Published: 27 Feb 2025
From the Previous Chapter:
“Being last makes you wait a long time,” announced the youngest Cover, when ‘dad’ Keen entered his room.
“I love you, too,” teased ‘dad’ Ken.
“‘Daaad’!” replied the youngster, as he jumped up and hugged his ‘dad’.
The two didn’t have anything to talk about as they had been together all night at Four Corners and the boy knew about the plush toy. ‘Dad’ Ken told the boy to sleep well and that he’d see him in the morning, reminding the boy of his guitar lesson at nine o’clock. They hugged one more time and then the boy headed to his bathroom to drain his dragon, while ‘dad’ Ken walked down the stairs, plush toy in hand, to his retreat to get a good night’s sleep.
The owner of The Cove was up at his usual Saturday morning time, used his bathroom, dressed in his running shorts, nylon t-shirt and crocks and went out to get his morning newspaper. His coffee was ready and waiting for him when he entered the Kitchen Nook, but before sitting down to a hot cup of the deep brown brew, he took eighteen bacon, egg and cheese breakfast tacos out of the freezer and placed them in the convection oven and set the timer.
The man then poured his first cup of coffee into his favorite cup, took it over to the table, where he always sat, placed it there and sat down. Then, as was his habit, Ken Thomas took the newspaper out of its protective sleeve and separated it into sections before he read it.
A teaser headline to the right of the masthead mentioned that there was another suspicious fire in the south county making it the second fire that he could remember. The man went to the article to find out what type of structure was burned, and to learn if they had any more information about the person who set the fire, and possibly the one the previous week.
After satisfying his need to discover what happened at the fire, the owner of The Cove went back to the front page of the paper and began reading from there.
Wayne Mitchell, the Estate Master, knew that the puppies would find their forever homes that Saturday, so he decided to come to The Cove. He didn’t arrive at his usual eight o’clock time and when he did enter the Nook it surprised Mr. Ken.
“Well, what brings you in today, Wayne?” asked Mr. Ken.
“I thought I’d stop in to help make sure the pups were ready for their forever homes, boss. I wasn’t sure what you had planned to get them ready,” answered Wayne.
“Oh, thank you Wayne for thinking about that,” replied Mr. Ken. “Well, first I was going to have the boys feed them, then take them outside for a few minutes of play. Then, after the boys had eaten, I was going to get the boys to give the pups a bath. So, grab yourself a cup of coffee and sit down. The boys should be down soon.”
It wasn’t too long before the Cover boys did arrive in the Kitchen Nook. They were surprised to see Mr. Wayne there, and they offered both men a good morning before giving ‘dad’ Ken a hug.
‘Boys, before you have breakfast, I would like you to feed the pups, and then take them outside to go potty, as they would normally do after eating. Then play with them for a few minutes before bringing them inside, and by then your breakfast tacos will be ready for you. Can you do that for your ‘dad’?” teased ‘dad’ Ken.
Billy told his ‘brothers’, “Let’s go and get their bowls and feed the pups. And the sooner we get that done the sooner we can eat.”
With five boys, and Mr. Wayne supervising, they were able to fix the five bowls of puppy food along with their water, and although it was later than they usually got fed, the puppies ate it as fast as they could. Then as soon as the puppies were finished the boys took them outside in order for them to empty their bladders and bowels, where they usually did and then the Covers played with them.
After about a half hour of playtime, the boys asked Chief to move her family back inside, so they could eat. Chief barked her command at her brood and the pups knew too looked at their mom. Chief indicated they were to go back inside and with another bark the pups they all peed before they entered the Great Room through the doggie door.
‘Dad’ Ken had the heated breakfast ready for the boys when they came into the Kitchen Nook. The boys were a bit boisterous as they entered the Nook talking about the pups, and how they played with them. However, before they had a chance to sit down, ‘dad’ Ken asked them to wash their hands and get what they wanted to drink to wash their breakfast down.
The boys continued to talk about the pups, as they ate their bacon, egg and cheese breakfast , and they outwardly wondered which family would take the male and female pups. The two men listened to the boys talking and silently wondered about themselves.
After the boys had eaten, and cleaned up their dirty dishes and glasses, ‘dad’ Ken asked the boys to give each of the pups a bath, so they would be all nice and clean smelling for their new owners.
The puppies had been bathed before, and they liked playing in the water. The boys didn’t bother to get their showers, knowing that they’d get soaking wet trying to keep the pups in the small pool they used to wash them.
