The warren--

Chapter one


The wind howled across the moor, whipping up the grass and ruffling the rabbits fur as she hopped slowly along.  Never had she experienced such extreme weather.
The dark clouds above her were heavy with rain, ready to let loose at any moment. She would have to hurry if she was to be back at her warren by nightfall. That was when her enemies came out- the owl, the fox, and the wolf- to hunt for their favorite food. Her.
Her species was considered food, and she knew it. There was little she could do do protect herself.
She was their prey.

She sped up her pace, her swollen belly bouncing. It would not be long now. She needed to be back in her warren and safe for the kits to come.

All of a sudden a shadow swooped over her and she bolted, heading for the safety of her home.
She ducked under the hawthorn bush and shot into her burrow. She was safe- for now.
She would wait here until she had given birth, and then hunger would drive her out to eat.


The rabbit crept out of the shelter of her burrow. She stood up and tested the air, her long ears pricked.
The birth had gone well, and she had four wriggly pink babies waiting for her in their nest of downy fur.

She scrambled up the slope and raced across the grass, skidding to a halt when she reached a patch of long grass.  She nibbled and munched away, her eyes closed blissfully. All her fears of being hunted were gone. She hopped a few paces, and pushed her way through a large clump of chickweed.
Shock pulsed through her as a long pointed snout and gleaming amber eyes met her on the other side.

She turned and bolted, back towards the safety of her burrow. The fox pursued her, getting closer with every stride. She threw a glance back, to see gleaming fangs less than a hops distance away from her face.
All of a sudden the ground disappeared beneath her paws. She tumbled down the slope, rolling over small shrubs and bumping over rocks. She squealed as her leg got caught on a long tendril of wire embedded into the ground, and she was flung headfirst into a large rock. Darkness flooded her vision, and the world went black.

The fox crept carefully down the steep slope, and stopped to collect his kill. It was not often he could get a meal with so little effort.
He picked up the rabbit in his jaws and trotted up the slope to his family.

The happy cries of the fox family were drowned out by the wind, howling across the wind and whipping up the grass.

Learning to harvest blackberries

Feather teaches the youngsters 
to harvest blackberries




Come along youngsters, Watch where you step, there are thorns!    

Ice! Come back here!

No Rock, don’t eat the ones on the ground, they have worms in them.

Now. See the blackberries? Anyone want to try get one? No? Good, because today you are going to learn how to harvest them without getting thorns in your paws. Ok. See this bark on the ground? Good. Now Crow, Ice, each of you grab a piece and place it on this low branch like this, covering the thorns. Now push down. Yes that’s it, now Rock, Leaf, reach up like this and each of you grab hold of the base of a blackberry with your teeth. Now pull! Keep pulling!

No! Crow, Ice, Don’t let go of the bark! Now look what you’ve done?! Leaf, good job for letting go of your berry when you felt the branch go up.

Rock? Are you ok up there? Hang on, i’ll just push the bark back down… Hff… Puffhh.. Wow! Rock, you got one! Who wants to have a bite?

Leaf don’t look at me like that! These are berries- Not rat poop!

Pound pup

Pound pup- A story based on what happens to 1.2 MILLION dogs every year. Thousands of these dogs are staffies.

The dog whined. She scratched at the side of the cage, clawing with her bloodied paws as the white coated humans came nearer.

One of them was holding a piece of thin wood, the other was holding a dog lead.    The dog let out all her fear in a desperate bark , her voice echoing off the concrete walls and setting off the other dogs. They quietened at a harsh yell from one of the humans.

The same human who had taken away her pups a week before. Fear shone in her eyes as their gazes met. She cowered in the corner of her cage, whimpering as they opened the door of the cage. Her bowl was kicked over and her water sloshed onto the floor.

This man was pure evil. He grabbed a long broom and waved the end at her, teasing her, taunting her, poking her. She whined. She yelped as sharp blow sent waves of pain through her head.

He struck her again, this time on her jaw. The smell of blood arose from her cage. She cowered down, silent with shock. What kind of creature could be this evil? Judge her on her looks, and not her character? All she had ever wanted was love. But she got hate.

She licked the blood off her jaws and lay down to rest, only to be disturbed as a woman with a white coat came to the front of her cage and opened it. She carried the smell of food, and the dog fixed her hungry eyes on the piece of beef jerky in the human's hand. The hand stretched out to her, and the dog willingly snatched the morsel and gulped it down. She whined when she saw no more food. All of a sudden a noose was around her neck, and she was dragged out of her kennel and into a white sharp smelling room. She whined, the whites of her eyes showing. A hand was thrust into her face, containing more jerky. She gobbled it up hungrily. All of a sudden there was a sharp pain in her scruff, and she whipped around to see a long needle embedded in her skin. She yelped in pain as the needle was removed. She felt no pain, just a growing numbness spreading through her body. Her head felt dizzy and she crumpled to the floor. She laid her head down as the numbness spread to her head, making it feel heavy as stone. Her eyes were like small embers, glowing with sadness. Her gaze met that of one of the humans. The same one that had beaten her that morning. The light in her eyes faded as she breathed her last, giving in the the deep blackness that surrounded her.



