Puppy Problems

by MullerLowLife

Yet another one-off story based on "Beat The Clock". Little Michael Raccoon wants his parents to get him a puppy for his birthday, and after doing some thinking, Ralph and Melissa decide to get him one. But is Michael really prepared to handle the responsibilities of owning a pet? Find out what happens...

3. Peanut, Come Home!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Who else but me to turn a simple little one-off story into a three chapter long fic, huh? :D Anyways, this story has been a pretty up and down one so far. Young Michael Raccoon wanted a puppy for his birthday, as he felt he was more than responsible enough to look after one at his age. His loving parents, Ralph and Melissa debated about it and decided to get him one as a birthday gift. They got a bulldog puppy from an employee of Ralph's at the Evergreen Standard, which the little kit promptly named Peanut. In the last chapter, we saw Michael loving his new pet and quickly growing quite close to her. But one night, while his parents were out enjoying themselves and his Aunt Nicole was looking after him, Michael let his guard down when he took Peanut outside and allowed her to run off into the woods. Michael was crushed to see his puppy run away, but Ralph and Melissa promised their son that they would help get her back. Unfortunately, the Pigs found Peanut the next day and, looking for a way to make some more money, decided to make her their champion show dog! Now, we've reached the third and final chapter of this little tale. Will Michael ever see Peanut again? Will the Pigs actually succeed in making Peanut a championship winner? Will I stop asking these silly questions? You probably already know the answer to all three of these questions, but I hope you'll stay tuned for...

CHAPTER THREE: Peanut, Come Home!

A few days have passed in the Evergreen Forest. Just a couple of days ago, little Michael Raccoon made one of the biggest mistakes of his young life...losing his new puppy, Peanut. But luckily for him, his parents, although they were not pleased with him and scolded him for his irresponsibility, forgave him and did their best to reassure him that he hadn't lost their love. They promised him that they would help him get Peanut safely back home again in any way they could...

And the very next day, that's just what his parents did. That morning, Ralph and Melissa had gone to the Standard's office, even though it was supposed to be an off day from work for them. They had taken Michael with them as they didn't want to leave him home by himself; at least they could keep an eye on him around the office. Together, the family had printed up about fifty or so "Have You Seen Me?" posters, leaving their phone number and both their home and work address for anyone who had information to contact them at.

Then they proceeded to go around the Forest and paste them up in the hopes that diligent Forest denizens would keep a good lookout for the lost bulldog. They pasted them up at the Blue Spruce Cafe, George's restaurant, Lock Links Country Club...anywhere they felt certain plenty of people were sure to see their posters. Ralph and Melissa knew there was no guarantee that anyone would contact them with information on the missing Peanut, but they both tried to keep their hopes up. Their son was very depressed over losing his new pet; they just wanted nothing more than to see him happy again.

But alas, the days passed and there was no news of Peanut. The couple hadn't received any calls, e-mails, or anything of the sort. Now it was Tuesday morning, and they both knew that the longer time passed, the less likely it was that Peanut would ever be found...

It was a rather busy morning at the Evergreen Standard's office. Ralph was sitting at his computer desk, typing up an article about a series of concerts that was scheduled to come to the Forest Bowl next spring. He was soon interrupted from his work by a familiar voice...

"Here you go, sir; I've got my food column for this week all ready!" It was Bobby Jacks, a grey squirrel in his mid-30s who was one of the new hires Ralph and Melissa made when they expanded their paper's staff. He was an amateur chef who had worked at George's restuarant. They had hired as their full-time food columnist, as their former part-time columnist, Ricky, had left the Forest for the big city. Ralph quite liked Bobby; he was very polite and formal, plus he always seemed to be the first one to finish his weekly columns. "I was working on it ahead of time this past weekend, I just printed it out for you."

"Ah, well, leave it on my desk, Bobby," Ralph nodded. Bobby obliged and placed the finished column on his boss' desk. Ralph picked it up and quickly skimmed through it. "Huh. Peanut butter chicken pot pie?" he raised an eyebrow. "Huh, well, Bobby, I think I know someone who would get a real kick out of this recipe!" he chuckled.

"Oh, I know, I know..." Bobby chuckled as well. He was well aware of his co-worker Bert's enthusiasm for all things peanut butter. "Say, has there been any information about your son's missing dog? I've seen the posters you and your wife put up, but I was wondering if anyone had called saying they had any news..."

Ralph sighed. "No, Bobby. No one's contacted us with any information about Peanut, I'm afraid. I'm trying my best to keep my hopes up, but I can't say I'm very optimistic anyone will come forward with anything helpful..." Ralph quickly scratched his chin. "Wait, you didn't happen to see anything, did you, Bobby?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't," Bobby shook his head. "Like I said, I've seen the posters and my wife and I have been keeping an eye out everywhere we've gone these past couple of days, but we haven't seen any trace of her. I was just hopin' maybe someone had some news...I can only imagine how your son must be taking it..."

"Oh, he's not taking it very well at all," Ralph sighed once again, the image of his son's saddened face flashing through his mind. "He's really been taking it very hard; he feels so upset that he lost our pet. I don't think I've seen him even smile once these past three days. I'd do anything to see that bright smiling face of his again..." he trailed off.

"Well, maybe you will. Let me say, I do hope someone finds your lost dog, sir..." With that, Bobby headed back for his desk.

Ralph soon returned to the article he'd been working on. He couldn't help but feel distracted, though...he was wondering if someone, anyone, would have any information concerning Peanut...

About an hour later, a visitor came to the Standard's office and strode up to Ralph's desk. "Hello, Ralph. I see you're hard at work today, huh?"

Ralph nearly jumped out of his seat; he hadn't been expecting any visitors. "Woah! Heheh, you startled me, Schaeffer. I wasn't expecting you to drop by here today, you know!" Ralph nervously laughed, trying to regain his composure.

"I hope it's not a bad time, Ralph...?" Schaeffer chuckled.

"No, not at all," Ralph managed to crack a grin at his friend. "What brings you here, anyways? You usually don't drop by here unless you have some big news for the Standard..."

"Well, as a matter of fact...I do have some very big news, Ralph," Schaeffer informed him.

"Oh...New acts at the Blue Spruce Cafe, I take it?" Ralph wondered aloud.

"Well, I managed to book Edwin and Jimmy Summer for Halloween," Schaeffer replied. "And to think, I thought Woodchuck Berry was going to be the only formerly high-profile act I'd ever to get play at the Cafe!"

"I remember Edwin Summer, but not Jimmy..." Ralph remarked. "Edwin Summer...I remember that hit instrumental he had...What was it called? 'Dracula' or something like that? I remember Bert used to have that single back in the day..."

"Yes, that's the one," Schaeffer nodded, humming a bit of the tune himself.

"Hmm, well, I'm sure that'll be quite a show...Maybe Melissa and I'll go see it," Ralph idly remarked.

"That's not why I came here though, Ralph...I have some news concerning your missing dog, Peanut."

Ralph's ears perked up. "Peanut? You have news about...Peanut?" This was what he had been hoping to hear for the past three days. Perhaps Schaeffer had found the missing bulldog..."You mean...you found her...?"

"Well, yes, and...no," Schaeffer answered.

Ralph was confused. "Yes and no? What do you mean...?"

"Well, I was out for a walk this morning," the sheepdog began to explain, "near Evergreen Lake. I was just trudging along through some bushes when..."

"When what...?" Ralph interrupted. He could hardly wait to hear what his old friend had to say next...

"I stepped on something soft and almost lost my balance. I stooped down to see what it was...and..." Schaeffer sighed, "I found this." He then proceeded to produce a little red dog collar, with a leash still attached to it. He handed it to Ralph, who proceeded to take a closer look at what was inscribed on the dog collar...

It was at that moment that Melissa stepped out of her photo lab for a quick break. "Oh, hi there, Schaeffer," Melissa smiled and waved to the sheepdog. "What brings you here?"

"Melissa..." Ralph answered her, holding up the collar and leash for her to look at. "Look at this..."

"Huh, what's this...?" Melissa took a closer look at the collar her husband was holding and read the inscribed words on it. She recognized them right away..."Ralph...is...is this...what I think it is...?"

"I'm afraid so," Ralph heaved a very heavy sigh. "This is Peanut's collar...with her leash still attached, too..."

Melissa almost instantly felt rather sad. "Schaeffer...you found this...?" she asked.

"I did," Schaeffer nodded. "And I knew you two needed to see this."

"But Michael said she was wearing her collar when he lost her," Melissa remarked.

"Maybe she got it caught on something and broke free from it?" Ralph tried to be optimistic.

"She couldn't have!" Melissa vehemently shook her head. "I always made sure her collar was on tight...and besides, look at this. Do you see that? It looks like someone took off her collar..."

"I hate to say this, you two..." Schaeffer grimly said. "But I believe someone has probably kidnapped Peanut."

"Kidnapped Peanut?!" Ralph and Melissa both gasped. That was the worst case scenario they could think of. They knew there were many unsavory types around the Forest who would have no qualms with taking someone else's dog, even if that dog clearly had an owner and a family...they only wondered who could have taken her, and what on Earth they might possibly be doing to her...

"I would think so," Schaeffer nodded.

"Oh, this is terrible, dear..." Melissa uttered in a solemn voice. "What's Michael going to think when he sees this and we tell him someone has taken his pet? I can't imagine how he'll take it...he's going to be so heartbroken..."

"I know, honey..." Ralph softly quipped. "It pains me to think of how he'll probably react to seeing this...But we have to tell him, you know...When he comes home from school this afternoon, I know he'll be asking us about Peanut..."

"We'll just have to come out and tell him, I guess..." Melissa glanced downwards. Telling Michael that he was more than likely not going to see his puppy again was going to be one of the hardest things they had ever done...but they knew it was better for them to tell their son the truth as opposed to lying to him...

