It was an ordinary day at Shelter 17. Birds were chirping, and the sun was shining through the partly cloudy weather. Nothing was going on, and it did not at all look like a day in which something grand occurs. "Olaf!" Mr. McLeish bursted through the office doors. "Yes, Mr. McLeish?" He replied. "I think I left my copy of 'A Dog Catcher's Guide to the Universe' over by the dog kennel. Go fetch it, will you?" He asked. "But Mr. McLeish, aren't you supposed to be working on that ten-page report about the pound to the city council?" Olaf responded. "I can finish that later. Go get my book." He commanded. "Oh, yes, sir." Olaf replied. He ran to go get it. He found it where he said, but it had a big chunk bitten out of it. "Here you go, sir. But, it looks like one of the doggies had it for lunch." Said Olaf. "Oh, drats. Looks like I have to buy a new one." Mr. McLeish went back inside after he took the novel.
Olaf just stood outside. Suddenly, the gates opened. "Oh, looks like we have a new dog." Olaf muttered to himself. Ketchum drove through in his van, stepped out, and opened the back. He then took out a long-haired black and gray puppy and gave it to Olaf. Afterwards, he drove away swiftly and the gates closed. Olaf looked at the puppy. "Come on little guy. Let's get you into the kennel." He said. He walked over to it, opened it up, and placed him inside. He shut it and whistled while he walked away.
Lucky walked up to the new puppy. "Hey there, kid. Welcome to Shelter 17. I'm Lucky and we're the Pound Puppies." He explained. "I'm Apollo." The puppy said. "The Pound Puppies, huh? I heard you find humans for puppies like me!" He continued. "You are a smart one! Come, Apollo. Let's get you one, too." Strudel said. He ecstatically followed her and the rest of the Pound Puppies underground.
They walked to Strudel's lab, where she activated the machine that was in front of them. "Apollo, I present to you the Free Kid Database!" She explained. Apollo stood up excitedly. "This machine finds your perfect human match based on your likes and dislikes. Just tell it some of your favorite things." She continued. He did as he was told. "I like to look up at the stars at night; I like to visit planetariums," he started. The FKD immediately went to work.
Eventually, it found a person for him. "Niel, age 34." The FKD read. "Is that him?" Apollo asked. "It sure is." Lucky responded. "Well, when can I see him?" He asked again. "Well, is right now soon enough?" He told him. They all immediately followed Strudel out of the tunnel and into the street.
They were in the middle of walking down the path to Apollo's person's home. "Wait, so where exactly are we headed? This isn't where the FKD said Niel lived." Cookie asked in confusion. "Well, it's the middle of the day, and today is Monday." Lucky told her. "Yeah, so?" She responded. Strudel gave her more information. "I also picked up that Niel works as a mechanical engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This means that he is not at his home, but rather his place of profession."
They soon arrived at a massive outdoor site. It was completely crowded with people in blue uniforms. A very tall metal structure stood upright no more than a couple hundred feet in front of them. Suddenly, Apollo said something that got their attention. "Look, there he is!" He shouted. A man that was wearing a different kind of uniform stepped through some large doors. His clothes were white and bulky and he seemed to be carrying something in his arms. Everyone at the site made way for him as they cheered his name. "Go, Niel!" "You can do it!" He walked toward the tall structure with a proud smile on his face. People were even taking pictures of him.
Strudel looked at something gigantic laying against the structure. "No! There's no way! Is that a... a..." She stuttered and went completely speechless out of extreme excitement. "Strudel! What is it?" Lucky asked her, but she couldn't talk. Her mouth was open wide. They all watched as the news and the press storywriter walked up to Niel. "How do feel about the journey you are about to go on?" Asked a news reporter with a camera. "Nervous, but excited at the same time." He responded confidently. He then stepped inside the structure.
Now more excited than ever, Apollo couldn't wait any longer. He ran away towards Niel barking as loud as he could. He too went inside the structure. "Apollo, no! It isn't time yet!" Lucky yelled. Luckily, no one heard Apollo. All five Pound Puppies ran after him. They all went inside too. They found him, but it was too late to get off. The hatch that they used to enter was closed.
"I'm scared, Lucky. What is this?" Cookie asked him. "It's a rocket ship!" Blurted out Strudel suddenly. Everyone immediately became scared. "How do we get off?" Cookie asked frantically. "I have a crazy idea; possibly crazier than all of my other crazy ideas put together." He answered. "That's totally relieving." Reacted Squirt sarcastically. "We don't." Responded Lucky.
"What!?" Everyone shouted. "We're going to get Apollo with his perfect person." Lucky said to them. "But, Lucky, they're going to shoot us out of the earth, for crying out loud! Dogs don't belong in space!" Shouted Squirt half-angry. "It will all be fine. Just trust me." Lucky explained oddly calmly.
Suddenly, everything started to rumble. A loud voice was heard. "Ten." "Oh, no! The countdown has been initiated!" Shouted Strudel. "Nine." They spotted Niel at the front seated in a strangely oriented seat. All six of them went to the back and fit into a single large heavy-duty restraint. "Eight." "I've been on a lot of missions, but I have never done something like this before." Said Cookie terrified. "Seven." "Trust me, please." Lucky begged. "Six." "Maybe we can meet aliens! They'll give me space food and become our best friends!" Suggested Niblet. "Five." "Knock it off. This is serious business. Besides, there are no such things as aliens!" Snapped Squirt. "Four." "I gotta admit, I'm starting to regret running on here randomly." Said Apollo apologetically. "Three. Two. One. Booster ignition engaged." "Here we go." Said Strudel.
