A/N: To all my reviewers! Thank-you so much for all your lovely words of encouragement and support! I really do appreciate it! Also keep in mind that the wolves will be referred to as dogs on occasion.
Disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds never have never will.
2nd A/N: NO FLAMES! Not accepted.
Chapter Two: Puppy Bootcamp
The puppies were considered adolescents now, they are bigger and growing bigger every day. They no longer curled up at the foot of the Tracy's beds. They had their own beds now. And so it was time to star training them to work.
"Ok, guys, here are some of the things we need to teach our pups. Start them young and then it'll be ingrained in them for when we need to use them." Virgil said as he handed out a sheet of paper to each of his brothers. Alan frowned at it.
"Six to TEN hours A WEEK?" He spluttered.
"At least, be lucky it's not per day. Alan, these are wild animals we're teaching this to. Wolves have always been notoriously difficult to train as working dogs. If we persist at this maybe we can make it work." Virgil said. Alan looked down at Luna and shrugged, the dog cocked its head as if to shrug also. So it was to begin. Sniffing out survivors was first up.
Gordon was the one to be sniffed out. Cosmo was told to 'find Gordon' and the pup did well. But Cosmo lost Gordon's scent at the river. It seemed that Balto, however, knew that perhaps his scent would pick up across the river. And so the search continued. Balto found Gordon first. So it seemed he was suited for Search and Rescue ops.
Then they got to see how the dogs would go over broken and unstable ground. Sergeant was perfect but Balto, Cosmo, Luna and Southpaw had difficulty finding safe footing. The many drills and exercises tired both the Tracy boys and their dogs. But each dog excelled at something.
Each of the dogs had their own calling, the only dog that had no real calling was Luna. She didn't seem to have a particular skill at all. It wasn't until Alan and Luna went off and Alan got hurt did the boys find her calling.
Virgil was the first to notice he was gone. It seemed their first search and rescue would be on the island. Alan was missing and so was Luna.
"Balto, find Alan." He said letting Balto get Alan's scent and then they were off. Balto led the boys to the top of a cliff, the first thing they noticed was that Luna was lying there at the top. But Alan was nowhere to be seen that meant one thing.
"Alan? You down there?" Gordon called leaning over the edge.
"Yeah, Gordy! I hurt my leg." Alan replied.
"Alright hold on, Scott's on his way!" Gordon told him and the red head sat up and patted Luna, she nudged his hand with her nose, "Its ok Girl. He's just fine." He told her. It seemed Luna wasn't a rescue dog as more of a dog meant for comfort. To help keep trapped people calm and relaxed. She was by far the calmest of all the dogs and she was content to be petted and loved more than the others. It seemed this was Luna's calling. She was a comfort and she would provide a calming presence to keep children calm and she would provide the survivors with a little bit of company.
The dogs worked hard and each had their own ability. They each had their own skill. They would make a good addition to the team. At least the boys hoped they would. Only time would tell really. They just had to hope that through the rest of Puppy Bootcamp would it work to show that these wolves were useful to them.
Most rescue teams used Saint Bernards or German Shepards or Labradors or even Golden Retrievers. But the Thunderbirds – International Rescue – they would be different. Very different. They had five wolves and they were being trained as rescue dogs. They always had to be a little different. But as he always did, Scott knew their father would be proud of what they were doing. They weren't just training rescue dogs, but they also had given these animals a loving home and now each boy had his own best friend.
The only problem they had was with Southpaw. He couldn't go into space with John. While John was earth bound it was fine but when he had to go back it was going to be a bit more difficult. Scott just hoped that it would work out...he didn't want Southpaw to pine for John but dogs don't de well in space. They'd figure something out they always did.
Alan sat flipping through a book when Luna jumped up beside him and laid down resting her head on his lap. He absently patted her head, she was keeping him company. He looked up at the sound of a whine. He was surrounded by five dogs, his brothers had been called away on a rescue and he had been left because Thunderbird 3 wasn't needed, Alan had now the company of all the dogs. Soon enough Alan abandoned the book Balto joined him on the bed, then followed by Southpaw, Sergeant and finally Cosmo. Alan laughed when Balto licked his cheek.
"Ok, guys, you win." Alan moved so he was lying on his bed, as the dogs moved to keep him warm on all sides. Luna snuggled into his left side, Sergeant on his right, Southpaw curled around Alan's legs and Cosmo laid over his feet. Balto being the lightest and still the smallest of the dogs curled up on Alan's stomach. And that was how his brothers found them. When Scott and Gordon moved to collect their dogs, Virgil urged them to let them be. The dogs would soon wake on their own and be able to smell their owners. But for now, they were comfortable and they were content. Well what do you know? Virgil thought, Alan is a dog person. He remembered the teen saying once adamantly that he was a cat person. Totally a dog person.
Phew! Finally finished it! I'm so sorry that it's been a while! I have been swamped at work and had three deaths in my family within two months. Anyway I'm back now and I'll have the next chapter up in a few weeks!
