herself. This means that none of us looks out for anyone but ourselves; and if we were unable to tackle the streets on our own, we could not survive. It was a tough one to follow because I think that we built a special friendly bond between us, and we never wanted to endanger our fellow “wolf-pack” and break that bond, but Buster’s rules stuck firm and we had to go along with it. But after both Scamp and Angel’s decision to go with family, we realized that we were fed up with Buster’s obnoxious treatment and lack of courtesy, and so we quit. If we were going to keep our bond, family was the only way.

Scratchy: I want to personally thank Scamp for the inspiration, because if I had not followed suit, I would have become so plagued with fleas that I might have lost all my fur. It was tough for me being out there because I could not stop scratching when the fleas got to me, and physically I was a mess. I am not even sure whether or not my health could have withstood it before an early exit to the afterlife. Luckily when we moved away from Buster, I found a family who took me in and put me in good health with medication and flea powder. Physically now I am feeling better than ever, and my fur has grown back. So thank you again, Scamp. You are a really cool kid. And don’t beat yourself up too much, because you are a lot better than some of us thought you were: Total admiration.

Sparky: I will agree with Scamp about the hard knocks of the street life. We didn’t want to let go of our freedom, but over time things got a little risky when the dog catcher was constantly after us because we were, as Buster described it, the “rulers of the town”, and we were the common targets. I knew then that it was only a matter of time before one or more of us would be thrown into the pound and be on death row, and then we would only have ourselves to blame. Plus counting the fact that Buster’s strict rules made it even tougher for us to enjoy our freedom, we all decided that it was time we moved on. We are all in secure environments now with “dog catcher restraining orders” and absence of command. We still get to have some fun with our owners every now and then; while at the same time catching up with each other when we go outside; but we also play it safe inside our houses if we are to stay with our owners. Scamp’s inspiration saved all the now Ex-Junkyard Dogs, or the Ex-JD’s, by giving us a life, and we thank him again.

Ruby: But we also give credit to Angel because she is probably the most sensible stray out of the Ex-JD’s, and even though she tagged along with the action, she knew her limits and never went too extreme. That was probably from her experience with family. She has a heart of shining gold, and she would never let the street life turn it to filthy bronze. We were too wrapped up in our own world to notice it; but once we knew, most of us became admired by her. Her connection with family further inspired us, so well done on playing it safe, Angel.

Angel: It is just flattering to hear those words from the Ex-JD’s. I just want to apologize to them for not thinking of them as family. Truth to be told, we had our fair share of fun times together and we looked up to each other. We were like a wolf pack who relied on each other to survive, and that is how we managed the hard knocks. When you get friends like that, they become your extended family, and you always stay in touch to keep that special connection. As for Scamp, he brought me to the family that I always wanted and proved that he was better than what others might have thought. I know that the Ex-JD’s are giving me credit for inspiration, but it was Scamp who gave me the key to my life. He is not just my extended family, but is my true love. Again, Scamp, I tell you from the heart that you are what I live for, and I love you.

Tramp: Of course we all forgive him. Through all that Scamp has done, he doesn’t have to feel too bad about his decisions, but I am just glad that he is playing it safe. I was worried for him and I didn’t want anything to happen to him. I know very well about risk from walking the streets; and if you choose that road for life, you never know the life expectancy from the average stray. The truth is that I love my son so much, and I just want the best for him. He understands that now that he is older, and I am proud of him. I also admire the Ex-JD’s for following the safe road from Scamp and Angel’s inspiration. I wish the best for them.

So my final words to Scamp are: Well done for playing it safe, showing courage, and showing the light at the end of the tunnel to those who need it most. Best wishes, my boy!

Lady: You have not let us down. Know that your family always loves you.

Jock: Keep having fun, little Lassie.

Trusty: Don’t change you cuteness.

Angel: Keep your decency, and know that I love you.

Annette: Join in on our fun and games!

Collette: Don’t forget that you have a heart.

Danielle: Don’t beat yourself up too much. You’ll get depression, and trust me, it’ll destroy you.

Mooch: We love you because you are a cool kid, ‘Kay!

Francois: Show us zee way out of zee darkness.

Ruby: Know who you are: the son of the Great Tramp.

Sparky: Know that your father is a true legend and you carry those genes. You will be granted true respect.

Scratchy: Thank you for showing us the way out and giving us a life.

All: We love you, Scamp!!!

END.

© BlackJack16; November 2011.

ALL characters belong to Walt Disney. I do not own any of the characters and I respect the laws against copyright violations. 

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This particular fanfic is based on certain personal experiences for me as a kid. There were times in my childhood where I had it through the good and the bad times, and there was so much that I could do to have fun in-between schoolwork and hard work. But I had parents who were very strict about certain things and I was told that I had to take it easy when it came to being too wild.

This also counted for schoolwork, because I wasn’t very committed to my work at kindergarten and the first two years or grades. Consequently, I got in trouble from mum and dad for such constant poor report cards that I had to start committing while at the same time receiving help to complete my schoolwork when I needed it. I started to perform slightly better after that, but I still had a long way to go because come 4th grade, I made the situation even worse for myself for failing to complete about 75% of my weekly homework and fibbing to mum and dad every week about how I was able to do it myself and I didn’t need their help. Of course they found out at the end of the year and they were not pleased, so I was punished in two ways: First, my games console was taken away from me and hidden where I could not find it until I made a satisfactory commitment to my work again. Second, for the entire summer holiday that year, I was given about 25 sheets of homework to complete and hand in at the beginning of the following school year in 5th grade to get my scores up again, prevent me from repeating a grade, and fix my record. I did that successfully, and come 5th grade, I performed much better and got C to B averages; and so mum and dad rewarded me by giving me back my console which was absent from me for 6 months; and even after playing it again, I still performed well throughout the next two years at primary school (not to mention the fact that I was only allowed to play it on weekends otherwise it would distract me from work).

But I never fully understood about commitment until 8th grade when I repeated pretty much everything that I did at 4th grade by slacking off on my assignments and ended up receiving too many NAS’s (Not Assessed Due To Non-Submission’s) on my report cards just because I didn’t like the work that we were being given to complete. Mum and dad were further displeased but decided not to punish me. Instead, for the following year, I had to write down my weekly homework and assignments and get it checked on Mondays by my tutor to prove that I was committing to my work. It worked well and from then on, Grades 9-12, I went very well and received good Year 10 and 12 certificates, which got me entry in university.

So from all that, I learned about commitment and hard work to earn the fun that I was desperate to have in-between times; but it was also because I hated being yelled at; even though I knew that I deserved it sometimes. So I knew that if I wanted to avoid conflict, lectures, and confrontation, I had to please my parents. Ever since that horrible year in 8th grade, I have tried year after year to impress them and do the right thing without causing an argument or stern lecture. Every time I feel that I have under-performed at anything, I get the impression that I have let my family down and I feel bad. From this moment on I keep trying so hard to prevent that from happening.

But it’s a lot more than that. As a little kid I watched a lot of TV, and certain things that kept getting mentioned was the risks to human health and well-being from smoking, alcohol, tattoos, drink-driving, speeding, drugs, sex, drug-dealing, theft, depression, loss of self-control, and even suspicious passengers at airport customs. I paid attention to all those things and got inspired. From age 6 I made a vow that I would try really hard to control myself and stay as clean as