[w0ah]

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x.x.（ ＳＨＩＮＥ ＴＨＲＯＵＧＨ ＴＨＥ ＳＬＥＥＰＬＥＳＳ ＮＩＧＨＴ ）

It'd already been one of the worst nights of my life. Everything happened so fast, too fast to comprehend. I remembered being awoken in the middle of the night by an angry voice, the sound unclear. My eyes opened to reveal the man I then considered my owner standing before my crate with an opaque brown bottle held in his left hand, as a strong odor wafted through the air. His right hand reached forward and unlatched the crate door and allowed my freedom. I was very confused, for he'd never been up so late, but I crawled out anyways. Bad decision. My small frame was scooped up in one swift movement, letting out a surprised yelp. The man struggled to hold me still as he swayed down the hall and toward the door. Why was he doing this? Where was he taking me? As I continued to struggle in the mans arms, I searched for answers, although tired from sleep. But those answers could not be found. I couldn't see a thing in the dark as my eyes were given little time to adjust, but everything was moving so fast. I stopped my squirming and fell limp in the mans arms, defeated. I certainly didn't want to upset the man anymore. I'd learned not to do so not long ago. His arm only tightened, like a constrictor around its prey would, as a response to my defeat. "Get out, take a piss or somethin', you're bothering me" The man said, his voice slurring each word, making it so hard to understand. I was bothering him? How? I'd been doing nothing but sleeping the whole time. Maybe I snore too loud, but no one has ever told me that I do. A tension clung to the air so thick around him that it made it hard for me to breathe, along with the strong odor in his breath which made me scrunch my nose in discomfort. Before I knew it, we were already out the back door and on the porch. The man nearly dropped me to the ground, not even bothering to bend down a little bit before dropping me. He let out an intoxicated laugh before opening the door and swaying back inside the house. I'd been too shell shocked to move towards the open door when I had a chance before it was shut in my face. I guessed it was the liquid in that opaque brown bottle that always made him so aggressive. But after a year of trying to cope with the man, I felt tired out and beaten down, not only physically, but also emotionally. It was time I did something for myself, for my well being. I needed to save myself from this horrible lifestyle, for no one else was there to save me then.

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My username is rose gold, and I am entering the competition for #415. This Blue Kerry Terrier is nam
ed Makas, meaning "hope" in Hebrew. Meanwhile, he is an intact brute, having not gone under the k
nife. His collar is a rope tied around his neck, now faded and dirty after being worn out over a time.
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It didn't take long for my paws to find themselves dashing away from that little house in the middle of the forest, from that man with the strange liquid, and that life I'd taken on for far too long then I should have. It didn't matter where I was going, or what ground I passed over - I was just trying to get away, as far away as I possibly could. But out of my desperation, I'd forgotten to pause and think out everything, let my emotions calm themselves. I was then long from home and heading through a much more sparse forest. The night seemed even more tranquil and there were very little sounds, not even an owls hoot or rustling of the leaves in the trees from a breeze. Everything felt completely still, except my paws. My sprint slowed down into a walk as my lips parted, panting heavily. I hadn't realized how far I'd gone, or how hard I'd ran. It had been a while since I truly stretched out my legs to their limit. But a drive inflamed in my heart kept my legs moving faster than my thoughts could keep up. All I could think about was about the times I'd had the opportunity to escape before, the many times before. I was debating harshly with my own soul to really think about if this was the right decision for myself. Was I better off with a roof over my head but a damaging life, or a freedom with costs? Before I'd known it, I crossed over onto a paved road. My mind didn't even recognize the transition of soft dirt to hard pavement when my paws touched the cool materiel. My mind was still running like wild, crazy emotions spinning through me, as my paws kept on their pursuit to wherever they wanted to take me. I'd only managed to see the glare of the headlights of the car heading right toward me from the corner of my eye before everything went black, silent, empty.

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xxxx.x.( " ｈｏｗ ｗｉｌｌ ｙｏｕ ｈｅｌｐ ｔｈｉｓ ｐｕｐ ｒｅｇａｉｎ ｔｈｅｉｒ ｃｏｎｆｉｄｅｎｃｅ？ " )

First, we need to go back, way back. I'm talking to the very beginning. How did this start, this shrinking confidence? It was when Makas was still a young brute, considered a teenager in the dog world. The young terrier had quite a large dose of confidence, maybe even too much. He was young and handsome, intelligent, and great with the females. But that all began to change. You see, Makas has always lived in a shelter, he was born and raised there. It wasn't the worst life, but it also wasn't the one he desired. The brute imagined a caring family with a huge back yard and delicious food other than the bland kibble they gave him at the shelter. But that life never came. As time went on, Makas watched from time to time in dismay as each and every one of his friends around the same age as him were adopted off and went to beautiful homes, or so as he imagined. They were receiving the life he always wanted, and now he was stuck at the shelter. From there, Mak started to lose hope of ever getting adopted. He was growing older into a young adult and was still looked over by humans but ignored. He began to feel even more lonely, and he had no more friends left at the shelter.

That was when he came along, a man with a strange odor on his tongue but a kind smile adorned on his lips. The young male was fooled by this smile and thought life was finally going to be the way he planned it.The man took Makas away to his tiny home in the middle of a forest, way out from most civilization. His yard was tiny and there was very little grass for the brute to run on, but he still remained with his confidence now renewed. As days went on, the man was fairly kind and friendly, always giving time to play and spend time with the brute. But a month into Makas being there at the mans home, things began to gradually change. The freedom Mak longed for after living kenneled up in the shelter was taken away, as he then spent more time in a crate. And the loving relationship with his owner began to fall out. The strange odor on his tongue returned from the first time they met and it caused for bad things to happen. Makas had many fearful nights as he cowered in his crate. Not even fully into their third month together, the brute lost all of his confidence. Makas managed to hold up his hope for a home when he was still in the shelter, even when his confidence began to falter. He even allowed his confidence to come surging back once he got the life he wanted, even when everything wasn't what he most desired. But he was on his last straw, and he lost it all so quickly.

If given the privilege to own a dog like Makas, we'd start off things slow. The brute would need some time to get used to his new surroundings and new people. Then, gaining his trust would come next. No matter how hard or how long it takes to gain his trust, you cannot forget that anyone's trust it the most important key to a healthy relationship. In order for the relationship between two to form and grow, you'd need a strong foundation. To build a foundation, you'll need trust. Constantly spending positive time with the brute would be one of the steps in gaining Mak's trust. Playing fun games and with all his toys would be a great start. Then start on the training aspect, which requires the brutes attention and obedience. It will also put another positive connection, and also an understanding and respect between the two. We'd slowly build this positive relationship together and bring in rewards for that positive behavior, which will most likely bring back boosts of confidence. And Makas would also receive lots of love, from not only me, but also from the other dogs we own that he would live with.


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