While this story is fictional the characters excluding the fox aren’t. Ever since I was about ten I’ve wondered about my dog Sasha a now 6 year old tri-color beagle and of her escaping and finding a scrappy young male fox to mate with. While I’m aware the idea of a fox and a hound joining is unlikely, so was the idea of a hybrid stray leading a group of hatful dogs back to safety! Anyway enjoy the story of my pup Sasha (who’s age has been subtracted back to 3 years in this story ‘bout the time I’d first wrote this) and her hopeful mate umm………we’ll call him……Charlie. (Sasha and Charlie get it). Oh umm before I forget just so you understand my dog suffers from separation anxiety so basically she hates being alone it’s boarder line severe just so you’ll understand why I have the character say certain things and act a certain way while alone.

 Dedicated to my cat Patches: 1990-2007

Sasha paced uneasily on the false hard wood floors of the apartment, after 12 years, her family had decided to pick up and move. She whined and yipped as her girl (me) picked up a box labeled “ Sasha’s stuff,” and brought it down stairs to the car. “Don’t worry,” said Patches, the family cat who’s age matched the number of years the family had been living there, he was a tuxedo/American short hair mixed and Sasha’s brother and alpha who she loved deeply and admired greatly. She wagged her tail slowly and glance at him as he lay on box marked “Mom/Dad bedroom T.V”  “What if they forget us Patchy? What if-what they leave us here? What are we going to do?” she asked. Patches smirked, “They won’t leave us they love us, we love them as much as they us, they won’t forget us Sasha,” he said, reassuring her. “Sash, Patch, come on, dad and big bro are coming for the heavy stuff,” her girl called. Patches looked at her, “I told you they wouldn’t forget us,” he said smiling. Sasha raced to greet her girl as the leash was picked up, she played with her a while before letting her girl clip her collar to the leash. Patches came behind and rubbed his girl/little sister on the head, telling her to rub him, but instead he groaned as she picked him up and headed out the door. Sasha sighed as the neighborhood started shrinking more and more from the back of the car window, her girl joined her sigh, “It’ll be fine Sasha don’t worry,” Patches said, her girl repeated the words both to herself and to the dog in hopes the words held some truth.

Six month later;

Sasha yawned as the smell of breakfast awoke her, it just another Friday morning and that meant work. She stretched and let out two swift barks to awake her girl for school. As much as Sasha hated for her girl to leave, she loved walking her to and from school. It took three months  but Sasha learned how to stay focused enough to walk back home, she now knew when and when not to cross the street and as home, her nose was way to keen for her to get lost unless it was on purpose. She whined when her barks were of no use to the girl and pawed at her girls stomach. The teenager groaned and looked at Sasha with one eye, “School time again? Can’t wait for summer,” she said sleepily. “Yeah me either,” Sasha thought.

After breakfast the two set out side by side walking slowly to school, Sasha enjoyed the long walk as her girl would often speak her about life. “The world is filled with many dangers, it’s why so many are afraid to leave home, the trick is knowing that while your likely to be killed outside, there are better things out here in the world that we’ve yet to experience that are worth seeing,” she said. Sasha’s ears perked as she intently listened to her girl’s wise words, the longer they talked, the shorter the distance became between home and school. Sasha sighed as she often did, as the scent of her girls friends entered her nose, she knew it was only was blocks off now and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Her girl caressed Sasha’s head and soft earlobes as she greeted her friends. They joined her, rubbing Sasha’s head, ears, chin and back gently as they walked to the building. Sasha paid no attention as they talked, the only thing that concerned her now was the sudden since of loneliness as her girl and friends left for school. Sasha sat and watched as the immense group of young teens and preteens disappeared into the world forbidden to those with four legs. The command “Go home Sasha,” caused the young beagle to turn and trot back home to see what her den brother Patches was up to.

