There are some things about humans that I'll never understand. For example; one moment, they're your best friend and the next, they're beating you.

**************

I remember when I was very young, my mother's human putting my siblings and me into a large box. Mother assured us that we'd be fine and that we were going to new homes. As I sat waiting, I watched as my brothers and sisters went, one by one. Soon I was the only one left. I sat with Mother until dark, hopelessly waiting for someone to adopt me.

"Mother?" I asked. "Why hasn't somebody come to take me yet?"

She paused before answering. "We just need to wait a little longer. That's all."

Not soon after those words left her mouth, a man and woman strolled up to the box and stooped over it. I crept cautiously towards them and the man reached out his hand. I looked at my mother and back at the man. I licked his palm to show him I was friendly.

"Oh, David," The woman said, "she's so adorable!"

"She sure is." The man, now known to me as David, said.

He patted my head and I rolled onto my back. The woman rubbed my belly and I wagged my tail. Surely they would want to take me home. Before I knew what was happening, I felt two warms hands wrap around me and lift me out of the box. My heart was so overjoyed that I was getting a home. I looked back at my mother and saw a tear run down her cheek in the dimming light.

*************

For the first few weeks, I was cared for and loved unconditionally by the woman, called Sarah. She'd given me the name Sandy and I never left her side. David, however was a little stand-offish. I'd wander over to him and he'd pet me, but he wouldn't play with me the way Sarah did. I made a mental note to try and get him to. As of late, however, Sarah and David had started rubbing each other the wrong way, and they were constantly yelling at each other. One day during one of their spats, Sarah ran out the door. I tried to follow her, but she slammed it on my nose. I rubbed it and padded over to my bed and lay down in it. My eyelids felt heavy, and I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

*************

By the time I awoke, the sky was black. I yawned and stretched before getting out of bed and began walking through the house. Something didn't feel right. Or smell right, for that matter. The air in the house stank of a strange odor. I think it was something called 'liquor'. Whatever it was, I didn't like it. Brushing it off, I began searching for Sarah. Much to my dismay, I couldn't find her; only David passed out in the bathroom.

*************

The next morning, Sarah still wasn't back. Davaid seemed to be extremely irritated. I tried to comfort him, but all it did was earn me a kick in the face. I ran away, yelping in pain, blinded by the stinging tears in my eyes. I crawled under Sarah's deserted bed and whimpered continously. And it only went downhill from there.

***********

Up until I was about ten months old, the beatings would get worse. Sarah still hadn't come back, and David was always drunk. I was neglected, abused, and now, extremly frigtened that I would die. Driven by hunger, I snuck into the backyard, hoping someone forgot to put a lid on their trash can. As soon as I was through the doggy-door, I gasped. David was in the yard, mumbling incoherently and swaying as he tried to stay on his feet. I turned quickly to go back into the house, but it was too late. He had spotted me. As my paws scraped against the tile in the house, I felt David clench his hand around my tail. He was trying to drag me outside. I fought against him, but due to malnutrition, I couldn't do much. Finally, he had successfully pulled me back into the yard, and threw me to the ground. I landed on top of a sharp rock and cried out in pain. My side was hurting badly and it had begun to bleed. I struggled to get onto my feet. Once I did that, I'd run as far away from this God-forsaken place as fast as I could. Unfortunately, my body wouldn't cooperate. My front half was up but I was having trouble pulling the rest of my weight onto my feet. David struck me in the head with a stone above my eye. My blood ran down my face and onto the ground. Finally, I found the strength to lift myself off the ground and run! My right front leg started to bother me, so I only had use of the other three. I looked back but I didn't see David. I ran still. My lungs burned and my tongue lolled out of my mouth. There was no way I was going back home.

*************

I had been walking around town for a while, searching for my Sarah. I heard a growl and looked around, startled before realizing it was my stomach. I lowered my ears, knowing I would have to eat out of a trash can. Sighing, I trotted over to the butcher's store. Surely there was something worth eating in his can. I had managed to tip the can over when I heard the snow crunching behind me. Fearing it was David, my head snapped up, but not to see the vile human.

"What are you doing in my ally, mutt?"

It was female. By the look of it, she was an Akita. I lowered my ears and backed away. My agressor was closing in on me and I had no where to go. The female sprung and clampeed her teeth on my neck. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to make me yelp. I struggled to get away but this only provoked her. She began shaking her head and as she did, I felt my flesh tearing. I screamed in pain as tears welled up in my eyes. I was slammed onto the ground while the female pressed her paw on my throat, trying to crush it. I couldn't breathe and my tongue hung out of my mouth. I stared into the blue eyes of my assassin and choked. She parted her lips to reveal her fangs, but before she had a chance to open her mouth, a blur of red knocked her off of me. I struggled to my feet to see who had just saved my life.

"Now get out of here and leave her alone!"

A big male stood with his back to me. He snorted after the retreating dog and turned. "You shouldn't hang around here, y'know. There's a lot of tough dogs around here, especially at night."

