"Daddyyy, you're on my tail!"

The red hybrid continued to feign sleep as the silver pup butted against his shoulder, trying unsuccessfully to move the paw that was pinning her tail to the floor.

"Daaad, come on Daddy, wake up!" Paige barked, propping her paws on his back. When Dallas did nothing more then flick an ear, Paige sat down with a huff. Her eyes lit up when she saw her fathers tail. Crouching, she prepared to pounce on her target. Dallas chose that moment to release her tail, and Paige, not realizing it, leapt foreword with far more force then necessary. The result ended in the silver pup tumbling across the floor and into the wall.

Paige, blinking in confusion, righted herself and scampered back across the floor. "That's cheating!" she cried, pouncing on Dallas's tail. The red hybrid merely swished it across the floor, quickly freeing it from the pup's grasp. Paige blinked as her catch slipped right out from under her paws. Growling as ferociously as a pup could, Paige pounced. Dallas once more moved his tail out of the way, and Paige somersaulted into the wall again.

A chuckle sounded as Paige managed to get on her paws, feeling slightly dizzy from the rolling. She looked to her left and saw a red husky standing by the door. Paige yipped excitedly as she ran across the floor. "Ty!" she cried, trying to stop, but instead sliding on the slippery floor and into her older brother's legs.

Ty chuckled and ruffled the top of her head affectionately. "I think your brakes are broken, kiddo," he said with a grin.

Paige beamed and wagged her tail. Out of all her siblings, Ty was her favorite, possibly because they were closest in age, or because he came around the most. Whatever the reason, the two were close.

"Paige, Ty, what's all the noise?"

The voice made the siblings look up just as a silver husky entered the room. The slight frown on her face said their mother was not pleased. "Well?"

The two exchanged a quick look, then pointed accusingly at Dallas. "Daddy did it," Paige quipped.

The red hybrid raised his head at that, and Shelby frowned.

"We should go," Ty whispered loudly to Paige, his way of letting Shelby know Paige was with him.

"Is Daddy in trouble with Mommy again?" Paige asked, whispering loudly like he had.

Ty couldn't help but grin at the question, knowing she didn't quite understand that their father was in trouble because she had said he was making noise. He nodded and motioned to the door. Paige trotted after him, her tail a silver and red blur.

It took about three seconds for Paige to start bouncing around Ty like a jack rabbit. "Where are we going Ty? Can we go to the beach? Please, please, please? It's warm out and it'd be fun! Please Ty! Please!"

Chuckling, Ty placed a paw on his little sister's head and she stopped bouncing. "Sure, we can go."

Paige squealed and started bouncing again, darting back and forth in front of Ty as they started walking. She nearly tripped him three times before Ty got smart and broke into a slow run, letting Paige keep up with him as they raced down the streets and to the beach.

~^~^~^~^~^~

Paige chased her tail several times before she got dizzy and had to stop. Shelby chuckled as she watched the pup try to walk, only to sway and totter sideways. Night had fallen, Ty had gone home (after dropping Paige off, both had been thoroughly soaked), and Paige was trying to entertain herself. So far, the pup had only succeeded in making herself dizzy. Repeatedly.  

"Paige, dear, it's time to settle down," Shelby said gently.

Paige turned her large doe eyes to her mother, lowering her ears for added effect. "Awww, Momma, I'm not tired," she said, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn.

Shelby smiled. "Of course not, but it's still time to settle down," she said, her tone slightly firmer.

Paige knew the tone, and with a small sigh, padded over to the basket. With a hop and a scramble, the pup climbed up and cuddled up to her mother.  

Paige was the first one up the next morning, and after getting a drink of water and a bit of food, she poked her head out the door. Usually, Paige would wait until her mother was up, or Ty had come over, but she was wide awake and didn't want to have to be quiet until Shelby or the Mister and Miss got up.

