Another Day, another bone: Family Rivalry

  Zak and Duncan were at the beach, making a sand castle. Duncan's tail was wagging as he grinned, working on a tower while Zak worked the main part. They finished after a moment and looked at each other.
  "Ready?" Zak asked, then getting a few energetic nods from his nephew. "Three... Two... One... Dogpile on the castle!" They both tackled the castle, laughing happily. Duncan blew some sand off his nose and shook the rest off.
  "That was fun! Whatcha wanna do next Uncle Zak?" The young mutt asked, wagging his tail. Before Zak could answer he heard a slight groan and looked towards the streets. Standing there were his two least favorite people: Andrew and Samantha, who prefered to go by Sam.
  Andrew was leaning against the fence that seperated the beach from the sidewalk, Sam standing by his hind paws. Zak shook the sand off his tan fur and looked over at the two. He hadn't had very good times with them, in fact he knew that Andrew hated his guts. He wasn't sure about Sam, she never acted like she hated him, but never that she liked him either.
  "Is there ever a time you stupid dogs aren't here?" Andrew growled, staring at Zak. The Doberman mix patted his back and Duncan hopped up. Sam rolled her eyes at him.
  "Why don't you stop being lazy and walk on your own paws?" She asked Duncan. "Are you scared that you'll trip or something? Or are you scared he'll crush you under his big paws?"
  "Sam, hush." Zak growled at her. She was silent and her ears flattened slightly. Andrew, however, wasn't quiet.
  "Hey, don't you talk to her like that." The mutt barked. "Who do you think you are?!"
  "Gee, I dunno, her uncle?" Zak replied coolly. He clenched and unclenched his paws, ready for trouble. Andrew went around and through the gate and got in Zak's face glaring, Sam behind him.
  "You better shut your face before I shut it for ya freak!" He snarled. He always made that jibe due to Zak's fur color whenever he annoyed him (which was often, because he didn't like Zak).
  "Get out of my face Andrew." Zak said, growling as he pushed his head forward to where his and Andrew's noses were touching. Both growled at each other, teeth bared. Duncan quickly got off Zak's back and moved away. Sam followed him, wanting to be as far away as possible if a fight broke out.
  After awhile Andrew blew a puff of air through his nose and turned, starting to walk away.
  "You aren't worth my time mix. C'mon Sam, let's bounce." He said, looking at Sam and jerking his head towards the gate. She promptly started following him. Zak looked over at Duncan and patted his back again, the young mutt walking back over and hopping back up.
  "Uncle Zak, why do they hate us so much?" Duncan asked, crawling up to Zak's head and looking down into his brown eyes, Zak looking up into his red ones.
  "I know Andrew hates me, but I'm not sure about your sister. Sure they both seem wild but she seems slightly mellow." He said as he started to walk.
  "That doesn't answer why they don't like us..."
  "Andrew probably doesn't like me because I'm an authority figure like Charlie. Joey is a guy who likes a good time, and I am to, but Joey is a bit more leniant. He doesn't mind Andrew's wild side like I do." Duncan gave a nod of understanding as he sat between Zak's ears. They were soon back home at the apartment, starting to open the door.
  "Hey, don't open the door so fast!" The two heard from behind the door. Zak looked around the door (so Duncan could see also), and seeing a ladder looked up it. On it were Charlie and Itchy, Charlie on top holding nails in between his teeth and a hammer in his paw, Itchy below holding a plank under his arm (They were fixing up the door jam and a hole above the door). Itchy was the one who had told them to not open the door since Charlie couldn't.
  "Oh, hey Zak. What's with the doom-and-gloom look?" The Dachshund asked.
  "Hey Itch. Nothing really, just Andrew the Almightily Annoying being a pain again." Was the reply. Charlie looked down at Zak and rolled his eyes and held his paw down for the plank. Itchy passed it up and the older mutt took a few nails out from between his teeth, starting to hammer it in.
  After he finished the two climbed down.
  "So what did my lump of a son do this time?" Charlie asked as he stretched, back cracking. Andrew had caused him so much stress for him that his muzzle was already graying.
