VOICES:

-Atka: Jennifer Morrison

-Yukon: Toby Maguire

-Nero: John Cusak

-Mya: Hillary Swank

-Aleu: Lacy Chabert

-Kodiak: Sean Astin

-Balto: Kevin Bacon

I watched Aleu do a headstand and scoffed. She always had to be the center of attention! And that made me sick! Then, two hands grabbed me and lifted me right out of the box I was sharing with my brothers and sisters. I looked at my new owner, then waved goodbye to my siblings. I couldn’t stop my tail from wagging. Was I going to be a sled dog?! Or a guard dog?! Just as long as I wasn’t a show dog… who could stand that many baths or indoor treatment?

The girl carried me all the way to my new home, although her parents assured her I could walk, and didn’t set me down until we were in the house. This house was a lot different then what I was used to. Before, I had lived in a small shack were I was born and this had full carpets and was huge! I dropped my nose straight to the ground and sucked in the strange new smells. But one smell stuck out… the smell of some new animal! I followed the smell to the corner. Something flickered out of the corner of my eye. I spun, then crouched when I saw this strange thing; grey and fluffy but very different from a dog. I wagged my tail and crawled toward it. It didn’t notice me at all, just kept licking its front paw. I concentrated and pounced, landing right on the surprised thing. It hissed and screeched. Its yellow eyes turned to me and I turned tail, heading back to my girl and jumping into her open arms.

“You shouldn’t mess Patches! At least not until your bigger Atka”

I turned back to the cat and stuck out my tongue at it. It growled and fluffed up but returned to where it came from.

            Emily took me up to her room and continued to call me Atka until I had gotten that it was my new name. Anything better then Denali! Who named their pup that anyway? After showing me her “room”, Emily took me back “downstairs”. Her mother had something in a bag. At first I thought it was food, but even if it wasn’t I was curious to see. She pulled out a pink collar and put it around my neck. Then she took out a leash and snapped it on my collar. Before I had a chance to chew on either of them, Emily scooped me up again.

            “Come on Atka! We’re going to see your brothers and sister!” she chirped happily.

I didn’t want to be carried! I squirmed until she dropped me. Then I grabbed the leash in my teeth and shook it. Emily started to run and the leash snapped right out of my mouth! Ouch! It wasn’t about to get away with that! Emily started to walk down the street and I got the leash in my mouth again, shaking and tugging. It was stronger then it looked… no matter how hard I tugged, it just dragged me all the way to a small house.

Emily knocked on the door and footsteps, followed by three familiar barks, answered. I barked back excitedly. The door opened and I jumped in and tackled the first pup I saw, Dingo. I licked his face then got tackled by Saba and Yukon.

“Hey guys!” I said, my whole body shaking from my tail.

            “Guess what Yukon’s new name is!” Dingo snickered.

                        “Fluffy!”Saba barked, who couldn’t wait for me to guess.

I couldn’t help myself. I fell on my back and laughed. “Fluffy” laid his ears back, embarrassed.

            “My name’s still Yukon!” he mumbled. “I’m not going to answer to Fluffy!”

“What’s that around your neck?” I asked Saba, noticing something orange.

            “My owner gave me a bandana just like mom! What are you wearing?”

“It’s a collar” I said in disgust. “It’s itchy and I hate it”

I talked a little more with Saba, who was renamed Mya, Dingo who was renamed Nero and Fluffy still named Yukon.

            “I chewed socks!” Nero declared proudly. “I told you I couldn’t wait!”

“Atka!” I heard Emily call.

“That’s my girl!” I said excitedly, running to find her.

Another girl Emily’s age was sitting with her.

            “Mya! Nero! Fluffy!”

Nero and Mya ran to the girl and Mya jumped into her lap.

            “This is my girl Kate!” Mya told me happily.

                        “Fluffy! Fluffy come! That stupid pup never comes!” she said to Emily.

Fluffy didn’t come. Mya, Nero and I all laughed.

“Yukon!” Nero called.

Yukon came running too.

            “I’m serious! I’m not answering to that awful name!” he said when he saw us all giggling.

We laughed again. Then Emily and Kate made us all stay in a row. What were they doing now? You could never guess what these humans would do next!

            “Sit Mya!” Kate commanded.

I had no idea what sit meant, but Mya did. She proudly sat.

            “Sit Atka!” Emily repeated.

I looked at Mya and cocked my head at Emily. I looked at Nero and tackled him instead. The two girls laughed. While Mya entertained the two girls, Yukon, Nero and I played until we were so tired we fell asleep. Then, Emily picked me up and carried me home. I was starting to not like being picked up… but I was too tired to walk home anyway…

For the next six months, I lived a life of luxury; sleeping on Emily’s bed at night, chasing the cat that grew smaller every day that passed. When Emily went to school, I could play with Yukonand Nero who had gotten kicked out while Mya stayed inside. I was getting into some trouble too. So far I had: stolen a turkey from the table, gone through the garbage, chewed the leg of a chair, destroyed my pink collar and ate the cat’s food. I tried to be good, honest, but the worst was yet to come. Since we lived in Alaska, it didn’t take a genius to know that there were wolves nearby in the woods. They never really got my attention until they started to howl. It was strange but… good, which was stranger because I always hated when Aleu used to howl. Before I knew it, my own howl was vibrating throughout the house. That was the last straw. Emily’s dad thundered down the stairs, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and tossed me out the front door. Stupid!

