Born to Race

Chapter 1

The puppies whined and climbed over each other. The cage was too small and they were too big. A white greyhound pup pushed between her siblings and placed her paws on the wire of the cage. A man walked up to the cage with the dog breeder. They talked, glancing at the cage with the greyhound pups, then the man handed the breeder some money and in return got two papers. They talked more then the man opened the cage and picked out two puppies. The white pup whined and squirmed in the human's grip. Her brother, a black greyhound with a white patch on his chest, had been picked too.

Both of them were taken to a car and placed on the back seat. The man sat in the front and drove away from the house. The white pup braced herself, almost slipping off the seat. She sniffed the backseat, wagging her tail. So many smells! She thought. There were dog smells, human smells, and food smells. The white puppy's brother jumped off the seat and put his paws up on the arm rest. The man looked at him and pushed him back. The black pup crawled under the front seat, looking for food. He found a chip and gulped it down before his sister saw it.

The white pup looked out the window, watching the scenery speed by. They drove down a windy road and turned into a long driveway.

Both pups wagged their tails and watched as the man got out of the car and opened the door. He picked up the black pup by the scruff and the white pup by lifting her under the belly. He took them to the back yard and placed them down on the grass. There were six cages lined up on the back fence. Four of them had dogs in them. The man opened the cages and let the dogs amble out.

"Who are these little pups? Why did The Boss bring new greyhounds here?" a brindle she-dog wondered.

The white pup shrank back as the four dogs approached them, their eyes narrowed and tails up. Her brother wagged his tail and sat still.

"Don't be afraid, there's no room for shy dogs here or the race track," barked a darker brindle male.

Race Track? What is a race track? Why are we here? The white pup wanted to ask but she didn't dare unless they laughed at her or bullied her.

"Why do we have to race?" the black pup asked.

"Because we're greyhounds," the female brindle dog said.

The other dogs looked amused. A whippet trotted up to the pups and sniffed each of them, swishing his tail in interest.

The black pup flinched back and got into a play bow. The whippet wagged his tail more excitedly and raced to the other end of the yard. The puppy followed after him.

"Smokey!" The Boss called. He stood at the door, a leash in hand.

The whippet skidded to a halt and turned around. He ran over to The Boss and sat down, thumping the ground with his tail. The Boss slipped the lead on and led him round the front to a gate where he was taken to the car and placed inside.

'Where is he going?" the white pup asked.

"To the race," said a tan she-dog. She was lying down, nibbling her paws on the tile floor in the shade of the house's roof. "All greyhounds have to race, if we don't then The Boss will lock us in the cages and whip us," she added.

The white pup whined, she did not understand what racing was, or why the dogs were whipped, she hoped The Boss did not whip her or her brother. The white pup trembled at the thought of being hit by the man.

The brindle male padded over to the pup, growling he nipped at the pup, causing her to yelp and flinch back.

"Weak little pup! What's your name?" he asked.

"I don't have one," she said.

The brindle dog scoffed, "The Boss will give you and your friend one. My name is Tiger, the female dog over there is Tan, the other brindle is Sasha."

"But I already have a name!" the black pup bounded over, tail wagging and ears pricked. "It's Shadow and I like it!"

"Quit your yapping little pup, nobody asked you. The Boss will choose your name, that's how it works," growled Tiger.

"But I want to be Shadow," the black greyhound's tail fell.

"I don't care, do whatever," Tiger shrugged and padded over to the cages. He jumped inside his kennel and curled up.

"What do you want your name to be?" Shadow asked.

"Um....Snowy, because of my fur colour," said the white pup.

"Cool!" Shadow yapped. "Hey, wanna race around the yard?"

"Okay," Snowy bowed and then sprinted towards the end of the yard. Shadow followed, fast and determined.

They raced around the whole fence, stopping at the place where they started. They panted and sat down. Tan grunted and sighed, looking away. None of the dogs seemed interested in the pups' games. Shadow and Snowy raced around the fence again. But Shadow crashed into his sister, sending them both flying into the fence. Snowy shook herself, feeling sore and bruised.

"You cheated!"

"No I didn't!"

Shadow got up and leaped at Snowy, pinning her down and tugging on her ear. Snowy swatted at her brother, barking and snapping.

"Do you want to learn how to race like a proper greyhound?" Sasha came over and asked.

"Yes please!" the pups said, wagging their tails excitedly.

"Alright, first you have to lower your tail, then keep straight and look forward, run as fast as you can as well," Sasha explained, crouching down.

The pups copied her stance. Then Sasha barked and they raced off. Going behind the house and past the kennels.

They rounded the corner and stopped when they got to Sasha.

"Well done," Sasha said and walked away from them to drink from the water bowls.

The pups were no longer frightened of her, so they followed her and had a drink of water as well. Sasha glanced at them and laid down. They came close but not too close. Sasha might accept them, and maybe the others would too.

Later as the blue sky turned to shades of purple and orange The Boss came back with Smokey. He put all the dogs in their cages, including Shadow and Snowy. But before the pups went in, he placed a colour around each of their necks.

"There you are, Ice and Jack," he said.

"But we are Shadow and Snowy!" the pups complained. Yipping at the man.

"I told ya, you don't have a choice," Tiger barked.

"He's right, you have to accept those names, not the ones you made up," Tan said with a growl. She was not the motherly sort. Tan was a strong and agile she-dog. But she spoke with distaste in her voice.

The pups were picked up by the scruffs and placed into a cage. The man locked the door and went inside his house. The pups curled up together, feeling home sick. But they knew now that they could not leave, and they had to become racing dogs.