Carefully, as not to make the door creak, Paige slipped out. The brisk morning air was chilly, but Paige's coat kept her nicely warm. Pausing to listen for Shelby, Paige bounded off the porch and onto the frozen ground. Slipping slightly, Paige trotted around the front yard, sniffing everything she could reach.

It wasn't until she caught sight of something moving by the fence did Paige stop. Cocking her head, she trotted over, sniffing the air. The scent was strange, and she had never smelled it before. Wrinkling her nose at the odd odor, but her curiosity getting the better of her, Paige crept foreword. Whatever was there was rummaging in the garbage. Paige had heard of stray dogs taking food out of trash bins (she thought it was gross), but the smell didn't smell like a dog, and the scratching was quiet, like something smaller.

Cautiously, Paige stuck her head around the corner, and was hit full force by the smell of trash and the creature. Gagging, she stepped back and covered her nose before looking around the corner again. Cocking her head, Paige watched as a flash of red appeared by one of the trash cans. She blinked, and it was gone. Forgetting the smell, Paige took a few small steps closer. The red appeared again, but this time she saw it was a tail. A very bushy one.

The next second, the trash can started wobbling,  then toppled over with a crash. Paige scampered away, ducking around the fence. After a few seconds, she looked again. Some small, strange looking creature with the brightest red fur she had ever seen was backing out of the trash, dragging something that looked like meat in it's mouth.

Starring, Paige took a step closer. The creature's head shot up and a pair of gleaming yellow eyes turned to her. Paige stood still, and for a minute, they just starred at each other. Then, quite suddenly, the creature's fur bristled and it growled.

It didn't look odd anymore, it looked scary. Paige slowly took a step back, but this seemed to anger the creature. It lunged foreword, snarling and snapping. Paige screamed and turned tail. More concerned with getting away from the snarling creature, she didn't notice that she had run straight instead of running around the fence. She ran right into a group of trash cans. Paige scrambled to turn, but with a bang and a crash, the cans fell around the small pup. The creature, startled by the noise, turned around and ran. Coughing from the dust, and limping, Paige stepped out of the mess.

"Paige?!"

Shelby's voice echoed, and Paige gave a small bark in response. Her mother appeared moments later, looking quite startled when she saw the pile of trash cans and Paige standing among them. "Paige? What happened?" Shelby asked as Dallas appeared behind her.

Paige's ears and tail drooped, knowing she was probably in trouble.

After telling them about the creature (which Dallas said had been a fox), and how it had chased her, Shelby carried Paige back to the house, gave her a quick bath to get the dust off her fur, then promptly began scolding her about following strange smells. It wasn't until Dallas spoke up did anyone notice Paige hadn't put any weight on her leg since being set down.

"You probably sprained it," Dallas remarked, watching as Paige gingerly put weight on her leg, only to wince and pull it back up.

"It'll heal in a few days, and until then, you're not leaving this house," Shelby said firmly.

Paige sulked around, bored out of her mind. Ty was busy with his owner, and had only been by once so far (he said he was sorry she had sprained her leg and offered to beat up the fox for her), and Aili, one of Paige's older sisters, had been by a few times, but she had just had puppies and was busy taking care of them.

A few days turned into a week, then two weeks, and three weeks later, Paige's leg wasn't any better. In fact, it was getting worse. Paige tried to put weight on it several times, only to yelp in pain and jerk it off the floor. She began loosing her appetite as well, hardly touching her food. Paige felt sick, both from the pain in her leg and from not eating, but she just couldn't seem to stomach anything.

Soon Mister and Miss noticed the lack of energy from the little pup, since she usually was running all over the place. Miss took her aside one day, setting the pup in her lap as Shelby watched with concern. When Miss tried to look at Paige's leg, Paige whined and pulled it away from her hand. Miss was always gentle, but she didn't want anyone touching her leg. It hurt.

