The three dogs made it back to the barge so Rose could recover. She laid down on a set of blankets. She couldn't help but feel bad about failing her first day. She wanted to prove that she'd be a great addition to the gang and a street dog. She didn't want to feel like a liability to them.
Dodger had found a doggy bag on their way back to the barge. Because of the event with the other dog, she had forgotten how hungry she actually was. Dodger brought Rose a burger that was half-eaten, to which she ate ravenously.
When she was hungry, she wasn't fussy all that much. Dodger was happy that she was eating. "How is it, Rose?" he asked, tilting his head to the right. "It's amazing, Dodge. Thanks," she replied, licking her muzzle.
"I knew you would, girl," Dodger said, his tail brushing on the wooden floor. He was eating a small morsel of food from the doggy bag. Einstein eyed Rose's shoulder, which was red from the cut. "Does it still hurt, Rose?" the large dog asked in concern.
"A little bit. Not as much," Rose replied, shaking her head, "Just want to avoid crazy dogs like that one," Dodger smiled at her and pawed at her. "We got your back, Rose. You got nothing to worry about. Besides, once you get fixed up, you're gonna be one of the best street dogs ever," Dodger said, having that smug grin on his face.
"Let me guess, you're the best there is?" Rose smiled. Dodger cocked his head and winked in a flirty way, "Absitively Posolutely. Just you, me, and Einie!"
Rose tilted her head to the right with a smile, Dodger's words filling her with confidence. This little cut she got wouldn't bring her down, not by a long shot. She would be ready to get out there again to show Dodger what she was really made of.
(Four Weeks Later)
It'd been a full month since Rose joined the gang. She proved to be a great pickpocket when it comes to food, impressing Dodger. The cut on her shoulder had now become a scar.
Everything seemed to be going very well for the trio; they worked great together. Things were going to get better the following day.
Fagin had dropped them off to find food for the day. Rose took the lead with Dodger and Einstein behind her. While sniffing around for some food, the shepherd/collie mix caught wind of another scent, the scent of another puppy.
She followed the scent to an alleyway. It led up to a fire escape that was attached to the side of a building. She had found the source of the scent.
On the fire escape, was another puppy tied to it. The puppy looked out of place, much like Rose. She was distinctly scruffy and gangly, a disheveled mess of brown fur framing her face. She was a mix between a Saluki and an Afghan Hound, which showed her fine features and slender build.
Rose cocked her head when she saw the puppy, seeing how bored she really is. At first, she didn't see the shepherd/collie mix puppy.
The little hound turned her head and was startled by the other puppy. "Hey! You up there!" Rose called. "Hello," the hound said shyly. "What're you doing up there?" Rose asked, noticing that the puppy was tied up. The little hound glanced down at her paws.
"I got in trouble," the little hound said. Rose cocked her head again, feeling puzzled. "For what? What'd you do?" she asked, raising a brow. "I was being too rowdy for my mother's good. I didn't mean to," the little hound said in embarrassment.
"Too rowdy? Why get into trouble for that?" Rose wondered. The little hound shrugged her shoulders. Rose felt bad for this puppy, getting into trouble for something that naturally comes in puppies. They're always rowdy.
"What's your name? I'm Rose," Rose asked, smiling again. "My name's Rita," the hound replied cautiously. "That's a cool name," Rose yipped with a grin, "Say, why don't you come with me and my friends? You shouldn't have to stay here,"
"Your friends?" Rita asked. "Yeah! We can get you out of here," Rose replied, "We can have loads of fun!" Rita tilted her head to the right, feeling curious about this pup. She looked like fun and she wondered if her friends were fun also.
"Sure, but, I can't go anywhere while I have this collar on," Rita said, stretching her limbs. "I'll get my friends to help," Rose said, turning around to run out of the alleyway.
She turned the corner and saw Dodger and Einstein trotting down the sidewalk in her direction. "Find something, Rosie?" Einstein asked, tilting his big head to the right. Rose walked up to her two friends with a grin. "There's another puppy in the alley over there, she's tied up to a staircase. She needs our help to get loose so she can come with us," Rose replied, looking over her shoulder at the alleyway Rita was at.
"Well, let's go rescue our damsel in distress. Lead the way, Rose," Dodger said, raising his head up. Rose turned and trotted towards the alleyway.
Rita lifted her head as she saw Rose with Dodger and Einstein behind her. "You need help there, darling?" Dodger said in a cocky manner. "Yeah... I wanna get out of here," Rita said, "I can't leave unless I get untied,"
"Well, we're here to help ya out," Dodger said, considering it, "Einie, gimme a boost," Einstein was big enough to set his forepaws on the fire escape. Dodger had climbed up on the Great Dane's muzzle so he could lift him up. After climbing off, he shook his fur to fix himself up.
