Chapter 1: My First Glimpse of Life
Here I sit, soaked to the bone, as my mother gently cleanses my smooth silky fur. I was the last of my brothers and sisters to be born, and I feel very small compared to some of them. I am positive I will most likely be a runt, because even now, I am having trouble finding a place to suckle. I slowly squirm my nose around my brothers and sisters desperately searching for something, anything. My brothers and sisters are very warm, and it comes as a comfort to me. I collapse onto their backs because I am becoming weak. I can't hear and I can't see and I am becoming afraid that I will never reach my destination. All of a sudden I feel a cold object nudging me forward. I soon realize it is my mother, pushing me along. She can tell that I am struggling, and I soon find a place to suckle. I relax between my brothers and sisters and drink until I fall asleep.
The next few weeks speed up a little. We all become a little more active, and our eyes open. Soon we are all being scooped into a basket, and we are all climbing over the edges trying to see whats happening.
"What's goin' on, Levi?" Mika asked. Levi is my eldest brother, and the boss more or less. He had scrambled all the way to the top of the basket and looked like me might fall out.
"I see sumpthin... Guys!!!" he yelled.
"What???" we all chimed in at once.
Before he got the to answer us, he were out of the house, squinting our eyes because of the intense light. One by one we were being taken out of the basket, onto some green stuff.
"Tia??" I asked, looking for my sister. I found her and ran up to her. Everyone else was running amuk around the yard.
"Let's go, Ti." I said as I ran as fast as I could over to the others.
We all got to play around and we all began to follow Levi into the shrubs.
"I saw sumpthin... it went over there..." Levi said, and we all followed quietly into the shrubs. We came to a small opening between to shrubs and there stood the largest, meanest, ugliest thing I had ever seen. Levi pranced toward it, and barked at it to come and get him.
"Come on you stupid thing! Come show us what you got.." And so the thing did. It hissed at him and chased him out of the bushes. We all began laughing and peered our heads out of the bushes. Levi was running in circles around Mom, and Mom soon growled at the big monster, and it cowered and ran back to the bushes.
"Momma!!! What was that??" Zeus, another of my brothers, asked.
"That was Jo, the neighbors cat. She said.
"What's a cat?" I asked.
"Well Ari, they are like us, only smaller. Most cats don't like dogs. That's why she chased you, Levi, you provoked her." She said.
"I don't like cats... she's got a hairball for a brain, I think." Levi said, now pouncing on Mac ready to play.
Soon a whole bunch of children came in the yard and began to play with us. I saw one of them pick up Tia, and I tried as hard as I could to squirm away, and go over by her.
"TIA!!" I yelled.
Before I had to chance to get away from this kid, I heard the one holding Tia say, Mommy! I want this one! I wondered what it meant. Soon, they were walking away, with Tia in their arms, and she was crying.
"TIA!!" I screamed, but it was too late. She was being packed into a little box on wheels, and they drove away.
Finally the kid let go of me. I ran over to Mom and told her what happened.
"Momma! They took Tia away! Momma she's gone! Where'd she go??? When is she coming back??" I cried.
"Ari, she's not coming back. She's being taken to a new home." she said. I could now see the look of sadness in her eyes. I came closer to her and layed down on her front paws.
"It'll be okay, Ari. Trust me, it will." She said, kissing me on my forehead. I stood up and walked over to the gate where she left. I sat there and stuck my nose between the fence posts and I could still faintly smell her scent. I whined and whined, maybe making myself think I could get her back, when I heard someone say my name.
"Ari!! ARI!" I looked up and it was Willow, my sister. She was being taken too.
One by one my sisters and brothers left... I stayed snuggled by my mother, and I whined and whined some more. I just wanted them to come back. I could tell my Mom was so sad, she layed in the same spot the whole time, not perking her ears when I came by and not even wagging her tail. Glory and I were the last pups left, and before I knew it, I was being packed up in a car. I cried as hard as I could for someone to come get me, because I didn't want to go. It was no use. I was being kidnapped from my family.

Chapter 2: The Garbers
The car drove on and on, until we got to my new house. The little boy who was holding me slipped on a collar and a leash, which I have never had on in my life. The car stopped and he open the door and plopped me on the ground. "Ari, Come." He said, tugging on my leash. This was all new to me, so I didn't know what to do, and I cowered on the ground, not moving. "ARI!" He yelled. I cowered even lower. Please don't hurt me. All I want is my mother back. I said to myself. He tugged on the leash one last time and it was so painful to my neck I had no choice but to get up. He brought me to his backyard, and tied me to this small post. He stood there and looked at me and said, "Ari, be a good girl."
I sat there and watched him leave me alone outside. Hmm.. okay, I'll take this time to walk around, get to know my surroundings. I thought to myself. The leash only went about 5 feet all the way around, so I had a little 10 foot circle, all mine. It was mostly dirt, with a few patches of grass here and there. No doghouse. Where was I supposed to stay? I look through the patio door and saw a cat curled up on the hearth in front of the fireplace. My heart sunk. Why would they leave me outside? I asked myself. I layed down on the dirt and watched them all inside eating dinner. I whined a few times, trying to catch their attention. No such luck. I soon fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the night to rain.