The icy wind seeped through my coat and I shivered. At least there was an old dog house behind the real house, I thought, trying to stay optimistic. I dragged my feet to the backyard and climbed in the old doghouse. It sheltered me from the wind but it was still cold without the warm fire I was used to.

            The next morning, I was woken up by the sound of my metal food dish being filled. I sprang up and dashed to the front porch, gulping up my cold, dry food that Emily had just set down. She reached into her pocket, fumbled around for something and pulled something out of her pocket. I paused for a second and she slipped it around my neck. Oh great. Another collar. I sighed but finished my breakfast. I’d just ask my brothers about it later.

            After Emily left, I jogged down the main street to my brothers’ house. I slipped into the backyard and spied them both sleeping in a giant wooden crate. Yukon’s ears twitched and his eyes opened. He smiled mischievously when he saw me and nodded to the snoring Nero. I smiled and dropped to my stomach, sneaking up on our oldest brother. I got close to his ear, and then barked as loud as I could. Nero made a strange noise that sounded like a cross between a squeak and a yip, and jumped back into the crate. Yukonand I laughed.

            “Hey” said Nero weakly peering out of the crate. “I heard you got kicked out”

“How’d you know?”

            “Sylvie and Dixie said that you were howling like a wild animal” he shrugged.

“Stupid gossiping…”

            “We’ve already been out here for a while” Nero bragged. “I chewed through the bedroom door and Yukon ate one of their expensive shoes”

 “What about Mya?”

            “She’s a goody- goody” supplied Yukon. “She doesn’t even look like our sister. She looks like mom”

            “You got one too?” Nero said, noticing my collar.

“Yeah. What is it?”

            “A sled dog collar. Me and Fluffy-

                        “Yukon”

                                    “-are going to be a team with Mya”

“Cool. I’m a one dog team I guess” I said, looking at the ground.

            “No you’re not! Danny’s dad said he wanted you to be on our team too! Just like a family team!” Nero yipped happily. “And training starts today!”

            “You’re starting your training today, Atka!” Emily shouted excitedly when she got home from school. I jumped around with her for a few seconds, but when she snapped a leash on my collar, I groaned. Leashes were a waste of whatever they were made of.

Emily dragged me down the street and handed my leash to a man with a black coat and musher’s hat.

            “Bye Atka!” Emily chirped happily. “Be good! He’s the best trainer in Alaska!”

“You’re leaving me here!” I barked angrily at her.

            “I’ll miss you too girl!” said Emily with a final pat.

Life would have been so much easier if humans understood us. The “best trainer in Alaska” brought me to a giant enclosure where a few other dogs wandered around. I wasn’t sure what to do until I caught sight of my mother and Kodiak. I ran over to them and nuzzled them both.

“Where’s dad? I was sure he was going to be here” I said, looking around.

            “He left with Aleu about a week ago” Jenna said.  

I rolled my eyes. Of course Aleu was the one who would end up running away. She could never just take what she got, could she?  

“Maybe she won’t come back” I muttered under my breath.

            “What?!” Kodiak and Jenna said in unison.

“Um, I said who’s your new owner Kodiak?”

            “I belong to the mail dog team, just like dad! And they renamed me Kodi so it’s not that hard to remember!” he said proudly. “What about you?”

“They renamed me Atka! And I’m, I guess I’m just a normal dog…”

            “They renamed you Atka? I always thought Denali was such a nice name…” Jenna tsked.

Before I could tell them more, Mya, Nero and Yukon were dropped off and we all laughed about Yukon’s name being Fluffy. Then, when all twenty dogs that were going to be trained arrived, Jenna left and our training started. It was boring and bleak: we had two meals a day and practiced for a few weeks until I felt like if I heard the word “mush” one more time, some one was going to get hurt. Nero and Kodi were both very good at being sled dogs and both were strong. Yukon and I were smaller, but we eventually got good at it. Mya, however, wasn’t strong enough and just couldn’t pull a sled. She was too good at too many things anyway. Nero, Yukonand I were so busy learning that we never got around to do anything bad. And finally, after our heads were full with commands and we were in shape enough to be taken home. When Emily came to take me home, she brought an old sled with her and hooked me up to it. I proudly pulled it all the way home all by myself.

            Being home wasn’t what I had expected. Emily didn’t want to play with me any more. I was allowed to sleep in the house, but she didn’t want me to sleep on her bed anymore. Without anything to do, I chewed up a rug and got kicked out of the house for a second time. This time, however, Emily’s dad chained me to the old doghouse so that I couldn’t visit my brothers. Thankfully, my brothers were smart enough to come see me instead.

            “What did you do that was so bad?!” Yukonsaid, studying my chain.

                        “Yeah, I didn’t even do anything that bad yet!” Nero chimed in.