That afternoon, Michael headed home from school. It had been a very long day and he was just eager to be home again soon. But he couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Peanut is still out there somewhere..." Michael thought to himself as the front door of the Raccoondominium came into view. "Mom and Dad said if anyone saw here, they'd be sure to let them know. Maybe someone found her..." He was trying his best to remain optimistic; he was hopeful that maybe, just maybe, Peanut would be there waiting for him once again when he came home.

Michael soon opened the front door to find his parents sitting there on the couch before him, with glum expressions occupying their faces.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad, I'm home," Michael called out to them.

"Hi, honey..." Melissa tried to sound excited, but it was clear from her tone of voice she wasn't...

"Hello, son. It's great to see you again..." Ralph sighed, making no effort to hide the grimness in his voice.

"What's the matter, Mom? Dad?" Michael wondered. Why did they look so sad? They were usually always so happy to see him. He decided to change the subject. "Did anybody say anything about Peanut at work today?" he asked, innocently.

"Son...about that," Ralph replied, trying to think of what he would tell his young son.

"That's what we need to talk to you about, Mikey..." Melissa added. "Someone did come by our office today with news about Peanut..."

Michael's ears immediately perked up. He couldn't help but feel excited. "Really? Someone saw Peanut?" Hope quickly filled the young kit; if someone had seen Peanut, there was a good chance that he would see her again soon...

"Well, sort of..." Melissa explained. "Mr. Schaeffer dropped by our office this morning. He told us he found something in the bushes by the lake..."

"What did Mr. Schaeffer see, Mommy?" Michael wondered.

"He found...this..." Ralph tried his best to keep his composure as he produced Peanut's collar and leash for his son to see.

"Huh...that's...Peanut's collar...and her leash!" Michael exclaimed upon taking a closer look. "Mr. Schaeffer found her collar and leash...but...but wait a minute..." the little kit remembered, "she was wearing her collar when I let go of her leash..." Michael was confused. "Mom, where's Peanut?"

"Michael...honey, I know this is going to be very hard for you to hear, but there's no easy way around this..." Melissa sighed, bracing herself for how her little son would react. "We think someone...snatched Peanut..."

Michael's jaw dropped as his ears immediately drooped. "What...?! Sn-sn-snatched Peanut?!" he gasped. "You mean...you mean...someone...stole her?"

"That's what we think happened, son, yes," Ralph nodded.

Tears began to stream down the young kit's face. "B-b-b-but..." he spluttered, frantically looking for words, "how-how could somebody steal Peanut?!"

"You know very well that not everybody in the Forest is nice, Michael..." Ralph tried to explain.

"There are plenty of people in this Forest who would take things that belong to others without a care, I'm sorry to say," Melissa added. "Some people are just cold like that, honey..."

"But I don't understand..." Michael said through his tears. "I just don't understand...why...why someone would take Peanut!? She's our dog!" he began to sob. "Can't you call the police?"

"Call the police?" Melissa repeated.

"Yes," Michael tearfully pleaded. He remembered how last month a local officer of the Evergreen Police Department had come to visit his school. She had taught Michael and the other kids about crime prevention, and that if they ever saw someone commit a crime or knew a crime had been committed that they should call the police..."We should call the police, Mommy! Won't they be able to help find Peanut...?"

"Michael, honey," Melissa replied sympathetically as she scooped Michael up and cradled him in her arms. "Calling the police would be a good idea, but I'm afraid I don't think they would be of much help in this situation."

"Why not...?!" the little kit wondered.

"Well, we don't know who took Peanut, why, or what they even did with her. They might not even live in the Forest; anybody could have Peanut, and she could be anywhere right now...We can't even be sure that someone actually did kidnap her," Ralph sighed. He didn't feel the police could be of any real help to them in this situation. "I'm sorry, son, I really am..."

"Oh, Daddy..." Michael teared up again as he sobbed once more. "Does...does this mean...Peanut is gone...forever?"

"We can't say that for sure..." Ralph sighed. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up, Michael..."

Michael continued to bawl his little eyes out, right into his mother's chest. Melissa promptly tightened her embrace around her crying little son. It pained her so much to see her child so sad like this, but she knew it had been for the best that they told him that, and she was doing her best to provide whatever comfort to Michael that she could.

"It's okay, Michael; it'll be okay..." she softly whispered, gently patting her son's back.

"I'm the worst dog owner ever..." Michael choked out between his sobs. "I lost Peanut forever and it's all my fault..."

"There, there, honey..." Melissa hugged him a little tighter as she continued to pat him gently, tearing up herself. "Mommy's here..."

"I'm here too, son," Ralph replied in a comforting tone as he quickly placed a warm paw on his son's back, hoping to provide some comfort as well. "It's okay, son...We're here for you..."

Michael cried for what seemed to be hours on end. His parents did their best to try to make him feel better about the whole situation, and eventually the little kit calmed down. But he was still mopey and sad, and there wasn't much Ralph and Melissa could do to make him feel better. That night, they kindly let Michael sleep in their bed with them, knowing he would probably not want to sleep alone and figuring it would help offer support.

But even so, it didn't help Michael much. He couldn't believe he lost Peanut, and even worse, someone had found her and almost certainly taken her for themselves to keep. That night, Michael had a very restless sleep as he tossed and turned all night long. He just felt so terribly miserable over what had happened...

---

A few days passed, and the temperatures in the Forest continued to dip a little lower. Winter was right around the corner...it surely wouldn't be much more than another month before the first snow of the year came...and one young Forest resident's mood matched the gloomier weather to a T.

It was Friday afternoon, and Michael's class was out at recess. Normally, Michael would be having fun playing with his young friends...but not today.

Ever since Michael had lost Peanut, he had been quite mopey and depressed. Finding out that someone had stolen Peanut depressed him even further, and over the past few days he had been in a very glum mood. He hadn't eaten much and he hadn't felt like talking much, not even to his own parents. Instead of playing with his friends, he spent pretty much his whole recess sitting at a picnic table in the schoolyard alone. He just didn't feel like having fun knowing what happened to Peanut. Honestly, he didn't know if he would ever feel happy again.

"Michael, what's wrong?" a familiar voice asked. It was Roy Payne, a young Siberian Husky classmate of Michael's whose family had just moved to the Forest from Edmonton this past year. He had a difficult time getting adjusted to his new surroundings, especially since he was used to life in the big city, but Michael had managed to befriend him and the two liked to hang out together. "You haven't played with me or talked to me in a few days. Is something wrong?"

Michael glanced up at his friend, but quickly gazed back down at his feet. "Go away, Roy..." he sighed.

"Why?" Roy didn't quite understand. "I'm worried about you, Mikey. We're all worried about you," he replied. "What's wrong? Please tell me..."

"I don't want to talk now, Roy..." Michael sighed.

He was about to have even more company...he was quickly joined by another of Michael's friends, Chester Marmor, a snowy-white, albino raccoon kit. "Is it OK for us to talk to you, Mikey?" Chester asked.

Michael didn't want to see his friends right now. "Please leave me alone, guys..." he sighed. "I don't want to talk..."

"We're not trying to bother you, Mikey," Chester spoke up. "We've just been worried about you the last few days. You don't play with us anymore. Every day this week, you just sit at the table by yourself. You don't talk much. We want to know what's wrong."

"Are you still sad about Peanut?" Roy asked innocently.

Michael sighed. His friends only wanted to talk to him and make sure everything was alright; there surely was no harm in chatting with them for a little while. "Alright, sit down, you guys, I'll talk..."

"You're still sad about Peanut, aren't you?" Chester asked in a sympathetic voice.

"Yeah..." Michael sighed. "I lost her all because I wasn't paying attention..."

"Well, I think we all make mistakes, Mikey," Roy replied.

"Yeah, but I just feel so...stupid for losing her," Michael mentally kicked himself. "I was too busy daydreaming to hold on to her leash when that squirrel ran by. If only I had paid attention..."

"Mikey," Chester placed an arm around his friend. "You make better grades than us; how can you be stupid? Roy's right! We all make mistakes. Last month I broke Mama's favorite dish when I tried to help her clean the dishes. I felt stupid, but Mama said it was only an accident!"

"But I can't believe I lost her..." Michael sighed. "And now somebody's gone and taken her, and I'll never see her again...all I have is her collar..."

"You really miss her, don't you?" Roy replied in a warm tone of voice.

"I do," Michael let another small sigh. "I do...I only had her for a month, but I had so much fun with her. I thought we were going to be together forever, and now she's gone...Losing Peanut has been so hard..."

"I know how you feel, Mikey," Roy replied. "I lost my pet hamster last year. It was before we moved here. I cried for days, but Mom told me that I wouldn't be sad forever. And I wasn't! I'm sure you'll feel better soon..."

"I hope so..." Michael gazed up at the sky. He knew his friends meant well, but they weren't really helping him much. "I just wish I knew where Peanut was and how she's doing..."

"Who knows? Maybe she'll come home again, Mikey!" Chester tried to be optimistic.

"Oh, I doubt it..."

"Well, you never know!" Chester interjected, as he quickly changed the subject. "So who do you think took her, Mikey?" Chester asked.

"I don't know. A bad person, I guess," he shrugged. "Someone who likes dogs..."

"Maybe she was taken by a queen snake," Roy blurted out.

Michael's eyebrows raised. "A...queen snake...?"

"Yes, a queen snake," Roy replied firmly. "They're the most horrible monsters ever."

"What do they look like...?" Michael asked, feeling a little scared.

"My Dad told me they're the most frightening thing you could ever see," the Husky exclaimed in a frenzied manner. "They're fifty feet long and have fangs as big as your head! They have the most horrible roar, and the worst breath you could ever imagine! Dad said that they like to kidnap lost children and take them to their holes so they can eat them! Maybe one of them took Peanut..."

Michael couldn't help but shudder imagining such a horrible creature making off with his puppy...that is, until he remembered something his father had shown him. "Wait a minute...Daddy showed me a book of wildlife not too long ago. I saw a picture of a queen snake and they don't look like that..."

"Roy, do you believe everything your father tells you?" Chester couldn't help but laugh. "My father knows the Forest like the back of his paw, and he says queen snakes don't live here!" If anyone would know, it would be Chester. The Marmor family were a rugged mountain family, among the very first to settle in this area many years ago...they knew all the ins and outs of the Forest.

