User blog:InklingBear/Life of Pets - The Show-Fur

Story #26 - The Show-Fur [Special Episode]
3:00pm

This was indeed, yet another warm, cloudless day down in the neighborhood of Royal Woods. The siblings have finished yet another day worth of learning and boredom. Each and every one of them were very eager to make their way back home to enjoy their well deserved weekend.

Now that's out of the way, let's move on to the daily lives of their four sweet little pets.

The quadruple group of the domesticated animals all sat back and watched the television as a good amount of boredom filled them all. The television screen aired a couple of advertisements before returning back to its scheduled program.

"And this brand new soft to the touch razor trimmer can be yours with just three simple payments of $19.95. Call now at the number depicted below us, at 810-4321!"

The hound and the feline simultaneously elicited a yawn.

"Ain't dere somethin' dey got out dere dat'll interest us?" Cliff said.

"Yeah, like somethin' we can sink our teeth into." Charles added. "Dat ting's like a mobile nightmare!"

The feline groaned for a bit before he pointed to a somewhat bald spot just above his backside. "Tell me about it."

The three pets were curious to get a gaze upon his back. Curiosity filled them with each second they spent looking at him from behind.

"Wow." Walt said.

"Gee cat, ya sure it's supposed ta look so... pink?" Charles asked before his stomach rumbled, looking down.

"What kind of monster would do that to you?" Geo added as Charles quickly rushed upstairs, leaving the three alone to resume their discussion.

Without wasting a second to spare, Cliff answered, "Take a wild guess."

Moments later, a scream from Lynn Sr. omitted as he emerged from the kitchen like he was in a panic. He skimmed through files of paperwork regarding the fees on his van as if that marked a huge concern on the family as a whole.

"Oh, this is terrible!" he said. "We're over five hundred dollars on our finance on my sweet baby!"

Curious, the pets eavesdropped on the man, understandably baffled as to what was going on. Not long after, Rita emerged from the kitchen as well, almost gravely concerned about the same thing.

"You think that's bad, honey?" Rita said. "What am I gonna do with this huge debt on water supply and electricity?"

The three stationary animals glanced at each other. Something was wrong the minute the word 'debt' read the woman's lips. It was like something was threatening the family of thirteen human beings and themselves all together. They all shared a gulp before their eavesdropping resumed.

"Wait a minute... one thousand, two hundred and ninety five dollars we owe all together in debt?!" The father quivered in aghast.

"And... thirty one cents."

"Great goodness, honey. What are we gonna tell our children? If we don't come up with the moolah in... seventy two hours, they're going to take it all away! No water, no electricity, no transportation... NOTHING!"

The pets silently let their mouths slightly agape now. This was serious.

Clenching his hands, he uttered to himself as he started to shed some tears. "My sweet Vanzilla... all the memories I've shared..."

"Our poor kids..." Rita said, placing her hands on her face. Much to the pets' annoyance, Cliff irritably meowed at her as a small reminder. "Oh right, the pets as well... forced to go hungry and filthy?!" She grabbed her husband. "Honey, we can't let that happen!"

The father straightened up his sweater. The mind of a father figure was put to work in a snap. "Until then, we're gonna have to cut down on a lot of things in this house, so our bills don't grow more expensive! Everybody's gonna have to share the same shower, the same water and the same food."

The three pets react as if they weren't comfortable with the life changes. Having to manage their bills to support such a huge family like this one was definitely for the best. Even if it was worth the complaints they might receive, it's all only part of being a good parent to their... almost a dozen children.

He grabbed Rita's arm as he proceeded back into the kitchen to start preparation for an early dinner. "Now come on! Help me find something to whip up for dinner tonight. We gotta savor all the remaining items we have left, so one can at a time!"

As Cliff, Geo, and Walt were alone once again, each of them simultaneously took in some air before the hamster broke the silence between them all.

"Oh my gosh, you guys!" Geo said. "Of all the serious things that could take place, this has got to be the... most... serious... thing!"

"Yeesh, dramatic much?" Walt spat bewilderedly.

"I know ya ain't talkin', bird." Cliff said, arms crossed.

The bird sighed. "Now's not the time for you to lay into me."

"We gotta do something to save our butts here!" Geo exclaimed, in posthaste.

Cliff nodded in full agreement. "Ya got dat right, Ham," He placed a paw on his head. "Just da thought about starvin' and gettin' all musky is makin' me nervous!"

"And I would hate having to smell those horrible, fetid fumes from everyone here." Walt added, preening himself. "Well, maybe the dog to some kind of... weird degree but I'm definitely drawing the line with this."

Crossing his arms, Geo responded "Yeah, same here!"

Scratching his head, Cliff asked the two an important question. "Da problem is... how are we gonna fix dis lil' threat of a problem?"

That one sentence had the bird and the hamster thinking. For a small moment, they were stumped. Geo and Walt shrugged as they had nothing on their mind.

"Dis is gonna be real tough fer us, ya guys."

"No, really?" Walt said, sarcastically rolling his eyes.

Conveniently, there was a potential idea that sparked them all, flashing directly from the television in front of them. It was an advertisement about an upcoming dog show, taking place on a Sunday afternoon.

"Do you think your dog has what it takes to outwit the competition? You think your furry little companion has the skills to impress the good old town of Royal Woods? Style, agility, obedience, do you think your dog has it all? Then this event is for you my friend! Come on down to the eighth annual dog show competition this Sunday afternoon, and you and your furry friend could win five thousand dollars in cash! Don't miss out!"

"Mmmaybe not so tough!" Cliff said, dumbfounded by timing alone. "Ya thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"We get the mutt to train for this competition and win us that money." Walt said.

"That's a lot more money to pay off the debt! Our home will be saved!" Geo said, beaming with a short applause. "This'll be perfect!"

Scratching his head, Walt had to ask for suggestions. Knowing the dog well, there's a good chance he wouldn't care much about it. "But the problem is... he's a lazier slob than the cat!"

Cliff was confused. "Pardon?" he said.

"How are we going to get that dog to even cooperate for the event?"

The feline responded with a quick sigh. Walt was right about Charles first of all. "Agh... yer right, bird. I hadn't thought about dat... Knowin' how incompetent da mutt is, we'll never pull dis off."

