It was the middle of summer in New Haven, Connecticut; and even on this day the sun wasn’t that hot due to how far north the state was. But certain animals were still keen for a cooling sensation:

At the river near Snob Hill, Tramp and Scamp were swimming. Tramp had just exited from the water and shook his fur dry, and then Scamp emerged from the water and gasped loudly due to lack of air because he had been under for too long. He slowly crept out of the river and also shook his fur dry, practically identical to how his father did; just like how they both scratched the same way. Scamp had grown to about the same size and height as his father, so the time that Tramp used to look down at his son was over. Tramp was now looking exactly straight ahead at his son.

“Ohh, that feels so good!” Scamp said in delight of refreshment. “We should do this more often, dad.”

“I know.” Tramp replied. “You just can’t get enough of it in summertime.”

“And it isn’t actually a bad way to take a bath. I guess I was wrong about that.” Scamp remembered how much he hated having baths, but this swimming was different because it actually felt good on the fur.

“Trust me, son; that is probably the best way to take a bath.” Tramp replied. “That is how I managed to keep myself good while I was out on the streets.”

“Well, I’ll take your word for it. I wish that I could bathe like this all the time without being scrubbed with shampoo and conditioner. It takes too long.”

“Gotta get used to it, Scamp. I’m sure you will.”

“I can’t promise that.” Scamp replied in a slightly disgruntled chuckle.

They then started to walk back to their home, which didn’t take very long at all.

*

When they got there, Lady, Annette, Collete and Danielle were lying in the living room sleeping. Scamp’s three sisters had all grown almost as large as their mother, signifying that their teen years had arrived. They were immediately woken up by the pair as they walked in.

“Ahhhh.” Lady yawned as she woke up. “Hello boys. How was your swim?”

“So refreshing.” Scamp replied.

“Yeah, you should all try it some time.” Tramp added.

“Ah, I don’t think so, dad!” Danielle snapped. “It’ll ruin the smooth feeling of my fur.”

“Not my cup of tea, thank you.” Annette said with a cold stare.

“We have our own private bath here, and that’s the way we like it.” Collette finished.

Lady just smiled at them and she kind of shared the thought in silence. Hand-bathing was her thing as well.

“Suit yourself, but you don’t know what you’re missing out on!” Scamp said to them. “That is the real way to take a bath.”

“But that’s not going to stop you from doing the same, Scamp.” Tramp said with a semi-serious look on his face in half-amusement. “You get the real clean in here.”

“Oh, please don’t mention it!” Scamp replied. He still didn’t like indoor bathing by the hands of Jim Dear, but he did promise that he would try.

“Ha-ha-ha! Scamp hates a bath! Scamp hates a bath! Scamp hates a bath!” The girls chanted in a ribbing manner.

“Alright, alright, cool it my girls!” Lady half yelled to quiet them down.

“Don’t worry, just teasing.” Collette said.

Scamp then went to turn on the TV to see what was on. The Browns had digital and so they could view any channel relating to news, documentaries, entertainment, sport, movies, and music. After flicking through a few channels, Scamp came across a sport that was currently being played on one of the sport channels. It was a football sport played on a 100 yard-plus length field; but it wasn’t like NFL, or gridiron, that usually appeared. This sport was played with 15 men per team who had no helmets and no shoulder or knee pads; but with shorts, long socks, tight jerseys, boots, and the odd guard or strapping tape on their heads. They played with an oval-shaped synthetic ball with no laces, and it was being thrown from player to player backwards, and whoever was running with the ball was constantly getting tackled. The players would then pile up on each other like a dog pile and try to get possession of the ball. The ball was also constantly getting kicked by both teams to gain metres and put pressure on each other. The referee would often blow his whistle and award penalties to each team at certain times.

Scamp became interested in this sport and watched it for a couple of minutes when his father spoke.

“What are you watching, son?”

“I don’t know, dad. Maybe you could tell me.”

Tramp looked at the sport on the TV and became curious himself, but also started getting addicted. He swore that he had heard of this sport before, but it had been so long since his last viewing.

It wasn’t until the whistle blew for half time that the commentators spoke the name of the sport:

“And that is half time here at Stade de France for this 2007 Rugby World Cup Final between England and South Africa. South Africa appear to be holding on by the look of the stats but England are not giving up yet. We shall return to the breakdown of the match so far after the commercial break, so stay with us.”

Tramp’s eyes then lightened up at the mention of the sport, and he remembered.

“Yes, I can tell you, my boy. This sport is called rugby. I know about this sport because I actually watched it myself when I traveled to the southern districts of the city. They play it a lot down there at the collages.”

“Rugby? Is this a popular sport in the country?” Scamp asked.

“Not really, but it still gets played at a lot of collages across the country. The USA is renowned for baseball, basketball, hockey, gridiron, and high speed car racing. I know about this because a lot of the strays who I used to know told me about it when I went to spectate with them.”

“Well, it still looks like the USA could use a sport like this, because it really has some action. I am starting to get addicted to it big time.”

“You like it, do you?”

