Chapter One—The Show Biz

    In an old New England town with fences around every tree, there was the quiet contented feel of small town life. With an end-of-summer breeze in the air, autumn was coming over the town. For many, this meant picking apples and raking leaves and enjoying life. But for the Brown family, which was famous for owning seven dogs at once, life was a completely different story.
    They were in a state of chaos because they were planning on participating in a dog show. The Brown family was planning to put their three young triplet dogs, Annette, Danielle, and Collette, into the show to compete. The three girls loved it, and they were happily talking in the kitchen with great excitement in their voices.
    “Oh, excellent!” Annette giggled loudly. “I can’t wait for this!”
    “Me too!” Danielle loudly laughed. “This is going to be so special!”
    “Oh, why, this is going to be wonderful!” Collette squealed.
    The sisters were all giggling happily, but then stopped as the kitchen door creaked open and Lady, their mother, stepped onto the kitchen floor. “Girls, it’s your bath time,” she stated, somewhat tiredly. Her daughters cheered exuberantly as she yawned, and while Lady felt happy to be a mother, but the strain of taking care of her boisterous puppies was tiring.
    After Lady saw her daughters get into the tub, she sauntered into the living room.
There, it was pretty clear that not everyone was excited for the show. She saw her husband, Tramp, looking downright bored as he slept on a couple of pillows. Lady smiled, she knew that lazing around in the house and preparing for dog shows were not activities that were Tramp’s cup of tea. But Tramp was not alone in showing genuine disinterest. Nearby was their only son, Scamp, and his girlfriend, Angel, who also lived in the house. Neither of them were at all interested in receiving being fancied up, and instead took their time to fighting over a pillow with intensity, which Tramp watched amusedly.
    “Watch this,” Scamp added, growling ferociously.
    “Oh, that was so smooth,” Angel added sarcastically, biting at the pillow.
    Lady watched the situation, tired, but then she rushed over as Scamp caused the pillow to begin loosing feathers. “Oh Scamp,” she stated, rather concerned. “Don’t damage that one… that pillow was in our family for ages. It was here in the living room with me for as long as I could remember.” She indicated over to a pillow that was already half torn up. “Why not try that one?”
    “Come on, Mom!” Scamp stated, rather unconcernedly. “It’s just a pillow.”
    “Besides, it’s fun!” Angel added, before she resumed playing, growled, “That’s mine, tenderfoot!”
    Tramp walked over to Lady. “Pidge, give them a break. They’re bored in here, they already ripped up that pillow, and they’re not interested in dog shows. See Pidge, you’d never understand, you’ve never been a street dog.”
    “I suppose you’re right,” Lady added to Tramp, and the two of them sat back in the living room. “But it is kind of sad, I was a good girl during my young days. I always did what Jim Dear and Darling would want, and more.”
    “All our kids have a tramp in them,” Tramp added, and the two of them laughed and relaxed.
    But at the next moment, Jim Dear walked into the living room. He didn’t look very pleased. “I knew that seven dogs would be too many,” he stated, glowering at Scamp and Angel. “Outside, you two.”
    Jim Dear picked them up and took them outside as Scamp and Angel complained. As Jim Dear shut the front door, Lady stuck her head out the front door’s dog flap, watching Scamp and Angel, who both looked upset.
    “I told you that families are horrible sometimes,” Scamp stated angrily.
    “Oh, tenderfoot, it’s still better in here than to live in the street,” Angel stated firmly. “They still care about us, even though they sent us outside. Well, at least they care about us more than Buster did.”
    Meanwhile, inside, Jim Dear and Darling were talking. “Those two ripped up another one of our old pillows,” he told Darling anyway. “This is the… fourth? I believe?”
    “Yes, Jim Dear,” Darling added serenely, but with a tone of impatience in her voice.
    Outside, Angel and Scamp were still fuming somewhat, and Lady came out to join them. She smiled at Scamp and Angel, and brought out their food dishes. “Scamp, Angel, here are your food dishes,” Lady indicated.
    Angel replied, “Thanks,” and she and Scamp voraciously began to eat.
    “How could you stand being locked out all the time?” Angel asked Scamp, with food on her face. The frustration was even getting to her.
    “I couldn’t,” Scamp answered. “Angel, don’t you understand now? That’s why I ran away.”
    “You two, Jim Dear and Darling don’t feel that good,” Lady told them softly. “Your sisters are heading to a grand dog show, so Jim Dear and Darling are nervous. We’ve had so many good times together, you’ll understand someday.”
    Lady softly nuzzled Scamp, and then she went back into the house.
    Angel and Scamp were silent for a bit, before Scamp said, “They never change from this.”
    “Yeah,” Angel stated, sadly. On a slightly brighter note, she added. “Well, at least we have the Tramp. He actually understands us, and you can’t want a more exciting house life than one with him.”
    “Yeah, he’s an excitement,” drawled in a quiet, soft voice. “It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it Angel?”
    A small, blonde dog looking thoroughly confident swaggered in front of the house. Scamp didn’t recognize her. But Angel stared at her for a moment with surprise, before saying, “Mom?”