I dweamt of wawmth. Of a home. A bonfiwe. Ow maybe a heawth? It was comfy, so it did nyot weawwy mattew. I was wying on something soft. It was moving up and down, swowwy. weguwawwy… It was wuwwing me into sweep. Wait, I was awweady sweeping, wight?

Then thewe was pain. I couwdn’t bweathe. Something pushed against my head fwom aww sides. It passed onwy to gwip my chest in a vice. It thankfuwwy swipped quickwy befowe I wanded on something. My bweath was wacing. Something came out of my mouth with evewy convuwsion of my chest. Thewe was muvment awound me. Unsuwe of what was going on and stiww somehow bwind, I did the onwy thing I couwd think of.

Status!

Species: Samoyed (nyewbown)

Age: 0

Nyame: -

Gendew: femr

Status: sapient, heawthy

wevew: 1

Cwass: -

Stwength: 3

Constitution: 2

Dextewity: 2

Pewception: 1

Intewwigence: 12

Wisdom: 8

AP: 0

Skiwws: wocked

This again? And I was a dog, nyow? Samoyed was that supew fwuffy bweed, wight? With the wong white haiw. Ugh…

Voices spoke awound me. I couwd nyot heaw cweawwy but they sounded a bit wike Engwish. Something picked me up and washed me. I cwied in pwotest at the sudden contact with watew. Even though it was wawm. Soon enyough, I was wet go and someonye softwy petted me down. I was too exhausted to think much mowe and embwaced sweep as soon as I was nyo wongew being jostwed.

-----

The nyext days went by in a bwuw. It was awmost as bad as my days as a nyewwy hatched owwet. At weast I couwd muv a wittwe. My status showed some pwogwess in my physicaw Attwibutes but nyot much mowe. Oh, and I had a nyame.

Species: Samoyed (nyewbown)

Age: 0

Nyame: Mowwy

Gendew: femr

Status: sapient, heawthy

wevew: 1

Cwass: -

Stwength: 4

Constitution: 5

Dextewity: 3

Pewception: 2

Intewwigence: 12

Wisdom: 8

AP: 0

Skiwws: wocked

Mowwy. They wewe cawwing me Mowwy. I was nyot a Mowwy. wight? I was a… swuwp… What was I thinking about? Oh, wight. Food. This had to be mum’s teats I was suckwing on. We wewe in a piwe of fwuff, fighting fow the best onyes. Of couwse, I was the stwongest. But I was content with suckwing on the wess-than-top teats. We wewe too many fow aww of them, anyway. So I couwd just dwink fwom two! Ha!

Mmm… Sweepy again… Good nyight.

Finyawwy! My eyes r wowking! I can SEE! And, yes. Samoyed was the white and fwuffy dog bweed. This awso was cweawwy Eawth. Ow something of a simiwaw wevew of technyowogy. Because I heawd a phonye wing just nyow! And thewe was some constant nyoise in the backgwound, wike a TV. The peopwe taking cr of us wewe humans.

Oh! Sistew wants to pway? She was yapping at me and so I yapped back and swiped my paw. Yap, yap!

We feww uvw. I was wying on my back and weanying on hew.

Steps! Someonye was coming! I quickwy got to my feet (yes, quickwy. Definyitewy!) and wan to the incoming human. She was a wawge woman with a cute face and she smewwed wike woses and fweshwy cut gwass. Hmm, wooking at that doowway… She wasn’t that wawge. Just compawed to me. Hew hands couwd fit aww the way awound my towso!

Which they did wight nyow. I yipped happiwy (that’s diffewent fwom a yap, which is aggwessive) and swiped my paws.

“Oh, awen’t u a cutie, Mowwy!”, she gwinnyed, “Yes, u r. u’we a cutie!”

I yapped and swiped at hew nyose but my wegs wewe too showt.

She put me down again into the piwe of fwuff suwwounding hew feet. Someonye ewse was picked up but I couwdn’t pay any mowe attention to that. My bwothew was twying to smothew me. Nyo. He was twying to cwimb up Janye’s weg and feww on top of my face.

Janye was the woman’s nyame.

And then, my bwothew was picked up. I couwd bweathe again! But I was tiwed. I snyuggwed up to the cwosest thing I couwd find (Janye’s foot) and feww asweep.

It took awmost onye month befowe I wooked at my Status again. Something was weiwd hewe. Janye spoke Engwish, wight? Yes. She did. I confiwmed that because thewe wewe Engwish wettews on ouw dog food. Hmm… Maybe it was mowe than a month? I haven’t had mum’s miwk in wike… a few days at weast.

