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Day 36, Refugee

I lay here in this small cage, so cold and tired my body can't even shiver to keep warm anymore. My fur has fallen out in so many places that I almost look like I'm not even supposed to have any. I remember when I was just a pup, my fur was so pretty. A bright vibrant red that my siblings envied, but now the only vibrant red left is the spatters of blood from the freshest wounds. My tail hurts from the rubber band they keep trying to use to cut it off, it used to be my prized possession so fluffy and strong. I wish I had never been brought here, this pain is becoming so unbearable that I can't stand it anymore. I see the neighborhood kids playing with their dogs through the cracks in my cage and I find myself getting so jealous I can't stop barking and crying. The beatings have become so much more common lately, but so have my owner's fights. Sometimes I wonder if they are just taking out all their anger on me because I can't fight back anymore. I loved them once, so very much. They used to treat me so well, I got the best food and always went on the greatest walks. But now everything is so different, I don't know what I did to make them hate me so much now. I cry to myself at night and they come out and beat me more, I just don't understand it. I wish I had never been brought here, I wish someone would come and save me.
This had gone on long enough, I could no longer stand it. One night I made up my mind, I would escape this place and find my own child to love and who would love me. I stood shakily in the dead of night when I knew my owners were sleeping. The boards to my cage were starting to rot away after the years of weather and were beginning to weaken. My body was weak and sore but I used all of my might to break through. It took me several tries and made a lot of noise but I was able to escape before they were able to stop me. As I escaped the fence and ran down the street, I looked back to see them chasing after me. I mustered all of my will to survive and ran faster. They screamed at me to return but I would no longer listen to them, I was finally free from them. Even if my life ended up worse off, at least it wasn't with them.
After a few minutes of the chase they gave up and went home, I guess I wasn't worth the effort anymore. I smiled with all of my hope and continued down the next few streets at the fastest pace I could keep. After blocks of running I found a building that smelled delicious, there was no one arround and the smells were coming from outside. I circled the building looking for the source and soon found it in a large metal bin. As exhausted as I was, I couldn't jump in bu thankfully some had fallen to the ground. As I dug in a cat ran at me hissing, I was in no shape to contend with a hostile cat and ran for my life.
Depressed by my loss, I decided to find a safe place and get some sleep. I remembered a small park that my owners took me to once when I was just a pup and headed in the direction I thought it was. As I traveled along the road large boxes with bright lights kept coming at me and making a loud roaring noise at me. I ran from them as fast as I could but they kept coming one after another. I needed to get across the street to get to the park but I was so scared by those boxes I gave up. Instead I decided to go down a small dark street with no loud boxes. This street had smaller metal bins that smelled good, but every time I tried to get near one, a cat chased me off.
My depression was deepening, maybe I should have stayed. Soon I came across another dog, she was very pretty her pitch black coat glistened in the light of the moon. At first she growled at me too, but as I began to run away she stopped and called me to her. She was hovering over a large sack of food and nudged it to me. Tentatively I walked towards it and she backed away and laid down several feet away. She commented on my looks with sorrow and when I told her what happened she started to cry. As I ate she walked up to me and started to clean my wounds. It stung but felt good to have someone care. After our meal she invited me to her den, she said it would be safe and was big enough for two. I was so happy I began to bounce around like a puppy, this made her laugh. We headed to her home and curled up to sleep.
It was like this for a long time, just us finding our food and sometimes fighting for it. She taught me how to survive and, once I was healed and strong again, I protected her. We fought for our home and our food, we had fun playing in the parks at night when we could cross the street. I was so happy that I had left that I forgot all about my owners and that life. But that was a mistake. Only a few short months later, they found us.
It was just another good day with her when they spotted us playing in the park. I saw them walk up and my heart sank. The fury from them was so strong I began to shake. She stood in my defense but it was useless. They took out a metal stick, there was a loud bang and she was dead in front of me. Then there was another loud bang, and I too, was no more.