VOICES:
-Mya: Hillary Swank
-Triton: Sean Murray
-Dash: Patrick Warburton
-Aleu: Lacy Chabert
-Buck: Mark Harmon
-Klondike: Viggo Mortensen
-Balto: Kevin Bacon
-Jenna: Briget Fonda
Ever since Aleu had come home, things had been easier for me. I was almost never alone because Aleu stuck to me like glue and my newest friend, Triton, always wanted to be with me too. Sheila and Shadow could be pushy, but for the most part stuck with me because I was more then a little popular. However, Sheila and Shadow’s brothers, Dash and Nick, could be absolute pains. Poor Triton still cowered away when Dash came around. I was still working on building his confidence even though he could now stand up to any other of his siblings besides Dash. The first time I had seen the two brothers clash, I had used my feminine side to break it up and knew that it would make the road ahead harder. And I was right.
“Hey Mya” Dash said smoothly.
“Hi” I greeted, shuddering.
“Did you see my race yesterday” he asked, puffing out his chest.
“Yes” I said, trying my hardest to keep from rolling my eyes. This must have been the tenth time he had asked me. And that was only today. Yesterday, he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. I had no idea what other dogs saw in him. Suddenly, Triton ran up to me, thankfully giving me an excuse to talk to someone else.
“What’s wrong?!”
“My musher’s putting me up for sale!” Triton puffed, eyes darting nervously between Dash and me.
Horror vibrated in my gut.
“Oh, I almost forgot” Dash grinned, stepping in front of Triton. “My musher adopted Aleu to replace Triton. So we’ll never have to deal with that screw up again”
“He’s not a screw up!” I barked angrily. “Come on Triton”
I whirled around, walking away from a stunned Dash. Triton didn’t waste a second and was walking beside me in an instant.
“We need to find Aleu” I muttered.
We tore through town until Triton was able to pick up her scent. I didn’t smell anything, but I trusted Triton. In a matter of seconds, Triton’s incredible nose led us right to my older sister.
“Mya! Guess what!” Aleu said, rushing up as soon as she saw us.
“You got adopted!” I smiled, noticing the sled dog collar.
“How’d you know?” Aleu asked, a little disappointed.
“Dash” I mumbled. “So what exactly happened?”
Aleu explained that her new owner was planning to sell Triton anyway and that after she had won a play race with Sheila, the musher came outside. Apparently he was watching. He asked around about Aleu and eventually talked to Rosie, who recognized Aleu and gave all ownership to the musher.
“And the musher decided to keep my name as Aleu so I didn’t get confused!” Aleu finished.
I smiled but that still meant that Triton was going to leave. I was only just starting to get to know him and we were very close. He had to stay. I closed my eyes and thought deeply. Suddenly, my eyes flew open.
“I have an idea!” I barked.
Aleu and Triton looked blankly at me.
“We just need to find you a new job! Then they won’t want you to go!”
Triton grinned, eyes sparkling.
* * *
The next day, I met Triton at my front porch. Triton’s blue eyes were filled with determination, and we set off at a brisk walk down to the sheriff’s office. The Sheriff’s dog,
“Where-?”
Triton jammed his nose to the ground and circled for a second before going back out the way we came. I followed him without a word. The closer we got to
Both Triton and I jumped.
A few feet away was
“-Now I can’t call you a good dog” the black wolf said smoothly.
The dogs around me laughed and I couldn’t help but to smile myself. The wolf stepped away from
“Ever get into a real fight before Sheriff?”
It was funny at first, but real fights were dangerous and never happened.
“Triton, do something!” I whispered, nudging him.
His blue eyes widened in surprise.
“You can’t expect me to break that up!” Triton whispered back. “I’m afraid of Dash and both of them could whip Dash!”
The wolf crouched down like he was going to pounce and my heart started to race. If the Sheriff was injured, there was no way he could help Triton!
“Buck!”
Just in the nick of time, my father broke up the fight. The wolf, presumably Buck, broke his concentration and did a double take.
“You better have a good reason for interrupting!” he growled.
As my dad talked it out with Buck, the rest of the dogs, including
“What do you want?” he grumbled.
“A job” I said breathlessly.
He looked me up and down in surprise.
“I really don’t see what job you’d be fit for!”
“Not me!” I snapped. “Him!”
I shoved Triton in front of
“What kind of job do you want?”
Before Triton could answer, my mother, Jenna, came running up.
“Sorry to interrupt” she said politely, “But your father wants us to go to the boiler room… that wolf was your uncle”
“You know that wild animal?!” he spat.
Triton stuttered and I tried to explain but
“Sorry, no jobs open” he muttered.
Anger started to build up but my mouth couldn’t form any words. Not understanding what had just happened, my mother looked between
“Let’s just go” I snapped.
