This is my story. Its focus on the many injustices of my life, for every day my kind is punished just for being alive. This is not our fault. True sometimes we have been known to attack but this is merely because man has mistreated us and trained us wrong. So it's expected that we might break or bend, but that doesn't mean we can't be fixed. All we need is someone who is willing to save us!

I was born an utterly defenseless creature. I weighed only a couple of ounces and could barely crawl, yet walk. My nails were soft and useless and my teeth still had to grow in. I could only rely on my senses of smell and feeling to guide me in this peculiar world, for my ears and eyes were sealed tightly. They would remain this way until I was a week or two old. So basically, I was a warm, living ball of fur.

I was aware of the three other small bodies wiggling right next to me. I understood that the biggest and smallest pups were my brothers and the last one was my sister. They continued to wiggle around and I followed suit. A tantalizing, sweet aroma lured me closer to a gigantic source of warmth. I could hear its heartbeat thudding in its chest, and was shocked when a slobbery tongue licked me affectionately. I instantly knew that this was the being who had birthed me into existence.

My instincts directed me to latch on, to the never-ending supply of milk, understanding that in order to survive the cruel world, I must first grow. I suckled until I became quite full and laid back to enjoy the sleep that engulfed me like a tidal wave. It was a peaceful sleep with zero dreams, to which I awoke feeling content. 

For the next few days, my life continued at the same wonderful pace. Occasionally mother would leave our den and come back within the hour. She brought back delicious smells on her short coat of fur. So many different smells that it was dizzying to try to focus on one. 

I gradually learned to walk but it was difficult. However, I was motivated by those amazing smells to try. I wanted to join the mother on her trips out, but first I would have to be able to walk. Not to mention that my ears and eyes must be unsealed first.  And even though my siblings preferred to eat and sleep in a continuous cycle I grew impatient.

Therefore, on my fifth day of being alive, I decided to explore my home, while mother was out scavenging. I crawled on wobbly legs away from the protection of my pack of two brothers and a sister. 

Even though I was sightless, I could sense the looming walls that protected us from the outside. From what I could feel, the den was made from a papery material only as thick as one of my paws. The farther away I got from my family, the colder I was until I stumbled across the entrance. 

There seemed to be two flexible flaps made from the same material as the rest of our home. I could feel the wind slipping in through the gap and I curiously tripped towards it. I nosed the flaps open and kept pushed onward, but when my paw pads touched the ground it was extremely hard and frigid. Around it hung a harsh chemical smell and I grew queasy. 

The ground started to rumble and a sudden whoosh of air threw me backward! I started to cry out for help, for my mother, or siblings. I soon recognized a woof from Mother, although as it continued it didn't get any closer. As I listened, I could hear the panic and warning in the distant bark. The only thing I could do was whine louder. In the den, I imagined I could here a chorus of whines echoed from other pups. 

Unexpectedly, a presence above announced itself by grabbing my scruff and hauling me back to the den!  It was accompanied by the warm milky sent, that I recognized as Mother. 

Before we reached the entrance of our box home, she set me down. I could feel her throat rumble as she started growling. I imagined her baring her teeth at an invisible foe. I could practically smell the odor of many terrified dogs on it. 

I thought Mother was trying to snap at the enemy, but her teeth closed on air instead. I felt her lunge away, determined to protect her small family. But when her feet didn't hit the ground with a confident thud, instead they were jerked upwards as she wrestled with the stranger. I could sense her losing and thought I felt myself let out a whimper. I couldn't be sure this whole ordeal was happening without confirmation, but I knew that something was trying to hurt my family.

I curled up smaller to become less of a target, hoping no one would see me. Then suddenly, I was roughly tossed into the den, as my home was shifted to stand with the back wall beneath my feet and the entrance tilted way above! I was jostled around with siblings until the den was placed in a bigger vessel.

The bigger box shook as whatever grabbed me got into it too. Through all this chaos I started to calm down, when I realized I could smell Mother near us, again. I knew she wouldn't let anything bad happen, but strangely she didn't get any closer. I didn't contemplate this much, but instead, I started to drift off almost certain that everything would be okay. And I barely noticed when the giant vessel sputtered awake and moved farther away from the spot had lived my whole life.