Dodger and Rita's pups grew quickly and soon began scampering around the little boat that Fagan called home. They often tried to follow the gang on their expeditions, but were always intercepted by their babysitter, Cousin Ollie. The orange feline had also grown since his first encounter with the renegades. Oliver still lived his classy life in the "uptown chapter" with Jennifer Foxworth and her family. His attitude was always polite due to his fine upbringing, but he never missed an opportunity to visit Dodger and company. The twins, Pick and Pocket, were always getting into messes but never while their parents were around. Bandit often sniffed around trying to find some food, or something else to sink his tiny teeth into. The youngest pup, Evade, was always found in far corner listening to the radio. Uncle Tito would turn it on for her before he left each morning and she would often spend the lonely afternoons flipping through the stations until she found a beat to her liking. She would occasionally play with her siblings, but their games never interested her very much. Though she loved a good scuffle every now and then, her brothers and sister would entertain themselves by merely chewing on Uncle Einstein's tennis shoe. Evade had much bigger things planned.
Oliver sat on top of the large chair that sat in front of the snowy television, keeping a close eye on the youngsters as they frolicked around. Pick and Pocket had managed to run under the chair unnoticed, and the guard cat spent the majority of his time locating Evade. She loved to hide, and often snuck up on the unsuspecting feline. It was the puppies' favorite game. The twins slowly crept closer to the back of the chair and looked up at their target. But as the young dogs' gazes lifted, they found their opponent had disappeared. The two sniffed around, but Ollie was too quick for them and scared them with a hushed hiss.
Pocket jumped on her twin brother when she heard the noise, and Bandit, who was sitting under the TV, watched intently at the spectacle, and rolled over laughing as the scene unfolded, "You guys are so easy!" the eldest pup belted, bouncing over to the twins and pushing his sister lightly.
Pick's white fur was still bristly from the sudden surprise, and Oliver merely smiled at the youngsters, "You two should know better by now," he said, tickling the female pup with his nose.
The young girl swatted at her sitter playfully and then turned to call to her sister, "Evade!" she hollered at the ghost of a pup, "You should have warned us," but the youngest pup was no where to be seen.
Oliver pricked his ears high and started rummaging through her usual hiding places, but he couldn't find her, "Evade?" he called out in desperation, "Evade!" he pleaded with more plight. He knew that her parents would never forgive him if he lost a puppy. He turned to the other three pups, and turned the television to the Food Network, "Bandit," he ordered the elder puppy, "Watch your brother and sister," he commanded, placing each pup on the seat of the large brown recliner, "and if I come back and find you have moved from that spot, I'll never bring you anymore Foxworth meatloaf," he added. This threat was quite persuasive, seeing as Winston always made special sure that there was plenty of meat in the mix. The trio of pups looked at each other and watched their babysitter disappear up the front steps.
The orange cat leapt across the boat roof, calling out to the young pup, but he heard no reply. As he ran further down the docks, he stopped quickly in his tracks. There, in front of an empty brown cardboard box sat the little pup. Her brown ears were drooped low as she looked upon the item. Fagan had often read to the dogs, and Evade would sit and read the book from her master's lap. Printed in messy black letters were these few words: PUPPIES FOR SALE MAKE AN OFFER. Oliver looked down at the girl and sighed deeply as he made the same conclusion that Evade did: the writing, no doubt was Fagan's. The cat gently licked the pup behind the ear and helped her to her feet just as Dodger and Rita walked around the corner, Fagan and the gang close on their heels.
Evade looked at her parents in utter disgust. How dare they do this to their children? Pawn them off like some expensive heirloom! Tears welled in her brown eyes as she ran back to the boat, leaving her parents and Oliver on the docks. She didn't even look back and headed straight down the stairs.
"Uncle Ollie is going to be mad at you," Pocket said from her station in the chair.
Bandit sat regally on top of the chair, "Yeah, he went out looking for you, and left ME in charge," the eldest pup barked.
"Be quiet, you airhead," Evade snapped before burying herself in the covers of their bed.
Just as the youngster was hidden from view, Fagan paraded down the stairs, proudly holding the box in his arms, "This has to be," he began, but stopped to shoe the pups out of his chair. He cleared his throat and continued, "this has to be the greatest plan I ever claimed to have thought up," he stated, concluding his speech with a prominent chuckle. He threw the box into the empty chair and rounded up the three puppies, "Look kids!" he cheered, "You're all going to new homes tomorrow!" he said, petting each pup individually. Fagan counted the dogs on his fingers, and though his math wasn't the greatest, it was very seldom that he messed up counting to four, "Where's the other one?" he asked the dogs, "Evade!" he called out, a large, crooked grin plastered on his face.
Einstein and Francis began rummaging through the numerous trunks that littered the boat's floor, while Tito and Rita looked under the TV and in the shelves and cupboards. Dodger was the first to find her, growling angrily under her breath, "There you are, kid," he said, nudging her playfully with his wet nose.
Evade simply grumbled, "Leave me alone," she said quietly.
The Dodge looked down at the tiny dog; the mirrored image of a younger him, "What's the matter? You should be happy; finally getting outta here," he said, donning a large smile.