Sasha nosed the back gate open as she reach home and kicked closed with her back legs. She panted as entered the home via doggy door and thanked “mom” for leaving fresh water down for her. “Enjoy your walk sis’?” Patches asked from the kitchen counter. “Why do they leave us Patches? Why can’t they stay here with us and play with us? Is it something we did? Is it something I did?” Sasha asked. Patches shook the loose fur from his big cheeks, “It’s nothing we do, if it was they’d get rid of us why would they leave their territory instead of exiling us? Just like you leave to walk our girl to and from school, they leave to work as well. Trust me Sasha, they’d never leave us, they love us, take a nap, our girl will be home at 3:00pm and you’ll be happy again, same as always,” Patches said. Sasha whimpered again, dreading the lonely walk upstairs. The cat sighed, he looked to make sure no one else was around and leaped down from the counter, he rubbed against the plump dogs’ side and lead her to her girls’ bed, there he curled beside her, keeping his eyes and ears alert for danger as she slept. “Thank you Patches,” she whispered as sleep tempted the young dog, Patches said nothing, only purred as the sound of a relaxed dog soothed him.

Patches yawned as Sasha sat up suddenly, “She’s coming!” Sasha announced excitedly, which meant her girl was about thirty minuets away. Patches smelled the air for signs of new scents, there were non saved for a young dog starting her heat cycle, “Hate to ruin your moment but that time of the year is in the air again Sasha,” Patches said. Sasha cocked her head and smelled the air again, her own scent reigned through and she could feel her body ache for a male’s touch. She sighed, “I hate this time of the months there are no males around here to court me,” she said. Patches stretched, clawing the bed sheets, “It’ll be fine you’ll find a mate this year,” he said as he began to groom his right arm. Sasha smiled, “Your sweet but you know how likely it is that I find a mate? Even if a male comes here I can’t be the only female going into heat now, he’ll want one of the other females for sure,” Sasha said to him. Patches smiled, “You’re the most beautiful dog in the universe there’s no male alive that would be stupid enough to pass you up heck if I weren’t a cat I’d chase you down right now,” he said. Sasha smiled, “Thank you Patches, you’re a great friend and wonderful brother,” she said.

As the days became weeks Sasha’s urge to mate became greater as well as her fear of being alone. It was during these times which she wondered into town and visited the equally lonely shop keeps who’s businesses were slow in the afternoon. She’d return home in time to meet with her girl at the end of school but other then that, she was home about as much as the humans were on weekdays.  As such, her weekends were spent with much needed sleep although she was often to restless to do so. One Monday after her usual walk with her girl to school, Sasha’s nose lead her on the trail to a curios scent which was a strange mix of wild and untamed, as though the canine had never had a human hand touch its head. She followed it through town, bypassing all females for fear of a fight. She sped up, rounding corners and slipping through ally ways, barely noticing as the building and houses gave way to trees and deep, cold, soft earth. The scent lead her to what seemed to be a recently dug den belonging to a small creature. She looked up as the sound of broken branches filled her ears, “Yoooouuuu whooooo!” she exclaimed (hold on, this You who thing, Sasha truly does when she’s looking for someone it’s one of her loudest barks) as a figure appeared. It was unlike any creature she’d ever laid eyes on, she could tell by his stature that he was indeed of canine descent, his size was no larger then herself and his coat, matched her own  in fall, a vibrate fiery reddish orange color with a white chest, belly, and the very tip of his tail, his legs were pure black, his figure, short and scruffy yet Sasha could tell he resembled a wolf, her heart couldn’t help but speed up for him. “You! This is my territory! Leave! Now!” he exclaimed. Sasha’s ears flattened, she backed up a few steps but never turned her back on him. The fox advanced on the beagle, preparing to attack the young house pet, “I told you to-“ the scent of Sasha’s body stopped  his words, he realized she was only a lingering female in heat and figured she wanted  a mate as bad as he did. The sight her was suddenly beautiful to him, she was only a dog but he scenes the call of the wild within her heart by the fire in her eyes. Sasha growled at him and lounged, just missing his neck, the young fox growled and pushed Sasha off him, knocking her a few feet. She lifted herself snarling at the creature, his ears flattened into his head, “My apologies dear cousin, I thought you were a male, preparing to overtake my land,” he said. Sasha sat and looked at the fox, his golden eyes piercing through her causing her heart to skip a beat. “My name is Sasha, I’m from New York, forgive me but, what and who are you?”