The Helper

"Somehow it was the wrong laugh. A cold laugh that was fueled by anger and not poked out of him from joy. Like before, before he was thrown into this vicious cycle of hunger and imprisonment, where he had to steal to keep the breath inside himself. A place where Padfoot didn't want to die but didn't want to live, but secretly, he was getting his wish."

Padfoot, a young pup, is stolen and taken away from his home in the South and placed in the cold North to work as a sled dog. He is, unluckily, sold to three people who are incompetent to take care of dogs. They have a far too heavy load and don't know how to pack up their belongings, ration the food properly, or navigate trails, among other problems. Padfoot knows he could and should run away from this disaster of a life, but he stays to help his teammates. He also knows that by helping his teammates, he's draining himself, bending the rules of being a sled dog that so many before him had followed. Will Padfoot choose the life of a true husky. . . or will he choose friendship?