The next morning, Dodgr was up with the sunrise. He was ecstatic to have another playmate living with him. He was eager to get the day started and show Rose how things work.
He woke Einstein up rather rudely by pulling on his tail until he stirred around. Rose was still asleep on his make-shift bed, curled up into a ball with her tail covering her nose.
Dodger was lucky because Einstein was friendly-natured, even for a large, dumb-minded dog. It wasn't at all bad when a puppy tugs at your tail with all he's got.
Dodger wanted to make a good impression on Rose, not wanting her to think she made a mistake coming here, so he didn't use the same tactic to wake her up. He walked over to her and nudged her with his snout.
"You're a heavy sleeper," he said with a crossed sigh. Rose stirred and opened her eyes, having to blink to see Dodger and Einstein standing in front of her. "Morning, guys," she smiled, yawning halfway through.
She stretched and stood on her paws, shaking her black and brown pelt. "You were out like a light last night," Einstein commented. "Yeah, that's the longest I've ever slept," Rose said.
Her stomach growled loudly getting the boy's attention. "Looks like someone's ready to go," Dodger said, wagging his tail furiously. "Yeah, let's go grab something to eat! I can eat a hundred birds if I wanted to," Rose replied, ready to get her mind off of yesterday.
She had new friends to help distract her thinning patience of her mother's return. She'd been hopeful that her mother would return to her and they'd find her brother. Deep down, she couldn't handle the rejection, she could just enjoy her new life.
"Yeah, things have been slow for the last couple of days," Dodger abashedly said, scratching his right ear. Rose didn't want to offend her friends about being hungry. She didn't want to complain about it. However, Rose was used to having meals every few days, so it wasn't a big change for her.
"It's alright, Dodgy. Let's get going then. You gonna show me the ropes?" Rose asked with a smile. "Yep!" he yipped excitedly, "But I gotta wake Fagin up first," He ran over to Fagin in a jovial manner to wake him up so they could have some real fun in the city.
By the time the sun was high in the sky, the three dogs were sitting in the basket of the trolley that Fagin drove around. Rose leaned against the side of the basket, feeling the wind blow her fur and mix-matched ears back. She felt the specks of drool from Einstein's tongue, which was hanging out.
She didn't know how Dodger and Einstein enjoyed this ride without getting thrown everywhere. She'd have to get the hang of it. Rose was nervous about her first day on the job with her two friends. She wanted to show herself to Dodger, who was a bit of a show-off. He seemed to know this city like the back of his paw, like he was one with it.
Fagin sharply turned to an alleyway and pulled over. "Alright, Dodger, show Rose the ropes. Make sure she knows how we do things around here," Fagin said. Dodge yipped a couple of times before Fagin dropped them off.
Rose felt a little queasy from that bumpy ride. Fagin didn't expect much of her first day. She would enjoy herself while Dodger showed her the ropes.
Dodger took the lead, trotting cheerfully until they made it to a fence. There was a hole underneath the fence, sniffing around. There was a junkyard filled with all kinds of good stuff, making his tail wag. "Find something, Dodger?" Rose asked him, trying to see what he was looking at.
"Yeah, something good," Dodger replied. Einstein stood on his hind legs and stuck his large head over the fence. He could easily hop over it if he wanted to. "Smells really good. There's gotta be some human leftovers in there," the large dog said, wagging his tail.
Rose looked around for a bigger hole for her and Dodger to crawl through. After finding one, she easily went under and slipped through. "Through here, Dodge!" she called. Dodger pulled his head out and smiled at her. He was impressed that she had found a way inside.
"Awesome work, Rose. Let's find breakfast!" he said, crawling through the fence. The two puppies raced through the junkyard, jumping over some debris.
They went through the trash to find some food. Rose looks over a pile and sees Einstein still looking over the fence. "Don't forget me!" he called. "We won't, Einie!" Rose called back, digging through a pile of debris.
Right now, she could eat almost anything from being so hungry. After finding a tied-up trash bag, she pulls it down by her teeth to the ground. "Dodge, I found something!" she called him. However, she was met with a deep, menacing growl that pulled her attention away from the bag.
Rose's hackles raised up when the growl hit her ears. Behind her, was a large pit bull mix standing a few feet from her. Dodger saw the dog too.
"Rose! Run!" Dodger shouted, pushing her towards the fence, which was a few hills away. They got down and galloped as fast as they could towards the fence. The other dog caught up to Rose and felt it bite down on her neck hide, picking her up.
"Hey! Put me down! Put me do-" she cried, fighting to get loose. The dog threw the pup at the trash pile, cutting her left shoulder deeply. Rose yelped at feeling herself get cut.
"I'll show you!" the dog growled, about to attack her. Rose was honestly scared to death that this dog would end her. Just before he could, there was a loud crash behind them. It was none other than Einstein, barking and snarling deeply at the pitbull mix.
The Great Dane towered over the other dog, sending fear into him. "Touch her and you'll regret it!" the big dog snarled, snapping his teeth at him. The pit bull mix wasn't fazed for a moment and tried to challenge the big dog, which was a mistake.
Einstein leaped at the other dog and grabbed him by the neck, shaking him up fiercely. After letting him go, he used his head as a battering ram to make the other dog leave.
Rose turned over, her heart still thumping in her chest. She shakily stood up, but her left shoulder was bleeding so she couldn't put it down. She limped over to Einstein and hid under his forelegs. Dodger ran back to them quickly.
"What happened?" Dodger asked, seeing Rose holding her leg up and shaking. "We have to go, Dodger. Rose got hurt," Einstein said, glaring at the pitbull with his teeth bared. The other dog quickly backed off.
"No, I'll tough it out. It doesn't hurt that much," Rose said, trying to act tough but it honestly was hard too. "Don't talk nonsense, Rose. That needs to be treated," Einstein said, picking her up and placing her on his back. Rose didn't want to argue with the great dane so she decided to let it go.