The daughter rolled away from her sire, "How could the master do this to us?" she said, tensing her front paws, "I promise I won't run off anymore, or chew on the chair, or listen to the radio when Uncle Francis is watching his stories," she begged.
The elder dog shook his head slowly, "Babe, you know that we can't afford to feed everybody…" he began softly before his daughter cut in.
"We can work the streets like you and mom," she pleaded.
"Evade," Dodger said concernedly.
"Please don't make me leave," she whined.
Dodger sighed, "We'll see tomorrow," he said, licking her face tenderly. He escorted her back to Rita and the parents looked at each other, "Now, kids," their father began, "Tomorrow, our master is going to send you to nice, new, and loving homes," he said, glancing at each pup for theirs reactions.
Pocket and Pick shared concerned expressions. They dreaded separation; they'd never been apart since they were born. Bandit's eyes smiled to his parents at the thought of a new family. To him, everyday was an adventure, and his tail didn't cease wagging. Evade snuffed her nose and looked to her mother for support, "Mom, do we really have to go?" she pleaded.
Rita flipped her ears a bit and looked down at her little daughter, "E, darling, you know our master can't keep feeding us all forever. We have been hitting a lot of dry spells on the streets, so we want to get you pups out of here," she said, glancing to Dodger for reassurance.
"Yeah, kid. You don't want to hang around with us all the time, do ya?" the patriarch added.
The young pup sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "But…" she protested, but Uncle Francis interrupted her.
"Oh, fair damsel. Don't look down so harshly on this new becoming. We all must find our places in the world, and you, my dear," he proclaimed with a small, deep laugh "are destined for greatest far past the end of an empty garbage can," he added, raising one paw high in the air.
Tito shook his head a little, "Uh…" the tiny dog stuttered, "what he means, chica, is you guys are cute, and there are tons of kids who would take a puppy into a nice home. We, heh, we're old and worn out, we ain't gotta hope of getting new homes," the Chihuahua barked.
The young pup couldn't argue with that. She knew that she would have a better life, but deep in heart, she wished that she could stay. Being raised in such an environment had taken its toll on Evade, and she was hooked to this kind of lifestyle, "Okay," she said quietly.
Dodger smiled wide, "Thatta girl," he said, nudging her shoulder with his paw.
Fagan picked up the four pups in his arms, tossed the empty box into the corner by the door, and sat down in the recliner, "You know," he began, looking down at the tiny dogs, "There still is one last chapter," he added with a grin. Einstein barked softly and went to retrieve the book. Francis pushed the lamp closer, and retreated to the left side of the chair, while Tito pulled the chain and jumped down beside him. Rita and Dodger seated themselves on the right side of the chair, and Oliver, who followed the group in, curled himself on the arm of the chair, while Einstein took rest at Fagan's feet. The hobo flipped through the old book and found his place, "Here we are; Chapter 36," he stated. The man cleared his hoarse throat and began to read, "Sparky ran down the empty street of the noisy city, barking loudly at the dogcatcher behind him. He would lead the man away if it was the last thing he did," Fagan read. He continued the story well into the night; for being the last chapter, it was also the longest. As he drew nearer to the end, he yawned every second word, "And Sparky," he yawned, "looked up at his," he paused to yawn again, "new owner Johnny and smiled. Finally, he knew he was," he stopped again and smacked his lips before reading the final word, "home," he concluded with another yawn.
The pups had fallen asleep in the man's lap. Bandit snored softly, while Pick and Pocket nuzzled together, breathing simultaneously. Evade could barely keep her eyes open as she saw Fagan toss the book to the side and watched her mother pick up her sister by the scruff to carry her to the green blanket that was their bed. Dodger gently grabbed Pick and followed suit, placing the twin brother by his other half, and then walking back to the chair to get two remaining pups. Rita nudged Bandit so she could get a better grip, and Dodger picked up his youngest child, and set her down with her siblings. The four pups curled up in little, fluffy balls of fur, and Rita took her place; surrounding them with her warm, brown fur.
The street-wise ruffian licked Rita's cheek, and then turned towards the pile of pillows in the far corner. He pulled the blanket out and rearranged the cushions before softly falling into place on the inflatable pillow. Evade awoke at the sound of the slight rustling and looked over to her father sleeping soundly in the corner. She quietly stepped away from her siblings, and walked over to the sleeping dog. She jumped over onto his side, and curled up beside him. Dodger opened one eye to catch a glimpse of his sleeping daughter then put his head back on his paws and fell asleep.
Einstein had huddled under Fagan's legs, and snored loudly. Francis had found refuge beside the lamp and Tito fell asleep in Einstein's chew shoe. Oliver stretched himself, and looked up to the sleeping face of his former owner. The orange cat licked Fagan's nose, then leapt on top of the chair, and pulled the chain to turn the lamp off. He then jumped to the ground, landing silently, and headed towards the door. Oliver looked back again at the sleeping forms of his family, and smiled at the four pups, dreaming in their places. He sighed quietly, and bounded up the stairs and out the door. As he reached the end of the docks, the cat looked back at the rugged boat "The Dodgers" called home. He smiled again, then headed down the street to Columbus Avenue, and the home of his master, Jenny.