Frowning, Miss called Mister and showed him how Paige wouldn't let her touch her leg. They talked for a bit, finally deciding to take her to the vet. As Mister put on his coat to go and arrange for a appointment, Miss returned Paige to the basket, very carefully putting the pup in the soft blankets. Miss stroked Paige's forehead with her finger, gave Shelby a pat, then left.

"What's going on, Mommy?" Paige asked once Miss was gone.

"Mister is going to ask the vet to look at you, so he can find out what's wrong with your leg and fix it," the silver husky told her.

Paige perked. "He's gonna fix my leg?"

Shelby nodded, and Paige's tail wagged a little. "Now, why don't you get some rest?" Shelby suggested, carefully climbing into the basket with the pup. Paige snuggled up to her mother,  avoiding moving her bad leg. Shelby licked her daughter's forehead soothingly, until Paige closed her eyes and fell asleep.

~^~^~^~^~^~

The vet said he could see the pup in the afternoon the next day, and it was for this reason Paige found herself being carried very carefully by Miss down the streets of Platinum. Mister walked beside her, and Shelby trotted alongside them both. A few people waved, said hello, and asked to pet "the cute puppy", but Miss said they were going to the vet. Paige was glad, she didn't feel like getting petted right now.

Once they were at the vet's, they had to wait a little bit. Paige looked around curiously. She'd been to the vet's only once before, for a checkup, but that had been short and they weren't there long. After a few minutes, the vet's assistant came out and told them they could go in. Shelby sat by the door as Miss and Mister were greeted by the vet. The vet was a older man, with a shiny head and hardly any fur on it. He wore things Shelby said were called glasses, and he had kind eyes. Very gentle, he felt Paige's leg, talking slowly to her the entire time. Paige liked him and gave his hand a lick when he was done. Then the vet asked Miss to hold Paige still. Paige craned her neck to see what the vet was doing, but Miss held her head foreword, and Shelby said not to worry.

She felt a slight pinch in her leg, but when she looked there was nothing there. Perplexed, Paige looked harder, but she couldn't see anything. The vet was talking to Miss and Mister, and Shelby had stepped away from the door,  now standing by the table. Before Paige could ask what the vet had done, Miss picked her up and they left.

The moment they got home and Miss set Paige in the basket, the pup turned to her mother. "What'd he do?" she asked.

"He gave you a shot," Shelby told her. "He wanted to run a test."

Paige cocked her head. "Test? Why?"

"Because he's not sure what's wrong with your leg, so he needs to find out. You'll go back in a few days, then he'll fix your leg and you'll be all better."

If only Shelby knew how much she'd be wishing that were true.

Sure enough, a few days later, Miss, along with Mister and Shelby, carried Paige back to the vet's, and Paige was once again sitting on that table as the vet spoke to Miss and Mister. He was using a lot of words Paige didn't understand, so she just gnawed at the little toy the vet had given her.

Poor Paige didn't notice the look on Shelby's face that was rapidly turning from shock to devastation. Similar looks were on Miss and Mister's faces as the vet explained that Paige had bone cancer in her leg, and it would have to be amputated. He went on to explain the procedure, and how Paige would have to go through  chemotherapy after the operation.

This all was missed by Paige, who was focused on her toy, so when Miss picked her up, it was with great confusion that Paige gave Miss a few licks on the cheek as the woman cuddled her, something she didn't do often. As they left the vet's, Paige looked to her mother to ask what was wrong with Miss, but Shelby didn't seem to hear her. Terribly puzzled, Paige's ears drooped at the air of dismay that seemed to have developed.

Once they were home, Miss put Paige back in the basket, again, for that seemed to be where Paige was stuck until her leg was better. Shelby disappeared into the next room, and Paige could faintly hear her talking to Dallas. Put off that no one was telling her anything, Paige laid her head between her paws and starred at the wall.

"That's the stillest I've ever seen you sit."

