Sophia? Sophia?! SOPHIA! Oh! Where is that little—?! Despite her fierce expression, Neo's heart pounded, and her stomach twisted. She strode through her house, checking every nook and cranny of every room and floor, yet her ugly little Chinese Crested dog was nowhere to be found. She scarcely leaves my heels if she can help it! So where…? Where did I leave her? Where did I last see her?

The questions humiliated Neo. What sort of good dog owner had to ask herself that? Yet even after calling for Sophia several times, she only received silence in return. At last, she shoved open the front door and strode outside, and then she heard it, that familiar, high-pitched yipping and yapping. Neo had never been so relieved to hear the sound, and based on where it was coming from, Sophia was in the backyard.

"Oh, Neo! Neo! Neo!" The little dog came racing towards her owner as fast as her little legs could carry her. Neo, meanwhile, made her way around to the back of the house, standing with crossed arms and an unreadable expression as she caught sight of the dog flying at her. Her heart was still pounding, but already, some of the tightness of her stomach had released. A flash of embarrassment coursed through her. It was just another day in the life of a dog mom and her fur babies. Neo, though, couldn't help but berate herself, thinking back to a similar incident just a few days ago. She'd been working in the yard, Sophia following close behind her while Elsie lounged in the sun, golden beams shining on silver-white fur.

"Now, where is Weronika?" Neo asked them. There was neither whisker nor tail of the Polish hound, and it was most unlike her. Although Weronika had long since accepted Neo as her alpha—however begrudgingly—she still loved to flaunt her independence as best she could. Oftentimes, she was the first one outside and last in, but today…? Was she perhaps being defiant, refusing to come out just because Neo was there?

It wasn't until later that Neo happened to look up and notice a very deadpan and irritated dog staring at her through a nearby window. The moment Neo opened the door to go outside, Weronika, who had previously been asleep upstairs, came flying downstairs, but by the time she reached the front door, Neo was already gone, and the door was already closed again.

"You idiot! You forgot to let your other dog out!" The hound scoffed, eyes reproachful as she glared at Neo. Neo shook her head, bringing herself back to the present day as Sophia finally reached her side, still barking adoringly up at her, ugly tail waving like mad.

"Oh, Neo! Neo! Neo!" And despite herself, Neo managed a tiny smile as she cocked her head towards the door.

ooo

The life of a dog mom and her fur babies had so many more adventures than just that, though. Oh, not again!

Despair, exasperation, frustration. Neo sighed as her heart again pounded, and her stomach again tightened and twisted. This time, though, rather than her house or yard, the young woman was striding determinedly through a nearby local dog park. This time, Sophia and Elsie were missing. I swear! I take my eyes off of them for one second and…!

This time, though, when she found her two missing doggos, there was a third little pupper with them. Neo couldn't conceal her surprise, eyes widening, eyebrows raising, mouth opening slightly.

"Elsie? Sophia? Who is this?" she pointed at the puppy. It even looked like a cross between the two other dogs, half poodle and half Chinese Crested.

"New friend, Neo! New friend!" Sophia panted, tail wagging in excitement and anxiety.

"Just… someone who started following us around and wouldn't stop." Elsie smirked, far less emotionally invested than Sophia. Though even she had to admit, it filled her with a small sense of pride that a young pup should be so diligent in following her around everywhere, answering her every beck and call, looking up to her literally and metaphorically. Exactly as I should be treated! the poodle thought smugly.

Neo kept Elsie and Sophia's fur-baby (her fur-grandbaby?) for about a week before she managed to track down the puppy's real owner, another dog mom who'd made the simple mistake of taking her eyes off of her fur baby for a fraction of a second. The zealous little puppy had recognized herself in Elsie and Sophia and instantly decided that they would make excellent mothers for her, wandering away without a second thought for her human owner, and she hadn't had a collar at the time. Elsie seemed quite smug about the task while Sophia was even more of a nervous wreck than normal, but only because she wished to be a good parent to the young pup as Neo was.

"Ohhh! I hope she doesn't hate me!" Sophia's tail again wagged in anxiety and submissiveness, licking her lips and whimpering.

"Speaking of, we've got to give her a name, and since SHE doesn't seem to remember it, we shall call her Elphia!" Elsie declared, having taken quite a shine to little "Elphia" since Elphia had taken such a shine to her.

"That has GOT to be the dumbest name I've EVER heard!" Weronika snorted. Was it jealousy Sophia sensed in the Polish hound? Despite her fierce appearance and temperament, she had a soft spot for pups. Maybe she didn't like thinking that Elsie and Sophia had adopted one first.

"You haven't heard your own name before? Then again, I suppose you do choose to ignore Neo most of the time," Elsie smirked. Sophia yipped nervously, but she didn't need to. Although Weronika bared her fangs, some of them chipped but all of them still incredibly sharp and strong, she refrained from anything more aggressive than that. Little Elphia was watching, after all.

ooo

It truly spoke to the nature of the trio of dogs—and their owner—that no matter how dysfunctional they behaved on the surface, the desire to protect and preserve the pack was real. In fact, on more than one occasion, every single dog—and the owner herself—had needed to intervene on each other's behalf. Weronika, of course, was the most aggressive, but Elsie and Sophia had also taken blows for the family.

