PAWS by Meli J Nightly (book recommendations for teens TXT) 📕

I

lay lazily as I always did on my comfy bed, a bed they had bought me with so much love. Everything they had done up to this point was done with a lot of love. Why couldn't things be like before?

The times when he used to play with me. All I needed to do was show him the red ball and he knew that I wanted it to be thrown. I would happily run and catch it. Of course other times I would just wait for it to fall and go after it, but it was fun no matter what. I remember the way he scratched behind my ear after I did something that would make him laugh. Now, he didn't even pet me when I ran to welcome him home, all he did was run upstairs and lock the room along with her.

I remember the way she called my name when my food was ready, "Terry… come and eat!" she used to yell with that sweet tone of hers. Now she barely noticed my presence, didn't care if I had been fed.
They were both hectic these past days, rearranging a room, painting and running around, well at least my master was the one doing all the running. The mistress was usually laying down giving him instructions, and how could she run if she had inflated like a balloon!
It's from all that junk food she had been eating lately I tell you … don't get me wrong I love food, I live for food. But, she has been eating all these kinds of gross stuff lately. Like last night she made my master go buy her that meat that goes inside two bun like things and has a lot of other stuff… you know what I'm talking about right?

Anyway, I usually like the meat and not the bun like things, but if they go together it must be for a reason and humans seem to like it like that too. But that's not the point, he also bought a big bowl of that white cold sweet mushy stuff, which I also love, however I didn't expect her to dip the meat with two buns inside the bowl of the white cold sweet mushy stuff! I mean come on, what kind of psycho does that? Even for me that's too gross. She has been doing things like that lately, which I find rather odd. What's worse though is that my master doesn't see it strange at all. I do notice that he gets out of the room if she begins mixing up any other yucky food and I'm with him on that.

‘Shush, I hear something? Can you guys hear it too? No? It's a weird noise. Oh… oh wait it's my stomach. Yes, it's grumbling, my poor tummy.’

I decided to get up from my comfy position, walk through the living room which for some reason seemed to be filled with all these pink things. Let's just ignore them shall we? I finally reach the kitchen and end up saddened by the horrendous scene in front of me… no food… in my bowl! How can this be? This is tragedy I tell you! Madness! I slump down whimpering and sobbing my sorrows, until I hear my friend calling me.

Making my way to my own private door I peek outside and see Brooklyn. "Hey, Terry!" She greets me cheerfully, "Why the long face?"

You're one to say that since it isn't you who’s starving! Mind you these are only my thoughts I am not the type to take my grumpiness on a friend. "The mistress is still sick, so she forgets to put food in my bowl. Master is always out and when he comes home is only to check on her and then go back out on her orders."

"You're in deep son; I told you already she is not sick…" Lassie the oldest out of all of us barges in on the conversation like he usually does. He's always grumpy and who wouldn't be with a girl's name, wouldn't you?

"Don't scare the poor thing," Brooklyn pleads, but only to make him talk more.

"It's true I've been through it, in the nine long years I've been living I've seen all kinds of things…" he speaks with a somber tale voice.

I admit that gets me pretty shaky yet I dare to ask, "What do you mean?"

"You're problem is worse than your mistress being sick… she's…" he looks around as if it were a dangerous secret he was telling. Making me more fidgety then I already was.

"She's?" Brooklyn and I ask in unison.

"She's…" Lassie repeats it again with a raspier tone and shifty eyes.

"SHE'S?" We get anxious quickly.

"She's having a baby you moron…" I turn to face that familiar voice, Solo, the homeless dog.

"A baby?" Brooklyn asks confused.

I am equally confused, "What's a baby?"

It almost seemed like Solo was rolling his eyes, "You mutts are hopeless. A baby it's what comes out of a mistress woman and takes your place, they're evil monsters."

"Comes out?" Brooklyn says in a disgruntled manner as if she were imagining it.

"Evil… monsters?" I feel my voice go unsteady. There was an evil monster inside my mistress, how awful. I can only picture a green icky monster with tentacles and what not… it's not a lovely picture, that's for sure. "No wonder she only eats disgusting and weird things. It's to feed that monster inside of her."

Brooklyn and Lassie nod in agreement. But one question remained, "Why can't they take the monster out?" As always Brooklyn was the one to ask.

