~~~Prequel~~~
My eyes flashed open and my ears flew forward as soon as I heard the door open. I cowered in my corner while his footsteps walked across the ground toward me. Each step he took made me flinch. He was nearly on top of me when he reached down and roughly pulled me up by my armpits, like an adolescent dog, close to his face. My ears folded backwards as I smelled the alcohol on my father's breath.
"You know what happened to me today mutt?" My father asked me. I shook my head fearfully in response. "I was fired from my job." Right then I was truly scared for my life.