Paige looked up and a smile light up her face when she saw Ty stepping through the door. Ty walked over and ruffled her head with his paw. "Still have that bummed leg?"

Paige nodded glumly. "The vet still hasn't fixed it," she mumbled.

Ty smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure he'll fix it and then you'll be as good as kn--"

"Ty."

The two siblings looked over at Shelby, who was standing in the door with a odd expression Paige didn't recognize. Ty apparently didn't either. "Yeah Mom?" he asked slowly, concern showing on his face.

Shelby seemed to hesitate, then beckoned him to follow her. Confused, Ty looked at Paige, but she just shrugged. "No one's told me anything," she said simply.

Ty disappeared into the next room, and Paige went back to starring at the wall.

"WHAT?!"

Paige jerked at the sound of Ty's voice coming from the next room. She cocked her head, straining to hear what they were saying, but they had lowered their voices. Paige laid back down with a huff. Her stomach was churning, her leg hurt, and no one was telling her what was going on. She felt like a old dog about to die, but no one had the heart to tell her they were planning her funeral.

About ten minutes later, Ty came back. Paige perked, her tail thumping on the blankets. Ty gave her a smile and ruffled her head. Paige giggled and attempted to swat at his collar tags with her good paw, but Ty instead lowered his head and she tugged on his ear.

Ty stayed later then usual that night, and while Paige didn't mind a bit, she did notice it was after dark before Shelby came in and gently told them Paige had to get some rest for tomorrow.

"What's tomorrow?" Paige asked, releasing her hold on Ty's ear (both his ears looked like he'd been attacked by hungry caterpillars).

Shelby and Ty exchanged a look Paige missed, but Ty gave Paige a nuzzle, said he'd see her later tomorrow, and left.

"What's tomorrow?" Paige asked again as Shelby climbed into the basket. Shelby gave her a gentle lick on the head. "The vet's going to, fix your leg," she told her, a small catch in her voice that Paige didn't notice.

Paige's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked, her tail starting to wag.

Shelby smiled a small smile and nodded. "Now, go to sleep," she said softly, and soon Paige's eyelids drooped shut.

~^~^~^~^~^~

The next morning was very short for Paige. Miss came in early, took her to the vet's, who gave her another shot, and the next thing she knew, Paige was asleep again.

Then Paige found herself waking up in the vet's room on the table.

"Hey, sleeping beauty."

Paige raised her head and saw Shelby and Ty standing at the table's edge. "How do you feel?" Shelby asked gently.

Paige yawned. "Sleepy," she mumbled, lifting a paw to rub her eye. When she lifted her leg, however, Paige didn't see a paw. Blinking, she squinted at the air where her paw should have been. Her paw was gone, and her leg now ended in a stub. Turning to Shelby, she cocked her head in drowsy confusion. "Where's my paw?"

Her mother exchanged a look  with Ty that Paige couldn't interpret, before swallowing and giving a watery smile. "The, uh, the vet took it off, sweetheart."

It took a moment for the words to get through her drowsiness. Paige looked at her leg, then back at her mother. "Is he gonna give it back?" she asked sleepily.

That was too much for Shelby, who could only shake her head in reply, so Ty took over answering his sisters question. "No, he's not, sis," he told her, his voice wavering slightly, "Your, well, your leg was, sick, and, he had to take it away to, to make sure it wouldn't infect you."

Paige's eyelids dropped, but she smiled a sleepy smile. "Oh, okay," she said, stifling another yawn. Ty gave a small smile in return. "Why don't you just, get some rest, okay? We'll come back later."

Paige nodded drowsily, and Shelby and Ty nuzzled her goodbye before she laid back on the table, drifting into a heavy sleep.

The next twelve weeks for Paige were one big blur. It seemed to her she was either at the vet's, who did more tests, or at home, where she slept because she was so tired from being at the vet's. She could barely keep herself awake when Ty or Aili came by, which Ty seemed to be coming over a lot more often then before. Paige was terribly exhausted, but since the vet took her leg, she wasn't in pain, and food was appealing again.