Unbeknownst to the three animals, the dog returned back from upstairs. "Ahem!" he spat, catching the three by surprise, eliciting a small jump with a yelp on top. Crossing his arms and tapping the carpet by his feet, he glared at the cat for his remark.

"Whoa!" Cliff said uneasily. "I uh... had no idea you were... standin' right dere da whole time."

The dog raised an eyebrow. "I beg yer pardon?"

Nervous, the cat let out a small chuckle. "I... didn't mean a single word I've said about ya."

Skipping to the point, Geo suggested, "You've got to help us here, dog!"

"With what?" the dog curiously asked before the cat grabbed onto him.

"Did ya know dat we're gonna be cut short of all the water - the power..."

"Eh, big deal." Charles brushed off.

"And worst of all... food!"

The one and only key component of their problem had the dog's eyes widen in aghast. He gulped as if it was his last one. "Ruh-roh..." he retaliated in response. This was intense. "Ya mean... we're gonna starve?! Food is like my sole passion! No more snacks, meat and all the bad junk food we can eat?!" He placed his paw on his head like he was going faint. "I'll be devastated if we can't satisfy our uncontrollable hunger if dat happens!"

An elicited whine and floppy ears later, he had no choice but to pitch in. "What are we gonna do?"

"In this case actually," Walt said. "By 'we', I mean you."

"You've got to prepare for this dog competition in less than 48 hours!"

Charles reacted as if he was puzzled by the words of the hamster. "Huh?"

"Yeah! You'll do just fine in dat ting ta win us dat moolah!" Cliff added.

The dog hesitated. "Yer... yer kiddin' right?"

Walt sighed. "Do you think we're kidding with you? We're being completely serious with you!"

"Just don't make a butt of yerself like ya did da last time da filth queen entered ya."

Nervous, Charles' eyes shifted around as if he was guilty of something. "Aw c'mon! What I do dat was so bad?"

Before one of the three pets could break down the events of the previous dog show, Cliff rolled his eyes, turned to the reader and picked up a remote in his paw as if he was about to switch a channel.

"I would personally go into detail myself, but I tink it's better if I showed ya. See fer yerself!"

"It's looking good here ladies and gentlemen. It's looking REAL good!"

''Two years ago, Lana entered Charles at the dog show, they blew everybody's mind with what they could show off with the residents of Royal Woods, heck even the whole world. As the mud loving tomboy cheered her canine companion on, Charles ran through his obstacles he had to complete. From entering and exiting the tunnel, to jumping through hoops, it was a marvelous performance to begin with. Unfortunately, in one of the most inconvenient timings from making his way up the seesaw, his butt somehow got the urge to itch right out of the blue.''

''The sudden sensation had Charles leap as if he was in pain. Caught by surprise, the observant crowd gasped, including Lana herself. The next thing they observed was her dog rubbing his butt across the field, desperate to relieve the itching.''

''The tomboy had no choice but to facepalm after the crowd broke into laughter. "Oh c'mon Charles," she said. "I thought we've been over this several times before the competition!"''

''If she thought that incident was humiliating enough, last year's competition added a whole lot of fuel to the fire, to the point where it got them disqualified. Except this incident didn't involve fuel.''

This time, it was logs.

"Looks like this is the final stretch here, ladies and gentlemen! Nothing's gonna stop this pooch now!"

''Just as Charles was about to take home the gold as he approached closer to the finish line, he suddenly stopped at the sound of his stomach going nuts. A whimper or two after that, he could barely hold it in. He looked to Lana as he was about to let her down once again before she yelled out to him once she realized what was going to happen next.''

''"Charles, no!" she reacted sluggishly. As the dog had no choice but to relieve himself right then and there, the crowd reactions were mixed. As some of the attendees looked away, deep aghast filled half of them as the other half resorted to hysteric laughs. A shameful ensued for her as she sighed and facepalmed herself yet again, head shaking included. "It just couldn't wait huh?"''

"Wow." Geo said with a smirk on his face. "Just... wow."

"You really bent a good one right at the center of the field…" Walt added.

Humiliated, Charles glared at the three animals as he made an attempt to correct them. "Alright. One, dat first mishap was from a few fleas invadin' a place where dey shouldn't be invadin'. And two, dat was from da meal we all had before da competition. I oughta give the one responsible fer it a piece of my mind. I'm da one who's not at fault here for all dose tings."

"That... might explain the weak stomachs we had that day..." Geo said, scratching his head.

The dog extended his arms out to the side. "Ya see? I ain't makin' any 'a dis up here!"

"Well, dis time, yer gonna win dis ting and save our home!" Cliff cheered, in hopes of motivating the pup.

"You can do this, dog! Or else I'm gonna give you what for!" Walt added.

Charles gulped. "Uh... I don't like ta be pressured like dat, bird." he said. "Besides, what's da point in goin' if I'm gonna end up humiliatin' da kid again?"

"Don't be such a quitter, dog," Cliff said, before making a suggestion. "We'll just make sure none 'a dat stuff happens!"

Geo and Walt were curious to see where the cat's plan would play out. "How?" they asked simultaneously.

"Follow me, I may have a couple idears ta execute fer ya."

"Oh geez." Charles mouthed.

Five Minutes Later

The four pets were in the kitchen now. Confident about his plans, Cliff stroked a confused Charles on his head as he held a bottle of repellent in his other paw.

"Alright dere, buddy ol' pal," the cat said. "I'm pretty sure dat this bug repellent will be enough ta keep dose filthy ticks off 'a youse."

Charles landed his gaze upon the bottle as he read what wad depicted on said container. "Buzzoff? Works almost ninety-nine percent of da time?"

"It's the best selling thing they had to date at the pet store." Geo said.

"If only it wasn't that dang expensive..." Walt added.

The hound tilted his head. Uncertain about what the feline's plan was, he would grow curious overtime. "Ya sure dat stuff's gonna work?"

"Guaranteed." Cliff reassured.

Charles looked down at the floor. Giving in to his plan not long after, he sighed. "Alright, hit me wit' it, I suppose..?"

On command, Cliff popped the top off and sprayed him down. The sensation of the contents would soon reach the bottom of the white hound before he elicited a small jump and a yip. He angrily turned to the cat, telling him off. "Hey! Watch da rump!" he said.