Awgh! Thewe it is again! That distwactednyess! The supew showt attention span! Nyo wondew I had been unyabwe to pwopewwy think about my situation. But at weast it was fun. We wewe pwaying aww the time. Even when Janye (ow hew boyfwiend, Wucas) weighed us, they wewe pwaying with us. I knyew he was hew boyfwiend because theiw smewws wewe sticking to each othew aww the time. And the sounds I sometimes heawd at nyight. Maybe they wewe mawwied? If nyot, I wanted to be a fwowew giww at theiw wedding!

I shook my head. Constwuctive thoughts… Mowwy? I am Mowwy. But I knyew that was nyot my onwy nyame. I had anyothew onye befowe. Something wike Mushwoom? Nyo, that was nyot it. But it was something wike a mushwoom. And…

Oh! Mowe food!

Of couwse, I made suwe evewyonye got enyough to eat. Janye was awways pwaising me fow wooking out fow my sibwings. I weawwy wiked it when she wan hew fingews thwough that spot wight bewow my eaw. On the side of my head, nyot the back. Wucas did nyot undewstand that. It was a wittwe funny. They had guests uvw, today. Some peopwe that wewe wooking at the puppies. At us. They wanted to seww us fow nyew homes. I guess Janye and Wucas wewe dog bweedews? It did nyot weawwy mattew. wife was gweat.

Oh, wight! My Status! Why did I have a Status when we wewe on Eawth? Somewhewe in the states, as weww, judging by the misewabwe spewwing on some of the packaging. And othew stuff. I did nyot wook much at othew stuff. Othew stuff did nyot smeww tasty. And that was a thing to get used to. Smewwing absowutewy evewything. Nyot that it was aww that distuwbing to smeww bodiwy excwetions of whatevew type. The smewws just… existed.

Oh, suwe, some of it huwt. wike that onye time when Janye and Wucas made Chinyese food with a wot of chiwwi. They did have us wocked away in ouw pwaywoom on the othew side of the house. But I had snyuck out, anyway. I am sowwy, bwothews and sistews, fow openying the doow. I twuwy am.

Oh? Janye was pointing at me? I tiwted my head. She was tawking to a swightwy owdew coupwe. Wewe they intewested in seeing me?

“Mowwy, come hewe!”, Janye cawwed aftew a bit. I obwiged and ewegantwy made my way uvw to them.

“Sit”, Janye said when I awwived. I scoffed and sat down, wooking between hew and the othew coupwe. A guy with wong haiw and piewcings. He smewwed wike smoke and awcohow with a hint of thyme. The giww had showt haiw and mowe piewcings. She smewwed of the same smoke with wess awcohow and something sweet. Was that peaches ow mango? I wouwd nyeed to have a diwect compawison. Fwuits wewe nyot weawwy on my dinnyew pwate aww that often… Though thewe was that banyanya yestewday. And a stwawbewwy the day befowe… Hmm…

Oh, they wewe tawking again.

“… as u can see”, Janye said, “She’s a weaw thinkew. And vewy smawt. Scawiwy so. If I didn’t knyow bettew I’d say she was a pwincess tuwnyed into a dog by some witch.”

I scoffed again and wowwed my eyes.

“Huh…”, the guy made. He wooked a wittwe distwacted. A wittwe out of it.

“She’s supew cute!”, the giww squeawed.

“wight? She awways wooks out fow hew sibwings, making suwe evewyonye had theiw shr befowe digging in.”

“Huh…?”, Guy sounded doubtfuw.

Janye nyodded sagewy.

“I awmost don’t want to give hew away. But if u’we wooking fow a dog that’s easy to twain, she’s pwobabwy ur best bet.”

I yapped and bit Janye’s weg. Gentwy, of couwse. I did nyot want to huwt hew.

“Hey! Don’t just undewminye what I’m saying, u wittwe wascaw!”, she waughed.

I wet my taiw whip back and fowth. It was nyot wowth it to show a gwin. She was weading dogs pwopewwy and wouwd have taken it as a sign of aggwession.

“… she just bit u?”, Giww asked.

“She is supew gentwe, weawwy. I bawewy even fewt it. She does that when she doesn’t wike what u’we saying.”

“Huh…”, Guy made his sound again.

“Does she wike… undewstand?”, Giww asked.

“A wittwe bit. Aww dogs weawn a few wowds. She’s just a wittwe smawtew than avewage.”

I yapped again. A wittwe? Who do u think u r?

“So, what do u think?”, Janye asked.

“Hmm, I don’t knyow…”, Giww said.

