The small hands smell of milk and sweat. I stick my tongue out to taste them. Hmmm... Salty. My hunched up body relaxes a bit. I remember milk and sweat from my earlier days. Maybe the owner of the chubby face peering down at me through my box's top isn't so bad after all!
This thought quickly disappears from my mind as soon as larger hands reach into the box and lift me from my safe space into a brightly lit room bustling with noise. A tree stands in the corner, surrounded by colorful objects. How strange!
"You see, Jamie? A puppy! Your very own puppy!" The large vibrating voice is aimed at the small chubby face. Jamie.
"Pup-py!" Jamie exclaims, reaching toward my paws which are dangling from the big animals clutches.
"That's right! And do you know what we are? We are humans."
"Hu-man?"
"Yes!"
So that's what these animals are! Humans! My creature had warned me about these the day before we were separated. I lick my lips in fear.
"Mama. Hold puppy?" Jamie asks tentatively.
"Maybe later, Jamie dear. We don't want the puppy to get too excited," says the "mama."
Just then my ears pick up a creaking of floorboards. Another human?
"Merry Christmas, darling. I see you found the puppy, Jamie."
This human smells different than the others. The deep voice is comforting on my ears. I wriggle out of the mama's grip and drop to the floor. Jamie jumps out of the way. My big brown paws absorb most of the impact from hitting the ground, but it still hurts a little. I slowly make my way to the biggest human, the one with the low voice. He chuckles and reaches to a hand to pet my dark colored back. That feels surprisingly good! I want that feeling in my belly, so I roll over. He ruffles the white fuzz on my stomach and I yip in delight.
"What should we name this little guy?" He asks the mama and Jamie. Name? I'd never had a name before!
"How about Brownie? He's mostly brown," suggests the mama.
"Buster?" Master try's out. I have taken to calling the big human Master because my instincts feel he is superior to me.
"Whas dat?" Jamie asks, pointing to my paws.
"Those are his paws!" The mama says.
"Paws!" Jamie exclaims.
"Should that be his name?" says Master.
"Yes," the mama assures him. "Whatever makes our little Jamie happy."
"Right," says Master.
YOU ARE READING
Puppy Paws
AdventurePaws the puppy is taken from his mother and home in the wild and given to a family for Christmas. When he accidentally harms the child, he's heartlessly abandoned in the cold winter woods. Paws is alone... until he discovers other dogs like him. The...
