Lady and the Tramp II - Buster's story

Chapter IV: making friends

The next Sunday Buster and his lady went to the park again. The past week they had been training and exercising a lot. On top of that, they had cuddled more than usual. Buster wasn't complaining, but things did seem kind of off since last Sunday. It felt like she needed him just a little bit more. He brushed against her hip and looked up at her with puppy eyes. She chuckled softly and pet his head. "Good boy, Buster."

After a few minutes, something happened. Buster and his lady spotted three cocker spaniel puppies playing near the small river that flowed through the park, and one of the pups had fallen in. The other two were barking and yelping, trying to help their sister back up on the bank. "Buster, go!" His lady didn't even have to tell him what to do; the large doberman sprinted up to the pups and leapt into the water, grabbing the one that had fallen in by the collar and climbing back onto the ground. He let the pup go and his lady came running. Both the puppy and the big dog shook themselves. "Are you okay?" Buster asked. "Y-yeah, thanks for saving me," the pup said. "You smell familiar..." the doberman muttered. His blonde owner knelt down next to him and checked if he and the puppy were alright. Then, four more dogs came running. "Ah, these are yours?" Buster asked. Tramp nodded. "Thank you, Buster. Thank you so much," the mutt panted, tired from running. The puppies ran to their parents and Buster's lady smiled happily. "I'm glad you're alright," she said and she petted the puppy. "Why did you do that?" Scamp asked, genuinly confused. "Yeah, what happened to "every dog for himself"?" Angel questioned.

Before he could answer, the owner of the dogs came running up to them. "Hey, young lady! I thought I told you last week not to let that agressive dog near my pups!" Buster's owner's eyes widened and she stumbled back. "I-I'm sorry, sir, but your puppy was drowning! I h-had to do something, I couldn't just leave her there. And my dog is not agressive at all, just because he's a doberman doesn't mean he's a bad dog!" Eventhough her words were confident, she was shaking. Buster knew she hated getting yelled at, so he stood at her side and leaned against her to let her know he was with her.

The man knelt down and found that one of the puppies was indeed wet, just like Buster. "Oh, my bad. I'm sorry, dear." Then, the owner's wife and their child walked up to them as well. "Is everything alright, Jim-dear?" she asked. "Yes, darling. Danielle fell into the water, but appearantly she was saved by this heroic couple." Buster's owner cleared her throat. "Actually, my dog did all the work," she said. "His name is Buster." The woman knelt down and scratched Buster under his chin. "He's a really big dog, huh. Can you handle him all by yourself?" Buster's lady chuckled. "Allow me to demonstrate."

"Stay," she told Buster, and she walked a few meters away. "Come!" The second he recieved the command, the dog came running at her. "Stop! Sit!" He did as he was told, panting happily and looking up at her. "Good boy! Down, yes! Roll over, other way!" Buster did all the tricks she asked him to do as soon as she said the word. "Good job! Now, up! Spin! Yes! Good boy. Sit pretty, down, up! Jump! Yes! Heel. Good boy! Sit, stay!" She walked away from him again, and Buster stayed nicely. "Good boy, come! Yes! Shake, high five! Good! Wave, pray! Yes! Very good!" Buster smiled happily, doing exactly as his lady asked. Both Scamp and Angel were staring at the doberman. The difference between the dog they knew and the dog they were seeing was night and day. "You've got to be kidding me," Scamp muttered.

Buster and his lady bowed with a smile and the woman and the child clapped their hands excitedly. "That was wonderful!" the woman said. "What's your name?" Buster's owner smiled. "I'm Saskia, ma'am. How may I call you?" she said. "My name is Elizabeth and this is my husband, Jim." Saskia smiled. "It's very nice to meet you." Elizabeth proceded to introduce Saskia to all of the dogs too, and Buster could tell his owner had a blast petting them all, and she wasn't the only one who enjoyed it. Especially Tramp loved the gentle massage he got. "Ah, Buster, you're living the life with a human like this," he sighed contently. Buster chuckled. "Exactly. I wouldn't have it any other way." Scamp then jumped into the conversation. "I'm sorry, am I the only one who's missing something? How did you become a pet? I thought you hated housedogs?" Buster explained while his owner chatted a little bit with Jim and Elizabeth.

After a while, Buster's lady called him and the two went home after saying goodbye to the family. "Well that was fun, wasn't it boy?" Saskia said with a smile and petted her dog. "I asked them to call me if they needed somebody to walk their dogs, and they told me that I could take Scamp out whenever we go for a walk. Appearantly, he's very energetic and needs to exercise more. It'll be fun to take him with us, don't you think?" Buster didn't understand much of what she was telling him, but he loved listening to her regardless. He was happy she felt better. He was happy to see her smile once again. The two of them walked home as the sun set behind them.