Four-year-old Rose had just woken up by her puppies, who were 3 months old now. She could've sworn that they had eaten so much sugar. Pepper had to be the most hyper one out of all of the five puppies. But she enjoyed being a mother; it was one of the best feelings in the world aside from being with the love of her life and being the female leader of the gang.
She opened her eyes after feeling her floppy ear getting pulled on. "Wake up, mommy!" Pepper barked, still tugging on her mother's ear. "You said we would get a lesson today!" Lilly added, barking constantly.
"Alright, I'm up. I'm up, my darlings. But I can't say the same for you father," Rose said, lifting her head. Pepper dropped down and wagged her tail. Charlie was one of the only calm one of the litter. "Can you guys pwease calm down?" he frowned, dropping his semi-flopped ears.
"Y'u no fun, Chawie! Y'u gotta be exc'ted fow t'e wesson!" Pepper whined. "Alright, alright, that's enough. Riley, can you wake up your father and we can get your next lesson started," Rose said, looking over at her sleeping mate, who was on his back, head stretched out, ears laid out underneath him.
"Daddy, siwwy!" Riley laughed, toddling over to his dad. He climbed up on Dodger's chest and began to jump up and down on Dodger's chest. "Nuuu... Imma getcha..." Dodger grumbled in his sleep, kicking his legs in the air.
"Looks like he won't be waking up any time soon," Rose laughed at her mate's stubbornness. Dodger was always a heavy sleeper, impossible to rouse. "We gonna be wate to ou' wesson!, mama!" Pepper whined, feeling antsy about going to Central Park.
"Guess we're on our own now. He'll understand," Rose mentioned, getting up and stretching. Sammie was riding on her back, and she rolled off.
—--
(In Manhattan)
The mama dog strolled down the bustling streets of Manhattan, her puppies keeping pace by her side. Today, she intended to rendezvous with the rest of the gang for a playdate with the other young pups. Naturally, they would head there after their training session.
Lilly looked up at her mom with a smile and asked, "What are we going to learn today, Mama?" Rose eagerly replied, "I'm glad you asked. I'm going to teach you guys how to car surf today," She then proceeded to show them how to car surf, and they quickly picked up the skill.
In the afternoon, the lesson ended and it was time to join the rest of the gang, which got the pups all excited. They were headed to Central Park, but Rose had a hunch that they were being followed, and she felt her instincts kick in.
Riley inquired, "Mom, what's the matter?" as he observed his mother's unease. Rose scanned the area vigilantly, prepared to shield her pups. "Let's go. We have to leave the street," she informed them with a serious tone. The young pups were puzzled by the situation.
"Mama, what's going on?" Lilly cried, beginning to tremble. Rose concealed her puppies behind a dumpster in the nearby alley to avoid being spotted. "Just stay put," Rose murmured, heading towards the alley entrance, only to spot a familiar truck approaching. 'Oh, no,' the shepherd mix thought, recognizing it as the dog catcher.
She couldn't take the chance of her puppies being captured by the dog catcher, as it was a dangerous situation for them. The dog catcher parked his truck on the side of the road and stepped out, the same one who had caught her during the encounter with Ryan. "Oh, I finally caught you," he exclaimed, swiftly grabbing his catching pole.
Rose refused to abandon her pups to the dog catcher, so she made sure to defend them with all her might. She started growling, showing her teeth in a threatening manner. Her fur stood on end as she moved backward, shielding her young ones.
"Oh, she looks like a good fighter," another dog catcher said, looking at Rose. The two dog catchers noticed the puppies, who looked scared of them. "Looks like she's got herself some puppies. We oughta catch them after we get her," the driver of the truck said.
Rose became even more agitated and began barking aggressively at the intruders, charging towards them before retreating back to protect her pups. She was determined that no one would come near her puppies, no matter what.
As they attempted to approach, she pounced on them, causing one to fall to the ground as she growled and barked fiercely. "Grab her, Frank!" he shouted, attempting to conceal his fear of the dog.
Frank wrapped his catching pole around Rose's neck and pulled her back, causing her to make a choking sound. "Mama!" The pups cried out when they saw their mother being caught. They pinned her down as she tried to get back up.
Rose gazed at her puppies, who seemed really scared. "Go! Go find your dad! Right now!" she yelped, trying her best to protect her puppies. The puppies had to listen to their mom. They galloped as fast as they could, almost causing the other dog catcher to stumble.
Rose kept struggling against the dog catcher, but then she suddenly felt a dart hit her and she started feeling sleepy. She gave up fighting and lay down on the ground. She had no idea that she wouldn't see them again for over two years.