Rose wanted to see what was going on and asked Einstein if he could lift her up there too. He does so and she crawled off of his snout and onto the fire escape where Rita was.
"Hang on there, we'll get ya loose," Rose said, starting to tug on the leash with her teeth, making little growls in the process. Dodger helped by tugging on her collar. Once they got it loose, Rita slipped out of it.
When she was free from her prison, she hopped onto Einstein and slid down his back, jumping off of the Great Dane's rump and onto the pavement. She bolted out of the alleyway and onto the street. "Huh?!" Rose barked, cocking her head to the side.
She wasn't in the mood to deal with the mutt's agenda. "What happened there?" Rose wondered, looking over at Dodger. "Not sure. Einie must've put her off," Dodger replied. Einstein huffed and said, "No, I didn't,"
"Well, let's follow her. Can't risk her running into a bad dog," Rose said, stepping onto Einstein's head. "Right behind ya, Rose," Dodger said.
Rita had begun to regret running off in a hurry. She didn't know where she was or what she was doing. She's never been to the big city on her own before. Any other time, she'd be with her mother, siblings, and her humans much like Rose.
She couldn't make the decisions on her own, there wasn't a need to. She had always been leashed up whenever they went for a walk. Hunger was starting to become an issue, and she didn't have any idea of where she was going to get food in this city. She could work it out for herself.
The city was filled with many interesting scents, leading Rita to a restaurant where people were sitting out front, eating their food. The little hound waited for the opportunity to snatch a half-eaten burger that a man was eating.
When the man turned away for a moment, she stormed in, jumping onto the table and snagged the remains of the burger before making her escape.
She wasn't watching where she was going and ended up colliding with Rose, and Dodger, making the three puppies fall over onto their backs. "Hey!" Dodger shouted, his face covered in dirt from the ground.
"Ow! That hurt!" Rose glowered, rolling over to her belly. Einstein came running over after seeing the collision. He tried to lick the dirt off of their faces but they both hurriedly moved out of the way.
Rita set the burger down on the ground and said, "Sorry about that guys, do you guys want any?" Unlike Rose, Dodger was a bit cross after crashing into the little hound.
"You serious? Thank you! You're the best!" Einstein bounced happily. Rita gave him the burger, which he happily devoured.
"How'd you catch that?" Rose asked, tilting her head in curiosity. "Follow me," Rita said, turning back around to lead them to the cafe. The four dogs trot towards the cafe.
"See that human who's throwing a fit like a human toddler?" Rita said. Rose cocked her head and stared at the human who was, indeed, pitching a fit because his food is missing.
Rita had two other sisters who treated her like an outcast, found it pleasant to have puppies her age with who she could have fun with. "Wow, you actually got food from this guy? That's awesome!" Rose barked, bouncing back and forth while wagging her tail. Dodger pretended to not be impressed, but he actually was.
"Mind if I hang around you guys? You guys can show me around," Rita asked. Rose pawed at her playfully, more than happy to have Rita join them. "We can be your guide- Rosie and I'll show you this city like the back of our paws. Right, Rosie?" Dodger replied, cockily looking at Rose.
"Sure! The more, the merrier! We can show you around the place!" Rose said ecstatically. "Yeah, I can help too!" Einstein chimed in, his skinny tail wagging.
"Hold on, Einie, maybe you should go back to Fagin, we won't be out on our own in the big city," Dodger said, wanting to get rid of their babysitter. As much as they liked the big dog, the Great Dane, he did have a tendency to cramp their style.
Einstein thought hard for a minute and remembered what happened to Rose a month prior. "Dodger, not after Rose had gotten hurt in that junkyard. Fagin would want me to stay with you guys," Einstein replied. The pups were growing up and keeping up with them was becoming more arduous.
"What's your name?" Dodger asked Rita. "Rita. What about you guys? I already got Rose's name," Rita said. "The ladies call me Dodger. And that's Einstein," Dodger smugly said.
"How old are you, Rita?" Dodger asked. "Thirteen weeks and four days," Rita replied. "Einstein! She's not that much older than us! We'll be fine!" Rose exclaimed, looking up at the large dog.
Einstein looked at the three puppies, feeling that they were capable to wander free in this city. He bid them goodbye before bounding off. He knew how hard it was to keep track of the hyper-active puppies, and he was perfectly fine with taking the afternoon off.