"Ya said dose dastardly ticks were invadin' a place dey shouldn't be invadin' right?" the cat retaliated.

While the feline himself had a point, Charles clearly hesitated for a brief moment. "I... did say dat?"

As Cliff continued spraying the white hound down, Walt stepped in to give his part of the plan. "And as for your little stench-y problem, I think that we have to not feed you anything on the day of the event."

"Whoa whoa whoa... WHOA." Charles reacted in dismay. "Now wait just a darn minute here. Yer tellin' me dat yer gonna starve me?"

"You can't do that to him, bird!" Geo said. "Everybody has to eat something, you know. Plus, there could be a chance that he'll fall out during the competition!"

"Ham's right dere, bird." Cliff said as the dog nodded in agreement. "Ya gotta eat ta keep yer strength up."

"Alright then, at least stay away from people food for the next couple of days." Walt suggested.

Ears flopped, Charles let out a subtle whine. "Man, dis'll be real tough fer me guys..."

"Don't fret, you'll do fine." Geo said, comforting the nervous pooch. "Now just rest easy and win for us. No pressure, of course..."

The Next Day - 9:00 am

The weather was slightly chilly as the skies were covered with clouds. Light winds blowing down south to brush against the environment of grass and the leaves as they rustled in harmony. It was just another average day in the neighborhood.

Charles slept like a sweet little baby in his pooch pen. He had a good feeling that nothing would disturb his peace at an hour as flawless like this one. Unfortunately for the pooch, he was disturbed by the mud loving twin as her head popped in the entrance.

"Hey Charles!" Lana exclaimed like the sweet little pollyanna she is. "Time to get up, we gotta start our training for the dog show tomorrow!"

Charles groaned to her, as if he was trying to tell her he need another five minutes of rest. Determined to take home the bacon this year, Lana put her hands on the dog's face.

"C'mon now, we've got a lot of work to do if we wanna win," she said before switching to a stern tone. "as long as ya don't embarrass me like ya did the last two times we participated!"

The latter sentence influenced a gulp from the hound. It was almost like some pressure was being applied to his psyche. Before the dog could do anything else, he was dragged out of his doghouse and into the backyard where the tomboy's training would soon commence.

She left to go grab a hula hoop before returning almost immediately. Her intents wanted the indolent dog to jump through it. She distanced herself so the pup could obtain enough room to execute those expectations of hers.

"Alright Charles, hop on through!" she directed her furry companion. All Charles did was sit there and stare directly at the item in her hand, acting confused as to what she was doing with it. He yawned for a brief moment much to Lana's annoyance before he laid himself down to snooze some of the morning away.

"C'mon boy," she spat, dropping the hula hoop as she approached the dog to wake him up. "This isn't the time for sleeping! Wake up ya lazy dog!"

The dog continued to just lie there. He wasn't willing to even budge a single inch. All he wanted was to get some more rest in.

Lana was growing a bit fed up with her animal. As she sighed in irritation, she went back to get her hula hoop, which unfortunately wasn't there. It was in the hands of her pink pageant twin.

"Lola, I'm not done with that yet!" Lana said.

"Well, sorry," Lola retaliated. "Maybe you shouldn't have left it unoccupied! Besides, I need it for training myself!"

Charles thought to himself for a brief moment. "Please, just take it kid..."

Determined, Lana explained why she needed the hoop more than she did. "Ya don't understand! The dog show's tomorrow and I need to give him all the training I can give him for today only!"

"Okay? And?"

"And... if we win, we could rack up thousands of dollars in prize money. Dad told us that they're struggling with their management and we're at risk of losing water, and electricity!"

"What?! How come I didn't hear about this?"

"Uh, you left to go to the bathroom to fix up the makeup on your face."

Quick to realization, Lola paused. "Oh... in that case, Charles better win this thing for us." She handed the hula hoop back to her twin. "I can't stand the thought of having to live without water and electricity and have all of us end up just like you!"

Those words alone put even more pressure on the dog. This was not an event to take as some kind of joke. With the house in danger what with two days at most to come up with the money, it was all down to Charles to save their home.

Anxious about the situation he was put in, the dog felt like he needed to whimper. What if he were to blow it big time and humiliate the tomboy for the third year in a row? Will the family still love him if that ever happens? Who knows what'll go down. Intentional or not, Charles felt like he was scared on the inside.

"Aw no... what am I gonna do?" Charles thought, quivering like he was freezing outdoors. "Even da brat's expectin' me ta win? What next, da rest 'a dis family? Boy I hope not."

"Now come on Charles," Lana said before she held the hoop out to her right side, pointing to it with her left. "Hop through!"

Not surprised, Charles refused to comply. He rolled around on his back, rubbing about on the lawn of grass. Noticing this, Lana was disconcerted. She let out a small groan as the dog failed to reach her expectations.

"Of course, I knew this was coming." she said to herself.

"I dunno why ya didn't say dat da first time." Charles thought, uttering noises toward the child.

"C'mon Charles, what will it take for ya to listen to me?"

Desperate, she had a thought where she once trained her to be a guard dog, failing miserably several times. Given the events on the training she tried to do, she realized that the dog would be a sucker for three things: treats, bacon, or even junk food. Her first instinct to convince the dog was to reach into her pocket and pull out a strip of bacon. She had a feeling that she could manipulate Charles into motivation. Whether it'll work or not would be anyone's guess. Chances are, he'll go for it in a heartbeat.

"Would ya do it for a strip of bacon?" she asked waving it around to catch the dog's attention. As expected, Charles stood up on his fours, licked his chops, and barked once. Immediately, he went for that piece of pork meat like it was nothing. He jumped through the hoop in a majestic manner, chomping down on the strip of bacon before chewing it thoroughly.

"Yes!" Lana exclaimed at the top of her lungs. Just as anticipated when progress was finally being made, Charles laid back on the grass like the lazy hound he is.

Lana irritably sighed once more. "Of course, that was to be expected too." She had another thing in mind as if she could go all day with this. Given that her chances would be somewhat slim trying to get the darn dog to cooperate, she couldn't let a single failure stop her from accomplishing something that day. She was doing this for the family, but mostly for herself. "Alright, Charles. If you wanna do this the hard way, we'll do this the hard way!"