"Elsie! No!" Neo tightened her grip on the poodle's leash as she snarled and snapped at an approaching stranger. Weronika also stood at attention while Sophia trembled and barked, fight-or-flight response kicking in. Neo could feel it too, though. There was something off about this "gentleman". But I am absolutely NOT allowing ANY of you to risk yourselves for me!

There was no telling what he would be willing to do if any of the dogs struck the first blow. Even if Neo didn't have to worry about him physically fighting back, what if he tried to figure out who she was and force her to bring her dogs to justice later? She'd heard the stories of dogs who were put down because they bit the wrong person, and said person demanded for their life in exchange.

Of course I understand. Especially if Weronika were truly to bite someone, it could easily lead to hospitalization, and perhaps even permanent damage… But Neo was insistent that as the human owner of the three dogs, she had a sort of immunity that they did not, and therefore she should be the one to go to war for them, not the other way around. MY life would never be on the line, even if they bit someone.

She stepped protectively in front of her pack, and they passed the shady man cautiously. Neo, herself, never made eye contact with him, scarcely even looking in his direction, but her ears were still open, and she was alert, hypervigilant, just like her three furry bodyguards. Neo flashed back to another moment in her yard when a little garden snake had startled her.

How quickly all three of her dogs had come flying over trying to catch and kill the snake for daring to offend their owner with its existence. Even though Neo knew it was only a garden snake, a second flash of terror surged through her that the snake would somehow harm any one of her three canine companions and champions.

None of you shall ever put yourselves in danger for my sake ever again. Understand? Despite her own icy façade, when it came to her dogs, Neo could have a soft side. After all, as many a dog mom could attest to, there was the occasional moment when she accidentally stepped on a paw or tail, failing to be more concious of her surroundings. Those were always some of Neo's worst moments. Even if the dog in question would forgive her, she wouldn't forgive herself for at least the entire rest of the day.

"Ow! Hey! Watch it! Dummy!" Weronika would whine, growl, and snap a little. Sophia, of course, would be more desperate to apologize for being in Neo's way. And Elsie would sometimes oscillate between their reactions, annoyed whenever Neo would accidentally step on her tail, but understanding that it was accidental. She would milk it for all it was worth—free treats and head-scritches—but she would never lash out like Weronika. If anything, Neo punished herself enough whenever she thought she'd caused genuine harm to any of her three beloved pets.

ooo

Though sometimes, the accidents were the fault of the three dogs. As loyal, faithful, canine companions, they had the habit of following their owner around a lot, and sometimes, they wouldn't look before they leapt. Literally.

The amount of times I've had to stop them from doing something stupid, or sustaining some type of injury, just because they couldn't bear to be away from me for longer than five seconds… Sophia, of course, was the most extreme example, but even Elsie and Weronika had tripped, fallen, injured themselves, or ended up in other sticky situations just because they tried to follow Neo somewhere they either couldn't fit or weren't supposed to be.

"Honestly, Elsie, did Elphia teach you nothing? You simply must be more observant next time!" Neo teased with a tired sigh and a dry smirk as she patted the poodle's silvery white head. Sophia and Weronika were on standby, the former holding bandages in her mouth for Neo to wrap around Elsie's sprained paw. Now it was Weronika's turn to gloat, though for once, she kept her snide, taunting comments to herself.

"Neeeoooo!" It was embarrassing enough, Sophia worrying over her and Weronika's gloating expression, silently calling her an idiot, but Elsie had just been so eager to stand beside her hero, Neo, that she wound up walking off the edge of a platform without thinking. It wasn't a high fall, but missing a step sent one paw down before it was meant to, and when the rest of her body put weight on it, there was a slight twist and a sharp pain. She yelped without meaning to, and Neo was instantly on her knees trying to figure out what was wrong.

That alone made Elsie feel worlds better. Truly, it was as all of them had noted at least once before. Even if their pack was outwardly dysfunctional—argumentative and competitive—sometimes they could only fight over taking care of, and protecting, each other. Now Neo and her pack were safe inside their little home, Neo resting on the couch with Sophia and Elsie on either side of her, Weronika lying peacefully at her feet. Neo exhaled quietly. At last, everyone was under her watchful eye, and in no position to get into any more trouble (at least that day).

It was just another day in the life of a dog mom and her fur babies, and it was a life none of them had ever expected to have, but none of them could say they regretted any of it, no matter how crazy it could be sometimes.

AN: TFW you also go on a Minecraft binge, download a Neo skin, and instantly spawn and tame three wolves, and then get to see all the stress-inducing antics they can get into.

The first segment was inspired by Sophia following me so closely that for a moment, I lost track of where she was and freaked the F out because I thought something had happened to her.

The second, I forgot feeding multiple dogs at once at full health meant they would breed (so Elsie and Sophia had a puppy together LOL).

The third is whenever tamed wolves attack creatures to protect you. Always also scares the F out of me because I'm paranoid they're gonna die for my sake. BUT I DON'T WANT THAT BECAUSE I CAN RESPAWN BUT THEY CAN'T!

The fourth, similar to the first, is how many times these dinguses have taken fall damage following me around, LOL! They're gonna scare me into an early grave too, I swear!