I was walking around my owner's yard for the 13th time this afternoon when the teens, 16 year old tall, strong, brown haired gray eyed Jacob, the short stocky 13 year old blonde haired blue eyed Matt and his twin sister Emma came home.

Matt was more gentle then the often-cruel Jacob, but was still rough.

Emma was always kicking the cats and I out of the house, and having me chained to a post in the middle of the yard.

Mom and dad did not care what happened to me so long they were not bothered, so they did not come rescue me when I'm mistreated.

As they came closer, I walked behind the house trying to hide.

So long, I was out of sight, usually I was also out of mind.

"Where is the mutt?" Jacob said as they walked up the drive.

They all called me a mutt all the time and it is quite insulting.

When I was born as a noble Rottweiler, my momma named me Ranger, a grand name.

It had been my grandfather's name, and I was proud to be called by it.

Then, I was pupnapped, and sold to these unkind people, and just given the handle of, well, Mutt.

"I don't know." Came Matt's answer, "I bet he's behind the house though."

I walked around the other side of the house as the two boys went to the back of the house and I hid in the hedges near the front window.

"Well, he ain't back here!" I heard Jacob say, after they searched the back yard.

"Forget the stinkin thing, let's go in, and get ourselves some dinner."

As they went in and began eat some casserole that their grandma had made for them a while back, I went into my house to take a nap.

I was up by sunset and hurried to a certain spot in the backyard fence where there was a hole just small enough for me to fit through, though it was getting harder and harder to do so.

I carefully looked around to make sure nobody was watching and began squeezing myself through the hole and out onto the other side of the fence.

After glancing around suspiciously back at the yard, I trotted purposefully toward the neighbors' yards where there usually was some food.

There was partially eaten hot dog, and a hamburger left out on a plate on the porch railing.

I looked around a bit first to make sure nobody was around to spot me and than I grabbed the food in my mouth and ran into the woods that was behind my owners yard.

I ate the food and than began practicing my climbing skills.

My parents were going to teach me how to climb, but I was snatched first, so I have honored their memories by continuing in my training.

I had learned to use my paws to climb up some cliffs or some trees as both were in the nearby area.

I climbed one of my favorite cliffs and after a few minutes was at the top looking out over the whole neighborhood.

I than jumped to the adjacent tree branch and leapt from tree to tree as long as I could before falling off to the ground, than I went back home to my house and went to sleep.

A gigantic truck's honking woke me this morning just after daybreak.

Stretching and yawning I walked out of my house and ate the dry boring stuff they called kibble that I ate each morning.

Than I noticed something unusual in the driveway in the neighbors on the right driveway: a moving truck.

What made it so strange was that no for-sale sign had been there and the people living there had planned to live there for a long time, so I was wondering what was up.

Thankfully, my owner's family wondered too and went over to find out.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked.

"We're moving, a guy came to our house a few days ago, and offered two hundred and fifty thousand for it, we were so busy we had not the time to come over and tell you until tomorrow." Simon, the owner of the house, answered.

"Wow! That's lucky for you." Jacob said and they headed into the house where I could not hear them.

Just than a green car pulled into the neighbor's drive and a tall strong, looking man walked out and knocked at the door.

He as he walked inside, I was able to catch a bit of conversation that confirmed a suspicion; he was the buyer.

He was just going around and meeting his new neighbors, and as his small green eyes slid over me, they narrowed just a bit, and I immediately disliked the man.

He had a bad smell about him, and I determined to watch myself around him, especially as he commented none to nicely about the "detestable mutt in your backyard", explaining how he hates dogs and hopes I don't bark nor bite.

I was miffed when my owners said I was just a useless old hound and did nothing at all but hide all day and sometimes get into the flowerbeds.

I huffed away and checked on my food bowl in hopes of something to eat.

I was happy to discover that I been fed this morning and had not been not forgotten like some of the days.

I woofed down my food and went back to watching and listening for any more news about the moving neighbors, but none was heard, so I walked to my favorite sunning spot and laid down for a nice long rest in the sun.

"THERE'S THE MUTT!" Matt hollered, running out the door, Jacob close behind.

"Where were you last night?" Jacob asked scowling down at me. "You better not be running out of the yard."

"JACOB!" His mom (Sarah) shouted, "Come inside."

Jacob kicked me in the ribs than stomped inside closely followed by Matt.

I moved to a more secluded spot and laid down again to rest.

I wasn't disturbed so I took a short nap before my owner (Mike) began mowing lawn. I moved away from it, I really don't like lawn mowers.

