The female soon built up the strength, and confidence, to stand again, limping off. She returned to her home, only to find a pair of large dogs had taken most of it over. A pit bull mix of some sorts and something with mastiff for sure mixed in. She wasn’t going to win that fight, especially not with her injured leg. With a sigh, she padded on and passed them. That had been her home for a long while. She soon made a choice, heading towards Juno’s yard once more. She slid underneath the fence, her paw swollen from all of the running on it. "Juno?" She called out, nervously glancing around.

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Juno had been laying on the porch, but once he heard Dahlia’s voice, his ears perked up as the tall male stood up. He shook his fur before hopping down the stairs to greet her. “Dahlia,” Juno smiled his tail swaying a little as he came to her to sniff her over. His attention, however, was soon caught by her paw. “What happened to your paw? It looks worse than before,” he asked worriedly.

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"Gee thanks for saying I look even worse than before." Dahlia sarcastically remarked, licking at her paw before sitting down. "I ran on it. Had a run in with a human and I had to use it. Can I like.. sleep under your home? Or those stairs or anything.." she asked, getting straight to the point.

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Juno’s gaze softened when he heard what had happened. However, when she mentioned those options, his heart almost ached. There was no way that he would let a lady dog be like an unwanted pest. “Come, follow me,” Juno said as he led her behind the house. Around the corner there was a dog house that was warmed inside. It even had a blanket, large pillow and tug toy in there. Outside there was even a water bowl. “You can sleep in here, no need to crawl under the house anymore and sleep with the mud,” Juno said with a soft smile.

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Dahlia didn’t look up at his face, quite embarrassed about her current situation. Her ears perked up a bit when he spoke. She followed, curiously looking around as she did so. Her tail wagged once she saw the dog house, and she looked over to Juno. "You’re serious? Not pulling my tail, are you?" This was easily the nicest sleeping spot she had ever seen. She quickly lapped up the water inside the bowl, peering inside of the dog house. "I don’t wanna get it dirty.”

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"I don't joke about things like this," Juno said his tone completely serious. He didn't have a habit of tricking others, even though he rarely showed compassion to a stray dog. "I don't use it a lot anyway as I'm almost always with my owner. My owner used to have a Bloodhound in past and that was where he mostly spend his time in," he said remembering the old Bloodhound from his past. He watched her to drink the water thinking about how he could sneak some meat for her.

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Dahlia couldn’t stop herself from licking Juno’s chin in gratitude, her entire body wiggling from the pure joy. "This is unbelievable! You’re too kind Sir Juno. I’ve never had anything like this before." She crawled inside, sniffing curiously at the pillow and blanket. She gnawed on the tug toy for a moment, rolling onto her back and resting across the pillow. "This is amazing. What if your owner comes and sees me?”

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Juno thought a moment, he knew that it definitely was a looming threat. His owner most certainly didn't want a stray around his purebred one, or into his yard. "I don't know. I'll try to keep him away from you, but I really can't bare my canines to him," he sighed as he sat down looking at her. "He isn't mean, but he's very scared," Juno said looking at her settling in.

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"I won’t stay for long, I don’t want to intrude, of course. Or interfere with anything. Once those dumb dogs leave my home I’ll go back." Dahlia sighed softly, rolling back onto her belly and resting her head on her paws, exhausted from today. "Thank you.. I really do appreciate everything you’ve done. Can you tell me what it’s like? Just.. the little things about being a pet. Being loved."

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Juno had to ponder her question for a while. "Well... that's quite a tricky question to answer as it's different for everyone. However, I got really lucky that I'm my owner's only dog and that he really loves dogs," the Borzoi said. "When it's cold or raining, it's nice to hop on the couch and crawl on your owner to cuddle with him while waiting for the coldness to pass. He would scratch your ears and other places that you really can't reach as well as pet you which feels really good," Juno said with a smile.

"Every day he will prepare breakfast for you like a clockwork and even allow you to crawl on the bed with him. Many owners want their dogs sleep on their beds away from the bedroom, but my owner wants me to be on the bed with him. After breakfast he always takes me for a little walk before he has to go at work, or focuses on his own business. You don't have to worry about anything, he will take care of everything, even the dogs that are being mean to you. You can trust into him with your life," Juno said his eyes filling with deep gratitude.

"However, a lot is also expected from you too. I personally could never show my canines to my owner, I owe him too much. During all my six years of living, he has been nothing but kind and gentle towards me. I have made a promise to repay all the good things he has done by protecting him from anything and anyone," Juno said determination flashing in his dark eyes. Should anyone try to even harm a hair of his owner's head, they would be met with a long row of sharp canines and courage that was once used to take down even wolves.

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Dahlia listened to Juno go on about his life as a pet. How good it could be with the right owner. This got her thinking. Life as a pet sounded amazing but.. she liked being a stray. Being free. However, as a pet all of her meals were guaranteed. She wouldn’t have to worry about spending her days scavenging through human’s leftovers and trash, she could be carefree. All she would have to do is not bite the human. That’s not so hard. Kind of. She would have to protect them too. But what if there were human pups if she was taken in? Those things were irritating. The last time she had a run in with human pups they threw stones at her. It had hurt quite a bit.

Eventually, she managed to shake the thought away. That was a stupid thing to imagine. Being a pet, she’s just some stray after all. "That sounds good, Juno. I’m glad that you’re well taken care of and happy. You’re very fortunate." She gently smiled. She was genuinely pleased that he was healthy and comfortable in his life. "I’m sure your human is amazing too. You said he was scared of strays, right? I definitely wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome or anything. Or.. well.. accidentally bite him if he caught me off guard."

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The male thought for a moment before an idea came to him. "Actually, maybe you two could help each other?" he suggested looking at her. "Perhaps you could help him to feel more comfortable around strays and help him to overcome his childhood fears? And perhaps he could in return help you to gain your trust in humans again?" Juno said as he glanced towards the house hearing something inside. For a moment his ears perked a little and he was completely silent listening the sounds before he relaxed again.

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Dahlia’s head slowly tilted to the side as she listened to his idea. helping a human out? Well.. it’s Juno’s human. And I would be getting something in return. She considered it for a long moment.
Finally, she nodded and spoke aloud. "Alright.. I’ll do it. But.. what do I do exactly to help him?"

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"I actually don't know, I haven't thought that far yet. I think for now it would be good, if he slowly gets used to your presence and that you aren't a threat. However, I must ask that please, even if you might sense his fear, please don't show him your canines or growl at him," the Borzoi asked his eyes soft with worry. "I will try my best to keep you protected, though he has never been violent towards dogs before," Juno said looking at the house again before he got up. He then let out a low bark looking at the door. He clearly had heard something inside that he didn't quite like.

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"If he doesn’t hurt me, I won’t hurt him. I’ll… try my best not to." Dahlia sighed softly, then walked out of the dog house and gently wagged her tail. Juno barking just sparked something in her. She barked as well. "What are we barking at? Is there something going on? Can I bite somebody?" She grew excited, pacing around the male Borzoi.

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