"Well, believe what you like!" Roy shook his fist. "But I still think it was probably a queen snake!" This did at least get a little chuckle out of Michael. Roy was a nice kid and a good friend, but he was by and far the most superstitious kid Michael knew. He though he had an overactive imagination...and then he had met Roy. He seemed to believe everything he was told, no matter how silly it was...Roy reminded him quite a lot of his "Uncle" Bert...

"Okay, Roy," Chester rolled his eyes as he glanced back towards Michael. "Michael, we're sorry about Peanut, and we hope-"

But he didn't get much further before he was interrupted by the sound of another familiar voice...one Michael dreaded hearing...

"Well, well, if it isn't the little cry baby who lost his puppy!" came the voice of Scott Searle, a large, burly ferret in Michael's class. Scott was a year older than Michael, like his friends Cecil and Sylvia, but he had failed all of his classes last year, and had been held back a grade, hence why Michael was in the same class as he was. He was well known for being quite a bully; he enjoyed picking on and making of fun other kids who he felt were weaker than he was. Unfortunately, that included Michael...Michael cringed remembering how Scott stole his lunch on the first day of school this year...

"Don't pay any attention to him, Mikey," Roy tried to be helpful. "He's only gonna try to make you feel bad."

"Go away, Scott..." Michael turned away, not wanting to hear any of it.

"Haha, what's the matter, little baby? You want your mommy? Waaaah! Waaaah! I'm so sad! I want my Mommy! Mommy will make everything better! Waaaaaahhh!" Scott laughed, rubbing his eyes as he imitated crying.

"Please go away..." Michael tried not to pay him any attention, but he wasn't doing a very good job of ignoring him...

"Or what? You'll go home crying to your Mommy? What's she gonna do to help you?" Scott continued to laugh. "Hey, maybe your dog ran away because she didn't want a little wimp for an owner, like you! Hahahahaa!"

Tears welled up in the young kit's eyes; those words hurt...a lot.

"You leave him alone!" Chester scowled as he stood up and glared at Scott's face. He hated bullies like Scott...seeing as he was an albino raccoon, he had to put up with bullying and teasing from time to time as well. "Mikey's had a hard few days and that's the last thing he needs to hear right now!"

"Well, what are you going to do about it?!" a now intimidated-sounding Scott retorted.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!" Chester snapped. "Like me. Why don't you pick on me?!"

Scott quickly backed away. He may have been one of the biggest and strongest kids in his class, but he knew Chester was even stronger than he was, and he would never dare pick a fight with him. "Ah, you're not worth it, cry baby," Scott scoffed as he walked. "See ya later, losers!"

"Thank you, Chester," Michael smiled at his friend, glad that he had stood up for him.

"No problem, Mikey...somebody ought to punch that kid in the nose..." he growled. "Anyways...wow, I think recess is almost over. We know things are rough for you, Mikey. But you can always talk to us! We're here for you!"

"Yeah," Roy chimed in. "Me, Chester, Gary, Cecil, Sylvia...we're all your friends, Mikey. We do care about you, you know!" he smiled. "We'll talk to you later, Mikey. Hope things get better for you!"

"Thanks, guys," Michael waved as his friends got up and headed back out towards the playground. He appreciated the fact that they cared about him and wanted to help him feel better, but they hadn't helped much...

---

Later that afternoon, Melissa Raccoon was hard at work dusting the Raccoondominum's living room. She and Ralph had taken the day off from work at the Standard. Ralph had gone to visit Bert and Maxie for a little while as he had something he wanted to talk to them about, but Melissa had declined to go, as the house had grown quite dirty over the past week and she figured it was high time she did a little cleaning. Besides, she always did like a little alone time to herself..."This place'll look spotless when I'm through!" Melissa chuckled to herself.

Melissa dusted off the coffee table as she hummed a happy little tune to herself. It was at that moment that her gaze turned to the clock on the wall. "Ooh, it's almost 3:30," she murmured to herself. "Michael should be home any minute!" She couldn't wait to see her little son again...But then she remembered how depressed Michael had been the past few days, including this morning when he headed off for school. "He's been so quiet and mopey these past few days," she sighed. "He's really taking Peanut's loss hard..." She really wanted to talk to him more about it, but he had yet to open up to her..."Well, maybe he'll feel better today," she tried to be hopeful.

It was at that very moment that she heard the front door of the Raccoondominium open. Melissa put her duster down as she turned around. Sure enough, there was Michael, hanging up his little backpack on the hook on the wall. She promptly outstretched her arms, hoping for a hug from her son.

"Hi, honey," Melissa spoke up in a sweet tone of voice. "I'm glad you're home again."

"I'm glad I'm home again too, Mom..." Michael trailed off, not even gazing at his mother.

"How was school today, Mikey?" Melissa asked hopefully.

"Rotten, Mom," Michael grunted, still not even gazing at her.

"You don't want a hug?" Melissa asked her son worriedly, as he walked right past her and headed for the stairs. It was extremely rare for her son to not want a hug when he came home from school...

"No, Mom, I just want to go to my room..." he groaned as he slowly trudged up the stairs to his room, closing the door behind him. He then propped his head up on the pillows and gazed up at his ceiling. He couldn't think of anything else better to do; his parents had taken away his TV and video game privileges when he lost Peanut...he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts right now.

But a few minutes later, the young kit heard a soft knock on his bedroom door. "Mikey, honey, it's me...your mother. Do you mind if I come in here for a little while?"

"I want to be alone right now, Mom..." Michael sighed, hoping she would just go away. But Melissa wasn't so easily deterred.

"Michael, sweetie, you've been really mopey for the past few days. You haven't talked very much at all lately; you just want to be alone all the time. I know you're still upset about Peanut, and I really want to talk to you about it. I promise I'll only be in here for a few minutes..."

Michael relented. "Okay, Mommy...you can come in," he let out a deep sigh. With that, Melissa opened the bedroom door, climbing up on the bed beside her little kit as she draped her warm arm around him.

"Mikey, you said you had a rotten day at school today. What happened?" Melissa asked in a sympathetic voice.

Michael sighed again as he began to explain. "Scott Searle picked on me at recess today. He called me a big cry baby and said that Peanut ran away because she didn't want a wimp for an owner..."

Melissa's expression grew more concerned. "Scott made fun of you again...Oh dear. Well, that wasn't very nice of him. He certainly isn't a very nice kid...He didn't try to steal your lunch again...did he?" She knew Michael was a frequent bully target and that he was no fighter; she hated to hear that the other children had been picking on her son...

"No...that's all he did. But Chester stood up to him and told him to leave me alone, and he went away," Michael managed to crack a smile. "I was glad Chester was there because I didn't want to fight him..."

"Chester Marmor did that? That was very kind of him," Melissa flashed a little smile at her son. "I like Chester; I really do. He's tough, but he's very kind-hearted. You have a good friend in him, honey." Melissa was glad that Michael had friends who were willing to stick up for him, but she did hope someday that he would be a little more brave and be willing to stand up for himself...

"I know; I like his family, too," Michael cracked a smile. He remember how last year Chester had asked him to come spend a night at his house for a sleepover. Their parents agreed to it, and so it had been arranged. Michael found it very awkward at first; the Marmors were very different from his family. They were very old-fashioned; they didn't even a television in their household because they felt they had no need for one. But they had been very kind and accommodating towards him, and Michael had loved his visit. He hoped someday he could sleepover at Chester's house again...

"The Marmors are certainly quite a family," Melissa smiled.

"I guess today wasn't all rotten, then," Michael piped up after a few minutes. "Roy and Chester talked to me a lot during recess. They said that all my friends are really worried about me..."

"Well, I don't blame them," his mother replied. "You've been very quiet and have kept to yourself these past few days; of course they would be worried about you. You may not have many friends, you know, but you're lucky to have the ones you do. They do really care about you, you know..."

"I know," Michael nodded. "They told me so. They tried to help make me feel better, but I didn't really feel better..."

"At least they cared enough to try to help," Melissa tried to look on the bright side.

"Yeah..." Michael trailed off. "I still just feel so...bad about losing Peanut. Mommy...I can't help it. I feel stupid for losing Peanut..." he remarked lowly. "If only I'd been paying attention when I took her outside, I wouldn't have let go of her leash and she would still be here..."

"Michael, honey," Melissa whispered comfortingly as gently tussled with the fur on her son's head. "You are not stupid for losing Peanut. You are a very bright, sweet, and thoughtful little child, and I'm proud to call you my son. You just made a mistake, honey. You don't need to beat yourself up over it..."

"That's what Chester was trying to tell me...he said everyone makes mistakes..."

"And Chester is right," Melissa nodded emphatically. "Everyone does make mistakes. You are just a kid; I'm sure you'll learn from your mistakes as you grow. Would you believe I made a lot of mistakes when I was a kid?"

Michael was surprised to hear that. "You made a lot of mistakes when you were a kid, Mommy?" He found that rather hard to believe...

"Goodness me! Yes, I did, Mikey. Have I ever told you about what happened when I got my first camera?" she cracked a smile.

Michael was now curious. "No, Mom. What happened?"

"Well, when I was just a little girl, about your age, I lived in the big city with my father-your grandfather," Melissa explained. "When I turned eight years old, my father got me a camera for my birthday."

"Is that how you became a photographer, Mom?" Michael asked innocently.

"Well, I guess that's how I got my start," she chuckled. "My father told me that my mother had been a photographer, and he thought it might make a nice little hobby for me. I remember taking a lot of photos around my house at that time," Melissa continued to explain.

"What happened to you, though?"

"Well, my father told me to be extra careful with that camera and not to break it," Melissa continued her story. "Do you want to know what I did at school the next day?"

"What did you do...?"

"At recess, I decided to climb up the tallest tree at my school's playground to get some better pictures," Melissa managed to chuckle.

"You climbed a tree to take pictures...Why did you do that?" Michael could hardly believe his mother would have done something so silly.

