Wilderness to Water

She lay, curled up, alone, in the scorching desert heat. The red, dry sand, blowing onto her thick, cream, puppy fur and into her beautiful dark oval eyes. She looked so tiny as she lay on the little sand hill, observing the trucks as they regularly pulled in and out of the petrol station. She watched day-to-day, as men stepped out of their trucks and filled their petrol tanks, strolled into the station then returned to their trucks and pulled out of the petrol station again. Sometimes, she would hear them say something to her or get thrown some old food from the cab of a truck by the men. She didn’t know what they were saying too her, but it made her tail wag from side to side. She would feel a rush of excitement, much like how she felt when she once played with her brother and sister. She would sit up slowly, when the men threw her food, stretch her front legs out and raise her ridged rear end, yawn, compose herself and stare back at the men. Not attempting to eat the food until the men had gone. She knew if she stayed around the petrol station she would get food occasionally. She still tried to find her own food, though, by digging in the sand and finding beetles to eat. She had taught herself to listen to the ground for any tiny movements, then she would dig with her nose and front paws to get at the nest of beetles. At night, in the dark, she would lay in a little hole that she had dug out herself, curl up into a little ball and lay in it for shelter. Laying in the hole also protected her from danger and kept her warm during the cold desert nights. Sometimes the men in their trucks didn’t even notice her at the petrol station because her fur was very much like the environment she was surrounded by. She was camouflaged and many times a truck nearly ran over her when she was busy looking for beetles or curled up in her special sandy bed. The petrol station wasn’t the safest place to be, but it meant she got food sometimes if she stayed there. At night, when the desert becomes cooler, the desert came alive with different sounds and smells. She could hear other dogs snarling, growling and barking at each other and sometimes she could hear dogs being aggressive. These wild dogs nearby would be aggressive over scraps of food or territory. Sometimes, the female dogs are heard growling or barking at other dogs that come too close to their pups. Female dogs are very protective over their pups and will do anything to defend them. Dogs have been known to snatch small puppies from vulnerable dens. Mother dog digs the dens especially for the pups to live in while they are still tiny. Many nights she would hear a wicked fight between the bigger dogs. She would curl up even smaller and constrict her, already, small body, in her little hole, wrapping her long tail around her for warmth and protection, hoping she wasn’t found or disturbed. As she drifted off to sleep she was often woken by another noise that she couldn’t explain. She would pop her little face out of her specially made hole to look all about her, deciding if she was in any danger. When she felt, she was not in peril, then, and only then would she snuggle up tight again and try to sleep. Night time in the desert was a terrifying place for her. Nobody threw her food or spoke to her. She was all alone in her specially made hole, picturing those play days with her siblings that didn’t happen anymore. Thinking about the good times when she was all warm and snuggled with her mum. When she was often gently awoken by her mum, washing her eyes, ears and mouth with her long warm tongue. She pictured the games she had played with her brother and sister. Often, they would try and run as fast as their little legs would take them across the sand, then pounce from hiding places or roll over each other in the sand dunes. They often hid from each other between the piles of rocks in the desert. Sometimes the girls would sneak up on their brother and chase him across the sand until he fell over and they all landed in a big pile of cream fur, yelping and yapping until they were all exhausted little puppies. Those things didn’t happen anymore. Thinking back, she can’t really remember what happened to her mum, brother or sister that dreadful night. All she can remember, was that they were simply all huddled together, warm and comfortable in their den sleeping. Before long, there was a sudden uproar outside the entrance of their den. Mum, stood up alarmed, ran straight outside of the den barking, then snarling and finally after a few minutes, whimpering. She knew then that they were all in serious danger. Not just mum, but her brother and sister and herself. Outside the safety of the den, it was pitch black and she struggled to see ahead of her. As she ran up a huge sand dune, she eventually managed to see some twinkling lights in the far distance. The dry sand was blowing hard against her face and in her little eyes. She squinted her eyes and with the use of her unusually wide feet, perfectly formed to carry her over the sinking sand, she just ran and ran as fast as she could, down the other side of the sand dune towards the twinkling lights. She didn’t look back once, just headed straight for the lights. She ran from the terrifying barking, snarling dogs that smelt of blood and anger. She eventually reached the bright lights. That had been her one and only goal. Somehow, she knew she would now be safe from the danger she had just fled from. It was almost silent around her now, except for the desert wind blowing the sand over the concrete of the petrol station, in little individual meandering patterns. She just lay breathless and exhausted under the bright lights. Hours later, when she awoke, she had a little stretch and noticed that somebody had put a bowl of water next to her tiny sleeping body. She lapped at the water in the bowl with the tip of her tongue and lay back down in the sand. Checking around her for danger. She decided that the petrol station was where she was now going to live. She dares not return to the den she had shared with her mum and siblings. Well, she thought that was where she was going to stay, until one day a man with a truck picked her up and put her in the cab of his truck. She was curious, yet petrified. She had never been touched by a human before. She had never seen one before she came to be living at the petrol station. She had no idea what was about to happen to her, whether she would ever see her brother and sister again, or the petrol station, that had become her sanctuary and place of safety.