Born to Race

Chapter 2

Everyday dogs would be taken into another yard with long runs where they would run and race against each other. Snowy and Shadow heard them barking and growling aggressively. When they first heard it, they went to Sasha to ask what was going on. The brindle she-dog only answered that it was part of training.

Snowy did not like the sound of that sort of training. She did not want to be barked at or have to run when she didn't want to. She and Shadow trained in the yard. They raced around the fence several times a day. While the older dogs watched them with amusement.

One day The Boss came into the yard and leashed Shadow and Snowy. The pups looked around frantically, unsure of what was going on.

Sasha locked eyes with Snowy but did not move to help. She barked for the pups to obey the man before turning her head and resting it down on her paws.

Shadow and Snowy were taken to the runs where a man stood waiting. He had white fur around his face and had papers in his hand. Papers like the ones that were exchanged on the puppy farm were Shadow and Snowy came from. The pups were put next to each other in the runs. Snowy barked, feeling anxious. The Boss cracked a whip and ordered them to run.

"Do we have to run? What's going on?" Shadow whined.

"I think they want to see if we are fast enough to race," Snowy yapped.

The whip cracked again and the pups jumped, running to the other end of the long cage. The man yelled again and Shadow and Snowy ran back. The two men talked and then left the pups in the runs.

"No, wait! Don't leave us!" Snowy barked desperately.

Shadow paced, tucking his tail and flattening his ears. "Should we just run?" he said. "Maybe they will come back if we run."

"Maybe," Snowy shrugged.

The two greyhounds ran back and forth in the runs. They did not stop until they became too tired and collapsed on the dirt. The men came back with Tiger and Smokey. They put them in the two runs next to Shadow and Snowy. Then The Boss and the other man left them.

"Why did they bring you here?" Shadow asked.

"To show you how to race in the runs, Ice," Tiger barked.

Smokey wagged his tail, his small body shaking. "Come on! Bet you can't beat a champion race dog like me!" He teased the pups.

"You're not much of a champion, you're not even a proper race dog," Tiger barked in laughter.

"Yes I am," Smokey retorted. "You're too old now, I am faster than any greyhound!"

"You wanna bet?!" Tiger growled. Smokey flinched but still bared his teeth.

"I'll race you," the whippet said.

The two dogs barked at each other furiously. They began to run from one end of the cage to the other. Determined to beat each other. They kept on barking as they ran.

"What are they doing?!" Shadow yipped.

Snowy pawed at the wire cage, wanting to escape. Smokey eventually stopped running and turned to Shadow. Tiger watched them, his height was frightening and he held an air of authority.

"Hey Jack, you and Ice will have to run too, if you want to be picked for the races," Smokey said.

"But what if we don't want to?" Snowy barked.

"We have to Snowy!" Shadow replied.

Snowy shook her head and sat down, watching the whippet and her brother. Shadow and Smokey ran the runs, shaking off the tension and anxiety. Snowy watched as Tiger snapped at a fly and laid down.

Eventually Shadow and Smokey stopped running and sat down to conversate with the other two.

"What are the races like?" Snowy asked.

"They are exciting most of the time, but half the day you are locked in small, cramped cages. They hardly let you exercise apart from the races of course, and you go hungry," Tiger said.

"That sounds terrible!" Snowy shivered and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"But you get lots of food after winning a race, so it's alright, nothing different," Tiger continued.

"The Boss gives you a racing name which you are called by only on the track. I am only a coursing dog so I don't get a name, but Tiger's name is 'Eye of the Tiger'," Smokey said.

"Eye of the Tiger, that's a cool name!" Shadow wagged his tail.

Tiger smiled at the complement, he slapped the ground with his tail. "Yes well, it's a stupid name, I do not look like a tiger," he growled, trying to hide his pride.

Snowy and Shadow laughed. The brindle male rolled his eyes.

The two men returned from the house and opened the cages. They leashed the dogs and brought them back to the yard. After putting the dogs into their kennels, The Boss shook hands with the other man. They exchanged words and went back inside. The dogs heard a car drive out of the driveway and the other human had gone.

Snowy nibbled her leg, biting off a flea. Shadow curled up in the corner of the cage, shivering in the cold. Snowy curled up next to him and kept him warm. The other dogs were barking, making it hard for the pups to sleep. But then The Boss Came out with his whip and cracked it, yelling for them to shut up. They all fell silent and settled down on the floor of the cages. Finally Shadow and Snowy could sleep.