A Dog's Story

Chapter 1

Every morning, Sniper woke up to everything that he had been through over the past 3 months. He was a military dog before, until he lost his owner and sent back to the US. Since then, he was in a dog shelter. He hated every minute of it. The constant frustrated barks and snarls of the other dogs around him, the small space, and the scarce food. Every so often, someone, often with small children, would stop in front of his kennel. He wouldn't even bother getting up. He didn't want a new family, he just wanted his old owner back. 'That dog is a Belgian Malinois. He used to be in the army or something.' The girl working there would say dismissively. They would be close to picking him when the girl would tell them what was wrong with him, then they'd move on. No-one wanted an energetic, aggressive, unpredictable dog that was scared of small spaces and loud noises. They wanted a dog that could do anything they told it to. Sniper accepted that with time. 

One day, the girl came into his kennel holding a leash and a muzzle. Sniper sensed her intentions and pushed himself into the far corner of his small kennel. He growled, his sharp teeth showing. He could smell her fear. She ran at him suddenly, clipping the leash to his collar and dragged him out of the kennel. Sniper yelped in fear. He was shaking by now. Then he realized...

He was being taken to be put down.

Sniper barked and pulled on the leash as hard as he could. The battered red collar around his neck snapped and he ran to the closed door. He looked around for any other way of escape. Then he saw the open window. He sprinted toward it and leapt out. He landed on a field just outside the border of the shelter. Sniper stopped for a moment and breathed in the fresh air. It had been months since he'd last been outside. Then, he started running toward the woods, not knowing where else to go. Eventually he reached the woods, and skidded to a halt next to a stream. He lapped up some water, then swiftly leapt over it and cantered through the woods. It was completely quiet, except for the sound of Sniper's paws on the ground, and the occasional sound of birds singing, or foxes calling far away. 

Eventually, he reached the end of the woods and stepped up onto a ridge overlooking a valley. There was a town at the end of a steep hill. There was light and noise coming from it, and Sniper was curious. Maybe I'll be able to get some decent food here. He thought. So, he stepped down off the ridge and trotted down the hill and onto the side of the road leading up to the town.