more Two Legs are coming in. This one has black fur on top of her head, pink fur on her chest and tummy and back and blue fur on her legs and rear. She opens the front of my box and pours more water in for me. She puts her paw on my head and scratches behind my ear and makes nice Two Legs Noises at me. My tail starts wagging and I feel a little less scared. Then she pushes the front of the box back in place and hangs a red thing on it. When she leaves I tilt my head to the side and sniff the red thing. I can smell all the other Dogs and Two Legs and Cats that were by it. Now I am tired. I lie down and curl up and go to sleep.

I wake up when the smells of some strange Two Legs fills my nose. I look up and see a little baby Two Legs sitting down in front of my box. She has big blue eyes and gold colored fur on top of her head. She has light purple fur on her tummy and chest and light blue fur on her legs and rear. The sides of her mouth move upwards and I can smell Happy on her. I sit up and tilt my head to the side. I look up and see two more Two Legs. One is the one from yesterday that gave me water, only this time her chest, tummy, and back fur was black instead of pink. She is making Two Legs Noises at another Two Legs that had the same head fur as the little one in front of me. Their Two Legs Noises were fast, but I hear one sound that they each make. It is “stray”. I do not know what that means, but the new big Two Legs now smells a little mean. She takes the little Two Legs’ paw and leads the little one to a very fluffy little Puppy with reddish gold fur and pointed ears. The big Two Legs makes the “stray” noise again and the Two Legs from yesterday shakes her head. They make more Two Legs Noises and the little Puppy is taken out with the Two Legs mother and her baby.

The day has gone by slowly for me. I do not bark or whine like the other Dogs do. I just lie here. This noise, “stray”, what does it mean? Is it what kind of Dog I am? Is it a name the Two Legs gave me? Does it mean something good or something bad? The noise runs through my ears and mind like how the Mice run from the Cats. The other Dogs begin to quiet down and a male Two Legs with grey fur on top of his head and some on his face and dark blue fur on his chest, tummy, and back and light blue fur on his legs and rear stops in front of my box. I look up at him and he takes the red thing off of the front of my box and opens it. He slips something around my neck and makes the nice but sad Two Legs noises at me.

He starts walking and the thing around my neck starts pulling me. I walk along behind the old Two Legs and look around me. There were Dogs of all shapes and sizes in boxes around me, and all of them start barking and whining again as the old Two Legs leads me into another area of the place.

In this place, there are no boxes with Dogs or Cats in them. Only me, the old Two Legs, the Two Legs frm yesterday that gave me water, and a new Two Legs whom I never saw before are in here. The old Two Legs picks me up and puts me on a hard, cold grey thing. The new Two Legs takes the thing off of my neck and the Two Legs from yesterday puts her paws on me and starts making very sad Two Legs Noises. I smell Sorry and Sad on her and I feel uneasy. I lick her paw and try to comfort her and water comes out of her eyes. Did I break her? Or is this what Two Legs do when they are Sad and Sorry?

Now the new Two Legs comes back to where I am and I see she has something small and clear in her paw. She has water coming out of her eyes as well. I am confused. I do not know what is going on. The new Two Legs puts one paw on the back of my head and moves it down my back all the way. Then she makes more nice and sad Two Legs noises and I feel another big bug bite in the back of my neck. It hurts and I whimper. Then I can not feel the hurt anymore. Now my body tingles. It feels like...