September 1989)

Over the next few months, Rose had left Grand Junction and found herself in the forest of Colorado forest. The Colorado state was covered in 34.4% of forest, which was hard to navigate through for her. She'd sleep under rocks, and hear strange noises from different animals. But she wouldn't let them think she was afraid.

It was now hard to believe her puppies are all grown up. She just hoped they wouldn't hate her for being away for so long. That's what she was afraid of.Around mid October, she found herself in the city Wichita, Kansas. A big city that was similar to New York City, but not as many skyscrapers. Her leg had healed over those few months, but she had a scar on her leg.

Feeling hungry, she trotted through downtown to find something to eat. The sun hang over the city, but wind kept the weather nice and cool. Many cars were stuck in traffic, horns constantly going off.

"Yep, looks like home," she said, hopping on the roof of a car. She'd have to catch a ride so she'd make half the miles. But seemed like traffic isn't budging anytime soon.

Rose navigated the area, eyes from the humans boring on her. Her mix-matched ears raise up so she could listen around her; paying no mind to the people that stared at her. Rose hopped from one car to another as they moved forward.

She hopped off and landed on the sidewalk, ready to find some food. The dog trotted down the cracked sidewalk, using her nose to smell out the scent of a T-bone steak.

When she gets there, she saw that the door was open, meaning the humans are throwing unused food out. As much as she would like to sneak in there to get something, but she didn't have the same energy as when she was younger.

She was much older therefore, she would have to beg for it. The dog walked up to the backdoor and barked a few times to get someone's attention. It worked because a woman of 25 years old walked out, seeing the shepherd mix.

Rose dropped her mix-matched ears and tilted her head, giving her a puppy look. "Aw, hi there, sweet girl. You hungry? Here you go," the woman said, giving the dog a steak.

Rose took the steak before turning around and trotting away. She walked to a park where so many other dogs, not just strays. She needed to be weary of them.

Laying down by a lake, she began to eat her steak. As she was eating, one of the strays approaches her. It was a hound mix from what Rose could see, meaning it was trouble.

"Can I help you?" She cautiously asked, ears perked. "Oh, nothing, pretty lady. I'm seeing you got a steak there. A mighty fine one too. You wouldn't mind sharing it, would you?" he asked in a flirtatious manner.

Rose stood up, standing over the steak. "Touch this steak, you'll surely regret it," Rose growled, baring her canine teeth a bit. "Whoa, calm down, girlie. No need to be so protective there. All I ask is that we share this steak," the mutt said, still making flirty advances towards her.

"Back off, I have a mate," she growled, baring her canine teeth. She hoped that this would give the hint that she wanted to be left alone. But he only smirked and said, "Really, cause I'm not seeing him,"

Rose felt her survival instincts kick in since she's been in this situation before. He started to rub against her, which was his biggest mistake. Rose growled and snapped her jaws at him, biting his face with a loud bark.

The mutt jumped back in shock and yelped. Rose managed to cut him on the face, leaving it deep enough to leave a scar. He looked at her in submission, seeing her dominance.

He then whimpered and ran away, his tail tucked between his legs. "That's what I thought. Wuss," she huffed proudly and finished eating her steak.
Afterwards, she found a place to stay for the night before moving on. As usual, she dreamt of her family.