"Don't ask me, honey...I don't know what I was thinking. I guess at the time, it made sense to me," she continued to chuckle. "As I'm sure you can guess...I lost my balance trying to climb the tree and fell out of it."

"Did you break the camera, Mommy?"

"Yes, I did; and my arm, too!" Melissa laughed.

"Ouch!" Michael cringed. "That must have really hurt, Mom! Did you have to go to the hospital?"

"You bet I did," Melissa nodded. "I had to have my arm in a cast for weeks. That was my good throwing arm, too; I couldn't play baseball for a couple of months afterwards!"

"That must not have been a lot of fun..."

"No, it wasn't. I can look back and laugh at the whole thing now, but that was a really dumb thing of me to do!" Melissa laughed again. "See, Michael, my point is that everyone does bad things when they're a kid. Some worse than others...But you are a good boy, Michael. I know you'll learn from your mistakes."

"I hope so..." Michael sighed. "It's just...losing Peanut is hard. I only had her for a month, but I was really close to her..." his voice lowered.

"I understand, honey," Melissa smiled, her warm baby blue eyes gazing comfortingly into her son's own chocolate ones. "Believe it or not, I know what it's like to lose a pet, Mikey."

That was news to Michael. "You lost a pet, Mommy?"

"Yes, I did," Melissa nodded. "When I was very young, just like you, I lost my very first pet."

Michael wanted to know more. He found himself feeling quite fascinated; learning more about his mother's life when she was his age. "What kind of dog was she?"

"He, actually, and he wasn't a dog," Melissa explained. "When I was a little girl, I had a pet cat. A little orange tiger-striped cat...the cutest little thing you ever saw," she smiled fondly as she remembered her first pet.

"What was his name?"

"Harvey," Melissa answered her son.

"Why Harvey?" Michael curiously asked.

"No reason, I guess...I can't remember why I named him Harvey; maybe I just liked the name," she shrugged. "Anyways, my father and I found Harvey on our doorstep one rainy day coming home from school. He was just a little kitten then; he could easily fit in your paw. I remember that I had a really bad day at school and I immediately wanted to keep him. My father said 'no' at first, but he gave in and let me keep him," she beamed happily once more.

"Was Harvey a nice cat, Mommy?"

"Oh, yes, he was! He was the sweetest little thing...I remember he'd always roll right over so I could scratch his little tummy. He'd purr like crazy when I did that!" Melissa laughed heartily.

"I bet you and Harvey had a lot of fun," Michael grinned at his mother. "But...what happened to him?" he asked cautiously, realizing that talking about the loss of her pet could be stressful for his mother.

"Well, my father and I had Harvey for only a couple of years before he started to get very sick," Melissa began to lament, remembering how hard it had been to see her little cat so ill. "He would hardly eat any of his food. He became very sluggish and wouldn't move around very much at all. He started going to the bathroom a lot more often than he should have. He even yowled out in pain some nights."

"What was wrong with him?"

"Well, my father and I didn't know what was wrong with Harvey, but eventually, he got so bad we had no choice but to take him to the vet to see what we could do to help him..."

"What was wrong with Harvey?" Michael asked his mother again.

"They said he was very sick and in a lot of pain," Melissa explained. She remembered how all those years ago the vet had told her that Harvey's kidneys were failing..."The vet said there was nothing we could do that would make him better, so we did the kindest thing we could do for him..."

"What's that, Mommy?" the little kit gazed up at his mother.

"We..." Melissa sighed, "We had to have Harvey put to sleep, honey..."

Michael was not familiar with that expression. "What does...'put to sleep' mean, Mom?"

"Well..." Melissa tried her best to explain, "they put a little needle in him, and he soon fell asleep. He never woke up again..."

"Oh," Michael quietly responded. He understood what death was; his mother and father had explained it to him when a classmate of his had drowned in a canoeing accident the previous summer. "Were you sad to lose Harvey?"

"Yes, I was, honey," Melissa nodded knowingly. "It was very hard losing my little cat. I was happy that he wasn't suffering any more, but I felt so sad knowing I would never see him again. I probably cried for several days afterwards; I just missed him so much...I even wondered if I was to blame for Harvey getting sick."

"Poor Mommy..." Michael whispered to himself. He never knew his mother had gone through something like he had. "How did you feel better, though?"

"Well, my father told me that there was nothing wrong feeling sad about losing my pet," she exclaimed, "but that it was a part of life. Sometimes, bad things happen to us and we don't know why they happen, but there's nothing we can do about it. It's all a part of life. My father told me that as time passed by, I'd feel better. And you know what?"

"What?" Michael asked.

"I did feel better. It took me about a week, but after a while, I did feel better. And life went on," Melissa smiled.

"Grandpa must have been very wise..." Michael mused. "You always tell me about the things he told you when you were little..." He then glanced up at his mother. "Was Grandpa as wise as Skarloey, Mommy?"

"Skarloey...?" Melissa was confused at first, but she quickly recognized that name; she'd sat through enough Thomas the Tank Engine videos and read enough of the books to know that Skarloey was the name of the wise, elderly narrow-gauge engine who was over a hundred years old. Michael had always particularly liked Skarloey and the other narrow gauge engines from the show, perhaps because they were small like him...

Melissa had to chuckle at her son's question; it was the kind of question only a child could ask. "Oh, haha, well, Mikey," she giggled. "I guess your grandfather was a little like Skarloey; he was very wise and saw a lot of things in his life. He was a lot more harsh, though..."

"Oh, I wish I could have met him..." Michael couldn't help but be curious to know more about his grandfather...

"I wish you could have too, honey," his mother exhaled, "but sadly, that will never happen. Losing my father was hard too, but with your father's help, I was able to get over it and move on with my life once again. I kind of had to, too," she chuckled, "you hadn't quite come into our lives yet!" She quickly changed the subject. "But do you see what I mean? There's nothing wrong with feeling sad over losing Peanut. I understand it can be very hard for a kid like you to lose a pet. But life will go on, and there will be plenty of new things ahead of you in the future. You'll feel better in time, Mikey...I promise," she warmly beamed as she rubbed her son's furry head.

"I understand, Mom..." Michael nodded. He knew what his mother was trying to say. "I just wish I could see Peanut again...I mean...she's out there somewhere...someone took her, after all..."

"Well, you at least have the memories of playing with her," Melissa smiled. "You may not have very many, but they're yours to keep-forever."

"I know," Michael managed to crack a grin. He then wrapped his little arms around his mother for a hug. "Thank you for talking to me, Mommy...I love you..."

"I love you too, Mikey," Melissa whispered lovingly, embracing her little son as well. "And remember, if anything's wrong, your father and I will always be here to listen to you and help you if we can. You mean a lot to us, honey...we'll always be here if you need us."

"I'm glad I have you and Dad for parents," Michael continued to smile.

"We couldn't be any more proud to have you for a son," Melissa agreed. "Do you feel a little better now, honey?"

"A little," Michael admitted. "I still feel a little sad, though..." he sighed as a frown came across his face once again.

"Oh, I think I know something that might make you feel better, Mikey..." Melissa giggled, a mischievous look appearing in her wild blue eyes.

Michael had a hunch he knew what that meant. "W...what's that, Mom?" he asked, hesitantly.

Melissa promptly placed her paws on her little son's sides and began to tickle him gently. "Tickle time," Melissa giggled again as she began to tickle her son faster and faster, causing him to burst out laughing.

"Hehe, stop, stop! Stop it, Mommy!" Michael giggled wildly, squirming like crazy. "I don't like tickle time, Mommy...haha! Stop it!"

"You don't, huh?" Melissa smirked, knowing her son was lying to her. "You sure look like you enjoy it..."

"Okay, okay, Mommy! Haha! I do like it! Haha, please stop!" the young kit giggled frantically as his mother continued to tickle him.

"I'm gonna get your little tummy," Melissa's grin grew in size as her paws snaked down and began to tickle her son's stomach.

"Hahaa!" Michael giggled even louder. "No, no, Mommy! Not my tummy! Hahaha! Stop, stop! Hehe!"

Mother and son were soon interrupted, however, by the sound of a familiar voice from downstairs. "I'm back, honey!" echoed the voice of Ralph. "Where are you? Is Michael home?"

Melissa promptly ceased tickling her son. "Oh, I'm upstairs, sweetie! I was just up here talking with Michael! We'll be right down!"

"Okay!" Ralph called back.

"C'mon, Mikey," Melissa beamed at her son as she got up off his little bed. "Let's go see your father, alright? I still have some cleaning I need to tend to downstairs, maybe you guys can help me out?"

"Okay, Mom," Michael smiled as he followed his mother down the stairs to greet his father. His mother's words had really sunken into his young brain. He knew now that although he made a big mistake in not paying attention and losing Peanut, it wasn't something to dwell on forever, and in time, he'd surely feel a lot better. But still, he just wished he could see Peanut one more time...

He didn't realize that soon, he would see his missing puppy again...sooner than he could have realized. And he would find out just who had taken her...

---

The next day came, and it was now Saturday. The temperature was a little warmer today than it was yesterday, but the chill of winter could still be felt in the air...

Today, Michael Raccoon found himself at Sneer Mansion for the day. His parents usually took Saturdays off from work...but not on this weekend. As such, they decided to leave him with Cedric and Sophia for the day, and as thus, he had spent most of the day playing with his friends, Cecil and Sylvia. It had been a while since Michael had last visited Sneer Mansion; he always liked staying with the Sneers...

The three young friends had asked Sophia if they could play outside by themselves, and she agreed. And that was how they had been playing a game of hide and seek together. Michael was "it", and he had already found Cecil. Cecil had tried to hide in a bush, but it had been to no avail; his ears stuck out and gave him away. Now Michael was trying hard to find Sylvia, too. But he wasn't having much luck in finding her...

"I've looked all over the place, but I can't find Sylvia anywhere," Michael shook his head. "Where could she be?"

"Search me, Mikey," Cecil shrugged. "Sylvia's really good at hiding. She always wins when I play with her!"

