First Pet

A/N: I have had the idea for this chapter for a while now, to be warned there is plenty of hilarity that follows this author's note. The pet described is full of mischief and energy! So sit back and enjoy!

Six year old Michelangelo and Splinter were scavenging one evening when they could hear faint cries coming from near by. Mikey being the second most adventurous turtle out of four went to investigate, "Michelangelo, do not wander far, I hear the noises too, just leave it." Mikey waited until Splinter's back was turned then once again moved to the sound. Pushing away some piles of junk he found a puppy, couldn't have been any more then 6 to 7 weeks old. It was so small it could have fit in a tea cup with its sandy blond hair that was short, and Mikey noticed a single spot on her hip. She had a white underbelly that blanketed from around her neck as well as down its legs. He noticed she had a short stub of tail, he picked the distressed puppy up and carried it back to Splinter and said "daddy! Look what I found!" Splinter turned around and saw the tiny, dirty puppy and said "where did you find her?" "it was trapped under some junk! She was all alone and she's scared! Can we keep her? We can train her to be quiet! Please! Oh Please!" seeing the shaking puppy, Splinter sighed, "Very well, you may keep her, we are done here in the junk yard, if you keep her silent we will go find food so we can feed her properly."

After finding an abundance of food at his favorite place Splinter lead his son home with their new pet. The puppy remained silent while they searched for food, and still remained silent while they walked home. Once at the lair Mikey shouted out "guys check this! Come here!" Splinter went to the kitchen and found a couple of bowls and filled one with water and one with some food. He had been lucky to find some puppy food in the dumpster. He could hear his sons talking happily to each other about their new found friend. He went to check on them, the small puppy was wagging her tail and licking them when he walked in. "have you thought of a name for her?" the four turtles looked up and Leonardo said "we are going to call her Sandy because she is so pretty like sand is." Splinter nodded and said "she seems to like the name, now I have found news papers I want you all to help train her to use them to go potty on them." they all four said at once "yes Sensei."

in the weeks that followed the four boys took turns feeding and caring for Sandy, the small dog was full of energy and began to gain some weight. She had appearently been left to her own devices in the junk yard. Splinter had at first found the little bundle of energy annoying but when ever she was near him she would calm down. She cried at night like most young puppies do when first brought to their new home. It was clear she was very intelligent, as she picked up on simple commands early on, she even mastered using the news papers quickly. Though she was a good dog she had an ornery streak in her as well...

it was a quiet day in the lair and every one was doing their own thing, Michelangelo was having fun with Sandy playing with a rope toy that Donatello made for her. All that could be heard was Sandy's playful growls. Raphael had made her a collar out of an old leather leash they had found once, it fit her perfectly and made it easy for her to wiggle out and grow in it.

Sandy got board with her toy and scampered off in a different direction, Raphael was sitting in his room playing with some toys on the floor when the small dog came in. "hey girl, what's up?" the small pup just wagged her tail in acknowledgment and sat on the floor watching him. After a while Sandy picked up one of Raph's toys in her mouth and took off with it. "hey!" was all Raph could say before he took off after her, she ran to the couch with it, but was too short to jump up, so next to best thing was crawl under the couch. "Dang it Sandy! You know I cant reach under there!"

Sandy made no sound while Raph tried to reach her and crawled back out in the other direction. This time making her way to Donatello's room, once again she sat and watched, Donnie looked up and told her "did you take one of Raph's toys? You silly puppy." the small dog looked like she was pleased with her self and then stood and walked over to Donnie who pet her on the head. She wagged her tail and took off again, this time stopping in Leonardo's room sitting in the doorway knowing the room was off limits she watched him meditate. Sandy slowly moved her tail side to side and walked slowly in, she kept her head down and moved on her belly. She laid down at Leo's feet and stayed there for a few minutes before getting up and slowly making her way around the room. She found a book on the floor and quietly dragged it out of the room, not getting Leo's attention. Splinter had been watching the stealthy puppy from the door way and had to chuckle at the great lengths this puppy went too to get the book. She didn't even know he was behind her until he bent down and snatched the book from her mouth. She jumped and he told her softy "now now little one, stealing is not good, we do not steal in this family." the small puppy tilted her head from side to side while he talked. He smiled down at her and saw that she was still just a puppy but also saw the potential she held, though not a mutant she could be a great asset with in the future against his enemies.