“Yeah. Let’s watch the rest of this game.”

As they watched the second half, they got it that this was a replay of the 2007 World Cup Final between England in the white and red, and South Africa in the green and gold. South Africa got on top of England, but England would have come closer if a convincing try in the corner had not been disallowed. Either way, South Africa played better and ended up winning the match. Shortly after they hoisted the gold Webb-Ellis trophy in victory celebration, the telecast ended.

“That was actually pretty exciting to watch.” Scamp said after it was over.

“I quite enjoyed it myself.” Tramp replied. “If there was ever such a thing as canine rugby, I would try it out myself.”

“You have the street experience, Tramp; I’m sure you would do well if you tried.” Lady said to them. “You might even do fine yourself, Scamp.”

“Yeah, you proved that you got the moves and the style, so go and put it into practice.” They all looked up at the voice from that comment and Angel walked downstairs from where she had been at the higher elevation.

“Hey, Angel.” Scamp remarked, pleasantly surprised.

“Hey, Tenderfoot.” Angel called Scamp, referring to his street name.

“Didn’t wake you, did we? Sorry if we did.” Lady said to her politely.

“No, I was just upstairs reading the papers left behind from Jim Dear and Darling this morning. I heard you watching the rugby, and it’s funny that you two should be talking about it, because coincidently I just found an ad in the paper that you might be interested in.”

“What’s that?” Tramp and Scamp said at the same time, looking at each other with a chuckle when they did.

“I’ll bring the paper down and you can read it yourselves.” So Angel went back upstairs and then came back with the newspaper. She laid it out and showed an ad in the sport section about state/college rugby for canines:

The rugby season is not far away, and we are looking for recruits to play for Amity Regional Rugby Club in the Canine North-East College/State Rugby competition. If you think you have got what it takes, please send your application to our email below expressing why you would like to play. Alternatively you can just turn up to the Amity Oval and sign up while on the run. Dogs of all ages are welcome to play. Pre-season training starts on February 4 and the season kicks off on March 8. Training will be on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 6:00 p.m.

Email: amity_rrc@canineusarugby.com

“Canine State rugby!?” Scamp exclaimed, sounding more excited than ever. “Slick move! Dad, can I try out for them?”

“Wow!” Tramp was stoked as he read the ad. “Speak of the devil about dogs playing rugby! This is a massive coincidence.”

“Go ahead and give it a shot, Scamp.” Lady said in her awe at the chance. “You might even have the chance to have some more fun.”

“Go ahead and play and mess around a bit more. You know that you want to.” Angel said.

“Yes, I’ll go and send them an email now.” Scamp replied.

“On one condition…” Tramp remarked supposedly sternly, then turned it into a smile as he finished; “I also want to try out for the team.”

Scamp’s eyes lightened up more when his father said this, and thought that would be a really wonderful thing for both father and son to be on the same team. We could even work together to perfect our rugby skills. Scamp thought.

“I would love you to join, dad.” Scamp replied cheerfully. “With your streetwise experience, no battlefield is too tough for you, even if a sport like this is as physical as we see it.”

“Well, I’m not as fit or as young as I used to be, but I’m flattered anyway; thanks.” Tramp replied in slight amusement, then shook it off as he continued: “So go ahead and put me in your email to the club; then send it off.”

“Will do.”

Suddenly Scamp got an idea in his head right after he replied to his father.

“Alright, before I got and sign up, there is one thing that I need to take care of.” He whispered something to Angel, and within a few seconds they ran out the pet flap together.

“We’ll be right back!” They both called shortly after exiting.

Tramp, Lady, Annette, Collette, and Danielle all looked confused.

“I wonder what they are up to.” Annette asked her parents.

“Oh, we’ll find out in a minute.” Lady replied. “Just wait.”

“Ha-ha-ha!” Danielle laughed. “I bet they are going to get something going out of their love life. They will be lying down by the river and making nice sweet…uh…” She stopped suddenly when she spotted the stern but half-amused look on her mother’s face. She knew that Danielle had a habit of saying bad words. “Ah-ahh-hum…” Danielle chuckled nervously. “…sorry, mum.”

“You have really got to watch what you say, Dannielle.” Collette said to her in slight disapproval. “You’re setting a bad example.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Danielle replied. “I will try to watch my language from then on.”

Tramp just shook his head and smiled, then went over to the window to look out for when Angel and Scamp would come back, but he wouldn’t have to wait for long before they both came back through the pet flap, panting slightly. The five waited to hear what they head to say.

“We just went to see the Ex-JD’s to see if they wanted to sign up as well,” Angel remarked. “And Mooch, Sparky and Scratchy are interested.”

“They are going online to sign up right now.” Scamp added. “By chance we might even have a bit of company in the team.”

“Hey, that sounds like a wonderful idea.” Tramp remarked in delight. “I certainly believe that they both have the ability to qualify due to their streetwise experience. I know them well from my days on the streets, and they are very good. But don’t get your hopes up, son: All we can do is pray.”

“Yeah, let’s hope for the best.” Scamp replied.

