After seeing his owner die, losing someone so close, he felt hurt, he was betrayed by his owner, the dog whimpered and slowly continued up the trail, he smelled the ground trying to keep up with the scent. Water trickled in a stream nearby, it was partly frozen, as snow fell around him. The trees were heavy with packed snow and ice. He looked around his surrounding yet could find nothing but the white hills and trees around him.

The shaggy, gray and black dog was now almost white with all the snow that was falling, he kept moving, the dogs feet were sore, and blistered from the cold harsh conditions, his ears were freezing at the tips where they stood up, and his big blue eyes stayed down, the dog felt as if he was running for hours, his nose in the snow, making a snorting and huffing sound pushing out the flakes, every so often.

Suddenly there were lights, it was camp from before, the dog trotted in, he whimpered as if it was a cry for help, no one was outside, so he started to howl, he walked down this path, to a small cabin on the left, the dog scratched at the door, and waited, sitting looking as innocent as ever, so the people would take him in. No one answered, he scratched again, still no answer, you could hear nothing at all, everything was so silent. This time the dog jumped on the door, with a loud thud against the wood.

“Who the hell is it” a groggy voice came from inside. There was rustling around when a big man with a long white beard opened the door, he was holding a gun out pointed right at the dog. The man looked confused when he noticed the little fluff ball, he put the gun back against the side of the wall by his boots and opened the door for the dog to come in.

“Katie”, he yelled out, “look a dog.”  A little girl ran around the corner, throwing her arms around the dog she's never met.

“Puppy!”The dog tried to back away he was intimidated by all this.

“Hey watch it, we don’t know if this thing is sick, it might jump on ya and eat ya for all we know.”

The little girl backed away folded her arms and pouted. The dog whimpered to, for some weird reason the dog felt content, happy with this girl he just met, she was innocent, the dog could feel it. The man scooped the young girl up and walked to the fire. He was whispering something in Katie’s ear making her giggle.

“Well I guess we can’t throw the dog out in the cold, there's a big blizzard coming in it’ll snow us in for a while, what do you think should we keep him for a bit?”

The girl nodded and smiled she put her face into her dads neck. “I’ll call him bunny”.

“Bunny thats a goofy name for such a big shaggy dog, are you sure Katie?”

The girl did not respond instead she pushed off her dads lap and sat on the floor across from the dog, “Bunnyyyy” she called out smacking the floor for him to come to her. The dog hesitated and smelled the floor, the girl repeated herself, and the dog inches closer, to her. The girl grabbed a biscuit from the table next to her in this small cabin and set it a few inches in between her and the dog. She giggled and pulled on her blue footie pajamas to cover her face from the dog. The now, Bunny smelled the biscuit before he picked it up and put half of it in his mouth, the other half hanging out of the side. He ate the biscuit fast barley even chewing.

“Get that dog more food Jesus he's starving.” He stood up and walked to the right of the fireplace, there was a small kitchen area. He rummaged through and picked up a handful of goodies, meats, breads, veggies and placed them on the ground by the fireplace, the dog walked quickly towards it. He picked at the food, ating all of it, nibbling at a carrot and not liking them, he moved back to the small pieces of steak. The man walks by the wolf like dog and pats him head.

“Good boy”  he whispers.

Katie is now curled up in a ball on the chair, her foot hanging off just barely touching her Bunny dog. Her father smiles at her, whole heartedly, he grabs a blanket from a small basket next to the fireplace and wraps her up in it, not before kissing her forehead.

“You keep her safe” He points at Bunny after turning off the lights he stumbles into his bedroom.

“Wake up, it’s 8 a.m, it’s snowing, again, can we go make a snowman, can we can we.”

The tired man slowly sits up fairly confused, trying to comprehend all the excitement from his daughter.

“Now you wait a minute, it’s supposed to snow really bad how about we stay here and keep warm.”

The girl pouts but nods in agreement, understanding the bad weather. The man got out of bed and made eggs, with bacon for everyone, they sat at the small wooden table in the nook. The cabin was only used for a winter job, every year the man would leave and come up to this camp for ice fishing by the lake, it was a good seasonal job, especially since his wife died a few years back, from illness. Leaving him and a two and a half year old.

“After this snow dies down, I think we can get back home in a few months wouldn’t you like that? Going back home to play with your friends and cousin Nell.

“Yeah and I get to start school soon, huh”. Katie replied.

Her dad nodded while putting a piece of bacon in his mouth.

Bunny had finished eating his eggs a while ago, since he has no dog food, he was now looking out the window, the snow was falling quickly, it was windy and you could barely see half a foot in front of yourself. He started to whine, he could feel something bad, it worried him.

“What’s wrong bud, do you miss you owner?” The man shouted towards him. He looked at the dog who was laying down head rested on the window seal, tongue out almost touching the glass.

The man took both plates as Katie got up and sat on the floor, playing with her dolls. He put the plates in the sink and moved to the window, he petted behind the dogs eat making him scratch.

Not soon after there was a loud rumble, the ground shook a bit, snow started to pour down the hill right towards the front of the house, the man backed away from the window grabbing after the dog and panicking for his daughter. The window had shattered with snow pooling in, the door was heavy, and now they were trapped inside.

“What happened” the girl cried out, scared and worried.

“Shh, it’s okay sweet pea.” He comforted her. “But, it’s going to get cold in here with the broken windows, go grab some blankets from your room and wrap up.”