Jenna led us to the boiler room where Aleu, Kodi and Mindy had also gathered. We sat and waited until dark had set, but still no Balto or Buck. The whole while, all I could think about was meeting the wolf that helped the sister I hated and was most likely responsible for Nero’s death. We sat there for a few hours and I only got madder. Eventually Balto pushed the door open with his nose and entered.
“Still no Buck?” he sighed.
We all nodded.
“If I have to bail him out again, he’s in big trouble”
We waited a little longer and finally, the black wolf with a white chest and paws skulked in. Immediately, I disliked him. There was the reason that so many bad things had happened to me.
“What were you doing Buck?” my father moaned.
Buck didn’t respond but looked at his new family. He studied Mindy and my aunt smiled at him. How could she like him?! He was just another common wild animal! Balto introduced us all but a few questions burned in my head. Everyone started to talk at once but Balto quieted us down.
“Hold it! Hold it! One question at a time! He’s been through a lot”
“What happened to Nero?” I heard myself ask coldly.
Buck looked down at the floor. When he opened his mouth again, all he did was stammer for excuses. His final excuse was that he died in the line of duty. That was weak.
“Then why are you here?” I asked quietly.
“Mya!” My father and mother said in unison.
Buck narrowed his eyes and stood up.
“Your guess is as good as mine” he shot back, not breaking eye contact. “If it were up to me I’d be long gone”
Without another word, Buck slipped out of the boiler room. I didn’t feel an ounce bad for him. He deserved whatever had come to him and from my point of view, he got off lucky. My brother, sister, aunt and Triton exited after a while too. My father waited until they had all left then turned to me angrily.
“What on earth has gotten into you Mya?!” my father asked angrily.
“We raised you to be polite and respectful!” Jenna added.
“Mom, you don’t even like him either!”
Jenna’s eyes widened in surprise.
“That’s not true!” she stammered. “I just don’t know him yet”
“That’s no excuse Mya” Balto said. “The next time you see him, you better apologize. Not many things would make Buck act like this… something really bad must have happened to him”
“Fine” I mumbled. “But he probably deserved it” I added under my breath.
I stepped out into the cold and to my delight, Triton was waiting there to escort me home.
“Hey” he smiled sympathetically. “I know that was hard for you”
“It’s okay now… I guess I just… I just needed to get that out of my system”
As we walked back to my house, the wind whipped and tugged at my bandana, making me shiver. I picked up the pace and when we reached the porch, I tuned to say goodbye to Triton.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning… are you going to be at your owner’s house again?
Triton shook his head.
“I stay outside in a crate since my musher’s going to sell me”
“Oh Triton…” I started sympathetically. “Why don’t you stay here tonight? My owners know you anyway”
Triton graciously followed me and after almost getting stuck in the doggy door, he went over to the fire place and laid down there. After making sure he was comfortable, I went to my own bed and plopped down.
“Goodnight Triton”
“Goodnight Mya”
The next morning, I woke up early as I usually did. Triton was still asleep in front of the fireplace, so I decided to leave him alone. Suddenly, I heard someone scratching at the door.
“Mya?”
Aleu popped her head in the door and smiled when she saw me.
“Mya! I have good news! Come on out!”
Curiously, I slipped out the doggy door.
“I got Triton another chance to talk to
I could barely contain my joy!
“Oh, Aleu you’re the best! Let’s go tell him!”
I dived through the doggie door and raced over to Triton. When I shook him awake, his eyes popped open and he scrambled to his feet, looking around for whatever was attacking him.
“What happened?! What’s going on?!”
“Aleu got you another chance to try being a search and rescue dog!”
A huge grin spread across his face.
“Then let’s go!”
“Now?”
Triton grinned.
“The sooner the better!”
I think my happiness was starting to rub off on him…
Triton squeezed through the door once more with a little difficulty and took off down the street at a speed walk. Aleu and I hung back to talk.
“So are you guys mates or something?” Aleu asked.
“No!” I snorted. “I don’t like him that way! We’re just friends!”
“Then why are you trying so hard to keep him here?”
“He’s my friend!”
Aleu shook her head.
“Well he likes you”
“How do you know?!”
“The way he looks at you… everyone knows! It’s a surprise you don’t!”
The shock came a little slow, but I can’t believe I’d never realized it before…
“Why don’t you like him? He’s not really bad looking…”
“He’s too soft… if it didn’t snow so much up here, I think he’d be afraid of snowflakes. And he has never stood up for himself or anyone else… how could I like anyone who can’t protect their own mate?!”
Aleu rolled her eyes.
“Well if anyone liked me like that, I wouldn’t waste my time just being friends”
When we arrived at the Sheriff’s office, Triton had already been there and was being examined by
Meanwhile, Klondike observed Triton’s sense of smell by making him track down whatever
“Very impressive Triton… maybe that wild maniac clouded my judgment. We could definitely use someone like you as a search and rescue dog!”