"Oh it'll come out alright… and when it does come out… you can say bye-bye to your home," Solo gives me a smirk. How rude I say, giving me a smirk like he was mocking my calamity.

"Why would he have to do such a thing? A baby can't be that bad." Lassie tries to comfort me. He had obviously never seen a baby, after all his owners were old too. Brooklyn was the youngest one out of all of us; doubt that she's seen one either.

"You would think differently if you saw one. They have especial powers-"

We were all dumbstruck and cut off Solo immediately, "Special powers?!"

As soon as Solo opens his mouth a scream and shriek is heard from inside my home. "Lena," I bark. I make my way to the driveway, tires screech and a funny smell reaches my nose. I see my master come out in hurry and panting. I jump at him, trying to warn him that the monster was probably eating the mistress.

But he only pushes me away and hard, "Terry move out of the way, now!"

I slowly stop and my ears flop. I walk away scared that he might do something to me and look back just to see him run inside the house. My friends give me sympathetic look.

"If I were you, I would leave now before they kick you out or do something worse to you," Solo warns me. So I decide to heed his warning, it was the first time he had ever done something so mean, it was also the first time he had ever screamed at me to go away. I feel something die inside of me, and without thinking too much…

"Can I go with you?" I ask Solo as I catch up to him.

"Wait… what are you talking about Terry? You can't just leave!" Brooklyn yells at me.

"They don't need me anymore…" I reply sadly.

"You can come kid… it's not easy being alone." Solo keeps on walking and I follow, in the process I wonder why he even bothers to help me. I could hear Brooklyn bark but can't make out what she says as we get farther and farther away from my home.





We arrive at an alley where other dogs are gathered… mean and scary dogs.

I look up at Solo and now really thinking about it I feel so little beside him, after all he's a Rottweiler and a fierce one at that, everyone seems to respect him. Me on the other hand, I'm just short with fluffy curly beige hair. Most of the time people even confuse me with being a female, and I guess that's worse than Lassie's problem.

My thoughts are interrupted by snarls belonging to a dog who looks quite irritated, a boxer, "Hey Solo, who's the short fry?"

I take a step back but Solo pushes me forward with his snout, "You will all respect him and help him. He is now part of the group. His name is Snatcher."

Snatcher, what kind of name is that? And just like he had been reading my mind he whispers to me, "We can't leave you with your old name… you belong to a new family now. Besides, Terry is too prissy."

"Hiya Snatcher! I'm Twinkie!" I search for the voice and look down finally to see a cheery Chihuahua greeting me. He looks like the smallest and by far probably the friendliest out of the bunch.

A black and white Husky approaches me, he looks very well taken care of and not like he belongs in the streets. I gulp when I see him close enough to glimpse at his large canines. "Welcome to the group Snatcher. My name is Blaze and that over there is Don." He points with his nose at the Boxer who only looks the other way, seems he doesn't like me. I sigh in relief when he nods and returns to his original spot.

"Who's the fur ball?" A choir of giggles was let out and I look around but only to add to my confusion, since I had no idea where they were coming from. My stomach grumbles, "Uh-oh fur ball is hungry!" Yet again with the silly giggles.

"Quiet you Rats!" Solo orders.

"Sorry Solo…" Three rats appear in front of me and bow apologetically.


"These are just our pets," Twinkie cackles.

"What do you mean pets? We can take you on short stuff!" They say in unison.

"If you don't shut up we'll let the China Town cats eat you," this time Blaze warns them.

"Fine, fine. Nice to meet you fur ball." The three disappear as fast as they could, giggling all the way.

Solo sighs, "Let's go look for food. Snatcher you're hungry aren't you?"

I nod. I was most definitely hungry, in fact famished. I had never gone a day without eating; I was dreading this day because of it.

We were on our way to find food. What more could I ask for? I had a new family, a new home and now I was about to eat… garbage?!

"Well dig in!" Twinkie jumps inside the pool of garbage and the rest follow. I'm hoping to have hearing problems, because he did not just say dig in, did he?

"It's not like home… but it's the best we can do. We can steal food only once in a while or else we can get caught and turned in," Solo explains.

Dumbfounded as I was, my mind kept on playing the times I had been fed like a King. And Solo he had all the time been eating this. As I