It was a quiet day of the Mystery Inc house hold. Everyone was hanging out in the living room. Giving up her usual spot, Velma had found herself sunbathing with her laptop, sitting in the bay window facing the front. The chilly wind that played along the trees didn't bother Velma in the least as she soaked up the sun and surfed on the internet. Daphne had the couch, lounging across the length with a book across her face. Having tried to read something, she had fallen asleep, the book providing a perfect blindfold against the cheery sun Velma was sitting in. Fred and Shaggy had pulled out one of the videogame systems that Shaggy owned, and was playing some type of fighting game. The only one missing was Scooby, though that would not last for long.
The dog was on a mission. You could tell with how he was walking into the room. With his head held high, he sauntered into the room. Moving, he made sure he was in the middle of the room before he came to a full stop. Almost with military type movements, he clicked his feet together and faced the couch.
"R'hem." Coughed the Dane, trying to get the groups attention with a mild loud voice. He waited, then when no one moved in response to his cough, he tried again.
"RA'HEM!" Much louder, but the only thing that he got was a slight moment from Daphne as she shifted in her nap, the book sliding a bit off of her sleeping face. But nothing more.
BARK BARK BARK BARK!
The Dane burst out into a short but loud round of barks, making the whole house echo in response. Daphne snorted awake, pushing the book away and looking around for danger. Velma had jumped, but latched onto the laptop before it slipped off her lap due to her sudden movement. Fred and Shaggy dropped their controllers and peered over the couch to look at Scooby.
"R'ank roo." He thanked them all, and now he had the attention he wanted. Sitting down, he brought up a paw that he then coughed into.
"Row r'hen, r'I r'had ren r'idea." He took his time, and paused to make sure everyone was still playing attention. "R'I r'want r'a r'og"
"Like' Scooby. You are a dog." Came the brilliant observation from the scruffy beatnik.
"R'og? R'ere?" Scooby said as his usual response. His head looking about for the dog. He didn't see one, since he didn't really believe himself a dog. He was a dog alright, but he was a more sophisticated dog. "Ro ro, r'a ret r'og. R'I r'want r'a ret r'og" He was talking about a pet dog. Not a Dog dog. There was a clear difference.
Shaking her head, Daphne tried to rattle the sleep out of her. A yawn came out of her, a hand wandering up to cover it. "But Scooby, you can't take care of a pet." She said simply.
"Yeah, a pet is a big responsibility." Fred added, feeling like he was talking more to a child then Shaggy's dog. This wasn't something he would have to be arguing… Well at least not to a Great Dane of all things.
"R'es r'I ran!" The Dane crossed his paws and pouted. He wanted a pet and they were going to help him get one. They had no choice in the matter. He would just be stubborn until he got what he wanted.
Daphne sat back down, shielding another yawn as she stared at the protesting dog. And she thought her dream about talking finger sandwiches was weird. Reality at the moment sure had that one on the run. Fred looked over at Shaggy, hoping he might know how to deal with Scooby on this. But Shaggy just shrugged. Not exactly something that comes in the doggy facts manual for taking care of Great Danes. Maybe it was in the fine print or something.
"How about this?" Velma had stayed quiet till her mind had latched on something that could help them all. "How about we propose a pet plan?"
Scooby turned around to face Velma as the rest of the gang looked in hope that the youngest member had an idea to get them out of this odd problem.
"R'uh?" Scooby tilted his head and looked at her. Obviously confused.
"A Pet Plan." Velma repeated. "Basically it's a plan to see if Scooby is responsible enough for a pet dog in the future. We find various other pets and see if Scooby is able to take good enough care of them. And then once he does well with one, we can move him up to another type of pet until we deem him ready for a dog, or not responsible enough. Does that work for you Scooby?" She asked the Dane. Putting a paw to his face, he thought it over. After a few seconds, he pulled his paw away to nod furiously. He would then prove that he was responsible enough for a pet.
"Alright, we will have to talk as a group, well, all of us…" Velma gestured to all the humans in the room. "And decide the best pets for you. So give us a little time, and then you'll get your first pet, ok?"
"R'ok!" Happy and his mission achieved for the most part, he headed off to his room, content. The whole room seemed to sigh in apprehension once the Dane was out of the room. Daphne ran a hand down her face, almost pinching herself to see if it was a dream. Fred got up and around the couch to get closer while Shaggy saved and then turned off the game before coming around as well. Velma was looking at her laptop, the sounds of the keys being typed and buttons being clicked showed her fast paced searching.
"I'm figuring you have a plan?" Fred asked tentatively, looking over his shoulder to make sure Scooby was out of the room.
A few more button clicks and Velma had found what she was looking for. Turning the laptop, she showed the gang her idea on the comp screen. With grins all around, she had hit on a great idea.
"Perfect!" Chirped Fred, approving of her idea. Shaggy nodded in agreement. Daphne was still half awake, but it seemed to be a good idea. She threw thumbs up before sinking back on the couch.
"Now to just order one." Velma commented, turning the laptop back to her. With a few clicks, the order was set and all they had to do was wait.