Page 146 of Raw

Alaskan Malamute puppies were the most affectionate and friendly things I’ve ever seen.

After moving up here, where Papa had allowed us to build on his land, Fennec and I never thought we’d be needing a third family member to keep us company.

When Jason’s dog Sitka passed away six months ago, he decided to get himself a new loyal companion, and to not drive alone to the next animal shelter, Fennec and I went with him to keep him company.

We hadn’t expected to fall in love with a sweet little fluff ball who couldn’t stop howling at us while Jason held its sister in his arms.

One look at Fennec, and I picked up the little guy to get to know him better.

We were goners just seconds later.

Balto came home with us that day, and his sister Silla was Jason’s new buddy.

I was sitting outside on the porch of the cabin we had built with Papa’s help, waiting on Fennec to come back from hunting.

Balto was chewing on the laces of my boot while I was finishing up his dog bed.

We started feeding Balto raw food as soon as we got home from the shelter, which Jason suggested we do because it was much healthier for dogs.

He liked it, and he knew that when Fennec came back after being gone for a while, he’d receive some nice lunch and dinner for the next few days.

I looked down at him still chewing at my laces, and when I put his bed next to me, he looked up with big brown eyes.

“Come here, Balto!”

He jumped and pushed himself up onto his two back paws, placing his two others on my knees.

I picked him up and cuddled him to my chest, and although he was growing so fast, he wasn’t too heavy yet.

I kissed his head and let him lick my cheek, and when he heard a noise, he turned his head and howled.

Barking wasn’t his strong suit, and for some reason, his vocal cords were only able to let out loud sounds when he howled.

We thought that was adorable, and it was enough to warn us whenever an animal was near.

I looked into the direction Balto was staring, and sure enough, Fennec appeared between the trees.

Two hares were hanging from his shoulders, and two squirrels were tied to his backpack.

Balto howled again, and I let him run to Fennec who was grinning brightly as our little buddy reached him.

“I got you a nice dinner,” he said, picking Balto up and carrying him back to me.

I got up and smiled, happy to see Fennec again after a long day of him hunting. “Good day today?” I asked, kissing him before taking Balto from him so he wouldn’t start chewing on the rabbits.

“Very good day. Saw a deer, but it’s the same one we saw two days ago. Think it’ll still be around tomorrow, and then I’ll need your help to get it back here,” he told me.

“Okay, sounds good.”

“What did you two do all day? Missed me?”

“A whole lot,” I replied, my cheeks turning pink at the way he grinned at me.

I had never imagined that I could love him even more than I did in the beginning, and with every day that passed, my love for him grew.

“I finished his bed. It was a good idea making it much bigger so he won’t ever grow out of it.”

Balto would be a big dog when he’s fully grown, and we had underestimated how fast he’d grow from the day we got him as a small puppy from the shelter.

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