  "The usual. Making fun of my fur, hating my guts, pretty much acting like a brat." Zak said, shrugging. Duncan slid backward onto Zak's back due to him shrugging, landing on his back. He sat up, wagging his tail.
  Charlie shook his head.
  "That boy needs to learn to chill. He disrespects me, pesters you, and causes trouble everywhere." He said, sitting and scratching behind one of his ears with a hind paw.
  "He'll grow up eventually. Then he'll hopefully be a nicer guy." Zak said. "So... Who wants to go out and get something to eat?"
  All their paws were raised up. Zak gave a nod before he asked the next question.
  "Where should we eat?"
  "Maybe we could go where my brother works? I can never for the life of me remember the name..." Charlie muttered, scratching his head. "Anyway, I know where it is, so lets go." He led the way and they followed.
  They soon reached the place, and they each looked at the sign. It was pretty smudged up, so they could hardly tell what it said. They went inside, looking around. They picked a table and sat, waiting for someone to take their order. And that somebody happened to be Ricky.
  "Hey Charlie. I see you've brought a few friends." He said, smiling. He glanced at Zak a moment before looking back at his brother. "I think the big guy is gonna eat our stock dry and he'll still be hungry."
  Zak rolled his eyes as everyone chuckled. Duncan even playfully poked his stomach.
  "You can eat a lot Uncle. Remember that one time you ate almost two pizzas on your own?" He asked, poking Zak's stomach again. "Its a wonder you aren't fat." The Doberman mix rolled his eyes again and ruffled Duncan's head fur.
  After a bit more laughter, Ricky pulled a notepad out of the pocket of his shirt and a pen from behind his ear.
  "So what do you guys want today?" He asked, pen hovering over the paper. The gang looked over the menu and placed their orders, Ricky getting it down as fast as they gave it. After they were finished he walked off, whistling as he gave the order to the back then went to go serve another table. They all talked about random things while they waited for their food, enjoying each others company.
  Before they could get their food however,  someone ran in, looked around, and went right up to them. In his mouth he was carrying something, which he dropped on the table. It was Sam, who was shivering and scared. Zak had heard about the one who had carried her in: Christian.
  "Sam? What's wrong, where's Andrew?" Charlie asked, looking curious.
  "T-the dog catcher... He got Andrew!" She said. They looked at Chris, who gave a stiff nod. "We were just walking down the street to the park and he got him with one of those poles with the loop."
  "I tried to save him, but then he came and carried me off." Sam finished, glaring at Christian.
  "I wasn't going to let you get taken." Chris growled a bit before looking at the others. "I need you guys to help me get Andrew out of the pound. Not only because he could be stuck there if we don't help, but because he's got a bad reputation of making fun of the dogs captured. He's not safe there."
  Zak only scoffed.
  "I don't see why I should help him. He hates my guts."
  "You should help because you're his relative." Charlie said, looking at Zak. "No matter how much he dislikes you, you guys are family." The Doberman only grunted in annoyance. He felt a small paw poke his chest and looked down to see Sam.
  "Please Zak... Please help us save Andrew." She begged, looking sad. The big dog glanced over at Duncan, who gave a nod. He gave a sigh.
  "Fine. I'll help. But I know that the thought of me being part of the rescue team will make him want to punch me." Zak said. Hearing them talking, Ricky came over.
  "I'm coming to." He said, putting his stuff down. "I don't think my boss will mind if I take a break to help family." They all nodded. Zak got down, patted his back, then Duncan and Sam hopped on, then everyone took off out the door and to the Pound.

  When the dogs made it to the pound, they sat in an alleyway to make a plan. It was going to be simple, yet effective. Two of them would pretend to fight in front of the pound, and while the catcher was trying to stop them the others would sneak inside and go and get Andrew, and possibly some other dogs, out. The first vote from everybody (even Sam) was for Zak to be a fighter. He was big, tough, and would be hard to move when push came to shove.
  The second person was a bit trickier. Except for Duncan and Sam, everyone was pretty much equal. After a bit of