Just as I settled down in a pleasant spot by a flowering bush I heard Emma shriek "HE'S RUINING MY FLOWERS AGAIN!"

I covered my ears trying to blot out the painful noise but to no avail.

Jacob strode out carrying the chain that's used to chain me to that horrid pole in the middle of the yard.

He clipped it around my neck tightly and than went to the pole and clipped the other end of the chain to it.

"Have a nice sun bath!" He said yanking the chain so hard, that I flew off my feet and crashed head long into the pole, than he walked in leaving me to pant in the hot sunshine.

I lay in the small sliver of shade made from the pole for hours before they finally released me right after they had eaten supper.

I skulked around the house, waiting until Matt and Jacob went for basketball practice, and Emma was chatting on the phone in her room.

Sarah was paying bills, and Mike was watching the news on TV.

Satisfied that all was clear, I slipped through the fence and headed for the neighbors.

To my great disappointment, there was no food left, so I headed back home.

Re-entering my own yard, the cats met me with annoyed looks.

" They moved, didn't they?" the big one asked.

" Yep." I replied, sidestepping them and heading for a place where I had buried some bones.

The little cat watched me, before they both slipped out and were gone as well.

After chewing some bones, I slipped back out for my usual run through the woods.

After I climbed my favorite cliff, I sat and looked over the countryside around me.

After a bit, I faintly heard the car that Jacob drove to basketball practice returning home, so I leapt up a tree and headed hurriedly home.

I reached home right as the car pulled in, so I raced into my doghouse and lay down, feigning sleep.

I heard the front door slam, and then Matt came around the back.

I stayed in my house, and I heard Matt complaining for a while about Jacob thinking he is such a big shot in basketball, and how he shows off for all the girls all the time.

I felt bad for him, but knew from experience not to approach him; things could get nasty as he might vent his frustration out on me.

I sighed with relief, when he returned into the house and I could finally get some sleep.

I awoke the next morning and trotted over to my food bowl.

To my great disappointment, there was no food.

I then snuck over and raided the two cat bowls on the deck railings.

No one knew I could climb and jump so well, and I often breakfasted from the cats' dishes.

I patrolled the yard and relived myself in some bushes at the back fence.

I learned long ago that my family, if they were to be called as such, got really angry when I answered nature's call in the yard, so I always did my business in the bushes now.

I watched in anticipation as the teenagers left for school, and the parents headed off to work.

I then trotted around the perimeter of the yard, ignoring the cats who soon left the yard to go on whatever cats do out and about the neighborhood.

I always enjoyed it when the people of the house left.

Things were so peaceful and quite then; no one yelling at each other or me, no blaring TV or music, and definitely no one hitting me or chasing me.

After a short nap, I awakened to the sound of a large truck in the neighbor's driveway, so I loped over to investigate.

I watched with interest as men scurried back and forth, unloading the new man's belongings into the house.

Some of them noticed me standing at the fence, so they snapped their fingers at me, and whistled, and one even came over to scratch my ears.

I knew there were still kind people in the worlds, and was glad to receive some positive attention at the rare times some of these people showed up in my life.

Soon, the man himself showed up.

He also noticed me, but he just spit in my direction.

I ignored him, so he made a rather rude comment about mutts staring over fences, to which none of the rest of the men made any comment.

He then stomped into the house, and all the men let out a quiet sigh of relief.

I lay down and watched them for the rest of the afternoon, until the man came back out and approached the fence.

I let out a low warning growl, stood up, and slowly backed away.

The man laughed a mean laugh and drew a pellet pistol from his pocket.

"Step foot in my yard, scum, and I'll pepper your hide with this." The man laughed evilly as he aimed it at me.

I was tempted to growl back at him, but I was a well bred dog and so turned around and regally stepped away, not giving him the time of day.

Suddenly, I saw the man tense up as he prepared to fire out of the corner of my eye and I instinctively hit the ground as the pellet whistled over my head.

I heard the man curse softly before he turned and stormed away.

I strolled over to my house and lay down inside it for a snooze, in preparation for the night's training.

I napped and patrolled the yard for the rest of the day, until the family came home.

Then I made myself scarce.

No sooner had they arrived, then the mean man from next door showed up.

I heard him warn the family that if he ever saw me out of my fence, he would call the dog pound.

My family just said, " Go ahead, he's a useless old hound anyway." This made my blood boil.

Who was it that guarded the house all day?

Who was it that made sure the birds never ate all the seed from the flowerbeds?

Me!

I stomped into my house and did not come out until after every one went to bed.

Then, it was my time, to train.