Our introduction through Louie's eyes

I could hear the emergency sirens in the distance. Don’t do it, I thought as I sat under the bush in front of the beige house. Howling would certainly draw attention and give away my location. I’d been coming here for over a week and the human hadn’t noticed. Her car was parked in the drive and I could smell the aromas of food being made, I knew she was inside. Don’t do it, I repeated as I laid my head on my paws. The sirens were getting louder and the urge took over me, I let out a short quiet howl, then another. Each howl got louder and longer as the sirens continued. I was wrapped up in my routine and I didn't hear the door open and close until she was already standing in the grass by the concrete stairs. I instantly stopped and lowered my head back to my paws again, hoping she wouldn't find me. "Hi baby," she said. As she lowered herself to get a better look at me under the bush. "Are you okay?" She asked in a low, concerned voice. I knew I could get out faster than she could reach me but I just sat there trying to blend into the landscape. "I'm not gonna hurt you," she whispered, "I just want to make sure you're okay." Well of course you're not gonna hurt me, there’s a bush between us and I’m fine, go away, I thought to myself. She reached her hand out slowly, looking at me with the same wide compassionate eyes that others had. “Come here,” she softly said. I caught her scent as the wind softly blew over the porch and through the bush. Her hand smelled like pork grease, eggs and cheese, the same aroma I could smell outside the house, but she didn’t have anything to eat with her. She didn't come out here because she was trying to lure me to her, she came out to investigate my howl. I knew I shouldn't have done it. Being so close to her made me uncomfortable. I knew if I pretended to get up and leave there was a chance she would try to follow me. I started to get up and turn towards my exit. "It's okay, you can stay there," she said calmly as she stood up and took a step back. She just stood there and stared in my direction, although I was certain I wasn't in her eyesight anymore. Then she turned and started to walk away slowly, looking back to see if I was going to leave. I laid back down. Maybe she wasn't going to try anything. I began to relax again, enjoying the cadence of cool breezes that followed. April's weather was perfect even though I had to find shade to keep cool. It wasn't that tongue hanging out, panting to stay cool heat that I expected in the months to come. This was the perfect place too, I could feel the cool bricks from the foundation of the house as I stretched out my legs. I heard the door open and shut this time, I popped my head up and my eyes darted back and forth to see where she was. She returned with something in her hand. “Hey, I brought this for you. You want it?” she said crouching down in front of the bush holding out her hand again. I could smell the sweet, sugary, peanut butter and biscuit that she was holding. Ew, no I don’t want that. I want you to leave me alone so I can relax, I let out a sigh as I moved my hind legs so they were back under me again. I turned my head away from her, looking at my exit. She tossed the cookie towards me, it landed next to me and I jumped. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of even acknowledging it because I knew she wouldn’t leave me alone if I did and I just wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet. After a few minutes of her sitting there and staring at me, I decided my time here was over, I began to get up. She stood up slowly, taking a step back again and watched me as I walked out from under the bush and towards the side of the house. They must teach all humans this behavior, she wasn't the first person to try this, I thought. Her voice cracked as she watched me walk away in the other direction, "Okay peanut. You're more than welcome to stay here." I kept walking, trying hard not to turn around to see if she was following. I really like that spot too, it was perfect. I was right though, she didn't follow me. I walked around the house to the backyard. I could hear her let out a sigh and I paused for a moment. “Where did he come from?” she asked aloud. I listened as she walked up the wooden stairs and opened the side door. She was going back inside, finally. I had fooled her to think I had left. I didn't want to leave here yet, it was a quiet corner, there didn't seem to be a lot of humans roaming around and felt oddly safe. I decided to stay a bit longer. I didn't want to go back to the bush, she'd look for me there. I noticed the wooden deck was open underneath and there was plenty of room. This would be a good place, I thought, because it doesn't look like the sunlight comes through too much. I lowered myself to crawl under the deck, the red clay was harder than the dirt under the bush and cooler. I found the breeze to be perfect here too. I'll just rest here for a bit and see if she comes back. It was really nice under the porch and I found myself drifting off as the cool breeze blew past under the porch, through my fur and under my paws.