Paws

Adoption

(Staind-Believe)

Stalking in tight circles, I ran around my tiny cramped cage, frantic and panting. Everything in me wanted out. Wanted the freedom I'd had for the past year, but no matter how many times I attacked the thick chain link door, I couldn't break out. My jaws ached but the bleeding had stopped, making me think about possibly giving it another try. Except, when I began to open my mouth to get a good bite on the metal I heard my pup cry and instantly forgot what I was doing to run over to him. I slunk my body against the floor, curling around him protectively while at the same time offering him food. I'd had a total of four pups but being on my own on the streets had taken a serious toll on my body, especially because being pregnant had me stuck in my animal form. Three were stillborn when it was finally time to have them, three weeks earlier than I expected. The last one...

I nuzzled my nose lovingly against my last pup, licking his ear softly as he latched onto my only teet that was still able to give him any kind of nourishment. My family was adamant about their lineage, I was a purebred Australian Shepherd shifter, or well, cross shifter. The word tasted like vomit on my tongue but there was no denying it.

Their disgusting bloodline was tainted somewhere.

It made my newly-discovered cynical side smirk everytime I repeated that information in my head. Sometimes it was all that kept me going. Their disgusting pride was cracked by their bastard cross-shifter son. Dad had even accused mom of cheating on him but I knew that was impossible. While she was just as stern as dad was about kicking me out, she was also very stern about our genetics and had me tested as soon as I was born. There was no denying their mistake of a son.

"Hey there, girl."

My head snapped up, teeth baring in defense over my baby. The man was the same officer that had picked me up after someone reported me living in the back alley behind a restaurant. The owner had actually been feeding me scraps, which is probably the only reason my pup was still alive. My aggression and defensiveness came from my instincts and the countless number of kids who had tormented me before I found that safe haven.

The man crouched down and I pinned my ears back, warning him to stay exactly where he was or risk getting bitten. I knew there was a barrier between us but I'd managed to get him through it last time since my jaw was pretty small. I thought he would watch me quietly for a few minutes like he did after he brought me in yesterday but someone suddenly walked up behind him and grabbed the paper clipped to my cage. He read it over while I kept my teeth bared, not wanting to let him think that he would get any special treatment if he came into my pathetically small territory.

After a long moment of reading he looked over at me, meeting my eyes and spurring a growl from my throat. He immediately changed his focus to the guard who was now straightening next to him.

"It's unfortunate but I don't think we can save the mother. The aggression is likely because of her puppy, but we can't risk her attacking someone again."

The man lowered his gaze as the officer glanced at his bandaged hand.

"Are you okay?" The new man asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. She just clipped me. I don't blame her for it, just protecting her kid. It's unfortunate that it happened so quickly and that she's now stuck in quarantine though."

The officer shook his hand and smiled sadly over at me.

"It is. It's not even her fault. It's whoever dumped her to live on the streets. I wish we could check for a chip to see who did it but she's just too aggressive and stressing her out further would be bad for her puppy."

The officer nodded and since neither seemed interested in coming inside at the moment I curled a little further around my puppy, trying to hide him in my matted fur. I was a bit annoyed that they were calling me a female but considering that my coat was clumped and dirty as all hell, I doubt they could see my male parts to realize exactly what I was...and there was no way in hell I would let them get close enough to check, either, because that meant they'd be close to my pup. I knew I should change and show them what I really am but after being a dog for so long, my body was too content to remain one. That, and I had to feed my puppy nearly constantly, so there was no energy left to put into getting my human self back.