Dog, present-day
Staying in the room was just as torturous as staying in the pen outside Al’s and Mary’s house. In the pen, at least we could entertain ourselves with scents and fresh air. Here, there was nothing. Just stuffiness and only a small lonely glimpse of the outside world, fixated in place by the window. But I hadn’t known any better. I’d been raised in filthy conditions as a pup.
Finally one day, Joclyn came in and I managed to sink my teeth into her flesh. She’d yelped, as usual, and growled a string of Human language. Then she did the unexpected: she grabbed my scruff and lifted me up, her eyes full of fury. All my weight was hanging down and I cried in pain, my muscles straining and my eyeballs popping. She dangled me like that, crying and crying, and threw me into a crate along with two of my rather rambunctious siblings. Our spirits were not deterred even after the countless days of confinement.
We were squeezed next to each other, a tight fit. I was leaving some of my siblings behind, but my heart sprang with hope. Maybe I would reunite with my mother again. I barked at my siblings and they whimpered back; the ones left in the room were half-dead. I hoped they wouldn’t spring up and foam at the mouths like my brother did.
And then, we were in another Car. Different than the usual one that smelled of smoke and stinging liquid, but the same kind of machine: a Car. I barked excitedly when we were placed in the trunk. Joclyn got in the front where Al usually sat.
Before I knew it, we had been transported to somewhere else. I looked up, and my siblings squirmed beside me. The lid of the back opened and I saw Joclyn’s angry owl eyes peering at us. I growled at her but I reveled in the fresh air.
And then, I heard the sound.
Barking. Lots of barking. All kinds of dogs. All kinds of scents. It amazed me. Overwhelmed me. I had never seen something like this before. It was a little building, yet it contained all these dogs. And they were all my kind, only not my kin. It fascinated me. Far as I knew, my family and that other strange dog were the only dogs alive on this earth. Incredible. To know that there was more, that was to know I had to defend myself against everyone.
“You ungrateful wretches, disgusting dogs,” Joclyn spat at us. “I hope you brutes like it better here than where I gave you all a nice home.”
I didn’t understand. I bared my teeth at her.
She carried the crate in both arms, entering the building. The familiar smell of filth and dog stench hit my nose, only so much stronger than what I usually smelled.
“Welcome to the pit bull pound, how may I help you?” a bored Human said to the Human carrying us. Amazing. Another Human? There were more of these foul creatures every time I went someplace else. I could smell more of them further in the building.
“I’m here to drop off three pit bull pups,” Joclyn said politely. She presented us to the Human, and it inspected us with a disdainful sniff.
“We only have room for one of these. That is, if the three don’t mind cramming in a pen made for one.”
“They’ll be fine. Just take them.” Joclyn put us next to the Human and left.
I barked at the Human. It flinched. I studied it and found it out to be another female.
Another Human came out from the back. I barked and snarled at it. Another one? This place was crawling with them. Were they Mates? The newcomer was a male and smelled strange. It had the same stinging smell of my old Humans’, but the smell wasn’t concentrated around the face like Mary and Al. It was at the hands and arms. I recoiled when it came close, lunging and snapping at the face when it least expected it.
“This is a feisty one,” the male commented. Its breath was stale but had none of the stinging smell.
“Desocialized. His Human was desocialized. What a nerd she was,” the female replied boredly, picking at her fingers.
He leaned back and inspected all of us. My brother was tired and my sister was looking around, frightened. I was the only one up and running. Probably the only one that would survive in the end, because of my spirit.
“No one likes aggressive puppies. That’s a hard habit to break out of,” the female said. “Why don’t you just put it down for the heck of it. We’re running short of pens anyway; no one likes pit bulls these days.”
The male considered. I stared at them intensely, hoping they would feel threatened. I was a tornado to be reckoned with.
He grabbed me from the crate, much gentler than any other Human had before. I squirmed and tried to position myself where I could bite him, but he held me where I couldn’t move. “Sorry, buddy,” he said to me. I snarled at him. His voice was friendly but I had learned from long ago to never trust Humans, no matter the circumstance.
He carried me to the back of the building, supplying a small carrier and stuffing me into it. He placed me in a room and left me in the darkness.
I didn’t like this room. I smelled the strong sterile smell, so familiar now, and the cold cold air around me. What was worst was the many stale, faded scents of dogs. And their spirits leaving them, at this very place. Cold bodies.
Death.
And then I realized that was where my short five months of life would end.
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