Home life

I woke up the next morning and found myself curled up on a nice, warm bed, I could hear bacon sizzling just outside of the room and my PAW PATROL collar sitting on the dresser

"Where am I?" I said out loud

"Oh yeah, my first day to be a real dog" I remembered

I hopped off the bed and trotted into the kitchen, there I found James mom cooking the bacon, his dad reading the newspaper at the table in the dining room, and James doing the morning chores. James heard my footsteps coming from behind him, he turned around and asked me with a smile...

"Hey Rocky, sleep good last night?"

I gave a joyful bark and continued into the kitchen, once I was in the kitchen, I sat down and watched as James mom cooked breakfast. When she was done, she gathered the dishes and placed them on the table in an orderly fashion.

"Breakfast is ready" she called

James ran into the dining room with an ecstatic face

"finally, I was about to starve!" James exclaimed

"I was about to eat my newspaper" James dad replied

After the family was done eating, James and his dad discussed future summer plans...

"So, what are you going to do this summer?"

"I was planning on practicing my basketball skills so I could make the freshman team"

"Oh...what were you going to do with Rocky then?"

"Take him with me...all the kids who have dogs are doing it"

"Ok, as long as you keep an eye on him"

"Don't worry... I will"

James stood up and walked into his room, he came back out with my collar...

"But first, I got to get Rocky a new collar" James said holding it in his hand

"This one is so worn out, it's already falling apart"

"Sounds good, and pick up some dog food while you're at it" James dad said giving him a 20 dollar bill

So off we went to the pet store to get a new collar and some dog food, on our way I decided to get to know James a bit better...

"So, you play basketball?"

"Ever since I can remember"

"I bet you're pretty good at it"

"I could be better"

A moment of silence followed

"Rocky, have you ever been...teased?" James asked

I thought about it for a moment

"A little bit" I answered

We came to pet store and opened the door, an older man was behind the front desk when we walked in...

"Oh hey James, ah new dog I see, well what can I do for you today?"

"Hey Mr. Johnson, I was just wondering if you could maybe get some dog food and a new collar"

"Ok, do you want a twenty pound or ten pound sack of dog food?"

"Twenty"

Mr Johnson picked up a pen and wrote on a piece of notebook paper

"Alright and what about the collar?"

James laid my old collar on the desk

"Do you think you could engrave Rocky's name on a steel dog tag or something?"

Mr Johnson picked up my collar and examined it...

"Do you want a normal collar or something like his old one? if you want a collar like his old one you might as well go to adventure bay, because I don't make these"

James looked at me, I shook my head, I wanted to get rid of as many memories of PAW PATROL as I could and it started with a new collar

"No sir, we'll take a normal one, preferably green"

Mr Johnson laid the collar back on the desk

"Ok, the collar will be ready this afternoon, I'm assuming you'll pick up the dog food too at that time"

"Yes sir"

"Alright I'll see you then, one more thing, do you want the old collar?"

James looked at me again, I shook my head

"No sir"

"Ok" Mr Johnson said then he picked up the collar and threw it in the trash

We began to leave the pet store before James thanked Mr Johnson

"Thank you Mr Johnson"

"Anytime James"

We left the pet store and James began jogging down the street, I was struggling to keep up so asked...

"James, where are we going?"

"To the basketball gym"

"Well do you think that could slow down just a little bit?"

"Oh sorry"

We slowed to a trot then he asked me another question...

"So why didn't you want to get another collar like your old collar?"

I sighed and answered

"I didn't want to be reminded everyday of my old life so it started with getting a new collar"

James nodded his head

"I see"

Eventually we made made it to the basketball gym and walked inside where some other boys were already playing basketball, the dogs meanwhile were off to the side watching.

James showed me where to sit, walked over to one of his friends and began stretching

Once I sat down I looked over to the right of me and saw a full grown Pit bull chewing on a bone, he stopped and stared at me...

"What you looking at, mutt pup"

"Nothing, just your bone"

"Yeah, well get a good look at it, because it's the last time you're going to see it"

He picked up the bone in between his jaws and snapped it in half

"And if I get any trouble out of you, you'll be next"

I swallowed an ever growing knot in my throat

"You don't have to worry about me giving you trouble" I replied with a weak voice

"Good"

He turned around and stared at the boys playing basketball. I decided to see who was on the other side of me, maybe we could get along a little bit better. I turned to see a full grown golden Labrador retriever, he had blue eyes and looked kinda friendly...

"Excuse me,what's your name?" I asked

He turned his head and stared at me

"Are you talking to me?" He asked

"Yes"

"Aren't you a little young to be by yourself...mutt?"

I struggled to find an answer

"Well...Uh...maybe...I don't think so"

He continued to stare with his cold eyes

"No wonder they didn't want you" he remarked

"What? Why wouldn't someone want me" I questioned

"Because your little, your weak, you can't even talk without stuttering and your a mixed breed but to dumb it down for you...you're a mutt" he replied

My eyes were starting to become teary eyed and I struggled to fight back the tears when I asked

"I just wanted to know your name"

He leaned over to me and whispered

"In case I didn't make myself clear, this basketball court is no place for mutts"

He stood up straight and gazed straight ahead at the basketball court never giving me a second look.

I stared at the ground almost in tears, what else could I do? I was reminded again of how the world really saw me and you know what? It stinks! But eventually I came to terms with it

I lifted my head to watch James play basketball, something about James helped me take my mind off everything and before I knew it, it was time to go

When we arrived at the pet store the food and collar were already to go

"Here James take a look at the collar" Mr Johnson said

James picked it up and examined it

"What do you think?"

James looked at me and showed me the collar, I nodded my head, the collar itself was a regular green collar, but the dog tag was in the shape of a wolf, made of steel and had the name "ROCKY"engraved on it

"He loves it" James answered

"Ok James that'll be...18.50"

James laid the twenty dollar bill on the desk

"A twenty, alright 1.50 is your change"

"Thank you Mr Johnson"

"You're welcome, have a good day" Mr Johnson said opening the door for James

As we started walking back home, James asked me a question

"How were the other dogs at the basketball court?"

I stared at the ground

"Ok... I guess"

James examined my sad countenance

"What happened?"

My eyes welled up with tears again

"Nothing"

James stopped walking, bent down to where he was face level with me and asked me again...

"Rocky, I'm your friend, you can tell me what happened"

I looked into his eyes, they were warm and glowing with concern

"The older dogs called me little and a...mutt"

He looked at me with a warm smile

"Rocky, you may be little but you'll grow, your still a pup, and as for a mutt, I love you just the way you are"

He stood up, looked at me and said

"C'mon Rocky, let's go home".

For the rest of the summer, James continued playing basketball while I became accustomed to being a regular dog, playing fetch, going on walks, playing at the park, things that I had never really experienced when I was working with Paw Patrol. Everything was perfect until one day James had to go to school...

"I'm not leaving you forever Rocky, I'm just going to school, and you can't go"

"But I'll see you tonight...right?"

"Yes, you'll see me tonight"

"I just don't you to get hurt, so much could happen at school"

"Rocky, chill out man. I tell you what, I'll take you to the park after school...ok?"

"Ok" I sighed

"Alright buddy, I'll see you after school" he rubbed me on the head, grabbed his backpack and headed out the door

I watched out the window as he made his way down the street then eventually, walk out of site

"This is gonna be a long school year" James mom said looking at me

Yeah, a long school year

So what do y'all think? I originally didn't know how this kind of story would turn out because I've never seen anyone attempt it but I guess I'll give it a shot

P.S. sorry about the slow chapter hopefully the storyline will become more interesting as the story goes on