Back inside the living room of the house, Cliff, Geo, and Walt started to discuss on an alternate way of saving the house. As they brainstormed their ideas that could be filled with potential, Cliff began writing his contents on a sheet of note pad paper.

"How are we going to save the house from losing all the water and power?" Geo curiously said. "In case the dog doesn't win that competition?"

"I don't know, I'm trying to think!" Walt responded.

"Yeah, a good idea takes time ta whip up y'know." Cliff added. "Speakin' 'a which, I tink I've got one!"

"Really?"

"Ooh! Let's hear!" Geo exclaimed.

Before the feline could read whatever he wrote down, he cleared his throat. "Alright now, I was thinkin' we do a lil' car wash bidness. I'll man da soap, 'n give da rims a good cleanin'. Ham mans da wash, get 'em all wet, 'n boom! Pleased customers all around!"

Geo smirked. “Is it bad that I want to laugh right now..?”

Hesitated, Walt grew curious about his plan. He felt that it was missing something. "Uh-huh… and how exactly are you going to get people to stop by so we can spiffy up their cars?"

"Yer gonna take care 'a dat part, bird."

Confused, the bird tilted his head. Where he was going with that, he'll never know unless he asked. "How?"

"I don't suppose dat lil' rump 'o yers could be put into action?"

Now realizing what the cat wanted him to do by that answer alone, Walt lashed out.

"Alright. I see what this is." he said. "You think just because I'm a bird, that automatically makes you assume that I'm made for leaving droppings everywhere?"

"Well I didn't say dat… It's just…"

"Just what?"

Cliff sighed. "Never mind. Sorry."

By that time, Geo would come up with a plan on his own. Before he gasped in excitement, a light bulb popped up over his head to indicate this.

"I think I've got it!" the hamster exclaimed.

“What’s yer plan dere, Ham?”

“We should do like a bake sale! You know, make some cookies, and sell them to the neighborhood? I’m sure we can rack up a good amount of the dough by the time we have to pay up!”

“Dat depends on how much we’re chargin’ a piece.”

“How much are we shooting for?” Walt asked.

“‘N please don’t ya dare say fifteen hundred bucks a piece.”

Understandably bitter, Geo crossed his arms. “You don’t know that’s what I was going to say…”

“Den what were ya gonna say?”

“A simple, but reasonable price of only a dollar and ninety-nine cents.”

“A dollar ninety-nine??” Cliff and Walt spat as one, blown away by how much the hamster would charge people for the goods.

“Wow, and I thought you’d pick a higher price than that.” Walt said.

“Waaaay higher.” Cliff added. “Now, da problem is, how are we gonna do it? I mean, we dunno how to make ‘em, and we dunno how to cook!”

“Cat, you do have a point there…” Walt realized.

Determined to make it work, Geo needed to convince them they they can accomplish something if they try. Besides, they’ll never know unless they do after all. “Come on you guys, how hard can it be?”

Back outside, after a horrid montage of failure and laziness which lasted a good fifteen minutes, Lana shifted her sights down on the ground. She felt that she was let down by her one and only companion that she could trust to save the status of their home. All that training for nothing, and hopes felt like they've been dashed.

"Aw geez," she uttered. "I never thought Charles could be this… careless. If cat shows were a thing, Cliff would've done a better performance than this!"

As Charles paid the child some of his undivided attention, she let out a sigh of disappointment. "I thought I expected better from ya, boy. The last two times we were part of the show, you were like everyone's hero until ya ruined it from scratching yer rump and pooped center stage for everyone to see." Charles started whimpering. This really meant something to her, including the rest of the family. "I looked up to ya ever since I laid my sights upon ya, and that incompetence 'o yers had to shatter it into pieces."

Before she officially threw in the towel trying, she sniffled as she fights her tears, clenched her fists, and walked off. "Don't bother troubling yourself, Charles. I'll just tell the others that we're not gonna enter the show."

As the dog really started to feel bad for the young child, his stigma got his ears to flop down. What if she was right about all of the things she said from her speech? What if he really is the lazy hound he is? As much as he hated to see a child feel broken, he had to make a change as soon as possible.

And that would be today.

Sad but still very anxious, Charles turned to the reader. "Ohhh… I can't just sit here, thinkin' about bein' a disappointment to dis family." he said before he started quivering. "But she's right! Da house is in danger wit' da risk of losin' power and water. Dere's a chance dat we hafta cut back on all the food we can eat. Ev'ry one of da family'll soon starve 'n stink, though I'm used to da latter. I'll end up lettin' everybody down if I don't win dis ting fer her. Knowin' dat everybody's pressurin' me, even the cat, bird, and da hamster are in on dis, I'm already scared ta even pull dis off!"

The dog sighed. "If only da kid could understand me well, I'm willin' ta bet she'll understand why I don't want ta do dis fer her. Given dat I didn't intend ta embarrass 'n let 'er down da last two times I competed in da show." He looked down at the ground with a subtle growl. "Dumb coincidences."

Before he could finish off his monologue to the readers, something hit him in the head. Now gaining the bit of determination he needed to show everyone who's wrong, especially Lana, he gasped before he continued talking.

"A-ha! If I just move past da bad times, and just focus on what really matter ta dis family, I'm pretty sure I can bring home da bacon!" He slurped. "I really don't need practice fer dis competition. I mean, it ain't like dere's gonna be any changes ta dose shows. As long as nothin' stops me from takin' da prize home, ev'ryting'll be a-ok!"

He scoped around for a quick moment before charging back into the house. "Now ta get ta dat kid."

Back inside the kitchen, Cliff, Geo, and Walt were infiltrating the kitchen, looking for their desired items to kickstart the hamster's plan. They went through the pantry, making a scattered mess of all the food the family still had left until they couldn't find the stuff they needed.

"Dang it!" Walt said. "Nothing!"

"Looks like yer cookie plan's not gonna rake in da dough tonight." Cliff added before snickering.

"Yeah yeah, joke all you want." Geo irritably spat.

"You really need to distance yourself from that crazy prankster." Walt added.