“Well, go on then,” Lady said to her son. “Go and sign up before it’s too late.”

So Scamp exited to the study and went to sign up on his brand new iPad 2 that his parents bought him. Angel stayed with the others.

“You know,” She began. “Scratchy used to look terrible physically with all the fleas that he had biting into his fur. The constant scratching made him lose his fur and expose his skin. But since he got taken into care by his humans, he has grown his fur back and he is looking great now.”

“Well, I am really happy for him.” Tramp replied. “He probably had the worst flea infestation of the clan. I remember how he scratched constantly, and I knew that it wasn’t good for his condition. I can’t wait to see how he looks now.”

Meanwhile, Scamp was busy on his iPad typing his message on his Hotmail email address to the Amity Rugby Football Club email address. He also had his headphones fitted onto his ears because he was listening to music from his iTunes app. This one particular song was by Michael Bolton, called “Go The Distance”:

I have often dreamed

Of a far off place

Where a great warm welcome

Will be waiting for me

Where the crowds will cheer

When they see my face

And a voice keeps saying,

‘This is where I’m meant to be’

I will find my way

I can go the distance

I’ll be there someday

If I can be strong

I know every mile

Will be worth my while

I would go most anywhere

To feel like I belong

I am on my way

I can go the distance

I don’t care how far

Somehow I’ll be strong

I know every mile

Will be worth my while

I would go most anywhere

To find where I belong

Scamp thought to himself listening to the lyrics, and how they seemed to further inspire in this particular situation. Scamp knew where he belonged now with his family, but he could not help but think that he still wanted to have some fun all the same, because being at home did not give him much of a chance to get out. There was the odd stroll down the river with his father, but he wanted more than this. And now that he heard the lyrics of this song, it made him feel that his destiny would be fulfilled by finding a grand place full of joy, wonder and worship. Maybe the rugby field is the very place where I belong. He thought. This could be what I was looking for.

He didn’t think too much before he wrote a short speech in his email expressing why he wanted to play as well as the fact that this was his first time playing. He also mentioned that his father wanted to play, but he didn’t mention that he was THE Tramp or the Best-Street-Dog-There-Ever-Was, because he knew that Tramp was no longer what he used to be and he wanted to stop talking about it. So soon with all necessary words written, the email was sent off.

Scamp then went back into the living room and first met with Angel before the others.

“How did you go?” Angel asked.

“Very well.” Scamp replied. “Just wrote a short speech on reasons to play for both dad and I, and sent it off with no problems.”

“Great. I hope you get in.”

Scamp then had a thought.

“Oh, Angel.” He began again, speaking to his mate. “I just want you to know that last time I chose to live on the streets and turn away from pop, it almost destroyed our bond and I nearly lost you.” He was feeling like a scorpion stung him at the mention of that, knowing that he had let her down when it made her leave him indefinitely. “So if I get to play rugby, don’t think that I am going to let this get in the way of our love. I care about you and nothing and no-one is going to take me away from you. This I really do promise.”

Scamp’s touching words made Angel feel beside herself, and she just smiled and nuzzled him lovingly and she responded:

“Don’t fear, Scamp. I believe you. I know that you are, as I said before, decent and kind and how much you care for me. I care for you just as much and I will always love you.” She gave him a big lick, or dog-kiss, on his cheek, and Scamp returned it with an emotional smile. “So you go and play around and get active. This will be good for you: A chance to get outside and exercise yourself to benefit your health and fitness. That’s the beauty about playing this game.”

“I’ll bet it will be. Thanks, my love.” Scamp replied as he gave Angel another short embrace. Their bond had turned into true love, and Scamp was thinking about doing something for Angel to show how much she meant to him, but he could not think how. Dad will know. I will get his advice sometime. He kept this thought in mind before he would eventually turn it practical.

Angel then pondered to herself before speaking again, thinking whether or not streetwise experience might be essential to play the game. “You know, since you learned the tricks out on the streets, they might come in handy to play the game.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Scamp replied, seeing Angels point. “The speed and technique might come in handy in the backline. And the strength and endurance might be just what is needed to get those players to the ground and stop them from advancing.”

“I think that if you don’t have them,” Tramp replied, walking towards them from a separate room after being in earshot of the conversation. “It would be pretty improbable to play the game properly.”

“Yeah, your right, dad. But I think there is a lot more to the game than we think. If we are going to play, we should do some homework and prepare ourselves. What say you?”

“Good idea, son. We should all look and play at our best for the impression of the players and coaches. So let’s start tomorrow and do some study as well as physical preparation. We’ll also get Mooch, Sparky and Scratchy involved.”

“Sure thing, pop. We’ll start first thing after breakfast.”

“Cool.”

They just nodded and smiled to each other briefly just before Scamp went back to his iPad 2 to begin some serious study into the game. Little did he or his old man know what they were going to find out of this study and training program…

To be continued…

All characters belong to Walt Disney and I fully respect the regulations against copyright violations.

Go The Distance © Michael Bolton.

BlackJack16.

© February 2012.