On top of all this, Paige had to learn to walk with only three legs.

This proved to be hardest on the pup, as doing something as simple as walking across the vet's room turned out to be a struggle. Frustrated though she was, Paige determinedly kept trying. When she was home, Shelby fussed and watched her like a hawk, rarely leaving her alone. Ty taught her a little trick to help her, though. Pretend she was walking across a fence, like Dallas had showed them once, and this seemed to help greatly. Soon Paige was only wobbling slightly when she walked. She couldn't manege anything more then a quick walk, but Ty promised she just had to practice and she'd be running as fast as she had before.

Still, Paige was glad when she heard the vet say she didn't need anymore tests and could stop coming except for regular check ups now.

Now that the vet's tests were done, Paige had her old energy back, and she wanted to go outside. Shelby, however, refused to let her out of her sight, and wouldn't let Paige leave the house. Confused by her mother's behavior, Paige asked Ty why she couldn't go outside. Ty promised to talk with their mother, and through some gentle coaxing and vowing not to let Paige out of his sight, Shelby reluctantly let Ty take Paige outside.

Paige was so glad to be outside that she took off across the yard before Ty was even off the front porch. "Paige, wait!" Ty called after her, and Paige half turned, trying to skid to a halt, but the ice was too slippery and she slid out the open gate and right into the legs of another dog.

"Hey!" the dog, a black malamute, jumped back as Paige slid into his leg.

"Sorry," Paige said quickly, slowly standing up while trying to keep her balance.

The malamute made a odd sound, and Paige looked up as two more dogs, a brown husky and a white mix, came up behind the malamute. "Eh, Zak, who's the," the brown husky said a word Paige had never heard, as he looked down his nose at Paige as if she were covered in trash.

Before Paige could say anything, the malamute, Zak, snorted. "How should I know? She just ran into me," he said.

"I didn't mean--" Paige started, but she was cut off by the white mix.

"Huh! No wonder, lookit that, she's missing a leg," the mix said, pointing at Paige's stub. "can hardly control yourself, can't ya?" the mix said as the other two snickered.

Paige's ears lowered and she tried to back up, but she slipped on the ice and instead went sprawling on her stomach. The three dogs snorted with laughter as Paige tried to stand back up, only to slip and fall back down.

Paige starred at the ground, her ears lowered as the three continued to laugh. It wasn't until a low growl rumbled behind her did the three stop.

Paige looked behind her and saw Ty, his ears flat against his head and his fur bristling. Paige blinked. She'd never seen Ty angry before, but he didn't look angry. He looked furious.

Apparently, the other three got the message, because Zak muttered something and the three slinked away, with the white mix shooting Ty a glare. Ty snarled at him and he took off after his companions.

Once they were out of sight, Ty's fur laid flat again, and he picked Paige up off the ice. Paige, still stung by the dog's laughter, looked up at him. "Ty, what's a," she repeated the word the brown husky had used and Ty jerked to a halt. Puzzled, Paige turned her neck as far as she could, though she still couldn't see Ty's face. "Ty?" she asked.

He seemed to take a deep breath before answering her. "Don't worry about it. You're not one, and that's what matters," his voice was muffled, but Paige heard him well enough. "Now come on, let's try and stay together this time, okay?"

~^~^~^~^~^~

Ty and Paige agreed not to mention the three dogs to Shelby, afraid of how she might re-act.  The three dogs turned out to be Paige's first encounter of how other dogs would re-act to her handicap.

It seemed that now any dog Paige met would either ignore her, shift unconformity until they excused themselves, or tease her. Needless to say, this put a bit of a damper on Paige's mood. As far as she was concerned, she wasn't any different then before.

"I don't get it, Momma, it's just my leg that's gone, why are they treating me so weird?" she asked Shelby once, but Shelby could only comfort her by saying they were just being stupid.