One year later...

Splinter had been teaching young Sandy to use her stealth abilities for good, he began taking her with him when he would go scavenging training her to remain silent. But also look for any supplies, she was fast, strong and inelegant. He considered her his daughter, even though he had lost his flesh and blood daughter years ago. The small puppy didn't grow to be very big at all, she only got about the size of a small Jack Russell Terrier but still too big to be a Chihuahua. Her colors never changed and neither did her personality, she remained a great guard at night when every one slept and would alert every one if she would hear intruders. She became more Splinter's dog then the turtles, which was funny since the turtles were the ones who adopted her first. When the turtles would train Sandy would sit beside Splinter and watch, he knew this was his sons first pet but it was also his own. Even though she was a trained guard dog she still played as though she was a puppy, and Michelangelo would still teach her to swipe his brother's toys and such just to play around. Splinter saw that she made his sons happy, even from just a young puppy he could see how happy she made them.

This is why he didn't object to having her around, what surprised him was when the day came that she whined at the door to the lair. He opened it and she ran out into the sewers, when she did come back she carried something in her mouth. Splinter watched with fascination as he knelt down to her she laid a new born puppy in his hand, the puppy's eyes were open, and it looked to be too young to be away from its mother. He told her "where did you find it?"

her tail perked up and she ran back to the door, "boys I will be back." he could hear their replies and took off after the small dog. She lead him to a sewer drain where above he could hear police sirens, he climbed up the short ladder and peered out in the evening sun. he saw a few feet away a mother dog with a puppy in her mouth, she had been struck by a car... killing her own small family.

Splinter looked down at the puppy in his hand and told Sandy "i see, now why you brought it too me... you remember what I did for you." he took the newborn puppy back to the lair and found a small bowl and filled it with diluted milk and water. The small puppy was old enough to drink it up on its own; his sons entered the kitchen and Leo asked "father? Where did that little one come from?" Splinter turned and told his sons, "this little boy needs our help to survive, his family was killed above, Sandy brought him to us." Donatello walked over to the small puppy and studied him he was all black and had a white star under his chin, his fur was longer and thicker then Sandy's fur was. "i would say he is a mix breed dog like Sandy is." Raph asked "what breed though?" Splinter answered "i saw his mother, she looks like she is a mix of Lab/Pit bull." Donnie frowned and said "but that doesn't explain his long hair and the shape of his head?" Leo went to the book shelf and picked up a dog book that Raph had found several months earlier during some time above with their father. Leo flipped through the book and said "he looks like he is part St. Bernard." Splinter smiled and said "well, boys, since I adopted you four when you needed me the most and I adopted Sandy when she needed us. We will take him in as well." Raph asked "what do we name him?"

in the weeks that followed rescuing the tiny newborn from the storm drain he had been given a second chance and name in life, he was named Tango like the dance. He played and trained along side Sandy and the turtles for years to come, they lived as one big happy family.

A/N: yes I am a sentimental fool! I love this tear jerker stuff. The two dogs mentioned are real life dogs, Sandy is the dog on the picture next to the title of this story and on my profile. Tango... he was a rescue dog that I found... sadly he did not make it... four years ago he had started to come down with mange, I didn't have the funds to take care of him so I found him a home where the people said they would treat him... sadly they lied to me... he was only 5 months old and they put him down. He was only in the first stage, he only had slight hair loss on his face... but I learned you can not save every animal you rescue.

I felt that Michelangelo would be the most likely turtle to discover a puppy and want to keep it. :) hope you liked it. The next chapter will be more adventurous!

Also if you would like me to include Sandy into more stories let me know, she is an ornery little dog and is full of energy.