Before they decided to tidy up the kitchen back to the way it was, Charles barked twice as he burst through the doggy door, into the living room, in hopes of finding Lana before it was too late. His appearance caught the three pets off guard. After a quick glance towards each other, they went to take a peek in the living room.

Lana entered the parents' bedroom, intending to ask the two some depressing information she had prepared for them. As much as she didn't want to spill those words in front of her parents, she had to pull herself together.

"Mom - Dad…" she said.

"What is it, Lana?" Rita said.

"Is there something wrong?" Lynn Sr. asked. "Don't tell me something's wrong… I think I'm gonna freak!"

"Actually…" Lana sighed. "...there is, unfortunately."

"What's going on?" both parents asked. It was almost like the suspense was tearing the two apart like a broken glass.

"It... looks like Charles and I-"

*arf, arf*

Not a moment to spare, Charles burst in the parents' room in a majestic appearance. His face was filled with poise and fortitude. He closed his eyes, barely lifting his face up with a little wag of his tail. The sight of Charles being ready for the big day tomorrow, put a little smile of the tomboy's face. Good thing is, there wasn't any bad new to give out. Now, it was time to switch to good news.

"...are ready for the show tomorrow!"

With a subtle gulp, Charles immediately thought "Ohhh… a dog can hope."

The Next Day - 12:00 pm

Down at the Royal Woods Square Garden, around two hundred contestants were in line, waiting to sign up for the show that'll premiere about a full hour from now. Chatter filled the room all around as their dogs took their time to communicate with each other through sniffing as they act in a very playful mood. Nobody looked competitive in the slightest. It's almost as if the show was either a joke or something to participate in for the fun of it. But, there's always that one team that thinks they can outwit the rest. They just haven't revealed their true colors at the time being.

Lana and Charles, now spiffed up with a bow tie, were next in line at the registration booth. They both felt a little nervous, given what happened the last two times they participated. All they needed to do was brush those incidents off and start anew. Lincoln and the rest of the siblings decided to come, just to support her all the way, no matter what happens in the show. Little did the tomboy know, she doesn't know they were there.

"Next?"

It was her turn now. Lana walked up to the booth and started a conversation with a lady that had one of the most monotone voices imaginable.

"Hi!" she said.

"Name?"

"Lana Loud."

"And your dog's name and breed?"

Confident, she grabbed her companion, and smished his face onto hers. "Charles, he's the best bulldog I've ever got!"

"So, why have you decided to enter the dog show today?"

Lana scratched her head. "Well, it's a long story, but I'll cut to the chase here." She then pet her dog. "It's a perfect opportunity to show the entire population of Royal Woods how awesome this good pooch is!"

As the woman in the booth hesitated, she then finished off the conversation with "Okay, you qualify. Best of luck to you, kid."

Lana had a sentient feeling about her, but it didn't matter much. She walked deeper towards the arena of the building where everyone's waiting without her faithful companion for a small moment. Just as Charles was about to follow her, a cold sensation he received influenced a jump as it threw him off his guard. Startled by the husky dog's abrupt snuffle at his behind, he faced the curious hound and softly growled to him.

"Hey! Watch where yer sniffin' mate." Charles commanded.

Blushing, the husky smiled sheepishly. "Oh… uh sorry! I just wanted to wish you the best of luck in the show!"

"Charles, c'mon!" Lana called out.

As Charles finally started walking towards Lana, he responded back to him with "Thanks uh... you too?" before the hound finally caught up to the young tomboy.

(Almost) One Hour Later

Cliff, Geo, and Walt had the house to themselves for a few hours while the family's out to support Charles' performance at the show. Two of their backup plans didn't plan out like they thought they would. Cliff's idea received flak from Walt himself while Geo's idea fell short of dough. Left with no choice, they all had to start back from square one. They were both stumped from other potential ideas they could've had in hopes to help save their house.

Five minutes to one in the afternoon, Cliff sighed, grabbed the remote, channeling through several channels to find the dog show on the TV screen. "Welp, I can't tink of another idea ta save our butts in dis house." he said.

"I can't think of anything else either!" Geo wistfully said. "This is terrible!"

"Oh geez." Walt angrily uttered to himself. "Is nobody going to listen to what I had in mind, regarding the house?"

"Alright bird," Cliff responded before switching to a sarcastic tone. "Hit us with it, since yer so eager ta tell us."

"No need to be so assertive…" Geo added.

Given a chance, Walt rubbed his wings together. "Ok, finally!" he said. "Get ready for one of the best thought out plans you've ever heard in your lives."

Before the bird himself gave his two cents on his thoughts, an advertisement popped up on the television called World's Funniest Entertainment. The man on the screen spoke to its viewers in a rather enthusiastic voice.

"Hey all you people out there watching! Want to see if your video's the most entertaining out of all the rest of the world? You got what it takes to show the true meaning of comedy? Just send in your video submission at submission and you could possibly win up to ten thousand dollars in prize money! But act fast, submissions close an hour before the show premieres at 6 PM EST! Hurry up and send send send! We'd love a good laugh!"

The commercial ends, switching to another.

"That's it…"

The three pets were all stunned by coincidence alone. That would best the original plan the bird had on his mind for several hours. A larger cash prize, and a simple task to do? They were all sold in an instant. Although this was a risky competition to take, the three pets had determination painted on their face. It's almost as if their family was the definition of funny.

"Hello better plan." Walt uttered with a smile.

Now, down in the arena where the big event was happening now, every participant waited patiently for the event to start. Everyone in the stands was eager to get this show on the road, filled with entertainment and pleasant surprises. To everyone's ready, the announcer was about to express his words in a playful matter in three… two… one.

"Good afternoon, citizens of Royal Woods! And welcome to the eighth annual Royal Woods dog show! This year, we have racked up to two hundred and forty eight entries for the dog show today which is… surprisingly less than last year's show. But not to fret, let's not waste time here. Now who wants to start the dog show? Yes you do! Yes you do!"

Several dogs backed back in response. They were all exuberant to have some fun. Cutting to the chase, the announcer broke down the contents of the first trial.

"Let's get on to our first trial of the competition, obedience! A judge will be around to witness how well your dog can behave and follow commands, shouldn't take no more than a minute."