The girl walked into the other room her new dog following at her heels. Her father pushed the door, using his shoulder to push and hit it with all his strength, Thud… Thud… thud… it wouldn’t budge. He tried to pull the door towards him, making his knuckles white pulling and pulling. Nothing worked In a panic he rushed around the room, hands on his hips he paced, but there was nothing he could have done, they were stuck.  He gave up moving to the fire, trying to start it up again, since it had giving out with all the wind. It was still snowing and they were stuck. As he worked on the fire, he thought about what they would do? Where will they go? They can’t stay here the fire will not keep them warm with the broken window. The girl walked out of the bedroom with a large fuzzy plaid blanket around her.

“Brrrr.” She mumbled, mostly talking to Bunny. The fire was now ablaze, and everyone was closely around it. The man was spaced out still not sure how to get out.

Bunny wandered around the small cabin smelling around, he jumped up the window with his paws on either side, he head outside the snow was starting to stop. With a bark that alerted the family, the man moved to the dog,

“What is it boy, what did you find?” The dog put his head down to point down.

The most obvious escape, why didn’t I think of that, the man thought to himself.

“The snow is starting to slow down, we could leave now, get to the wagon in the back, huh? Don’t you wanna get home Katie girl?”

“Home?”

“Yes sweet pea, get more blankets and out your clothes in your bag, i’ll get the rest of the things we need.”

The girl grabbed her pinked bag and ran to the floor picking up her dolls, she then went to her room and got her clothes from her dresser. Her father picked up some food for the long trip, grabbing blankets, and candles, things for a fire. Anything that was necessary. After a while, what felt like five minutes they were ready to go.

“Now I don’t know how long we have, the snow might pick back up.” He said. Katie was wrapped in a blanket, on her fathers back. The dog, was the first one out the window, making a path, he was barely visible. He walked to the end of the path, and the man took the lead. They made their way around to a covered garage, with a wagon. They climbed in and tried to move through the snow, it was a bumpy start, but were able to get going, the trip was going to take days, maybe a week with all the snow, they were warm with their coats and blankets the dog  sat up proud, he knew he had helped them though and felt loyal, he had never been this happy. The man keep moving as fast as they could though the snow. He dog was curled up around Katie, they had both fallen asleep. As the man kept going the snow was starting to get easier, to push through.

The man smiled as her turned around to see a dog cuddling up with his daughter, he knew the dog was a keeper and he was thrilled to get him back to his house, in Birmingham, he had a new family member and couldn’t wait to explain the story to his friends back at home. As he continued down the path he wondered how did this dog get here, where is his owner? What’s the story behind this big loving wolf-dog?

The sun had gone down, and now it was coming up, it was slightly warmer now and Katie has awoken.

“Good morning sweet pea” her father pulls her close and kisses her forehead. “It shouldn’t be long till we are home about half way there, have a biscuit with butter on it, share with that dog.”

Katie nodded, and used her left hand balled up to rub her dreary eyes. They continued on the road, for a short while before they came to a town. The family always stopped in the small town, it close to their home, and they loved the brunch restaurant near it. The father helped Katie out and held her hand, they walked down the sidewalk, with Bunny tapping behind.

The bell chimed above  the door, and they were greeted by a short girl, with black hair, her bangs shadowed her forehead.

“Good morning Bill, haven’t seen you in a while, how was the North, get any fish?”

The man smiled at her and started, “well there was a big storm, an avalanche even, knocked our cabin up pretty bad, oh and we met a dog, Katie adores him. “ He moves to the side and points his arms out to reveal the gray and black dog.

“Oh my aren’t you just a big sweetie” She cooed at the dog.

“Yeah, he seemed scared, took a while to get used to, I wonder how he even got out there really, but he has really warmed up to my girl, he’s perfect.”

“Hmm?” the short girl stood thinking about what happened to the dog, but couldn’t come up with any conclusion for him. “Well would you like a table, pancakes and eggs?”

“Yes please, extra syrup and a cup of coffee for me, and milk for her?”

“Of course follow me, have a seat” she let the family slide into the booth, the dog sitting next to the table with his tongue out. “I’ll be back with drinks and get Reggie to start on the food.”

“Thank you!” Bill replied.

The sat quietly, Katie drew on a piece of paper that was given to her, and not long after the drinks came, followed by the food. They sat in the warm restaurant for a little over an hour, eating and talking.

Eventually it was time to leave, the little family started back on the road, heading for home, the trip was only a few more miles, it wouldn’t be long. It had been about an hour and they had made it home, turning down their home street, and putting into the drive.

“Were here Bun, Bun, come on I’ll show you my room, with all my toys.” Katie ran up the stairs and tried to open the door. It didn’t move.

“Hang on, I have key to open the door.” Her father followed behind her with the 3 bags they had packed on his back and on his forearm. He used his other hand and let the child with her new best friend inside. He walked in and took a deep breathe, letting the bags drop off of him onto the floor by the door, the lights flickered on and he closed the door behind himself.

“Well we’re home now.” He looked around his house he had not seen for months and smiled, with no worry in his mind he felt at peace. It was the love and trust of a new owner that was able to draw them together, the dog was loyal to these people for they saved him as much he saved them.

“Thank you dog, you saved us.”  He whispered to himself.

He sat down on the small couch by the large window. Finally able to rest he closed his eyes while hearing the faint laughter of his sweet daughter in the other room.