Chapter 4

"Brittany, staring out the window won't make them come over here any faster," Eleanor gently scolded from the kitchen.

"I know. Jeanette saw them leave with Rodney over an hour ago. What could they be doing? You don't think Dave made them take him to the pound do you?"

"When I saw them, they looked happy. I'm sure if Dave was making them take Rodney to the pound, they'd look melancholy."

"What do fruits have to do with anything?"

"Never mind." Jeanette shook her head. Brittany's vocabulary wasn't nearly as expansive as hers was.

"Brittany, why don't you come over hear and help us peel potatoes?"

"But, Miss Miller!"

"Please?"

"Oh, alright."

"What are we having for dinner, Miss Miller?" Jeanette asked as she washed her hands in preparation to help.

"Meatloaf. Eleanor wanted to make the mashed potatoes herself this time."

"Good, I hate that instant junk."

"I think it tastes good, Brittany." Jeanette mentioned.

"But not nearly as good as Eleanor's recipe."

"True."

"Boy, this potato is hard to peel. I'm afraid I'll cut my finger."

"Brittany," Eleanor groaned. "If you weren't so afraid of breaking a nail or something, you'd apply a little pressure to the peeler," Eleanor reached over and pressed her hands on Brittany's, "and actually peel them!"

"Oh, that might help."

The doorbell rang. The Chipettes dropped their peelers and made a mad rush to the door. Eleanor got to it first and burst open the door, scaring Theodore so much that he nearly fell off the step. Thankfully, Alvin and Simon were there to help him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Theodore."

"It's okay."

"Well?" demanded Brittany.

"Dave said we could keep Rodney!" Alvin proclaimed.

"The vet stated he didn't belong to anyone and gave him a clean bill of health."

"That's wonderful!" Jeanette beamed.

Theodore added, "We have to go to the store to buy him stuff, and we were wondering if you'd like to go with us."

"Sure!" The Chipettes in unison said.

"Dave won't be going with us, though. He's too tired."

"Miss Miller can drive us."

Eleanor and Jeanette exchanged glances. Since when did Brittany volunteer to go for a ride with Miss Miller? The Chipmunks looked worried at the mention of Miss Miller driving.

"Look, if we walk, who's going to carry home the heavy dog food and all the stuff we bought? I know I'm not."

"She's right," Simon agreed. "It would be easier."

"I suppose we have no choice," Eleanor sighed. "I'll go ask her."

"Where's Rodney?" Jeanette asked.

"We tied him to the tree again," Simon answered.

"I'm going to go untie him, though. I'm sure he's so sad." Theodore went to go get him.

Eleanor came out of the house. "Miss Miller said 'yes'. She'll be right out."

"What about our dinner?" Jeanette remembered they had been peeling potatoes before the Chipmunks had arrived.

"We'll save it for tomorrow. We hadn't started making the meatloaf yet."

"I'm all ready to go! Let's put the rubber to the asphalt!"

"There's Rodney!" Brittany half ran over to him. "Such a good dog, Rodney."

"Congratulations, boys. The girls told me all about your new dog. Why isn't he cute!"

Because of Miss Miller's appearance, Rodney approached her cautiously. He soon sensed that she was harmless and greeted her with his usual jolly dog licking. The Chipmunks and Chipettes piled into the car. It was a tight fit, but the drive to the pet store wasn't that long.

"So what do you plan on buying?" Jeanette asked Simon as they approached their destination.

"The basics: dog food, food and water bowls, a brush. Hopefully, we can get him a collar and leash. Dave said he'd take us to the animal shelter tomorrow to buy him a license."

Rodney was excited to go into a new place and tried to run across the parking lot, but Alvin had a tight hold on him. It was a big pet store, the biggest in the city, and there were quite a few dogs present. Rodney tried to meet them all, but Alvin would not let him.

"I think we should look at the leashes and collars first," he said as he tugged at Rodney.

"Boy, I never knew they made so many different ones," Theodore commented as he looked in wonder.

"This looks nice." Brittany picked up a blue and pink plaid collar with a silver bell on it.

"No way!" Alvin exclaimed. "That's a girl CAT's collar! Do you want me to give him a complex?!"

"No."

"Now this is good." Alvin held up a black spiked collar.

"For a pit bull." Simon held up a blue one instead.

"If we're going that way, red is much better than blue. Blue is sometimes a girl's color. Red is always for a boy."

"What about a printed collar?" Eleanor suggested.

"I don't like any of the ones they have here," Simon said.

"I actually think this green one will look better on Rodney."

"No, Theodore. Red is best."

"I think blue would be the best choice." Simon was trying to keep his patience.

"No, red." Alvin was giving a fake smile.

"Um, guys, do they have a red or blue collar in Rodney's size?" Jeanette asked in her usual meek manner.

Alvin's heart sank. "I'm sure we can find some sort of collar with red in it." He searched through the racks rapidly until he saw the only collar with red in it that had a matching leash in Rodney's size.