Comment with a "Woof" If you would save this dog, ignore this if you would leave her to die.

The forest - Chapter one

                                         
          

          Chapter one

The rain pattered onto the forest floor, dripping from the dog’s whiskers as he walked, his head down and his tail between his legs. He shivered as the rain lashed down at him, plastering his thick black and white coat to his sides. There was a faint sound, that of a man calling in the distance behind him. He walked faster, fear in his deep brown eyes. Never before had he felt so guilty. He longed to curl up at his master’s feet, but there was no way that was happening now.. Not after what he had done. He hadn’t meant to kill it, well at least, not at the start. It had be fun chasing the sheep. Until it happened. He had felt a tingling sensation, a craving. For blood. That inbuilt instinct…. Imprinted into every dog’s mind.. I am a wolf.   He shivered with dread as he remembered the feeling of his fangs sinking into innocent flesh… I am a wolf.  I am made to kill- He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. He was not a wolf, and he was no longer a farm dog. He was a… He didn’t know what he was. He padded on through the darkness, the pine needles whispering beneath his paws. The trees above him creaked and groaned, and the rain continued to beat down on him. He froze as a deep rumbling reached his sensitive ears. There was a short pause, and then a crack of blinding light lit up the sky. He turned to his right and sprinted into the trees, howling in terror. He ran and ran, trying to get as far from that terrible noise as possible. As he was less than a year old, he had never seen lightning before, so it was a bit of a shock.   He was no longer conscious of where he was going. His strides got longer and longer, and without knowing he cleared a small stream, not hearing its gurgle under his frantic yelps. As he ran blindly through the pines he began to stumble, catching his paws between rocks and tree roots. His eyes widened as he ran head on into a large oak tree. His paws crumbling beneath him, he collapsed on his side at the foot of the tree. His head throbbed as he was carried down, down, down into a sea of darkness…….

Dawn found him curled up at the foot of an oak tree, the same one he had collided with the night before. He lifted his head, blinking sleepily. He squinted against the bright sunlight as he stretched his aching bones. His head throbbed a little, but he was alive. For now. Who knew what dangers this forest held? He would have to play it safe if he was to survive.

He yawned, feeling his belly growl with hunger.

He lifted his head to scent the air. A rabbit had passed by not long ago, the trail curved deeper into the trees. His thoughts took him back to his life on the farm, when he had caught a rabbit in the orchard. He had presented it to the farmer, who was eating lunch at the time, to be rewarded with a small morsel of meat.

He shook himself back into reality. He began to follow the trail, his nose to the ground as he traipsed through the undergrowth. Then he saw it.

He lifted his head and held back a surprised yelp. Food! He was now at the edge of a small clearing, and at the far side the sun reflected off the bright brown eyes of a rabbit, chewing happily. Being a young dog, he was not very wise and had little patience. With an excited bark he ran at the rabbit, which being given an early warning, dashed into the undergrowth with its tail bobbing. He skidded to a halt, kicking up pine needles. There would be other prey.

With a huff he walked on into the trees, ears pricked for danger and prey. He stepped delicately around a patch of wild flowers, admiring their beauty. The sun made its way through the trees, casting dapples of light down to the forest floor as he walked.

To be continued...

The hunt

The fox ran. It ran from the danger that was coming. It was not far behind, baying and snapping its teeth. Still the fox ran. The predator had become the prey.

The men were not far away now, hiding in the bush with the sticks that meant death. Death. If the fox stopped running, it would mean death. If it kept going, it would mean death. There was nowhere safe to go. Either way meant death. To keep going meant to lose its life and the small bundle in its jaws. To stop and fight would mean to lose its precious bundle and its own life. Death was snapping at the foxes heels now, its hot breath getting dangerously close. Death was tense at the other end of the clearing, ready to end a life. Two lives. This was the foxes only cub, Its most precious possession, worth more than life itself. If this cub was to live, it would need safety. And safety was far from this place.

The men rose out of the bushes now, pointing their hatred and scorn at the fox as it neared. Those guns meant death. They could not miss. They did not miss. With a sound that echoed around the forest, darkness came. The foxes legs buckled under her, and her lifeless head flopped to the ground. Her cubs cries were drowned out by the baying of the dogs, and the stomping of the men as they ran to collect their kill.

To kill, one must have a reason. These men had no reason, other than the hatred they had for this species. Hate. This beautiful creature had died because of hate. Hate for her will to survive, her cunning and her beauty. All those reasons should not be enough to kill for.

But in an imperfect world such as this, It is kill or be killed.