Author's Note: This entire chapter is written by the perspective of the dog that they adopt.

My name is Puddy, I'm five and a half years old. I live at this place with a lot of other dogs who are all kinds of ages, but I'm the youngest. Some of the older dogs say that they are only considered to be 10 years old to people, but that's just silly. I asked Lucy, one of the older, smarter dogs to tell me how old I would be in people years, and even though I know that I'm five she said that in people years I'm not even one! Apparently I'm only four months old, but like I said, that's just silly.

Anyways, I came here a few weeks ago, after being in a box with my brother Achai and my sister Caina, we were with our mom and then the lady who took care of us took me and Achai and Caina away in a box and left us somewhere, after a day Achai left to find food he's angry and has an Alfa- dog superiority, he said that we didn't need that lady to take care of us, just our mom, so he left to find either food or mom. Then Caina went a while after him because he never came back, she wanted to make sure he was okay. I stayed behind because that lady wouldn't leave us all alone because she said she loved us. She would come back soon and I would be there, so she would be happy with me. After about a day longer I was so hungry and I could barely move, but I smelled something yummy, and even though the noises outside were kind of scary I stepped out of the box and went to find my mom.

After wandering around some lady picked me up and said some words I didn't understand, but she said them in a nice, soft voice that felt like silk so I went with her, she took me here and the people have been taking care of me. At first I was in a room all by myself and they poked me with sharp things and I didn't like it. But then a few days ago I came to this room with lots of dogs. Though I don't think that they know my name is Puddy. They never call me Puddy, I don't really know what they call me, all I know is that whenever someone says "That little Basset Hound" someone comes and takes care of me. So maybe my name is "That little Basset Hound"

I hear some people talking outside through my floppy ears I don't understand what they're saying but this is what it sounds like.

"I kind of liked the Mutt, why didn't you?" I can tell it's a man, and that he's gentle, he says nice words that sound like sunshine on his first level, and rivers on his second level.

"It was too bouncy, Matt, even you said you don't want anything too hyper" I don't like the way he sounds, he sounds like a lightning and rainstorm on his first level, and I can't yet tell what his second level is.

Mom explained to me about levels of all living things, see there's the first level which is what the being shows, and then there's a second level, which only comes out on some occasions, then there's the third level, which is even more hidden, and so on and so forth. The first man to speak had a nice first level, but the second man sounded mean on his first level, and nice on his second. Mom also explained that some people try and hide their first level by using it as a second level, but then I got confused and went to go tackle Achai. The first man speaks again.

"Come on, be open minded Mello." I love listening to him speak, he sounds soft and gentle and as far as I can tell all his levels are pleasant.

"Yeah yeah, okay" This time the man's first level softens and he sounds a lot nicer, not like a full out rainstorm like it did earlier, more like thunder, still not nice.

"Lucy?" I bark, trying to get my friends attention. "Lucy I have a question!"

Lucy is in the cage next to me, well across from me actually. "Yes, Puddy? What is it?" Lucy is old, she's 62 years old! But according to her people always say that she's ten.

"Lucy I haven't heard those voices before. The one that sounds like sunshine and the one that first sounded like thunder. What are they doing here?"

"Well, each time a new voice comes one of the dogs usually leave with them. So I suppose that is all."

"That's strange, where do they go?"

"I went once, and they put me in a room with a big red couch, and then some people came and played with me for a bit, then I heard them say that 'They'd come for me in a week, because they'd be in florida.' That was a few days ago, before you were in this room."

"Woah, what do you suppose that means?"

"I think it means a promise of a happier time, some love maybe."

"Do you think? Wow, that would be cool!"

"I think so yes."

I listen to the voices again, and the man that sounds like thunder says,

"Yeah, we're here to see that little basset hound." Little basset hound? That's me! I scream a bit in excitement, and start wagging my tail. Happier times? I hope!

Then the lady who usually comes to feed me comes into the room and unlocks my cage, then just like Lucy said, I was in a room with a big red thing that much be what Lucy said was a couch. On the couch are two men, one is tall and smells funny, but has a smile on his face, he must be the sunshine man. The other smells sweet but looks a little annoyed, he must be the man that sounded like thunder.

"Hey little guy," says sunshine man as he reaches down both hands to try and pick me up, I'm a little scared and back away a little he speaks again. "It's okay little guy, come on." This time I trust the sunshine man, who in fact, is the taller of the two, so I let him pick me up. I let out a big yawn by accident but then I start wagging my tail because I like how sunshine man feels.

"Matt." says thunder man. Then sunshine man looks up,

"Yeah?"

"Can I hold him?"

"Sure"

Then sunshine man, who I think must be named Matt because that's what he responded to hands me over to the thunder man. I'm really scared and I want to go back to Matt, but he gives me a pat on the head and I'm now in thunder man's arms.

He doesn't feel like thunder at all. In fact he feels like a woolen blanket, he makes me sleepy and I start to snuggle into the little bend that his arms make. He's warm. I can feel him pet me and say.

"Good dog." I know what good means, I don't know a lot of human words but I know good means I did something that they like and bad means I did something wrong.

"Mello?" asks Matt

"Yeah?" Okay, thunder man is named Mello, he responded to it.

"Do you like him?"

"I think so"

Matt picked me up and now I'm snuggled into him. We're moving but Matt and Mello are sitting down. Matt lets me out of the car and I see a big, big thing. I think it might be a house, because Lucy told me about houses, and how she used to be in a house with people who took care of her, but then they moved away. Maybe I'm going to be in a house, this house, with Matt and Mello taking care of me. I hope so because I love Sunshine man and even Thunder man.