I boldly walked to the cage bars and stared at my mysterious friend. It was the next day, and I had finally gathered up the courage to speak to him. He turned to look at me, his expression a mask of curiosity, and mischievous. 

My paw pads tingled with excitement and I raised my voice, but it was barely audible."Mister, may I ask your name?" He stared at me questionably, and I repeated the question.

"What fun would that be?" He grinned. "I actually have two names, one which I was given by my mother the other by the humans. He grimaced at this thought.

"Humans?" I asked confused. "Is that what the beast the captured us is called.

He stuffed down a chuckle, his eyes started to sparkle with happiness. His appearance had slightly changed. He sat taller, looking a few years younger. "Ha! I like that name for them. The beast!" He chuckled darkly to himself. "As I was saying, my name, the one my family gave me is Boulder. And I'll save you the trouble of my second name." 

"Will I get a second name?" I wondered aloud. I cocked my head to the side as if trying to shake the bafflement from my head. I waited for him to reply, but Mother called me over from feeding time. "I've got to go, but I hope to talk to you later!" I shouted as I ran towards my gathering siblings. I looked back still waiting for a response, but all I saw was Boulder curled in a ball, with his back towards me. I felt a shiver down my spine, and worried if he would be okay by himself.

I didn't worry for long because after breakfast, I wrestled with my little brother, Basil. He was small so he slipped out of any attacks I performed. With our milk teeth growing in, we were viscous, and had no mercy. I lunged towards his wagging tail but came up short when something pulled me back. The claw transported me past the entrance of the cage.

I suddenly realize that I had felt this thing before. It was a human paw. This one was far less calloused and dirty than the one that had picked me up when I was less than a week old. This one smelled sharply of a flower scent, and had little to no callouses. I stared up at the figure who the hand belonged to. This was a female human, and she looked kind. She had long blonde fur that flowed from her head. Her blue eyes were piercing, and matched the sweater she wore. Her skin was pale, almost like 

The human brought me close to her face and I tenderly licked her cheek, which tasted of salty sweat. She cooed softly and proceeded to pick up Prairie. she gently set us both down in a new kennel, and I watched Mother disappear from view as the lid of the kennel closed, after Basil and Night being set in it too. 

I watched through tiny holes in the kennel as the woman, who I now called Blondey in reference to her hair color, removed a contraption from Mothers muzzle. She consoled her with a treat as if to leave on good terms are rocked the cage. I whimpered in despair, and saw Mother starting to grow uneasy and pace in the small space of her cage. One kennel over Boulder had a knowing look plastered on his face.

"It's okay dear, I will keep your babies safe...as long as I can..." Blondey spoke to Mother in a forgein language. I heard her say the words but I couldn't comprehend them. And with that sentence Blondey picked up the crate and carried us to the door. We were carried past the door, into a smaller room that I could tell would lead us outside, if we went through the next door. I vaguely remembered what it had been outside, when we had first gotten here, but when we stepped outside everything seemed different.

The wind was ferocious and I saw Blondey's hair whipping around like a horse's mane. The nearby tree shook their limbs and their leaf whistled away in the gust of wind. Rain was pelting down from the overcast sky.

Blondey ran towards a particular structure that had huge round paws, and a gleaming red coat. She quickly opened its door and placed us in the belly of the beast. She closed the door and then opened a second door in the front of the giant cage like structure. She closed that door and started fiddling with knobs and levers until I felt the beast wake up. She moved her feet precisely and the thing jerked into motion.

I suddenly realized that I had been in this machine before, when my family had first been captured. I lugged desperately at the walls of the kennel, knowing that with each passing minute I was getting farther from Mother. My siblings followed suit whining and scratching at the cage. However, Blondey didn't even look back to see what all the commotion was about, she just kept driving us into the great unknown!