Dog

Ginger padded along, weaving around the humans who walked on the sidewalk. She didn't like the cold concrete, and she didn't like the city, but her human chose to live here. Now it was just a matter of trying to get home before her human found out she'd managed to slip out again. There'd been talk last time of a new home. She shook herself at the thought. 

The last time was awful. Metal bars all around her, other dogs barking...being taken away and never coming back. Some went with new humans. But others, the older, less desirable ones, went the other way. Through the dark door at the end of the hall. Some fought like mad when they were taken that way. Others...just gave in, resigned to their fate. 

Ginger was getting older. She knew that was to be her fate. Families didn't want old dogs. They wanted puppies. She was lucky her human had wanted her in the first place. But the city...

The smells were horrible, the worst. So many humans, the four wheeled things they rode in...it was awful. She just loved to get out at night and roam around when there were less humans around and things were somewhat quiet. The tiny place her human lived was not enough space for a dog like her. 

She turned down an alley, and made her way to the side door of a building. With her paw she was able to pull the broken door open enough to slip inside and began up the stairs. She met her frantic human halfway up. Ginger sniffed her human, then sat and waited for the inevitable.
"There you are!!! Ginger! I was so worried!"  Her human carried the dreaded leash, and clipped it to her collar, then turned to go back up the stairs to the small apartment, Ginger in tow.

Her human kept rambling. "I've got some amazing news, Ginger! We're getting out of here. Going back to my parents' farm. I just can't seem to catch a break here. And you'll be able to run free to your heart's content." Her human stopped in front of the door to their apartment, knelt down and gave Ginger a huge hug. "And no more running away at night. Three weeks, Ginger. Can you keep from running away for three weeks?"

The time frame her human gave her meant nothing to Ginger of course. She just nuzzled her human and resigned herself to not slipping out for a time. To see if this move back to the farm would really happen. She hoped it would.