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You shiver as the cold washes over you. You push into the back of your box, away from the cold to try and stay warm. The light is very small in the blue, and you can tell it’s about to fall cold again. It had fell cold lightly a dark ago, and the cold time is most definitely here. You close your eyes to try and sleep.
“Kudryavka,” says a man. You’ve heard that word before; it’s what the lady with the food calls you! Curiously, you peek out. The man is very close, so you sniff his hand. He laughs, and says something else. He gives you something warm, and you sniff it; it smells amazing!! You lick at it curiously and it tastes even better!! Amazing!! You eat it quickly and lick the man’s face, your tail thumping against the box. He pets you. A pet! You don’t think you’ve been pet before!! What a nice man.
“Kudryavka,” says the man again, and then some more things. He quickly picks you up, and you’re scared he’ll do something bad to you, but he pulls you close to him, and you are warm. What a nice man, you say again. He laughs and pets your head, even though you’re sure he doesn’t understand what you said.
He takes you to a place, and it is very nice. There are other dogs, and sometimes they are mean, but you don’t hold it against them; new places are sometimes scary and maybe a nice man didn’t give them warm food.
Eventually, you make friends!! Albina, she is your best friend. You train with her often on the spins, which is very scary, but that’s okay, because the nice man would pet you and her and Mushka, too, who is your other friend. There are other people, too, pointing at things and saying stuff. Sometimes, you hear them say Kudryavka, and you are very happy, because yes!! that is your name!!! Sometimes they say Zhuchka, which is okay. You don’t mind if that’s your name too. There’s a nice lady, also, who always calls you Limonchik. Limonchik is a very cute name!!! You like the lady a lot. Eventually, they start calling you Laika, which is nice too. You’re happy to have a name other than Sobaka or Zanuda.
You and Albina and Mushka and all the others sleep in little metal boxes that remind you of the boxes you liked to find when the cold was falling. You swore they were bigger last time, but that’s okay. You like the little spaces anyways. Some days they put all of you in little blankets, and then in more yellow blankets, and you run and play and the people watch and point and speak. They start feeding you smush, and none of you or Albina or Mushka or the others are happy, Mushka least of all. Sometimes she doesn’t even eat the smush, and the people look sad and upset. You don’t want the nice man or the lady that called you Limonchik to be sad, so you eat the smush. You miss the warm food the nice man used to give you.
One day, when you sleep in the little metal boxes that are so so small now, you can’t get out when you wake up!! You are upset, but you can hear the people talking outside very quiet. That must be okay then, they must be testing you! Yes, you see the smush now! Eagerly, you eat it, hopefully wagging your tail. It is a while, and you sleep a lot and eat a lot more smush before they let you out. You and Albina and Mushka and the others run and jump and play, and the nice man says your name. He says, “Laika,” and you are so happy. “Laika,” he says, then some more words, then, “Good job,” and he pets you a lot, and you are very happy!!! What a nice man.
One day, the nice man takes you away from the nice place. You are a little scared, because the cold is falling so much, and you don’t want him to put you out. Maybe you didn’t do as good on a test as you thought? It’s okay, though, because he doesn’t put you out at all!! He takes you to visit his small ones, and they are very nice, if a little loud. They pet you lots and give you warm food, food! not smush!! and you like them very much. The nice man takes you back after a while, and you are a little sad, but it’s okay, because you can still see the nice man around.
One day, where it is just you and not Albina and Mushka and all the others, you are a little scared, but the nice man pets you and says you are very good. You are put in the little blanket, then the yellow blanket, then a metal box like the ones you sleep in. they put some smush in with you, and it smells sort of funny, almost like the stuff in boxes that rats eat. They connect you, like they did when you went in the spins, and a little thing on your chest that beeps quietly.
What is happening, you try to ask, but they do not understand. The nice man keeps petting you, and when other people leave for more things, he gives you warm food, and you are a little happy, but still worried. Then, he kisses your head and pets you some more, and then closes the box. It is lit up with little dots, and kind of cool. The metal box shakes, and then it starts, like the spins, but it keeps going. You think it should’ve stopped by now, but it doesn’t, and you are very scared. Where is the nice man? Where are the pets to make you happy? The little thing on your chest beeps more, and you don’t think that is very good. You try to be calm and happy and a good dog, but it is not working and it keeps like the spins and you are so scared, you are so, so scared. You try to eat some smush, but it tastes funny and bad, and you almost spit it out, but you want to make the nice man and the lady who called you Limonchik and the other people happy. Suddenly, you can’t feel the floor, and it is like you are swimming, but without the water, and you are so scared. It is very hot, and you yell a little, but you stop because you want to make the people happy. It is very hot, and you want to be a good dog. It is very hot, and you want to go home.
It is very hot, you are so hot, you are so sick, you are so scared.
You just want to go home.