Then Cecil spotted a small, stubby pink tail poking out from behind a tree. He knew what that was. "Hey, Michael," he whispered. "Look over there..."

Michael glanced towards the tree Cecil pointed at, and sure enough, he could see Sylvia's tail just poking out from behind it. "Ah-ha!" the young kit called out. "I found you, Sylvia!"

"Hey, no fair!" Sylvia protested as she stepped out from behind the tree. "You told him where I was, Cecil. Mikey would have never found me if you didn't tell him!" she glared at her twin.

"Well, you should have done a better job of hiding, sis," Cecil innocently grinned.

"That's not playing fair..." Sylvia was cross, but she quickly put it behind her. "Today has been a lot of fun, hasn't it, Mikey?"

"It sure has!" Michael beamed cheerfully.

"It's nice to see you having fun again, Mikey," Cecil patted his friend on the back. "After what happened to Peanut last week, we were wondering if you were ever gonna be happy again!"

"I do feel a lot better," Michael smiled. He really did. The little talk that his mother had with him yesterday had really helped him; although it was his fault that Peanut had run away and had ended up getting snatched by someone unknown, he knew he couldn't dwell on it forever, and that life would go on.

"We're glad to see you feeling better," Sylvia smiled at her younger friend. "It wasn't quite the same at school when you were sad!"

"Yeah, it feels nice to have fun once again," Michael continued to fondly smile. "Okay, guys, we played hide and seek. Now what do you want to do?"

It was at that moment that Cecil happened to glance at his wristwatch. "Woah, look at the time! Almost 3:30. Your parents should be here any minute, shouldn't they?"

"Yeah, that's right," Michael nodded. "They told me when they dropped me off, they would come back after they got off work to pick me up and take me home," he informed his friends.

"Well, I guess that's all the fun we'll have for today," Sylvia sighed. "Maybe we should just wait until your parents show u-"

Sylvia didn't get to finish her sentence, because at that she was interrupted by a rather loud whining sound. "Uhhhhhhhhhh..."

"W-w-what was that?" Michael shivered, feeling rather spooked.

"I-I-I don't know," Cecil shuddered as well.

"Oh, don't be scared, you guys," Sylvia scoffed. "I'm sure it was nothin-"

Once again, Sylvia was interrupted by the strange sound. "Uhhhhhh..."

"I don't like the sound of it," Cecil groaned as his teeth began to chatter.

"It sounds like it's coming from...over there," Michael remarked as he pointed to a house not too far off in the distance.

"That's the Pigs' house," Sylvia replied. "You're right, Michael. It does sound like it's coming from their house."

"What could be making that noise?" Michael asked quizzically.

"I don't know," Cecil shrugged. "But the Pigs have been acting pretty weird this past week..."

"We've seen them sneaking things in and out of their house every day for the past week," Sylvia added. "It looks like they don't want anyone to know what they're up to."

"Papa thinks they're up to something," Cecil spoke again. "He doesn't know what, though...he said when he went to visit their house yesterday, nothing seemed to be wrong..."

"Well, what could be making that noise?" Michael was a genuinely nice and kind young kit, but he was also very curious. He reminded his mother a lot of herself when he was younger...if something intrigued him, he always wanted to know more about it. "Maybe we should go over to the Pigs' house and see what's going on...?"

"No, Mikey!" Sylvia protested. "Papa said we're not supposed to go near the Pigs' house...that's their private living quarters! He told us that if we went over there without permission, we'd get in a lot of trouble!"

"But I want to know what's making that noise," Michael stubbornly replied. "It's going to bother me all day until I find out."

"I think we should go check out, sis," Cecil tried to encourage his sister. "What could go wrong if we just go have a look? I'm sure Mama and Papa won't find out!"

"Well...okay," Sylvia relented, knowing she was going to be drawn into this whether she liked it or not. "But if we get in trouble because of this, I'm not speaking to you for a whole week..."

"C'mon, guys," Michael gestured to his friends. "Let's go check it out!"

Soon, the three young friends had reached the Pigs' house. It was a small cottage; not too big, but more than cozy enough to safely accommodate the pork trio.

The strange sound came once again. "Uhhhhhhhh...! Uhhhhhh..."

"Yeah, it's definitely coming from in there," Cecil remarked.

"Where are the Pigs, anyways?" Michael wondered.

"They have Saturdays off, remember?" Sylvia filled in her younger friend. "They're probably out doing something. Maybe they went hiking or something. I don't know, but I know they're not home right now..."

"Maybe you should take a peak in the window, Mikey!" Cecil encouraged his raccoon friend.

"Okay, I'll have a look and see if I can see anything..." Michael pressed his snout up to the window, which was just low enough to the ground for him to be able to peer through. The window was a bit hazy, so he quickly wiped the glass with his green shirt so he could have a better look.

Michael quickly recognized the room he was gazing into. "This must be their bedroom..." he said to himself. It looked about like you would expect; quite messy. Pizza boxes, soda cans, comic books, bits of newspaper, and other miscellaneous junk were strewn all about the pork trio's bedroom. Though they were supposed to help keep the Mansion clean, they certainly didn't do a very good job keeping their own home tidy...

"Wow, what a mess!" Michael exclaimed. Then his young eyes caught a glimpse of something in the corner, by Lloyd's bed. "Hey, I see something!"

"What is it, Mikey?" Cecil asked, wondering just what his friend might have seen.

"It looks like...a cage," Michael replied. "And it looks like there's a dog inside of it!"

"A dog?" Cecil brought his head to the window and gazed into the bedroom as well. "Huh, you're right, Mikey. There's a cage with a dog in it. When did the Pigs get a dog...?"

"Let me see," Sylvia spoke up as she brought her face to the window. Sure enough, she saw the dog in the cage...but she immediately recognized the dog upon getting a good look. "Mikey...you're not going to believe this..."

"Not going to believe what?" Michael asked.

"That dog in the cage...Mikey...that's your dog. That's Peanut!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"What?!" Michael took a closer look. Sure enough, Sylvia was right. There, in the cage...was Peanut, looking rather sad and lonely.

"PEANUT!" Michael exclaimed in a frenzied manner. He felt a combination of delight and horror at the same time. Delighted to be able to see Peanut again, especially since he thought he never would...but horrified, nonetheless; what on Earth were the Pigs doing with his puppy? "Why is she in there?!"

"I don't know," Cecil shrugged.

"I think the Pigs must have kidnapped your puppy, Mikey," Sylvia realized. "That must be why they've been behaving so strangely this past week. They don't want anyone to know they've got Peanut..."

"But why would they take Peanut?" Michael spluttered.

"I don't know why," Sylvia shrugged.

"What should we do, Sis?" Cecil turned to his twin for help.

"We should go find Mama and Papa and tell them about this," Sylvia answered her brother. "They'll be able to sort this out."

Sylvia was right; finding Cedric and Sophia and telling them about what he'd seen would have been the logical thing for Michael to do. But at the moment...Michael was so excited that common sense escaped him. He had to get Peanut out of there...right now.

"I have to save my puppy!" Michael frantically shouted. He then noticed that the window to the Pigs' bedroom wasn't locked. "Hey, I think I can get through the window! Cecil! Can you help me get in there?"

"Why are you going in there, Mikey?" a confused Cecil replied.

"I have to get Peanut out of there, before the Pigs get back!" With that, Michael opened up the Pigs' bedroom window. "Help me get in there, please!"

"Michael, are you crazy?!" Sylvia gasped. "You can't go in there! You'll get in a lot of trouble if the Pigs come back and find you!"

"I don't care!" Michael retorted. "Peanut is counting on me to save her!"

"I'll help you, Mikey!" Cecil replied emphatically as he stooped down so Michael could climb onto his shoulders. With a little bit of a boost from Cecil, Michael was able to climb into the Pigs' bedroom.

"Alright, I'm in!" the little kit exclaimed. "Now I can save Peanut!"

"Be careful, Mikey!" Sylvia warned. "The Pigs could be back any minute!"

"I will!" Michael replied as he walked over to the cage in the corner. "Hi, Peanut. Do you remember me? It's me...Mikey! Your owner! I'm here to save you!"

Peanut had been looking down at the floor of her cage, but when she heard her little master's voice, she immediately glanced up at him as her stubby tail wiggled frantically back and forth. She had been muzzled by the pork trio so as to limit the amount of noise she could make, so she couldn't greet Michael with a kiss like she wanted to. But all the same, she felt excited to be reunited with her young owner.

"What have they been doing to you, Peanut?" Michael solemnly asked. "They haven't fed you very often, have they?"

Peanut whined once again. It was rather clear the Pigs hadn't fed her as much as they should have been...

"They keep you locked in this cage all the time...don't they?" Michael could tell the Pigs kept her locked up for hours and hours on end..."Don't worry, Peanut. You'll be out of here really soon, and then we can be together again!"

Peanut whined excitedly. But at that moment, the happy reunion between puppy and master was rudely interrupted.

"Michael! Michael!" came the frantic voice of Sylvia from outside. "The Pigs are coming! I see them off in the distance! They're coming back, and they'll be here any second!"

Michael was alarmed. "Oh no!" the little kit cried out. "NO! What am I going to do now? I don't have enough time to get back out of here! They'll find me if I do!"

"Hide, Michael! Don't let them find you!" Sylvia hollered out.

"What about you two?"

"We'll hide right here in the bushes, Mikey...Just find some place to hide!" Cecil called out.

Michael frantically looked around for a place to hide from the Pigs. However, he was unable to find any good hiding places. He felt sure he was going to be caught...

"Oh no, what do I do? What do I do?" Michael panicked. Then, he noticed Lloyd's bed..."Maybe I can hide under here..."

With that, Michael proceeded to dive underneath Lloyd's bed, nestling himself firmly under it. Michael was a small child, even for his age, so he was easily able to fit underneath the bed. It was rather cramped, seeing as there was more old junk stashed away beneath the bed, and there was quite a lot of dust gathered under there, but the little kit was able to peer out from underneath the bed.

