Bella's Story

Chapter 1:Running Away

I was laying down for a nap when I heard the door. I bounced off my bed, all my earlier exhaustion forgotten. The door meant people to meet, and people gave me treats.

I ran around the room, excited to meet someone but I was disappointed when I saw it was only my owner, Emily, coming in.

Don't get me wrong, I love Emily but, she never brings anyone over. I've seen other houses where people go in and out. No one goes in and out of here except Emily and me.

Oh wait, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Bella, the bestest dog in the world. Emily also calls me a little angel.

I ran around Emily's legs, happy to see her. I could smell other people on her, like every day when she came home, but I never got to meet them.

I only meet someone other than Emily when she takes me on a walk, and everyone says I'm such a cutie.

I ran around, as I tend to do when I'm happy or excited, but Emily told me to Sit. I was not particularly eager to Sit, but since Emily said so, I sat down.

Emily picked me up, gave a kiss, set me down and then went to another room.

When I tried to follow her, she told me to stay and closed the door.

I ran around, looking for something to cheer her up.

I suddenly noticed that the main door was open. I wriggled through.

I was so excited it was my first time outside without Emily. There were so many unfamiliar places to explore and so many new people to meet. Whenever I tied to explore somewhere, Emily would pull my leash and I had to return to her.

But now, no Emily to stop me. I have an entire world to explore. So many new things to see, so many new scents to smell and so many new things to try. I couldn't wait.

I ran around and saw some people. I ran up to them and wagged my tail.

They'll give me treats if I was a good girl.

A woman screeched "Ahh. A dog. Get it out of here."

One of the men picked me up and put me someplace away. The woman didn't like dogs. Some people didn't like dogs. I found that silly. Dogs were the protectors of humans. They should love us and give us treats and pet us, not scream at us.

I roamed around and met a few other people. Many pated me and held me. A few took me to nearby houses to meet other people, but we wouldn't stay for long.

Soon it started getting dark. I saw a house with a lovely garden and decided to sleep there.

I saw a small hole in the fence and wriggled into the garden.

I settled in and slept. I woke up to someone screaming.

"Get it out of here! I don't want stray dogs in my beautiful garden!"

I quickly stood up. It was morning again and the sun was shining down heating my fur. I quickly ran out of that house. She was another human who didn't like dogs.

I had learnt my lesson. No more sleeping in people's gardens.

After all that excitement at the beginning of the day, I was feeling a bit hungry.

As I sniffed around, I smelled some delicious bacon being cooked somewhere. I followed my nose but unfortunately, the bacon was in someone's house.

I had learned that people don't like it when dogs go into their houses, so I wisely stayed out.

I smelled some day-old meat in the can outside their house. The top was too high up for me to reach so I decided to push the can over. It took me a few tries, but I did it.

I began searching through everything that fell out. Soon, I found what I was looking for. There were some bones and meat in the can. I took them and started eating.

Someone spotted me and yelled "A dog!"

I took that as my cue to leave. Grabbing the meat and bones I had scavenged, I fled.