A sudden burst of extreme acceleration sent all six into a panic. They all screamed. This went on continuously for a few minutes. After which, they heard someone over an intercom. "Atmosphere exited. Permission to detach restraints granted." The second he said that, the Pound Puppies spotted Niblet on the ceiling. "Hi, guys!" He said. "What the? How did you get up there?" Squirt asked in confusion.
Suddenly, their restraints gave way, and everyone floated upwards. "What kind of sick joke is this?" Asked Cookie. "It's not a joke, Cookie. The severely reduced gravity plus the motion of this spacecraft render all of us weightless. Somehow even Niblet." Strudel explained. "I knew that." Replied Cookie quietly. "I hate to admit it, but this actually kinda fun." Squirt said. "This makes my tummy feel silly." Said Niblet giggling.
"Alright, everyone. We're here on a mission." He said. "Where's Apollo?" He looked over at a closed door leading to the cockpit where Niel was located. Apollo was looking through the window on it out the front window at the speckled emptiness. His eyes were big and he was in awe. "I can't believe I'm actually in outer space." He said a lot calmer than how he was actually feeling.
Lucky gathered everyone together, though it was not very easy. "Okay, everyone, here's the plan." He started. "Earlier, I overheard the intercom conversation telling Niel that this will be a 72-hour mission. He's up here to make repairs to a satellite they constructed and sent into orbit about a month ago. When we stop, Niel will go outside the ship to work on the satellite, and when he comes back in, he'll find you in his seat. He adopts you, and we all go back home." He finished. Acknowledging the plan, everyone withdrew any doubts or fears. "The only thing we need to do now is wait. It'll be a little while." Lucky said.
A few hours later, they finally heard the man on the intercom again. "You are now approaching the satellite. Initiate braking process." "We're almost there. Keep alert, everyone!" Commanded Lucky. They all did their best to swim through the ship to get together. Suddenly, the ship made a sudden halt, slamming the Pound Puppies and Apollo against the front wall. "Apparently, this braking process includes getting back in your seat." Said Cookie. "Well, an object in motion stays in motion." Shrugged Strudel. They all struggled to get off each other.
"Look, there's Niel!" Shouted Squirt. They slowly made their way to the door separating them from the cockpit. They all looked out of the window on it. They saw Niel, opening a large door supposedly leading to an airlock system. The door shut behind him and he carefully placed his space helmet on his head. Another door opened, revealing a tether cable attached to him as he floated off into the black void.
They gathered around another window and watched as Niel grabbed onto a large odd-looking contraption close by. "He's fixing the satellite. Now's our chance." Lucky said. He opened a door leading to the cockpit and pulled Apollo aside. "This is it. Just remember this: Once a Pound Puppy, always a Pound Puppy." Lucky said to him. He placed a silver tag on his collar and guided him through the door and onto a seat. Lucky quickly hurried out of the cockpit and back into the passenger area.
They waited for a couple of hours when they heard a door open faintly on the other side. The Pound Puppies watched Niel enter the ship again and remove his helmet. When he did, the first thing he saw was a puppy sitting on his seat. "What the? A dog?" He asked. "We never had any animal test subjects on board. We need to get you back to earth." He said to Apollo. But before he tried to seize him, he barked and looked at him with a happy smile. He jumped and Niel caught him. "Hey, you're kind of cute. I'm keeping you." He continued.
They all heard the intercom again. "You're back in the ship. I take it that you've fixed the satellite. Great work. Now, due to the low fuel level left, the only part of the ship returning to earth is the main cockpit. Initiate cockpit detachment process." Everyone in the back was shocked. "We're not going back?" Cookie asked in horror. "Now, calm down, everyone." Lucky told everyone. "We just need to figure out a way to get on that half of the ship without being detected."
Lucky opened the door quietly. Niel was facing the other direction. All five snuck on board, while Lucky closed the door behind them. Niel heard something behind him and turned to see what it was. He didn't see anything and turned back around. Apollo was in his lap.
They all heard a large noise from behind them. They noticed that the whole rest of the ship was gone. It was nowhere in sight. Suddenly they heard the voice again. "It appears that you've fixed the satellite faster than we had planned. Permission to retreat early granted." Niel and Apollo looked at each other in delight. Meanwhile, Lucky and the others strapped up for another bumpy ride. The ship returned into the atmosphere. The five Pound Puppies immediately learned that going back was a lot scarier than going up.
A couple hours later, they soon landed back on earth. Niel was the first to exit, along with Apollo, who was being carried by him. He was really excited. When he exited, there were numerous other workers waiting for him. They all cheered when he exited. The five Pound Puppies exited next. They were extremely careful to make sure no one saw them. They hurried back to the pound.
They soon got back after an exhausting mission. "Lucky. Let's never do that again." Suggested Squirt. "Don't worry. Nothing too out-of-this-world next time, but I'm not making any promises." Lucky replied. Suddenly, McLeish walked out of his office carrying a newspaper. "Olaf! Can you believe these headlines these days? Just look at this! Astronaut Returns With Mysterious Space Puppy! Ugh, what nonsense." He shouted. He retreated into his office, while the Pound Puppies got a pretty good laugh.