"Rainbow?" Eleanor questioned.

"It doesn't look bad." Alvin said defensively.

"I suppose." Simon wasn't exactly sold on it.

"Let's see how Rodney likes it." Theodore held it up to Rodney's neck. Brittany gave her compact mirror for Rodney to see himself. Then Simon held up the blue one.

"Which one, Rodney?" Theodore asked.

Rodney stood there, contemplating, and put his nose on the rainbow set.

"It's the fairest choice," Jeanette agreed. "It has all of your color's in it."

"But mostly red."

"Let's go get the dog food." Simon was a little upset but soon forgot about it as they continued shopping.

The dog food was a hard decision as there were so many different types and brand names. Alvin ended up opening up some bags and giving Rodney some free samples. He said it was only fair, because humans got free samples too. After Rodney picked the food he wanted, Alvin lifted the heavy bag into the cart. Brittany watched him do this, and he winked at her as he lifted it. "He's just showing off. It's not that heavy." When everyone else had left the aisle, she tried to lift the bag but couldn't budge it. "Maybe he is that strong."

Next, they picked out the best dog brush and food and water dishes that the store had. They were ceramic with black bones and paw prints. Alvin intended to have Rodney's name put on them later. They also picked out a comfortable dog bed for him and of course dog treats.

The toy aisle was the worst. The Chipmunks and Chipettes kept finding different toys they liked for Rodney to have. Rodney even picked out a couple and showed them to Alvin, who couldn't say no. If Miss Miller hadn't convinced them to put some back, they would have bought every toy the store had. Rodney was in doggie heaven!

"I think we've done enough damage," Alvin said as he looked at the cart they had filled.

"Rodney is going to love his new home," Theodore beamed.

As they were waiting in the checkout line, a cat on a leash walked past Rodney. Without notice, Rodney broke free from Alvin's grip and took off after it, barking down the main aisle. Alvin ran after them.

"Rodney, come back here! Heel!"

Rodney stopped in his tracks. Alvin caught up to him and tried to catch his breath.

"You silly dog." Rodney gave a sheepish glance and followed Alvin back to the checkout line.

When they got back to the Chipettes' house, Miss Miller helped the Chipmunks unload their purchases.

"Do you need any more help?"

"No, thank you. We appreciate all your help and that you took us to the store. Thank you."

"Why you're welcome, Simon."

"Thanks for tagging along and helping us pick out all Rodney's things."

"You're welcome, Theodore," Eleanor smiled.

"It was fun, and Rodney is a dear."

"Alvin!" Brittany called to him as he fastened Rodney's leash to the collar. "I just wanted to -uh- say I had fun shopping. Rodney is so easy to buy for," she added quickly.

"Glad you had fun."

"Thanks for letting me tag along."

"Well, everyone else was going. We couldn't leave you behind no matter how much I could try."

"Maybe sometime I can come over to visit Rodney, maybe brush him?"

"Sure."

"Bye, Rodney." She pet him affectionately, and he returned the affection.

"Bye, Alvin." He waved back. Brittany and Alvin certainly had their disagreements, but Brittany felt that Rodney was the one thing that they did agree on. Maybe he could help them become better friends.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jeanette."

"Bye, Simon, and congratulations!"

Inside, the Chipmunks showed Dave all the things they bought Rodney.

"Where's the change?" he asked. Alvin handed him two cents. "That's all that was left?"

"Well…there was a few more dollars, but we really did spend it all on Rodney."

Dave was a little upset by how much they had bought, but he knew it was understandable why they wanted to buy Rodney so much. He let Alvin keep the few dollars that were leftover.

"I know Rodney is going to love all the things you bought him," Dave continued. Why don't you go put away his things now? I'm just going to be down the hall in the Music Room."

Rodney's things were going to be set up in a spare bedroom. There was plenty of room for him to run around in it if they had to leave him at home for awhile, but that was only until they bought (or built) him a doghouse. Each Chipmunk had a difference of opinion about how Rodney's room should be arranged. They were so busy arguing that they didn't notice Rodney leave the room. He had heard the piano playing from the Music Room and had wanted to investigate it.

Now, the Music Room was upstairs in the Seville House. It was the room where Dave escaped when he wanted to write songs in private. It was also a place where the Chipmunks could practice their songs away from the office. The room had two large windows with Simon's keyboard and three music stands in between them. On the left side of the room was another piano (smaller than the one downstairs), three stools with the Chipmunks first name initials on them, and a tall filing cabinet in the corner where Dave stored all his original sheet music and other important documents. The opposite wall had hooks where Alvin kept his electric and acoustic guitar and Simon kept his electric guitar and saxophone. Theodore's drum set was safely set up next to the other instruments.