Soon, he heard the Pigs' voices and saw their feet from beneath the bed. It was lucky the Pigs weren't looking down, for they would have seen his eyes peeking out at them...

"Hey," Boyd wondered aloud, "why is the window open? I don't remember leaving it open when we left for the Blue Spruce Cafe..."

"I must have forgotten to close it," Floyd shrugged.

"You boob!" Lloyd growled at his identical sibling. "Do you know what could have happened while we were gone? Someone could have snuck in and taken our future prize winner over here away! You ought to be more careful next time, Floyd..."

"I'm sorry..." Floyd meekly said as he quickly shut the window. Michael was now trapped in the cottage...with the Pigs and his puppy. He hoped they wouldn't discover him.

"Oh no!" Sylvia quietly whispered to her twin in the bushes outside. "The Pigs shut the window. I hope they didn't discover Michael...I don't know what they'll do if they find him..."

"What do we do now, Sis?" Cecil worriedly asked his sister.

"We need to go tell Mama orPapa about this...now," Sylvia urgently remarked. "Michael could be in a lot of trouble and we need to help him! Hopefully they can sort all this out..."

"...For once, I agree!" Cecil nodded his head. "Let's find Mama and Papa..." And with that, the little Sneers hurriedly ran off in search of their parents...

"I don't know how much longer we'll be able to hide her here," Floyd shook his head, glancing at Peanut's cage. "The Boss is already suspicious. He thinks we're up to something!"

"I know," Boyd agreed. "I remember we had to hide the cage in the closet when the Boss came over to visit us the other day. I don't know how he didn't discover her!"

"They hid Peanut in the closet?!" an aghast Michael thought to himself. "They really have been treating her badly...I have to save her...somehow!"

"We were lucky that Champion here kept quiet the whole time," Lloyd chuckled. Michael quickly deduced that the Pigs called Peanut "Champion".

"I just wonder how much longer we can keep this a secret..." Floyd uttered nervously. Of the three siblings, Floyd was the only one who actually felt guilty over kidnapping Michael's puppy. He was terrified of what might happen were they to be discovered..."I mean, the kid's parents are really protective of him; if they find out, it won't be pretty..."

"They'll never find out," Lloyd chuckled confidently. "You wait. As soon as those posters Ralph and Melissa put up come down, people will forget all about the missing puppy. Then if we're discovered, nobody will know. We could always tell the Boss that we just found a stray and decided to keep her out of the kindness of our hearts. No one would suspect a thing!" he continued to chuckle.

"I don't know if that'll work out..." Floyd continued to be nervous.

"Sure it will!" Lloyd continued to laugh. "Just wait until next weekend, boys...then we'll be rolling in the big bucks! Haha!"

"What's next weekend?" Boyd wondered.

"You really don't remember?!" Lloyd exalted in surprise. "The Evergreen Dog Show is being held at Mr. Knox and Lady Baden-Baden's estate next weekend. We'll enter Champion here in the puppy class. She's a sure-fire winner! They'll give us the trophy and the money, and from there it'll be on to greener pastures!"

"Oh boy!" Boyd and Floyd exclaimed, with stars practically in their eyes. They couldn't wait to earn big money.

"They kidnapped Peanut...to make money off her?" Michael almost gasped from beneath the bed. "That's so mean! They can't do that to her!"

"Hey, d'you think I ought to let Champion out to run around a little bit?" Boyd asked his brother.

"Sure thing," Lloyd nodded. "She's got to get out for at least a few minutes a day!"

With that, Boyd let Peanut out of her cage to wander around their bedroom. Michael was happy to see Peanut out of her cage, but he still felt sad knowing the Pigs had captured his puppy and were planning to use her to make money.

But at that moment, Michael suddenly felt the urge to sneeze. The heavy amount of dust beneath Lloyd's bed was tickling his little nose and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold the oncoming sneeze back..."NO!" Michael mentally cried out. "I can't sneeze...they'll find me! I can't!"

But it was too late. Michael wasn't able to hold back his sneeze. "Aaaaa...aaaaahh...aaaaaatttcccc-CHOOOO!"

Lloyd, Boyd, and Floyd all jumped up, started. "W-w-what was that?!" Floyd gasped.

"Somebody just sneezed!" Boyd exclaimed. "Who was it?!"

"It wasn't any of us..." Lloyd realized what was going on. "Boys, there's an intruder in our house! Somebody snuck in while we were gone and they're hiding somewhere here in our bedroom!"

"So that's why the window was open..." Boyd realized. "I could have sworn it was closed when we left! I must not have locked it..."

"What are we gonna do now?" Floyd asked nervously.

"We're going to search this room until we find the intruder, boys!" Lloyd remarked in a determined voice. "They'll wish they hadn't broken into our house!" With that, the pork trio began to search their bedroom for the intruder.

"Oh NO!" Michael shivered from beneath the bed. "They're going to find me now..." And he was right. No sooner had he thought that, the bed skirt was lifted up. Michael found himself face to face with Lloyd Pig.

"YOU!" an angered Lloyd exclaimed. "You snuck into our house, you little scamp!"

"Well, well, well," Boyd glared at the little kit. "If it isn't little Michael Raccoon!"

"Uh..." Michael nervously searched for words. "Um...hi?"

"You have a lot of explaining to do, mister," Lloyd glared ominously at the kit. "Get out from under my bed and explain yourself!"

Michael did as Lloyd told him, standing before the pigs.

"What are you doing in our house?!" Floyd interrogated him.

"I heard a strange noise coming from over here, and me and Cecil and Sylvia went to see what it was..." Michael tried his best to explain. "Cecil helped me get in here...and...and..."

"Didn't the Boss tell you that you're not supposed to sneak around?" Boyd yelled at him. "Didn't your parents teach you that?"

"You know you're not supposed to come near our house," Lloyd added.

"You three stole my puppy!" Michael angrily shot back at them.

"Yes," Floyd answered. "We found her by the lake last weekend. We decided we would take her in and keep her for ourselves."

"That's not right!" Michael hollered at them. "I want Peanut back! Give her back to me!"

"Too bad, kid," Lloyd scoffed. "You're not gonna get her back. Peanut is our dog now."

"And her name's not Peanut anymore," Boyd answered. "It's Champion. She's going to make us a lot of money, you see!"

"You three are so mean!" Michael continued to protest. "Peanut isn't a show dog! She's my pet! Please give her back!"

"You should have thought about that before you lost her," Lloyd rudely replied. "You shouldn't have been so careless..."

"Besides, it serves you right," Boyd chimed in. "You always tell the Boss whenever you see us doing something we shouldn't be doing! We've gotten in enough trouble thanks to you!"

"Nobody likes a tattle-tale," Floyd added.

"This will teach you a lesson," Lloyd finished. "To not be so careless, and to not be so nosy!"

"But that's not fair..." Michael pleaded. "How can you three be so mean? I've been sad this whole week...I just want Peanut back..."

"Well, you can forget about that," Lloyd growled. "Now get out of here, kid. Or we'll tell the Boss and your parents that you were sneaking around our house when you weren't supposed to."

"And you're sure to get punished for that," Boyd sneered.

"Now beat it, kid!" Floyd pointed out towards the front door of their cottage.

Michael sighed. He couldn't believe the Pigs could be so mean and rude to him, and he couldn't believe they wouldn't let him have his puppy back. Suddenly, an idea came to him..

"Okay," Michael sighed. Suddenly..."Uhhhhhhhh!" Peanut let out a loud whine as Michael stooped down and scooped her up in his arms. She was a pretty heavy puppy, but not too heavy for Michael to be unable to carry. "But not without Peanut!" Michael took off and raced out the front door with the little bulldog perched in his arms...before the Pigs had any time to react.

"HEY!" Boyd burst out. "What the-?"

"He's running off with our meal ticket!" Floyd gasped as Michael ran off.

"Now that was a big mistake," Lloyd growled. He was determined to not let Michael get away with this..."That little hellion is going to wish he didn't pull something like that! C'mon, boys! After him! Let's get Champion back!"

Immediately, the pork trio ran out of their cottage after the young kit...

---

Meanwhile, a certain prominent raccoon couple was approaching the grounds of Sneer Mansion...

Ralph and Melissa Raccoon had just recently gotten off work, and had finished closing up the Standard's office for the day. Now they were walking towards Sneer Mansion so they could pick up their little son and bring him home with them. As they approached the mansion paw in paw, the two were busy discussing their son's mood...

"I wonder how Michael did today with the Sneers?" Ralph wondered.

"I think he probably had a good day," Melissa smiled at her husband.

"Well, I hope so," Ralph replied. "He was in a good mood this morning when we dropped him off..."

"I'm sure he had a good time with his little friends Cecil and Sylvia," Melissa remarked hopefully.

"Here's hoping," Ralph agreed. "You know, honey, I think that little talk you had with him yesterday really helped him out. I was glad to see him feeling a lot better yesterday when I came home from Bert and Maxie's..."

"Oh, I know," his wife beamed. "It's been a while since I've seen him smile; I was glad that I could help him out a little and see him smile again."

"I think he had fun at the restaurant last night, too," Ralph added. The previous night, Ralph decided to take his wife and his son out to dinner for the evening at his brother George's restaurant. He thought it was a nice idea to have a nice evening out with his lovely woman and their sweet little son, and he hoped that maybe time out with his parents would lift Michael's spirits. It seemed to have helped some, for Michael had definitely seemed to have a good time out with his parents..."I know it's been really hard for him losing Peanut, but I think in a while, he'll be back to his old self."

"That's what I'm hoping, too," Melissa winked at her hubby. "I don't like seeing him sad like that..." It was at that moment that the two arrived at Sneer Mansion. "Well, here we are, Ralph. Let's go in and say hello to Cedric and Sophia, shall we?"

"Okay, honey," Ralph smiled as they headed towards the front door. But they were soon interrupted by a sudden commotion...

"What on Earth...?" Ralph remarked, surprised to hear such a clatter.

"What's going on...?" a confused Melissa wondered. They didn't have to wait long to see what was causing all the commotion...