“I chewed up a rug. I don’t want to be here anymore. Emily doesn’t play with me anymore”

            “Yeah, our owner is overworking us” Yukonmoaned.

“No he’s not” Nero snapped. “You’re just lazy Fluffy”

My two brothers started to argue and I was about to cover my ears when a sound I thought I hated reached my ears. I couldn’t help it. I tilted my head back and joined in the wolves’ howl. Before I knew it, my two brothers were howling along with me. The wolves stopped but I wanted to keep on howling. Emily’s dad wanted us to stop. He slammed the window open and threw a boot at us. Yukon and Nero scrambled as I darted back into the doghouse. The boot hit the top of the doghouse and made the whole thing vibrate. The window closed and I stepped out. Nero and Yukon looked up at the window, and then returned.

“Maybe you guys should go” I whispered.

                        “Okay, see you tomorrow! Our first race is tomorrow!” Nero whispered back before turning tail and running away.

            The next morning, Nero and Yukon’s owner stopped by our house with the team. Nero wagged his tail and barked when he saw me. But his smile faded when his owner took him out of the leading harness and put me into it.

“Sorry” I shrugged.

Nero scowled as he was brought behind Yukon. I had been trained in a team, but I had never been the leader. But as soon as I heard the call to go forward, I felt like I had been doing it my whole life. I didn’t like the feeling of the harness, but the feeling of leading a running team of dogs felt unforgettable. We paraded up the main street and were lined up at a red line with two other teams. I glanced at my competitors: an old malamute and a strong brown husky. A horn blared, and all three of us took off.Yukon, Nero and I leapt off a step faster but the other three had a harder time keeping up. We slipped into last place, but not by much. I didn’t really want to catch up or beat anyone; I just loved running! I followed the other two teams closely for a few miles until Nomereappeared In front of us. The banner that marked the finish line could be seen easily even though we probably had a mile still to go. But I was in no rush! The old malamute’s team tired out and we passed them without meaning to. We started to pull up alongside the brown husky’s team but with a jerk, he kept the lead.

            “You shouldn’t even try you filthy hybrid!”

Was he talking to me? I blinked, dumbstruck.

“I’m not trying” I barked flatly. “Just let me enjoy this race”

I started to drop back to let them win, much to the displeasure of my team, but the brown husky just couldn’t leave it alone.

            “Females shouldn’t win races and can’t. They’re too slow and you’re no different” he barked, thinking I had just let him get to me.

“I’ll show you slow” I snarled.

Forget about enjoying the race. I threw myself into the harness, pulling Yukonand Nero forward with me. We flew by the husky’s team and as I passed the leader, I kicked snow in his face. That’d show him who’s slow! We left them in the dust and crossed the finish line alone. The crowd cheered and Nero’s owner unhooked me, giving me lots of pats and praise. But no matter how much he liked me or how good of a lead dog I was, I had already made up my mind. I had a plan and I was going to share it with my two brothers tonight.

The night after I had won the race,Yukon and Nero strolled into my backyard.

“Congratulations!”Yukon greeted happily.

“I’m leaving” I said flatly.

Nero, who had been sulking about something, snapped to attention.

            “You’re doing what?!” Yukonremarked.

“I can’t stand being around humans and dogs! I’m chained to a house all day, no one plays with me anymore and the only time I can stretch my legs, I’m called a filthy hybrid”

                        “Atka, that husky was just trying to get to you to win!” Nero argued. “I’m sure it wasn’t personal. And aren’t you a dog?”

“It doesn’t…” I used my back legs to pull my sledding collar off. “…matter anymore. I’ve made my disision. And nothing’s going to change my mind”

            “Atka! Think about it!” Yukonpleaded.

“Yeah, Atka… we’re not wolves. You could die out there! You have to get your own food…”

            “And there are other animals out there too! Like bears! Remember dad got attacked by one?”

“Then see you later” I said, shaking off. “All three of us are part wolf. We could survive”

Before they could argue any more, I took off, leaving my old life far behind me. I probably couldn’t say goodbye to my mother since she was inside her own house but at least I had to say goodbye to my father.

I trotted up the ramp leading onto Balto’s shipwreck. The blanket that he was sleeping under stirred and my father stood up to see who was visiting.

“Atka? What are you doing here now?”

“I’m leaving”

“Why?!” he said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

“I want to be free. I hate living here. Emily ignores me, I’m chained to an old dog house and I other dogs just insult me” I blurted.

I studied me, reminding me of Yukon, and then nodded.

“At least find Buck and stay with his pack” he said giving in.

“Who’s Buck!?”

“Your uncle. He was here a few weeks ago and I’m pretty sure that he’s not too far from here”

I didn’t even bother to ask why I never knew I had an uncle.

“Bye daddy” I said, nuzzling him. “I’ll be careful. I promise”

He gave me a warm smile, kind of offset by worried eyes, but I promised I’d be careful. I smiled back, then turned away and broke into a run. I sailed over the railing and started in the direction of the woods… leaving everything I had ever known far behind me for good…

Atka, Buck, Yukon, Nero and Maya (c) me

Balto, Aleu, Kodi and Jenna (c) Universal