The Stray

Chapter 13

Lola poked her head out of the wooden box as a truck backed into the dog yard. She slipped out of the box and stood up top it, head turned. From the men's conversation she could pick up "hog" "hunting" and "dogs".

Lola didn't know what hogs were, but she was eager to find out as her man replaced her chain with an actual leash and led her to the back of the pickup. In the truck bed was a few cages, there were two other bullies and a few coonhounds. Lola eagerly jumped into the cage and sat quietly as the wire door was shut. Lola tolerated other dogs, just not in the ring. As the truck rumbled out of the yard Lola dug her nails into the hard floor as she slid around, along with the other dogs. She stuck her nose out of the wire cage and breathed in all the scents going by. Was she going to see Jake? Lola wagged her tail at the thought.

The trucks shaking made Lola tired, but she sprang back to excitement as the truck left the paved roads and rumbled into a long dirt road in the woods. Lola barked at a deer in the woods but the truck hauled past it quickly. Eventually the the road led to a massive plot of land surrounded by woods with a house and s few sheds that radiated the scent of cows and sheep. The truck pulled to a stop and the other dogs began barking with exitement, Lola joined them. A man came out of the house and talked with the men in the truck, he pointed to the woods. The men exited the truck and opened the truck bed. They opened the coonhounds cage and they flew out of it, brawling and racing to the woods, nose down. Lola and the two other bullies barked and reared against the cage.

It seemed ages before the coonhounds melodious brawl turned to aggressive ones. The men opened the bullies door and Lola and the other two flew out. Lola hesitated but followed the other two into the forest, following the brawls. They flew over logs and shrubbery and swam across a large creek before reaching the coonhounds, nipping and roaring at a massive hog. The other bullies flew over and slammed into the hog, grabbing the ears and controlling the screaming mass of fur. Lola slowly walked up but latched her jaws over the snout of the thrashing hog. They held it like that until the two men came. One grabbed the hogs hind legs and held them before the other plunged a long silver knife into the boar's side and ripping it out, leaving the hog to bleed out while the dogs tore at it. The bullies let go once the hog turned still and Lola did as well. The men each grabbed a big leg and began dragging it back to the truck

           Lola fell asleep once she got back into the truck bed cage. Once she woke up she was back in the yard. She slowly get up and shook her fur. Her man came over and hooked a leash over her collar and led her back to her box. She licked his dark face as he replaced the leash with the chain. Lola whined and paced around until she began to become tired again. She sprawled out in the warm dirt, not wanting to sleep. She wanted to do... Something! Hunt, rub, fight, anything! She dug around for a bit, drank some water, ate some food ect. By now it was well past dusk and the snarls and yelps of fighting dogs could be heard from the shed. Lola sat down and perked her ears, wondering who was next.