They saw their little kit running past them at a rapid rate, obviously frantic and in a hurry. In his arms was a young bulldog puppy...As Michael ran past, Ralph and Melissa saw the Pigs chasing after him as fast as they could go. They were trying their hardest to keep up with him, but they weren't having any luck; Michael wasn't the most athletic child, but even so, he was still able to outrun with relative ease.

"Get back here with our Champion, you little twerp!" Lloyd angrily shouted, shaking his hand at Michael. "You can't outrun us forever!"

"I won't do that!" Michael cried out as he ran off. "I won't let you have her!"

Ralph and Melissa, needless to say, were very confused. They weren't sure what to make of what they had just seen.

"What on Earth was that, Ralph?!" an exasperated Melissa commented.

"I don't know, honey," Ralph shook his head. "How did Michael get himself in trouble with the Pigs...?"

"I can only wonder..." Melissa remarked. Then, she realized what her son had been carrying..."Ralph...was that...Was that Peanut in his arms?"

"I...I think so..." Ralph realized as well. "But...Peanut...was missing...How does he have her?!"

"And what do the Pigs want with her...?" Melissa was just as baffled as her hubby.

At that moment, Michael suddenly lost his footing and tripped. He promptly dropped Peanut, who fell to the ground with a thud. The little bulldog was stunned for a moment, but she soon gathered her senses. She was quite frightened by what was going on and tried to run away. But the Pigs, who had been hot on Michael's heels, quickly caught her and Lloyd scooped her up in his arms.

"Gotcha!" he laughed. "You thought you could get away with her, didn't you?!" he snarled at Michael. "Well, you'll never get her back now!"

"We got her! We got her!" Boyd cheered triumphantly.

"NO!" Michael cried, realizing he had failed in his desperate attempt to save his puppy. "N-no...NO!"

"C'mon, boys!" Lloyd called to his brothers. "Let's get her back to the cottage before the Boss finds out!"

"What in the world is going on here?!" Melissa shouted out.

It was at that very moment that Cedric stepped out of the front door of his mansion. His twins had managed to find him and told him what was going on; that Michael was in trouble and needed help. He told his kids to stay put while he handled things, and so, here he was. Needless to say, the aardvark was also baffled by what he saw.

"What is the meaning of all this nonsense?!" Cedric shouted.

Needless to say, the Pigs heard Ralph, Melissa, and Cedric...

"Uh-oh..." Boyd murmured. They knew they were about to be in a whole heap of trouble. "Guys...we've been busted..." he whispered.

Lloyd was panicking. "U-uh...H-hi, Boss!" he nervously laughed.

"Hello," Cedric glared at the three. "Now, Cecil and Sylvia have told me you three have been the cause of a great deal of trouble for Michael..."

"Yes," Ralph added, stepping towards the Pigs. "What are you three doing with our son's dog?"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Michael cried out as he got to his feet. "Uncle Cedric! The Pigs stole Peanut!"

"Well! Do you three have an explanation for all this?" Cedric continued to glare at them.

"Uh, heheh...Well, Boss," Lloyd nervously began. "You see, this is all a big misunderstanding. This isn't Peanut, sir..."

"Yeah!" Boyd piped up, coming to his brother's aid. "This is a stray we found the other day! We didn't tell you about because we didn't know if you would be okay with us keeping a dog...heheh!"

"And Michael just tried to steal her from us!" Floyd added. "That wasn't right of him, was it...Boss?"

"That's no stray..." Melissa growled, a large frown appearing on her face. "I would recognize this dog anywhere..."

"I can tell you three are trying to play truant," Cedric shook his head. "It's not going to work, you know. You might as well come clean..."

"I'm telling you, Boss! This is a stray!" Lloyd croaked out, sweat streaming down his face as his body quivered.

"They're lying, Uncle Cedric! They stole Peanut!"

Floyd was feeling terribly guilty as his conscience had gotten to him. He was the only one of the three who felt bad about kidnapping a young child's pet, and he couldn't hold his guilt in any longer. "ALRIGHT, BOSS! I ADMIT IT!" Floyd burst out into tears. "WE DID IT! WE KIDNAPPED PEANUT!"

"FLOYD!" Lloyd gasped. "How can you-"

But Ralph interrupted them. "You kidnapped my son's pet?!" To say he and Melissa were furious would be an understatement. It took every ounce of fiber in Ralph's being to prevent himself from strangling the pork trio right on the spot. He was well aware they had done many dim-witted and ill-advised things before, but he could hardly believe they could do something this awful.

"Y-yes!" Floyd spluttered between his tears.

"How could you do such a thing?!" Melissa fumed. "How could you kidnap a little boy's pet?"

"We took her because we wanted to make money off of her..." Boyd admitted. He figured he might as well tell the truth.

"We were going to enter her in the Evergreen Dog Show and enter her in the puppy class in the hopes that she might win," Floyd continued to cry, feeling quite remorseful for what he had done. "We were hoping maybe we could hit the big time with her..."

"Have you three lost your minds?" an agitated Ralph hissed at them. "Lady Baden-Baden doesn't give out any prize money at the dog show!"

"She...she doesn't?!" Lloyd gasped. He could have sworn she did...Had he really been that ignorant?

"No, you three," Cedric shook his head again, disappointed in the three of them. "She used to back when we still had Snag, but she stopped giving out cash prizes at the dog show years ago. You three wouldn't have won anything if you'd entered Peanut..."

"Oh..." Lloyd gasped as he slapped himself in the forehead. He had forgotten all about that...

"Most dog shows don't give money to the winning dog owners, anyways," Melissa scowled. "I know Westminster doesn't...There's no way you would have made big bucks off of Peanut. Besides, if you had just given Peanut back when you found her, we would have probably given you a reward for doing so. You could have gotten some money just for doing the right thing."

"Oh my goodness..." Lloyd realized. "Wow...How...How could I have been such an idiot?!"

"Did you three really think you could get away with this?" Cedric continued to glare ominously at his employees, as he took Peanut away from them.

"We did, Boss..." Boyd cried out. By now he and Lloyd were crying too, but not because they felt guilty; rather, it was because they were ashamed that they'd been busted..."We knew you were suspicious of our behavior..."

"So when you paid us a visit the other day, we hid her in the closet..." Lloyd finished.

"You hid Peanut in your closet?!" Ralph could not believe what he was hearing.

"Yes," Lloyd nodded.

"You three know better than to treat a dog like that!" Cedric shook his head yet again.

"I don't understand how you three thought you were going to pull this off," Melissa continued scowling at the pork trio. "Peanut hasn't even had all her shots and vaccinations yet. What were you going to do about those?"

"We never even thought of that..." Boyd sadly admitted. "We didn't even think our plan through that well..."

"Michael, can you explain what all...that was? Why were the Pigs chasing after you?" Melissa turned to her son. She was trying her best to keep her cool (despite the fact that she was clearly ticked off), and she wanted to know what had been the cause of all that commotion.

"Okay, Mommy..." Michael sighed. "Cecil, Sylvia and I heard a strange noise coming from the Pigs' house. I was curious, so we went over to see what it was. And we saw Peanut was in there."

"Then what happened?" Ralph asked his son.

"Cecil helped me crawl through the window. Then the Pigs came in and I hid under the bed..."

"Why did you sneak into the Pigs' house, Michael?" Cedric asked him.

"I wasn't thinking..." Michael sighed. "I just couldn't stand seeing Peanut locked in that cage like that...she looked so lonely and sad..."

"You should have gone and told me what you'd seen," Cedric explained to the young raccoon. "You know I would have been glad to sort all this out..."

"I know that now..." Michael sighed again as he turned to his parents. "I hope you're not mad at me..."

"No, son," Ralph said. "We're not mad at you; we're mad at the Pigs for snatching Peanut," he explained.

"But you shouldn't be sneaking around like that, honey," Melissa warned the little kit. "There's nothing wrong with being a little curious, but it has gotten you into trouble before...Promise you won't do anything like that again?"

"Okay, Mommy...I promise," Michael cracked a smile. "I just wanted Peanut back...that's all..."

"You will get her back, don't worry," Cedric smiled at him.

"Can you tell us what happened next, honey?" Melissa tried to encourage her son.

"Well, I hid under the bed when Cecil and Sylvia told me the Pigs were coming. But I sneezed and they found me..." Michael explained. "I asked them to give her back, but they were mean to me..."

"Mean to you?" Melissa asked sympathetically. "How were they mean to you?"

"They said that Peanut belonged to them now and that I deserved this for getting them in trouble..." Michael solemnly answered her.

"Is that true?" Melissa glared at the Pigs again. "You said my son deserved this?"

Lloyd wiped his eyes. "Y-yes," he hesitantly answered.

"Your son has told our Boss on us when he's seen us doing things wrong," Floyd explained as he calmed down.

"We thought it would serve him right for tattling on us..." Boyd finished.

"I can't believe you three," a disgusted Ralph snorted at them. "Michael is just a child. He's only seven! How could you say such horrible things to him?""

"I understand why you would be upset at him," Melissa added. "But that's no excuse to abduct a child's pet and then try to keep it from him. He's only a little boy. He doesn't deserve that!"

"You three would never get in trouble if you just did as you were told," Cedric glared at them as well.

"We know..." Floyd hung his head down.

"To be honest..." Lloyd admitted, "we didn't think anyone would miss Peanut that much."

Ralph and Melissa were astonished. "You thought no one would miss her?!" Ralph spluttered.

"My son has been miserable this whole past week and my husband and I have been trying our best to cheer him up and make him feel better. How's that for nobody missing Peanut?!" Melissa snapped at them.

"What you three did was disgraceful," scolded Ralph. "Do you three even have hearts?!"

"We're sorry...we're sorry..." Floyd moaned. He really did feel guilty about what he had done and wished he could make up for it somehow. But Ralph and Melissa didn't want to hear any of it right now.

"I hope someday you three will gain some common sense," Ralph huffed.

"I think we've heard enough," Melissa finished. "I think we should take Michael home while you deal with these triple terrors," she spoke to Cedric.