The door to the Music Room was closed, but Rodney put his mouth over the knob and opened the door. Dave didn't notice Rodney come in and kept playing. Rodney walked over to Dave and sat behind him to listen to the music. As he did whenever he was happy, Rodney wagged his tail. Towards the end of the song, Rodney trotted over to the keys and placed his paw on some of the highest notes. Dave jumped when he heard the noise.

"How did you get in here? Do the boys know you're here?" Rodney barked and played a few more notes.

"You like that, huh?" By this time, Rodney was on his hind legs and moving his paws up and down the keys like he was really playing it.

"That's pretty good!" Dave started to play "Witch Doctor".

"I told the Witch Doctor I was in love with you.

I told the Witch Doctor you didn't love me true.

And then the Witch Doctor he told me what to do.

He said that,

' Ooo, eee, oo, ah ah, ting, tang,

Walla walla, bing bang.

Ooo, eee, oo, ah ah, ting, tang,

Walla walla, bing bang."

Rodney stopped playing and listened intently to the song. When Dave sang the chorus of "Ooo eee"s again, Rodney started to "sing" to the song. He sounded good too, keeping up with the rhythm and the beat. Surprised and excited, Dave sang "Christmas Don't Be Late". By the second verse, Rodney was "singing" right along with him.

"Arr, arr arr, woof, wolf, arr ar.

Bark, ruff, ar, ar arr, owr ar."

"You were great!" Dave told him after the song ended. Rodney wagged his tail with the praise. Dave scratched Rodney's head.

"You know, maybe you won't be so bad." Dave had just needed some time alone with Rodney to see that he wasn't a mean, scary dog like the one from his childhood. Rodney rested his head on Dave's lap and "smiled".

"I found him! He's with Dave!" Theodore hollered. "There you are, Rodney! We were looking all over for you. I'm sorry he got in the Music Room, Dave. I promise it won't happen again."

"It's okay. He didn't do any harm, but watch him more carefully this time," Dave added with more firmness. Theodore nodded and led Rodney out.

"So how do you like your room, Rodney pal?" Alvin asked. "Your bed's over here, with the toy box just a couple feet away, and the chew toys are right there." Rodney sniffed all around and seemed to show his pleasure.

While the boys were playing with Rodney upstairs, Dave fixed a quick dinner as they were all ravenous by this time.

"Boys! Get ready for dinner!" Loud thunder came from upstairs and moved closer as the boys and dog made a mad dash for the stairs.

"Settle down," he warned. "You should probably feed Rodney his dinner now."

"Great idea!" Theodore walked over to the pantry to get the food.

"Not so fast, Theodore," Alvin pulled him by the back of his turtleneck. "I'm going to feed him."

"But, I wanted to feed him first!"

"You're both mistaken. I'm going to feed him. I've hardly done anything for him." Simon strode past Theodore. Alvin and Theodore tackled him down, and they continued fighting. It was finally agreed upon that Alvin could give him his food, Theodore would give him his water, and Simon could give him both for breakfast the next day. Rodney was quite hungry and devoured his food. The lunch meat Eleanor had given him barely tided him over.

It was quite clear that Rodney was devoted to the Chipmunks. When they went to watch T.V. with Dave after dinner, he contentedly lay outstretched at the Chipmunks' feet. Whenever one of them left the couch, he followed him around until he sat back down. After they watched T.V., Dave instructed them to do their homework. (They had some papers due on Monday.) Rodney was lying down under the dining table where they worked. Occasionally he would get up and sniff one of them to make sure they were still there. The Chipmunks managed to finish their homework, despite the distractions from Rodney.

When bedtime came, the boys begged and pleaded with Dave to let Rodney sleep with them. It took quite a lot of convincing, but he finally relented. There was another fight over who Rodney would sleep with. This time, Rodney settled the issue by jumping on Theodore's bed.

"Well, I guess Rodney decided who he's sleeping with tonight," sighed Simon. "I suppose I'll get a chance to sleep with him tomorrow."

"What makes you say that?" asked Alvin.

"Youngest to oldest?"

"Oh. Ok. Goodnight, Rodney." He barked towards Alvin. "Goodnight, Simon. Goodnight, Theodore."

"Goodnight." they replied.

"Goodnight, Theodore. Goodnight, Rodney." Rodney barked at Simon too.

"Goodnight, Simon." Theodore curled under the covers.

Dave poked his head in the door. "Goodnight, fellas."

"Goodnight, Dave," Theodore and Simon said.

"Goodnight, John Boy," Alvin said half chuckling.

"Very funny."

"Who's John Boy?"

"I'll tell you later, Theodore," Simon answered.

"I love you, boys."

"I love you too."

"Dave?" Simon sat up.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for letting us keep Rodney."

"You're welcome. I know he's going to be a great addition to our family." Dave shut off their light and left their door open a crack, just in case Rodney needed to leave.

Theodore rolled on his side and wrapped his arms around Rodney. He was so happy that his wish of having another dog had finally come true. Rodney was fast asleep within 5 minutes. He hadn't been this happy in a long time. He knew that this was his permanent home.