Still, Paige found great comfort that Ty didn't treat her any different then before. He was the same as always, fun and caring. Aili didn't treat her very differently either, other then maybe being more motherly then usual, but Paige didn't mind that so much.

Shelby though, well, Paige felt suffocated by her mother's protectiveness. The silver husky never let her out of her sight now. Even when Ty was over, Paige caught glimpses of her mother looking out the window at them. Paige felt like a bird in a cage. Ty told her Shelby was just worried, but Paige still didn't like it. She was about five months old now, and she felt she could watch herself well enough.

Apparently, Miss and Mister felt the same. One day, they came home with another man. The new man was friendly, and he played with Paige for a bit before saying something to Mister, then leaving, saying he'd be back tomorrow.

When Paige asked Shelby what was going on, Shelby said the man had bought her.

Paige was both excited and nervous. A new home meant she'd have her own owners, but it also meant leaving this one, and while she was tired of being watched by Shelby, she was still her mother. It also meant Ty might not be able to come see her anymore, depending on where her new owners lived. She wasn't very fond of that idea.

That night, Paige slept a bit restlessly. It wasn't until Shelby gave her a gentle nuzzle did she settle down enough to fall asleep.

It was mid-afternoon when the man, who Paige learned was Mr. Woods, came back. He shook hands with Mister and Miss, clipped a little heart shaped dog tag on Paige's collar, picked her up, and Paige waved goodbye to her parents.

Paige wasn't sure how far they walked, but Mr. Woods stopped in front of a small cream house with a front porch and a picket fence around the back, making a small yard. Paige's tail started wagging and she squirmed, but Mr. Woods didn't put her down. He was about halfway to the porch when the door flew open and a young girl with brown pigtails came running.

"Mommy, mommy! Come see what Daddy got! It's a puppy! See mommy? See?"

The girl danced in a circle around Mr. Woods as they entered the house, where a pretty woman with black hair stood smiling.

"Amanda, calm down, you'll scare the poor thing," Mrs. Woods laughed.

Paige wasn't scarred at all, she was squirming in Mr. Woods arms, trying to lick the girl as she hung on her father's arm to see the new puppy. Amanda giggled with glee. "Can I hold her daddy? Pleaseeeee?" she begged, turning a pair of pretty green eyes on him.

Mr. Woods chuckled. "Sure you can, but be careful with her, she's a special one."

Amanda cradled Paige against her chest and Paige licked her hand. Amanda beamed like Christmas had come early. Then the girl noticed Paige's leg, and she frowned in confusion. "Daddy, where's her leg?"

"The vet had to take it off to make sure it wouldn't make her sick."

Amanda's face brightened again. "Oh! Good, that means she's all healthy!"

Paige barked and wagged her tail as the girl put her on the floor. "What's her name, Daddy?"

"Paige."

Amanda frowned and seemed to decide the name was a good one, gave a approving nod. "Come on Paige, you can sleep in my room!" she said, taking off down the hall, Paige scampering after her.

It took about a week for Paige to adjust to the new house, but she loved it. She liked it even more when she found out they weren't very far from Ty's owners.

~^~^~^~^~^~

Five months later

"Mom, please. Look at me, I'm not a puppy anymore."

The silver husky did, and she couldn't help but smile. These past couple months, Paige had blossomed into a lovely young female, looking very much like herself, though a bit shorter in height. No, she wasn't a puppy anymore, that was true. And now the younger female wanted an answer.

"Just tell me, Mom," Paige pleaded gently. She had her own guess what the answer to the question was, but she needed to be sure. "Why did the vet take my leg?"

Shelby sighed, but finally gave in. "You had bone cancer, sweetheart."

________________________________________________________________________________________

Paige, the Woods(c)SilverKia

Dallas, Shelby, Ty, Miss and Mister (c)larkspur

Aili(c)MishaN