"Uncle Cedric?" Michael turned to the wealthy aardvark. "Can I please have Peanut back?"

"Of course," Cedric smiled. He took off the muzzle the Pigs had put over Peanut's face, and then handed the little bulldog to Michael. "Here you go, Michael! I bet you're happy to have her back, aren't you?"

"Oh, I am, I am, Uncle Cedric!" Michael grinned. "Peanut has been through a lot this past week; I think she'll be happy to go home again!"

"We'll see you later, Cedric," Ralph said to his friend. "I hope you can straighten these three out..."

"We'll see, Ralph! You and Melissa take care!" he waved to the raccoon family as they headed off.

"Goodbye, Cedric," Melissa waved back. "After all this, I think we'll all be glad to go home!"

"Haha, I'm sure of it!" Cedric chuckled. "I will see you around!" With that, he turned his attention back to the Pigs...

"I know you're going to punish us now, Boss..." Lloyd sighed, dreading to hear what his boss would say to him.

"Yes, I am, you three," Cedric frowned at them. "You three really should have known better than to try pulling something like this. It never ceases to amaze me how much trouble the three of you can find sometimes..."

"Are we going to be fired, Boss?" Boyd asked nervously.

"Are we gonna go to jail?!" Floyd squeaked.

"No," Cedric chuckled. "I know the three of you would have a hard time finding another job...plus I don't know if you could handle prison," he shook his head. He tried his best to think of a suitable punishment for them, and soon, it came to him..."Ah, I know! You three wanted to earn extra money, didn't you?" the aardvark queried the pork trio.

"Yes..." Lloyd nodded. "That's why we snatched Peanut..."

"Well, I'll give you your extra money," Cedric chuckled.

"Really, Boss?!" Boyd gasped.

"You're going to pay us more money?! After what we did?"

"I will, but only one one condition..." Cedric smirked. "Do you remember how I told you earlier this week that Miss McKenna was looking for three volunteers to help her out at the Evergreen Animal Shelter?"

"Yes, you did," Lloyd replied. "You showed us that in the Standard..."

"Well," Cedric smiled. "I think I found three good volunteers! I'll pay you extra, but only if you help out at the animal shelter every Saturday for the next six months. I hope that will teach you to have respect for pets and other animals..."

Lloyd groaned. "The animal shelter? But...but that place is probably filthy!" he protested.

"There'll be so much dog waste to clean up," Boyd shrieked. "We can't do that!"

"But it'll be for a good cause!" Floyd tried to look on the bright sight of things.

"You hush!" Lloyd growled. Those three would probably never fully mature...

---

It was later that evening. It had been a very long day for the raccoon family and for Peanut as well. They certainly couldn't wait until tomorrow came along...Things had wound down at the Raccoondominum, and now Ralph and Melissa were putting their little kit to bed together.

"Michael, you're very lucky you got Peanut back again, you know," Melissa smiled at her son as she tucked him into bed.

"I know, Mommy!" Michael smiled. "I thought I was never going to see her again..."

"I still can't believe the Pigs snatched her," Ralph growled as he shook his head. "I shouldn't be surprised seeing all the things they've done over the years, but I just can't believe it."

"I can't believe they'd do something so mean either, Daddy..." Michael agreed. "I wonder what Uncle Cedric did to them?"

"Oh, Cedric called me earlier this evening," Ralph explained, "he said that they were going to work at the animal shelter on Saturdays for the next six months. He said he hoped it would teach them to be nicer to animals..."

"Do you think the Pigs will learn their lesson, Mommy?" the little kit hopefully asked his mother.

"With them, who knows?" Melissa shrugged. "I would like to hope so, but knowing them, I wouldn't be surprised if they learned nothing from the experience..." She quickly decided to change the subject. "I just hope poor Peanut will be okay after what she went through for the past week...it had to be really stressful for her..."

"I think she'll be alright, honey," Ralph flashed a smile at his wife. "She seemed to be just fine when we brought her back home. Remember? She and Michael were having fun playing together this afternoon."

"Yeah, Mommy!" Michael chirped happily. "Peanut will be okay. I know she will!" It was at that moment that Peanut came into the kit's bedroom and leaped up onto his bed. Next thing Michael knew, the little bulldog began to lick his face, making him giggle. "Hehehe, stop it! Stop it!" Peanut proceeded to lie down next to her young master as he scratched her behind her ears. "I think she'll be fine, Mom..."

"Well, I sure hope she will..." Melissa soon changed the subject again. "Now Michael, I know you're glad you got Peanut back, but I hope you don't forget those things I told you yesterday..."

"That everyone makes mistakes and it's okay to feel upset when something bad happens?" her son asked.

"Yes," his mother nodded. "Those are still words I would like you to keep in mind, and I hope you won't forget them..."

"Don't worry, Mommy," Michael flashed a grin at his mother. "I won't forget! Those words did make me feel better!" he chuckled. Those had been good lessons his mother had taught him.

"And like we said, if something is wrong, I can understand you wanting to solve things on your own, but sometimes it's better to tell an adult and have them help you," Ralph explained to his son. "You should have gone and told Cedric about what you saw in the Pigs' cottage rather than sneaking in and trying to take her back on your own."

"There's nothing wrong with being curious, Mikey," Melissa added, "but there is a big difference between being just a little curious and sneaking into someone's house."

"As we said earlier, we won't seriously punish you this time due to the circumstances. You can expect to do more chores around the house next week, but we won't punish you any more than that. But if something like this should happen again, I guarantee we will not be so nice..." Ralph warned his son. Michael couldn't help but gulp a little hearing those words. "Do you understand me, son?"

"I understand," Michael nodded. "I promise I won't do anything like that again, Daddy..."

"That's good," Ralph smiled as he patted his son's head. "You're young, and you do make mistakes, but I'm sure you'll learn from them as you grow older." Ralph then turned his attention to the now sleeping Peanut. "Now, son, we know you are glad to have Peanut back again, and we're happy to see her home again. But you have to promise us that you'll do a better job of looking after her and being more attentive," he stated firmly. "Michael, if you can't take care of Peanut, I'm afraid we will probably have to give her up..."

Michael didn't want that to happen. "Don't worry, Dad! I promise I will do better...I promise!" he beamed. It was at that moment the little kit let out a huge yawn.

"Good night, my precious little Mikey," Melissa smiled at her son as she leaned in to kiss his little cheek. "We know you've had a long day today, but I'm happy to see that you were able to get Peanut back. I love you..."

"I love you too, Mommy," Michael beamed as he outstretched his small arms for a hug. "I'm so glad she's home again..."

"Night, son," Ralph smiled as well as he leaned down and tussled with his son's hair. "Remember what your mother and I said, alright? And remember, we'll always love you, no matter what happens."

"I will, Daddy!" Michael exclaimed as he proceeded to give his father a hug as well. "I'm glad I have you and Mommy..."

"And we're glad we have you too, sweetie," Melissa gave her son a tender grin as she and Ralph headed for the door. "Good night, my little one..."

"Pleasant dreams, little guy," Ralph warmly remarked.

"Good night, Mommy and Daddy," Michael whispered softly as he laid back and closed his eyes as he continued to scratch the sleeping bulldog puppy behind her ears, thinking of all the things the two of them might experience together in the years to come...

As Ralph and Melissa headed out of their son's bedroom, Melissa lingered for a few moments before she left, looking on as her son drifted off to dreamland. "How sweet," she thought to herself, as she couldn't help but smile fondly seeing her child happily scratching his puppy behind her ears. Little moments like these were why she treasured being a mother so dearly...Melissa slowly closed the door to Michael's bedroom and then joined her husband.

"I hope this will be a good learning experience for Michael, sweetie," Melissa smiled as the couple slowly made their way down the hallway, heading for the stairs. "Maybe he'll be more responsible than ever before."

"I hope so, I would hate to have to give Peanut away after she went through all that because he can't take care of her," Ralph remarked. "Who knows? Perhaps our son will have many good memories with her ahead of him..."

"I'm sure he will, dear," Melissa beamed as she draped her arm around her husband. "I hope they'll have many good years together to come..."

Ralph and Melissa would be proven right. Over the years, Michael and Peanut would closely bond and have many happy years together ahead of them...

But most importantly, Peanut never ran away again...

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, what a long one-off story! It took me three chapters and around 40,000 words, but finally, this one-off has come to a close. Despite making a big mistake in not being attentive and allowing Peanut to run away, Michael has been reunited with his lost puppy, and the two of them are destined to be friends for many years to come. A few notes...

We meet two more of Michael's little friends in this chapter...Roy Payne and Chester Marmor. Roy is a very superstitious young child (as you've seen) who has a tendency to believe just about everything he hears; I think he's going to be a lot like dear ol' Bert Raccoon. I got the idea for his fear of "queen snakes" from the Peanuts comic strip and TV specials, where the character of Linus Van Pelt mentions from time to time his fear of these animals (fun fact: I actually named this chapter after the Peanuts movie Snoopy Come Home!)...As for Chester, he's a "gentle giant" type of character; he looks tough and intimidating, but is really quite friendly, sweet-natured and kind-hearted...though as you see, he's not afraid of standing up for himself. I also thought making him an albino would make him stand out from all the other raccoons on the show and in my stories...

I was a bit worried I may have made the Pigs out of character in this chapter, seeing how rude they are to Michael in telling him he doesn't deserve to have Peanut back and all...but then I remembered the episode "Endless Summer", where the Pigs were jealous of Bentley for all the praise he was receiving from Cyril Sneer, and proceeded to sabotage him by messing with his programming and screwing everything up, causing him to get fired. They acted like royal jackasses towards Bentley in that episode, so I don't feel it's entirely out of character for them to act in such a way to his much younger cousin, especially if they feel they can get away with it...As for the punishment Cedric gives them, I thought it felt like the kind of punishment they might receive for doing such a thing on the show...

Well, anyways, that was "Puppy Problems"! Now it's time to get back on track with Melissa's story, "Growing Up!"...look out for the next chapter of it in the near future!