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Chapter I

The barn was dark and warm with an outline of rough-cut wood timbers placed in a criss-cross manner, known as a simple split rail fence and rested against large wooden logs that connected to the ceiling.  A new litter of 12 greyhound pups was born to a very loving and extremely dedicated mother.  She seemed to smile at each one and sniffed them so that she could inhale their specific scent to remember them.  Their eyes were shut and would not open for another 15 days or so.  But for now, all they really cared about was getting enough nourishment to fill their bellies, keep warm, and sleep long hours at a time.  Their mother noticed there was one pup that was very curious and would consistently get left behind the other pups.  He was always the one that was awake and trying to open his eyes.  After he was born, he was the one who seemed to be straining to see who was doing all the melodic ROOOing and was more interested in the greyhound song than he was in eating. At day 10, his eyes opened.  His mother looked at him with pride and joy because he was so far advanced.  She knew that he would be the Alpha of the litter and would be a leader, not a follower.

The little male greyhound puppy was able to just barely make out his mother and his siblings.  He found it difficult to stand and walk. His legs were not yet strong enough to make it to the edge of the fence to see who was in the other stall openings, but he was  determined and would eventually have a strong voice to make that distinctive greyhound howl one day.  More ROOOing came from other greyhounds in the barn, and this little male tilted his head upward while watching his father. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.  His mother watched in amusement at his mimicry.  She knew she would have her hands full before he was weaned at 10 weeks.  The song was so much akin to the same howling sounds their wolf cousins made in the wilderness.  This song was repeated over thousands of years and was a melody of ancient celebratory traditions for new arrivals into the pack.  The pup could feel some fear in his littermates while they moved quickly toward their mother.  However, he was more intrigued by the celebration and camaraderie of his fellow greyhounds, so he tried to perk up his ears and twist his head to hear what they were saying.  He still couldn’t understand the meaning, but his father chuckled at him and said that he would be able to participate in the song one day.  The pup knew he was conveying the truth, and felt this warm presence was to be respected and revered.