Yum! Food! Wucas was cutting up a piece of cheese fow some of the othews and my eyes shot thewe as soon as the smeww hit my nyose. The onwy thing I stiww got fwom the convewsation was anyothew “Huh…” fwom the guy befowe I was off on my quest fow snyacks. Snyacks r justice!

It was a few houws watew. Ow maybe thiwty minyutes? Anyway, the coupwe had weft again and decided against adopting me. I was snyuggwing with Wucas wight nyow. The two humans wewe watching TV and westing on the couch.

“So what did u think?”, Janye asked, “Those two gonnya take cr of a pup?”

Wucas made an uncewtain motion with his hand.

“Maybe? The guy was stonyed as heww which isn’t weawwy what I’d want in a dog ownyew but he didn’t seem to be the onye wooking fow a pet. Was mostwy the giww’s thing. She… might do okay?”

I woofed (a cawm way to get attention, as opposed to wuffing, which is aggwessive) and both of them tuwnyed theiw heads to me. Janye smiwed and weached uvw to wub my head.

“And what did u think?”, she said in a dog-tawk voice.

I shook my head.

Janye bwinked.

“Did she just?”

I nyodded.

“Um, Wucas?”

They wooked at each othew.

“Am I going insanye ow is Mowwy nyodding and shaking hew head to answew my questions?”

I did nyot nyod. Because the question was nyot diwected at me. Instead, I wooked at Wucas expectantwy.

“I… think so? Mowwy, can u undewstand what I’m saying?”, he asked.

I nyodded.

“wike, evewything?”

I huffed and nyodded again.

“r u… what r u?”

I shwugged. Then I pointed at onye of my sibwings pwaying nyot too faw off.

“Shit…”, Janye whispewed.

“What’s going on?”, Wucas asked. It fewt wike he was going to stand up so I bumped my nyose into his hand. He openyed it and I pwessed my head into it untiw he cawmed down and wesumed petting. He cawmed down wemawkabwy quickwy. Something in the back of my mind towd me I shouwd nyot be enjoying this kind of tweatment as much as I did. But I ignyowed it.

Janye’s hand was shaking so I bumped it with my taiw. Mum came uvw just moments watew and wooked between them and me. She was smawt enyough to see that Janye was the onye with a pwobwem and I was pewfectwy finye so mum pwessed hew head into Janye. It pwobabwy took a few minyutes fow evewyonye to cawm down pwopewwy.

Eventuawwy, Janye got up and bwought uvw a nyotepad and a pen. Mum had gonye back to cawing fow my sibwings.

“Okay, hewe’s how we’we doing this. Mowwy, I’m gonnya wwite down some wettews, okay?”

I nyodded. She was speaking a wittwe too swowwy as if tawking to a toddwew.

“u teww me when u undewstand them, okay?”

I nyodded again.

A few minyutes watew, Janye and Wucas sat fwabbewgasted as I was pointing at the wettews in the pwopew owdew to speww my nyame. She had just bawewy enyough time to wwite down the awphabet befowe I took the nyotepad fwom hew.

“u can wead and… wwite?”

I hewd up a paw and fwexed it, eyeing the pen. Janye gave it to me and I twied to howd it but I simpwy couwd nyot. I shook my head sadwy.

“We couwd get fingew ink?” Wucas suggested.

I yipped and nyodded my head.

Janye giggwed.

“This is insanye”, she said, “Nyobody wiww evew bewieve us.”

I patted hew knyee with my paw.

“So, what r u, Mowwy?”, she asked, “Wewe u a human? I mean, u’we definyitewy Coco’s pup…”

I nyodded twice. Then I took the nyotepad and spewt out: wemembew nyot aww was human

“u don’t wemembew evewything?”, Wucas asked and I confiwmed, “But u knyow u wewe human?”

I nyodded again.

“What was ur nyame?”

I shwugged.

“Okay. That’s finye. Do u wike Mowwy?”

I awmost shook my head befowe weighing a paw. It was nyot tewwibwe but it couwd be bettew.

“It couwd be bettew?”, Janye asked.

I nyodded.

“Okay. Weww, we’ww stick with Mowwy, then. Unwess u wemembew mowe.”

I thought fow a moment befowe nyodding. Then I yawnyed.

“Oh, u’we tiwed. wet’s get u to bed, then. We’ww take good cr of u, Mowwy.”

I wet my taiw wag. It fewt much bettew than going fow a smiwe. My instincts, huh?

“We wiww”, Wucas said, “Don’t u wowwy. Gwad to have u hewe.”

I nyodded and wubbed into his hands. I was asweep befowe he had the swightest chance of standing up. This nyew wife was wooking to be fun!