"Alright Charles, we can do this." Lana said confidently before a back came from her feral companion.

Given the simplicity, Charles thought to himself "No problem, dis'll be a piece 'o cake!"

A judge approached the row of dogs with their owners, ready to evaluate their performance. "Ready?"

Chatters of excitement ensued for them all before they settled down for the judge to instruct the animals their first command of the trial, in a sophisticated manner.

"Sit!"

Just about every pooch on the arena did as instructed without even hesitating. Some had to tell their dogs that command since they'll most likely not listen to anyone other than their owner.

"Great! Down your dogs!"

"Lie down, Charles." Lana uttered, before Charles obeyed as the rest followed.

"Ain't nothin' complicated so far…" Charles thought. "Da spray seems ta be workin' so far, and nothin' upsettin' my stomach - dis'll be a breeze."

"Good! Now, for something a little… unique."

The mention of the last word in the sentence filled the dog with some worry. "Ruh-roh."

Back at the house, Cliff was on the computer, looking through the video files archived on their drive. Surely they could find something good to impress a bunch of people on the show about entertainment. As they were glancing through the files, some of the names sounded weird and awkward to them.

"Pulsatin' experiment gone wrong, Shower of gold prank, Dog passes out after sniffin' da rear end of a baby?" Cliff uncomfortably uttered to himself. "Geez, what is dis family into dese days?"

"Everybody's strange in their own ways, cat." Geo said. "But, I don't see how you can complain when you're into licking yourself."

Cliff blushed, looking away from the hamster. "It's a habit us felines have, okay?"

"That… last one sound like it could be funny?" Walt suggested uneasily.

The cat thought to himself for a bit as he scratched his head. "I guess, but let's shoot fer someone in da family." He returned back to scrolling. "While me 'n Ham here look fer da best video we got - bird, you check on how da mutt's doin' on da television."

"Got it!" Walt said before returning to the family couch. By then the first trial would be complete and ready to proceed to the next trial.

"The dog's pulling through so far!"

"That's awesome!" Geo said.

That update painted a smile on the feline. "If he can keep dat up fer da rest 'a da event, he's got dis in da bag fer sure."

Back in the arena now, the second trial would already be underway. Enthusiasm filled Spotty as he announced the next event of the show.

"Alright, it's time for the next trial: Flying disc! Everyone gets one minute to pull off their best performances while the judges evaluate your dogs. Names will be picked randomly so don't you gals go anywhere!"

"This one should be a piece of cake." Lana said while holding a disc in her hand. "Don't you think so, Charles?"

Her companion barked back twice in excitement before he started to quiver. As Lana petted him on the head, she responded with "I knew I could always count on you, boy!"

The white hound gulped nervously. He shifted his eyes sideways as if fear was out to come after him. The animal just had to play it cool from there. Judging from his performance in the previous trial, he'd try his very best to pull through, like no other pup ever could.

"Up first, we have miss April and her lovely companion, Winsor!"

Crowds cheered for the duo momentarily before they would soon realize that they're weren't on the scene at the very moment. So much for bad timing. Stretching her arms out, Lana attempted to make Charles feel comfortable for a bit. "For now, we can just sit here and watch the others. I figured this'll be a good opportunity to see what I'm workin' with. And besides, it'll probably take a while for them to pull our-"

"Aaand it looks like the duo isn't going to show up on the field. Bummer. So now, our next duo is… Lana and Charles!"

Subsequently, with eyes wide open, the hound gulped anxiously. The crowd began cheering yet again as Lana groaned immensely to the unforeseen turn of events. "Me and my big mouth."

Nervous, the tomboy herself along with her furry canine companion took the arena to perform for the crowd, as well as the judges.

"Alright boy, ready to blow these people away?" Lana asked Charles, pulling out a colorless frisbee.

"Boy I really hope so, kid..." Charles thought, ears flopped. He had to do this for her. For his family. Even his companions who's still at the house. His face was painted with determination. That meant their game faces were officially on, whether Charles was ready or not.

"Countdown in…" The others followed in an instant. "Three! Two! One! Go!"

"Alright Charles," the child said before throwing the frisbee. "Fetch!"

Charles looked at the flying disc as he pawed directly on the ground before he chased after it without another second to spare. He jumped in the air and caught the frisbee before landing back on his feet. The crowd returned to cheering as soon as the dog left a good first impression on them. The hound zipped back to his owner, giving back the disc.

"Good boy, Charles!" Lana said before she threw it further than before. "Catch it again!"

The dog smirked, squinting his eyes at the toy. Not a moment too soon, he chased after it the way he previously did. Charles had a feeling that it's time to do something more divergent and unique. He jumped up high in the air with a twist. Literally. Just like before, he caught the flying disc once again.

Just as impressed, the crowd was in great awe, even the Louds! Applause quickly ensued for the duo for their good run so far. By the time Charles returned back to Lana, time was already half up. She'd have about at least one or two more throws left before it was time to wrap the trial up.

"And we have twenty-eight seconds left!" Spotty said. "Let's see what else this wonderful duo can whip up for us today!"

"Awesome trick, boy!" Lana said, grabbing the disc, throwing it once more. "You got this!"

Chasing after the disc again, Charles glanced towards the reader and said "Yeah! I've got dis alright." before jumping in the air. Majestically, he did a flip in the air after the frisee was caught in his mouth. That trick alone threw a lot of people off guard, including Lana herself.

"Whoa…" she mouthed.

Landing back on his four feet, he ran back to the child with better applause from the crowd. Within such a close proximity to the mud loving tomboy, a buzzer ensued, indicating that their time was up. Immediately, Charles jumped into the kid's arms, wagging his tail swiftly before she held him back.

"That was amazing!" she said. "Told ya this would be a piece of cake! I didn't know you could do anything like that!"

Jumping out of Lana's arms, Charles barked twice before he ran in circles. He sat down in front of her almost immediately after.

Pulling out some paper from her front pocket, she read what will go down in the very next trial.

"Looks like the next trial's about tracking that's coming up in the next hour! You're pretty good with using your nose, right boy?"

Charles rolled his eyes. He thought "I mean, I'm a dog. I ain't give ya dose bloodhound lessons fer nothin'," before determination filled the animal as his eyes came halfway shut. "Let's do dis!"

