It was the day after Steele had returned to town and the neighborhood dogs were once again gathered in the barn to hear another recollection of Steele's story. Steele had only gotten part way through before a distinct sound was heard from the edge of town.
It was a howl. Not just any howl though. It belonged to Balto. He had returned. The story of lies that Steele had told the others was revealed. All of the dogs turned and faced Steele with a disgusted glare then left. Steele tried to call them back, but none of them acknowledged him. The door of the barn shut behind them and he was left completely alone. Steele lowered his ears and growled lowly in frustration as the sounds of happy celebration for the town's new hero erupted from the center of town. Steele grunted then lay down and chewed on a nearby bone.
"That should be me. Not that half breed," Steele mumbled angrily as he continued to gnaw at the bone. Since he was young, he'd always been a favorite among both human and canines alike within the town. The bitter feeling of loneliness was new to him and he absolutely hated it. Eventually, he grew bored of the bone and pushed it aside and stood up then began to head towards the door of the barn. He pressed it with a paw and peeked outside. The town had begun to grow quiet and things had settled down considerably. He thought about going home, but he still felt overwhelmed by anger and frustration, so he decided he'd just stay in the barn tonight. He didn't feel like going home. In fact, he didn't feel like doing anything but sleeping. He walked back to where he had previously been and settled back down for the night.
The next morning, Steele was woken up by the calls of his owner. He flicked his ears and looked around, not entirely sure where he was for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Then it came to him. He had spent the night in the barn. He stood up and pushed on the door with a paw. It creaked open and his owner turned his direction then smiled softly.
"Hey there, Steele. That's where you've been," he said as he reached down and pet Steele on the head in between the canine's ears. Steele wagged his tail lightly from side to side, but hardly felt enthusiastic considering the proceedings of last night. The gesture itself was more for his owner than genuinely reflecting his underlying emotions.
Steele and his owner walked alongside each other quietly on the way back to the house. Once inside, Steele quietly flopped down on his dog bed with a sigh. Not even the comfort of home made him feel that much better. His owner brought him some dog food and sat down in a chair nearby. The man glanced outside and smiled lightly.
"Some dog Balto turned out to be. Who would have known he'd become a hero?" His smile faded as he turned and went back over to Steele. He sighed then pet the canine's head softly. "I wish it'd been you, big guy. I always thought you had so much potential when I first got you as a puppy…" He looked away, his eyes distant and mind filled with memories. Steele whined softly, sensing that his owner was unhappy, and licked the man's hand in an attempt to comfort him. The man looked down sadly.
"So much hard work… so much time and money spent on you…" the man reflected before he sighed again and looked out the window. "I don't think I can afford to keep you for too much longer Steele…" he said sadly. Steele tilted his head, not understanding the words. He knew his owner was sad. What reason was behind it though?
His owner quietly got up and went into his bedroom then closed the door behind him. Steele whimpered lightly and rested his head on his paws. First the other dogs had deserted him and now his owner was sad and distant. Everything was going so wrong. Steele got up from his bed and sat down beside the door of his owner's bedroom door and listened for a moment. Nothing but silence came from the bedroom. It was too early for the man to have gone to sleep, but it seemed he didn't want to be bothered. Steele whined softly then walked over to the nearby window and reared up on his hind legs to glance outside. He spotted Nikki, Kaltag and Star walking by. His tail wagged excitedly and he barked to get their attention. The trio glanced up and eyed Steele for a moment, but then continued to walk away. Steele lowered his ears and sighed. Even his closest friends didn't want anything to do with him. The pain of loneliness began sinking into him and he went back toward his bed. He glanced at his food bowl and took a few unenthusiastic bites of the dry kibble before he lay back down in his bed again. Even though it wasn't that late in the day, he felt like there was once again nothing to do aside from sleep. Sleep and hope that tomorrow might be better.
The next morning, Steele was woken up by shuffling sounds. He yawned softly and looked around. Outside the sun was just barely beginning to come up. Oddly, his owner was already awake and had put a small stack of papers on the table. Steele twitched his ears and watched quietly. His owner sat down at the table and got out a pen then began to read the instructions on the top of the form.
"When putting in an ad to sell a canine, all fields must be filled in neatly and completely. Be sure to include the name, breed, appearance, age, gender and any other paperwork that may be relevant to the canine. If the canine has received any awards, be sure to include descriptions of those as well as they may help increase the selling price. Evaluation of the selling price will be based on the information provided and you will be contacted within a few days." His owner sighed lightly as he finished reading then after a quick glance at Steele, began to write on the form. Steele walked over and gently nudged his owner's free hand with his nose. His owner looked down and gently pushed him away, the same sad look as the night before still painted on his face.
"Not now, Steele..." he said in almost a whisper. Steele whimpered and walked back to his bed then sat down. After a few minutes, his owner finished and walked outside with the papers in an envelope. When he came back inside the envelope was gone. Steele could only wonder what the papers meant and what would happen now that they were gone.
A few days passed by and things went by in a quiet, routine manner. He and his owner woke up, ate breakfast together, his owner went out to get the mail, they had lunch, his owner read while he went out for a short walk and then later they ate dinner before quietly going to bed.
One day, this routine was broken when his owner walked back inside with the mail. He sat down at the table and opened one of the letters then read it aloud.
"Hello sir. I would like to thank you for putting in your ad for your dog Steele. I have received an offer for him and the man who sent me the offer would like to come and see Steele in person before making a decision. He will be by tomorrow at noon to see Steele. If all goes well and he likes your dog, he is willing to pay for him and take him that day. Please make sure your dog is in excellent condition and that anything that belongs to your dog is ready to be taken if he wants him that day." His owner set down the letter and stared at the ceiling for a while before he looked back at Steele.
"I guess I should get you ready, Steele," he said quietly before he got up. Steele followed him and watched as his owner picked up all his belongings and put them next to his bed. He then picked up a brush and gently began to brush Steele's fur out. What was going on? Why did his owner put all of his stuff together? Was he going somewhere? Question after question sprang up in Steele's mind and he wished more than anything that he could ask them out loud.
After Steele had finished dinner, his owner sat down next to him and pat him softly. Steele gently licked his hand and laid his head down on the man's lap. His owner smiled lightly then sighed.
"I'm going to miss you if you go tomorrow…" his owner said. Steele could hear sadness in his owner's voice and nuzzled his head against the man's hand. Suddenly, his owner did something he hadn't done since Steele was a puppy. He kneeled down and wrapped his arms around Steele's neck and hugged him tightly. Steele realized that something wasn't right. Why was this happening? After that, his owner got up and walked to his bedroom. He stopped in the doorway and turned back to look at Steele.
"Come on boy, you can sleep on the bed with me tonight," he said as he beckoned Steele over. Steele tilted his head and followed his owner into the bedroom, pausing for a moment by the doorway before he leapt up and lay down at the foot of the bed. His owner smiled softly and scratched behind Steele's ear. Steele offered a few short wags of his tail for the man before he rested his head on his paws.
"Good dog, Steele. Good dog…" the man whispered before he went to sleep. Steele fell asleep soon after.