Aleu and I cheered and Triton bashfully smiled. While
“I’m going to need to tell him”
“Tell him what?!” Aleu asked suspiciously.
“I don’t love him”
“Are you crazy?!” Aleu barked. “He’s shy enough as it is! Just think how he’ll feel now!”
“Well-.”
Someone cleared their throat. I did not have time for this….
Dash stood their, ignoring Aleu and smiling sweetly at me.
“So Mya” he said smoothly “How are you?”
I couldn’t believe he actually cared about someone else for a change!
“Fine…” I said caught off guard.
Maybe not being leader was giving him some humility…
“Did you finally dump that low-life screw up?”
I furrowed my brow. Guess I was wrong.
“He’s not a screw up!” I growled.
“He’s not fit for you anyway… you deserve a real dog… like me”
That was it!
“Don’t flatter yourself” I spat.
Dash had apparently had enough too.
“Don’t you ever talk to me like that!” He growled.
“I’m surprised you actually heard what I was saying!” I shot back, rising to my feet. “It’s so hard for you to hear when you won’t shut up about yourself!”
Dash snarled and slapped me across the face. More shocked then hurt, I stumbled backwards and prepared for another attack, but I didn’t need to worry… a black blur flashed past and had Dash pinned. It was… Triton? I had never seen him angry before but he looked beyond angry now.
“Don’t you ever lay a paw on her again!” Triton snarled, so close to Dash that their noses touched. “Or you’ll have me to deal with!”
Triton let Dash get up but stood defensively in front of me. Dash shook himself off, trying to redeem his bruised ego, but when Triton growled again, he walked away quickly. Once his brother was out of sight, Triton whipped around with a completely different expression on his face.
“Are you okay?”
I smiled and nodded, dazzled from Triton’s sudden bravery.
“I am now…”
Triton smiled and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aleu grinning like she knew I had changed my mind about Triton. But before we could say anything else, something unexpected happened.
“Guess what boy! We found you a new home!” chirped Triton’s owner as he clipped a leash on Triton’s collar.
Triton’s eyes darted back and forth between me and his owner but before he could say anything, he owner yanked Triton away, cutting off his goodbye.
“No…” was all I could manage.
“Sorry about Triton” Aleu said one last time as she dropped me off at my house later that night.
I smiled sadly and nodded. Aleu returned the smile and walked off into the night. I waited for a few seconds and sighed sadly. Now that Triton was gone, no one would walk me home every night. No one would come and keep me company when he had to sleep outside. No one to keep Dash in his place…
The harsh Alaskan wind blew and my bandana flapped. With a finally sigh that turned my breath into a cloud, I sulked onto my porch and walked in through the doggie door. My two adult owners were sitting at the table with Danny and Emily. My real owner Kate, who had grown considerably since she had first adopted me rushed over. Unlike her sister, she still treated me like I could understand and never grew bored with me.
“Guess what girl! You’re going to have puppies!”
I had to stare at her for a few seconds to let it process. I wasn’t pregnant!
“Mom and Dad said that they could get you a companion so that you aren’t so sad or lonely… and I asked them if we could get a boy so you could have puppies! And they said yes!”
Oh great I thought. Another dog like Dash I’d have to fight off. My heart sank and I miserably retreated to my bed. Kate mistook it for exhaustion.
“Don’t lay down yet Mya!” Kate said. “Mya, come!”
Groaning, I put my feet under me and dragged myself over to Kate obediently.
“Good girl” she said, patting my head. “Your new boyfriend is going to be here any minute!”
I groaned again. If only she could understand me!
A few seconds later there was a knock at the door. Kate and her parents rushed to the door. I stayed where I was, trying to postpone meeting my mate-to-be but I could hear my owners bubbling about him on the front porch.
“Oh he’s so cute! Mya’s going to love him!” I heard Kate squeal.
“He is quite a looker!” Kate’s dad laughed. “But he has good bloodlines for pups too”
All I needed was another snobby purebred!
“I can’t thank you enough!” Kate’s dad said to the dog’s owner. “Well, let’s see what Mya thinks of him!”
“Here it comes” I muttered under my breath.
Kate’s dad opened the door to let the new dog in and I braced myself. The door opened and revealed a pair of sharp blue eyes…
“Triton!” I barked.
“Mya!”
I couldn’t run fast enough over to him and licked his face over and over again, tail wagging fiercely. Triton’s tail was a blur and he jumped all around, running off puppyish energy that had suddenly formed when he saw me. Finally when we were both tuckered out of running around the small living room, we laid down on the floor, his white paw over my cream colored one.
“I thought your owner took you to another home…”
“I would never let him take me away from you” he smiled, blue eyes sparkling.
I had never been happier as I had then. The hole in my heart had been filled. I would never have to be alone ever again….
Mya, Dash, Triton, Buck and Klondike (c) me
Balto, Jenna and Aleu (c) Universal