I shiver as the cold winter night blows across my naked body, as I move quietly from the safety and shelter of the woods and into the nearby open and empty streets, the ground beneath me cold, almost frosty, damp, hard, my long ago modified body walking on all fours as I cautiously and hungrily search for food, hoping to find discarded litter on the ground, the ground light by cold moonlight and warm street lights, with inky black shadows stretching out as if trying to consume any who dare to walk into it. The freezing wind blowing litter over the frosty floor, wrappers and food carelessly thrown away by those who can still live a normal life, those who live in warm homes, who have people who love them, who look after them.

I once had a home and a loving owner, one who allowed me to live out my dream of being a puppy, he even had my body modified, removing my feet and fingers to reduce my movement and abilities to that of an animal, and cut my vocal cords to prevent me from communicating like a human, leaving me as mute as any other pet, he even had me neutered after I kept humping the furniture in frustration, unable to relieve myself after losing my fingers. I loved him and he loved me, he looked after me and I was his obedient and loyal pet, always showing him my affection and gratitude, always doing my best to make him happy, in return being given plenty of love and attention, those were the best years of my life. Unfortunately he was much older than me and one horrible and heartbreaking morning he didn't wake up. His son didn't approve of me and shouted at me as if I were responsible and saying that he wanted nothing to do with me, saying that he'd phone the police and have me locked away for the rest of my life. Scared I escaped out of an open door and have been hiding and living in the woods ever since, only leaving the shelter of the trees and bushes at night to search for food.

I pass gardens full of lights, decorated for the season, illuminating the cold darkness with a warm glow, I remember Christmases with my iwner, he loved to spoil me, feeding me generous amounts of scraps and treats and allowing me to sleep at the end of his soft and warm bed. I see an open side gate and a pair of bins sitting waiting for collection, on being a food waste bin, which I hungrily walk over to and sniff at, smelling what seems to be somewhat fresh food inside. I paw at the small container, struggling to open it but knocking it over I manage to open the lid and watch as its contents fall out onto the ground, a meal consisting of some chicken bones and old vegetables, the life as a stray has long made me an unfussy eater, happy to get whatever I can, although that has led to me being unwell in the past. I lower my head and bite down on the discarded end of a vegetable, crunching and chewing on it before moving to a cold chicken bone and removing the small pieces of meat still on it.

Suddenly a blinding light shines down on me.

"Get away!... what the?" I jump and quickly dart behind the larger bin, terrified at what might happen to me if caught. I shake slightly as I hear their footsteps move slowly towards me and see their concerned face as he looks down at me.

"Who are you? What are you?" I give out a small whine, all I can do with my modified voice, as I hope that this doesn't end badly, the last human who saw me reacted violently to me and kicked me hard in my side, which took a long time to heal. I watch helplessly in fear as he gets up and closes the gate, leaving me trapped in the back garden, why did he do that? Is he going to call the police and have me locked away like my owner's son? Is he going to attack me? Is he going to leave me trapped here, unable to freely search for food? He returns and lowers himself down to a crouching position.

"Come on, don't be scared, I won't hurt you." He looks down at the spilled food waste and gets up moving inside before quickly returning and holding out a slice of ham.

"Are you hungry? Come on." My stomach rumbles as my need for food overpowers my other instincts and I move out of my hiding spot and move towards him and cautiously sniff at and take the meat chewing on it happily, not experiencing such kindness for a long time. I flinch slightly as his hand touchs me, his eyes looking over my dirty, starved and modified body, his face lost in thought as he considers what to do with me.

"Who did this to you? Was this something that you wanted? Can you speak?" I pant slightly in response as his hand continues to stroke me, trying to tell him that I was willingly turned into an animal.

"You seem happy with what you are. Do you have a home or owner?" I let out a whimper and lower my head slightly in response.

"I see, well tonight you can sleep inside, it's warm and you can have some food and water." I look up at him confused, why is he being so nice? Is this a trick? I watch him walk inside and leave the door open for me, as I stand unsure of what to do, the prospect of warmth and food fighting with my instincts of staying hidden, I shiver as another cold breeze blows over me and make my way cautiously to the door, my need for survival and desire for warm shelter and food overwhelming my fear.

I shiver slightly as I slowly make my way inside, the warm room slowly heating up my frozen body, as I look around trying to fully assess my surroundings. I look back worried as the door shuts and locks, leaving me without an escape route if this goes wrong, I hope that this isn't a cruel trick. Suddenly a bowl of food is placed in front of me, unable to control myself I bury my head in it and happily swallow down my delicious meal, as the kind stranger strokes my back.

"There we go, you have nothing to worry about. Eat up your dinner." As I lap at the clean water, the absence of dirt and mud strange to me, and feel a gentle hand move across my body, I enjoy the moment, I haven't felt this good since my owner died, for the first time in a long while I feel relaxed and cared for, well fed and warm.

"You know I recently lost my dog, he was a good boy and I miss him. I'd like a new puppy, you seem to need an owner, would you like to stay with me?" I look up from my food in shock, he wants to keep me as his pet? Is this really happening? Joy spreads through my body and I start to pant happily as he smiles down at me, my response clearly pleasing him.

Epilogue:

I awake in my warm and soft dog bed, the memories of nights sleeping on the hard and cold dirty woodland floor still lingering in my mind and making me grateful to me new owner. It took a while to fully learn to trust him but he's been a loving and caring owner, feeding me food every day, taking me outside to go to the toilet, giving me warm baths to keep me clean, giving me plenty of attention, always stroking me and stretching behind my ear, playing games with me, he even gave me a new collar, one with my new name on it, the one he chose for me. He has even gotten so used to me that he even now let's me suck his cock, something he wasn't sure of at first when I kept sniffing and licking his crotch, my previous owner normally having me do it once a day and it always made him happy, now I can please my new owner just the same, showing him my love and gratitude. I'm so lucky to find a new home and owner, and I'll do my best to keep it for as long as I can.