I stared at him for a moment. He seemed so familiar to me, but I couldn't quite put my paw on it. His eyes met mine before I turned away, my face a deep scarlet color. He was very attractive, there was no denying that. But I could have sworn I knew who he was.

I paused. "Why did you save me?"

He seemed quite taken aback by my question, but smiled and leaned close to my face. "It would hahve been a shame if she harmed that pretty little face of yours."

I pinned my ears against my head and narrowed my eyes. "Just who do you think you are?"

"A friend." He replied smugly.

I cringed when I realized how big of a jerk I just sounded. This guy had just saved me after all. He turned to leave but I jumped in his path. I looked into his eyes one more time to see if it would jog my memory.

"Do I know you?" I inquired suspiciously.

He just laughed. "I already told you. I'm just a friend...Sandy."

My eyes went wide as I watched him run out of the ally. I chased after him, and he seemed to slow down. I finally caught up to him, panting. He stared at me, a big goofy grin spread across his face. I collapsed in the snow from hunger and exhaustion before I could ask him anything though.

*************

When I awoke, I remembered the dog that had saved me. I tried to stand but something, or rather someone, was laying on me. I gasped and wormed my way out from under the big male. He blinked sleepily and yawned. I looked around at my surroundings. It looked like a boiler room. I turned my attention back to my rescuer.

"Good morning." He said. "Did you sleep well?"

I just stared at him. I was terrified, because I had no memory of the previous night. He laughed.

"I know what you're thinking." He jeered. "And before you go jumping to conclusions, let me just tell you that you were freezing last night, so I brought you here to keep you warm."

"That doesn't explain why you were laying all over me!" I snapped.

"Haven't you ever heard of body heat?" He asked sarcastically.

I blinked. "Oh."

"Anyway," He said, stretching, " I should really get back home, and you should too. You're master is probably worried sick, a pretty little thing like you being out all night."

I sighed. "I...I can never go back."

He straightened up. "Why?"

"It's kind of a long story." I said sadly, turning away from him.

He trotted over to me and sat down. "I've got time."

I smiled at him. Flirtatious as he may have been, he was still very understanding.

***************

Later that day, we found ourselves walking around town. I told him how my master left me and I how I was looking for her. Upon hearing this, he promised me that he'd help me find her, and get me a decent meal. My tail (and stomach) could never have been any happier hearing this. We stopped in front of a small house. A slender, red and black female dog was laying on the porch. I cocked my head and stared as my companion crept up the stairs. He lowered his head to the sleeping female and nudged her head.

"Hey Ma," He whispered, " get up."

She yawned and lifted her head, giving me a clear view of her face. I gasped. Startled, she jumped.

"JT!" I shouted.

He turned his head as I tackled him playfully. He was my best friend when I was little. He chuckled and pawed at my left ear, just like when we were pups. Ever since Sarah left, however, I never really went into town that much anymore and I never really saw JT too often. I can't believe I had forgotten who he was though. If it weren't for Stunner's "Ahem" we could have carried on forever.

"Oh!" He turned to his mother and explained my current situation. Every once in a while, she tsked or shook her head.

She turned my way when her son was finished. "I'm so sorry Sandy. You don't deserve that kind of treatment."

I shook my head. "That doesn't really bother me anymore. I just...I just want to find Sarah."

Stunner smiled gently. "What does your human look like? I might have seen her around town."

"Well," I began, "she has hair about the same color as mine."

"Does she have blue-gray eyes?" The older female asked.

I cocked my head. "How did you know?"

She laughed. "Because I'm looking at her. Turn around."

I looked over my shoulder, and sure enough, Sarah was there, strolling down the street. It looked as though she was heading towards David's house. I quickly thanked the other two dogs a nd said my goodbyes before bounding after my human. I barked loudly to get her attention. She turned and I jumped into her arms.

She gasped. "Sandy?"

I barked, showing that I still remembered her. Finally, something was going my way.

*************
The next day, I went into town, looking for my friend. I finally found him talking with his mother on her front porch. Not wanting to disturb him, I turned to leave, but stopped when I felt someine's jaws wrap around my tail gently. I whipped my head around just as JT realeased me. He smiled and raised his paw, playing with the tag that hung around my new collar.

"So how's your human treatin ya?"

I smiled. "Terrific! She's a lot better to me than David ever was."

"I'm glad." He nuzzled my cheek and made me blush.

"Well, uh, thank you. For helping me find her that is." I stammered.

"It was nothing. My mother-"

Before he could finish, I licked his cheek, catching him off guard. His eyes widened as he stared at me. I giggled before tapping him on the shoulder and yelling "Tag!" and bolting. He seemed disoriented, not sure wether he should run after or away from me. I stopped and looked back to him before he ran past me, touching my shoulder, laughing menaiacally. Finally, I felt like I belonged somewhere.

JT and Stunner (c) catwhohas14tails

Sandy (c) Me