Alfie P. O. V.
Warmth. It's what comes to mind when I think of my home, where I was born. A human had taken us in long before my birth. My mother was nothing more than a beloved pet, her instincts dulled with every passing day. Even my siblings felt no need to go outside, preferring the touch of a human hand over anything.
Not that I had room to judge. I found myself eating out of food bowls full of bland kibble or playing with dog toys as they squeaked excitedly with every bite. I slept in a small bed with the rest of my siblings, a bit tight but quite cozy. Being just a pup, I knew of nothing beyond this, but something felt off. I felt...trapped.
A few weeks passed and me and my siblings grew quite a bit. The house definitely felt claustrophobic now. My mother simply sat in the human's lap, watching the chaos unfold. Eventually the human grew tired of this and began giving us away to a few of his close friends. Mother grew distant as her pups seemed to disappear before her eyes.
It wasn't long before I was the last one left, my siblings given away like mere puppies. I grew depressed as the human attempted to cheer me and mother up. We both missed the chaos that once stirred up the house, and I missed their warmth in my now large bed. Their excited yips and barks that once flowed through the house was now a still silence.
I often found myself in a daze, sitting on the windowsill. It was summer, making me want to melt. This felt odd too. The human simply watched as I sat, almost being lulled into dozing. I turned to him, and in return he gave a small look of sympathy. As I stared into those blue eyes of his, something seemed to flicker through them. His body suddenly jerked as he began to run to his computer, keys clacking loudly as he looked for something desperately.
As my mother walked by the window, our eyes met. A deep sadness still clung to them as she tiredly padded her way to the human for attention.
Pawing his thigh, she tilted her head upward expectantly.
"Not now Maxie" he said distractedly.
Mother seemed to stiffen a bit before laying down at his feet.
I returned my gaze to the window. Outside was a neatly clipped lawn. The car was parked on the driveway, and at the bottom of the driveway was a mailbox. It was painted to look like a little red fox, complete with a pair of glued on ears and tail. Younger humans played on a few of the other lawns, their giggling just loud enough to penetrate the glass. Houses were simple copies of each other only with different colors, even their lawns looked the same. I watched as a little brown dog began walking down the sidewalk, leashed to its human. I began to wonder if that was the life I wanted.
Suddenly, a loud, triumphant cry from the human interrupted my thoughts. He picked up my mother and spun her excitedly, a wild grin on his face.
"We're goin' to Antarctica!"