Back in the Loud House, Cliff and Geo were still trying to figure out what video to send to the contest. They quickly skimmed through whatever files there were on the hard drive.

"C'mon, dere's gotta be a good one hidden in here somewhere…" Cliff uttered.

The yellow avian sighed not long after. Cliff inadvertently opened up a video file as it depicted Lincoln about to prank Cliff with a joy buzzer. He snickered as he held his hand out to the feline.

''"Put 'er there, Cliff!" the boy said. Not amused in the slightest, Cliff looked at his hand unamused. His long tail moved around until it hit a hidden mousetrap just behind him. It went off, snapping his tail until it turned into a shade of red before he meowed in pain, jumping up off the floor before landing back on his fours. The result was so unexpected but accurate to Lincoln's intent, he couldn't help but laugh raucously.''

Oh no, Cliff was pretty ticked off about that.

''He lunged directly at the child as he mauled him right then and there. It went on for a brief moment before the end result was Lincoln was now in nothing but his underwear and shoes. What with his jeans and shirt all the way torn up now, he was able to prove that he is a domesticated cat that nobody dared to mess with.''

Cliff smirked. This could be the one the world needed to see.

"I tink we have ourselves a winner!" Cliff said.

"You could say that again." Walt added. "That was honestly satisfying."

As much as they don't want to humiliate one of the family members for the sake of winning cash, they had to do it in order to save their home. They had no time for any remorse, they were slowly running out of time. The feline began uploading the video and filled out the information they needed to the submission page online.

Before Cliff turned to the reader, he sighed for a brief moment. "Now, I know I'm gonna get some flak fer doin' dis-"

"I wouldn't care if you ask me." Walt said.

"...but dis is fer our family. In da name of love I tell ya!"

"I almost feel bad for doing this.” Geo wistfully uttered. “After they've provided us with food and a place to live for all these years, this is what we're doing to them?"

Cliff and Walt glanced at each other before they put their heads down. After one last glance, this time with a small glare, they decided to just brush it all off.

"Oh well." Cliff spat, clicking the submit button the page before another page loaded, informing them their submission has been received. As they've finished reading the page, Cliff and Walt gave each other fistbumps.

Two Hours Later

It's finally down to the last trial of the day before the ceremony rolls in the close the day. Every dog has been doing great so far, while a select few didn't do as well as they thought. Charles impression on everyone in the arena has gotten him second place in the competition while another unnamed dog has taken the lead by just a hair. Eager enough, the crowd and the contestants all waited to get the last trial on the road so everyone would be home free.

"Alright everybody!" Spotty said. "All of these events have been fun so far, now it's time for the final trial of the day: Agility! Every dog will run through the obstacles we've set up and complete it as fast as you can! But be warned, each fault will add an additional second to your dog's time. Good luck everybody!"

Nervous about the trial, Lana had to throw a reminder at her dog."Alright Charles," she said. "This is the trial you messed up badly on for the past two times we've been here. Ya better break that streak today, hear me?"

Charles nervously whined, looking up to her. Whether those incidents were intentional or not, it did put a damper between their bond to him. In which case, this was the one opportunity he had to redeem himself as if he was trying to clear his name.

Lynn Sr. was in the stands shaking. The dog's performance depended on this one trial alone. The rest of the family were quick to notice as the wife tried to calm him down. "I'm so dang nervous about this you guys, what if Charles messes this up for us? What if he doesn't win this competition? How are we going to survive without water or power?"

"Honey, calm down!" Rita said. "I'm pretty sure Charles will do just fine."

"Lana's been training him for years on end for things like this." Lincoln said. "I'm pretty sure you're just overreacting just a tad?"

"No!" Lola screamed. "You don't get it, Lincoln! You're acting like losing water and power isn't that big of a deal! Without both of those things, my precious hair will be frizzy!"

"I can already feel my connection with Boo-boo Bear weakening out!" Lori added.

"I need power to shred my rockin' guitar, dude!" Luna said.

A sigh later, Lincoln said "See? You guys are literally acting like your lives are on the line here."

"Hey, that's literally my line." Lori irritably stated.

"Kids, calm down!" Rita commanded. "I'm sure we can settle this whether Charles wins or loses."

Before the trial started, Lola said "Please let it be the first choice you said…"

Thirty Minutes Later

Back at the house, Cliff, Geo, and Walt watched the dog show go down on television. Charles had to achieve a time faster than 30.93 seconds if he wanted to have a chance at winning the show for the family. Just as nervous as the dog, Geo was the one quivering the most.

"You can do dis, dog." Cliff said.

"You better not mess this up for us!" Walt added.

Realizing something, Geo's eyes perked wide open. "Oh no," he said, causing Cliff and Walt to pay their attention towards the nervous hamster. "Remember that Buzzoff stuff the cat was talking about?"

"Yeah?" Cliff answered. "What about it?"

"We did spray him off before he left right? R-right?"

The cat gulped as the bird slowly facepalmed in disappointment.

"Ready? Set? Go!"

Time was ticking now. Charles sprinted to the first object as Lana sat and watched. He jumped over the hurdle, ran through the tunnel, and hopped up on the seesaw, waiting for it to tip over to proceed to the next. Five seconds had already passed by the time he swiftly approached another hurdle in his way.

Spotty described the details of what was going down in an enthusiastic matter. Crowds were cheering, but the Louds were louder. Impression was made all around. Despite her nervousness, Lana still cheered her canine companion on.

"Go Charles!" she yelled. Confidence sluggishly built up as the attendees showered their appeal upon the dog. Jumping over another hurdle, he bolted through a collapsed tunnel, bursting through without a care before he would find himself climbing up a dog walk.

Already, almost twenty seconds had elapsed, and not a single fault has occurred yet. Running back down, he headed towards another hurdle, jumping over that in almost an instant, followed by a tire jump. Clearly, Charles's run was flawless. It was almost like nothing could stop the pooch at any day now.

Unfortunately, there was no escaping the past.

As the white hound approached the final hurdle as fast as he could, he felt a sudden sensation that he needed to scratch at his neck.

"Uh oh," Charles whined. Fleas had invaded his fur now. This was bad. Bothered by the sudden itching, he attempted to shake them off, unable to fully concentrate on the field. Determined not to let anything ruin his run, and the chance of saving his home, he had to resume his sights on the final hurdle of the course. Closing in on the obstacle, he elicited one last leap over it, only for his feet to lightly graze the bar, stagnantly falling off after. Oh no. That could be a problem. Lana had her hands over her mouth. Scared enough, she hoped that the little mishap wouldn't count towards their time.

Nevertheless, Charles was able to finish with a score of 30.12 seconds. Slightly faster than the time they were shooting for. Impressed, the crowd filled the arena with heavy cheers and applause. For a second, Charles had to sit and scratch his neck to soothe the itching before Lana ran over to him, putting the animal in her arms.

"You did it Charles!" she said. "Good boy! I knew we had this in the bag!"

Satisfied, he barked back in response with a wag of his tail. That is, until a judge approached them about their penalty. "Bad news, kid." the judge said. "Unfortunately, because your dog happened to knock over the bar on the last obstacle, that fault has added one second to your time. Which means, your finalized time is 31.12 seconds. I'm sorry."

Before sighing, Lana's smile switched to a frown in just a snap the minute the devastating news was revealed. Despite doing his best, Charles flopped his ears in shame along with a whine. Could their chances of saving their home quickly be a dashed dream? There was only one way to find out.

One Hour Later

It was time for the ceremonies now. Everybody was proud of their animals for doing good in the show. Win or Lose, having a lot of fun was what mattered the most. All that's left that awaited them was the announcement of the one winner who had shown the best impression of all.

"Alright you guys," Spotty stated. "I'm sure every one of you had a fun time today, now let's move on to our winner so we can all go home! And tonight's winner for the eighth annual Royal Woods Dog Show is..."

The suspense was killing them. Charles quivered like a cell phone was going off. He had a sad notion that he wouldn't be the one winning this year's competition, same with Lana and the rest of her family.

"Miguel and his pooch Will!"

Crowds cheered for the winners as Lana silently gasped along with the rest of the family.

"This show is RIGGED!" Lola spat.

Sighing once more, the tomboy threw her head down while Charles copied her to present his sympathy and remorse. He did all he could to win the show for her, but unfortunately, this year wasn't their lucky one.

"C'mon, Charles..." Lana said, walking off to exit the arena. "Let's... go home."

Whining once more, Charles followed her.

A long ride home after, Charles lamented in his dog house. He couldn't believe himself after letting down his faithful, young companion for the third time in a row now. He felt that he was a disgrace, afraid that the family would berate him for failing them all, leaving no choice but to live without utility supplies for who knows how long.

Charles closed his eyes, in hopes to make the day progress faster than it is now. Unfortunately that would come to a close as Lana approached him with something behind her back.

"Hey boy..." she uttered. After the hound looked up to her, he whined out of fear that he would be scolded by her. Before giving out a simple speech, she faced down on the ground. "I know ya probably don't wanna see me right now but... it's okay."

Confused but curious, Charles lifted his head up.

"I feel that it was wrong to put so much pressure on ya to winning this competition for me so we can get that prize and save our house. But we all make mistakes from time to time, and at that time... we realized... ya didn't deserve to be treated the way we've been treating ya since yesterday. But why were ya so lazy from the beginning when I was trying to train ya?"

Charles whimpered a bit. It's almost as if he was trying to tell her something.

"You were afraid you were gonna let me down again?"

The lamented pooch threw his head down.

"What are ya talking about? You didn't let me down," Charles got up. "...surprisingly. You were amazing out there today! Heck, ya even had me surprised at a couple of tricks ya had up your sleeve!" She presented a ribbon to the dog, depicted with a paw print and "#1" overlaying the paw. Her next instinct was to place it on her favorite companion. "You're a good dog, Charles. Nobody can ever take that away from ya."

That souvenir was enough to get Charles wagging his tail playfully again. Overcome with happiness, the hound glomped Lana, putting her on the ground as he nuzzled her face.

"Whoa!" She laughed. "Down boy! Down!"

Charles obeyed.

"To make it up to you, how about we do something you wanna do?"

meow

Hearing Cliff from inside, Charles headed into the kitchen through the doggy door before Lana followed him back inside the house. By that time, everyone else was starting to lament. Half the family sighed at the fate of losing their power and water tomorrow, they had to spend the rest of the day as a family, watching television. Switching to the last five minutes of the World's Funniest Entertainment, the results of the was just about to be announced. Would the pets' backup plan actually pull through? There was only one way to find out.

"And you've seen our three finalists to win that ten thousand dollars tonight! And the winner is... Cat Attack, by the Loud Family!"

The family was filled with gasps and confused expressions as the pets, sans Charles, had smiles on their face, high fives all around. They had no idea what was going on, but they just won the cash prize from a show nobody remembered submitting to.

"You heard it here ladies and gentlemen, The Loud family really knows how to provide some quality entertainment, I can barely keep it together! So buckle up, Louds, you're getting ten thousand dollars!"

"I don't believe this!" Lynn Sr. said. "How are we getting ten thousand dollars?!"

"I don't know honey, but I'd rather not complain!" Rita responded as the siblings cheered in joy. Speechless, Charles gazed to his furry companions in a understandable but confused manner. Cliff and the others walked into the kitchen to try and explain as the hound followed closely after.

"We were worried dat ya wouldn't win da show fer us, so we found dis opportunity ta win some moolah as a backup plan!" Cliff said.

"Oh, nice!" Charles responded playfully.

"Sorry you didn't win, dog." Geo said. "I know that meant a lot to somebody."

"S'all right Ham." Charles hugged them all. "Besides, ain't nothin' went horribly wrong durin' my time down at da arena!"

Smiling, Geo said "You did pull off some amazing stuff down there."

"Nice performance." Walt added.

"Thanks! ...Love ya guys."

There they have it. Knowing that they won the prize money from entering a video contest, their house was saved, and finally, nothing left to worry about. Sighing in great relief and a couple smishes later, an audible scream of embarrassment from Lincoln came from the living room.

"Alright, who's responsible for this?" he spat.

Charles, Cliff, Geo, and Walt began laughing.

~The End~

Life of Pets