They all headed down to the Great Room to get the pups to follow them into the men’s locker room, so they could give them their bath. The pups enjoyed their bath time, and at eight weeks they were big enough to thoroughly enjoy a romp in the small pool that Mr. Wayne had gotten to do that, in order for them to give the puppies their bath,
To bathe all five puppies and dry them took the boys well over an hour. And Billy did get out the leftover hair drier in order to get the pups coat dry, and each puppy sat there enjoying the cool air blowing over them and their coat being brushed, of course, Chief was there supervising the entire operation.
When all the puppies had been bathed, it was then Mr. Ken told the boys that it was Chief’s turn for a bath. The resident pet began to sneak out of the locker room, and the boys all began to laugh, but all Mr. Ken had to call out was, “Chiiieeeffff … come back here. It is your turn.”
Chief reluctantly came back and got her bath, too. And for as much as she hated getting a bath, and avoided it at all costs, she did enjoy being pampered and then having her coat blow dried and brushed. The resident pet sat there patiently until the boys were finished with her.
The boys had enjoyed bathing the pups and Chief. It was something they wouldn’t normally do, and it broke up the monotony of their usual weekend days. Then seeing the time, the boys had to hurry to get their showers, because the families would soon be there to select their puppy.
At twelve noon there was a party atmosphere at The Cove. The Goldersons, Dominions, Walthers and Turners were all there to choose their puppy. The boy’s friends were also there and they wanted to watch how the different families chose their puppy. But Mr. Ken told them that the puppies didn’t need all of that added excitement of forty plus people standing around and distracting them.
The Goldersons would choose first, as they, well, it was actually Mark, who asked if they could have a puppy if Chief ever had a litter. So, Miriam, Levi and Mark were going to look over the remaining five puppies. The Cover boys brought out the puppies and immediately everyone noticed that one pup already had a collar on it.
Mark asked if that was the one Mr. Ken had chosen to stay at The Cove. And learning that was the case, the boy knew that he could only choose from the remaining two males and two females. Miriam and Levi looked on and talked about which one they would want, all the while watching the pups playing with Mark.
When Mark had finished playing with all of the pups, the three Goldersons talked and then they decided. Everyone looked on as Mark went over and picked up a female, which surprised everyone.
Sandra Dominions quickly asked Miriam why they selected a female. All the woman could say was that they wanted a protector as good as Chief was for The Cove. The woman added they hoped that the young female had inherited those same traits from her mother, and would be just as good for them. Sandra smiled at hearing their reasoning.
It was now the Dominions turn to select their puppy. The family had watched the pups play with Mark and now they asked Hailey and Chris, Jr. to play with the puppies and get a feel for which one they wanted for their home. The two children both fell in love with the one male pup they had watched, as Mark played with the small group, and were happy that the Goldersons hadn’t picked that one.
It took the two Dominions children less than five minutes to agree on their pick, and tell their mom and dad which puppy they wanted. Hailey had picked the puppy up and was holding it lovingly, as her brother was petting it, and the pup was licking the girl’s face. The Dominions were happy with their selection.
Ben Walthers and his wife Addison, son Rylan and daughter Ryleigh were next to choose from the remaining two puppies, a male and a female. The family had talked about which gender they wanted before they came to The Cove, and with only a male and female remaining, their decision would be quick.
But after watching the puppies play with Mark, and then Hailey and Chris, Jr., Addison pulled Ben aside and asked him if they wanted to stick with their initial decision. Ben told her that they should ask the children, as they were a part of the decision just before they left the house.
When asked about the possibility of changing their initial decision, Rylan and Ryleigh said that they loved both remaining puppies, and would be happy with either one. Addison then said that she would like to have the female puppy for the house, and asked if the rest of the family was OK with getting that one. Everyone was surprised to learn that the female puppy would be going home to the Walthers residence.
With the two females and one male puppy chosen, that left the remaining male puppy for Judy and Eric to take home. Eric teased Mr. Ken and asked him if he was sure he wanted to keep the puppy with the collar. ‘Dad’ Ken went over to the young teenager and grabbed him and hugged him, and then told the teen, “You better leave with the puppy you got before I keep ‘em both.” Everybody laughed.
Mr. Ken asked everyone if they all wanted to stay for some burned burgers and dogs, or did they want to get their new family member home and settled. The man did remind them that they could let the pups play with one another, and he could show them how they’ve been softening their food, so that way they would know what to do until their puppy was ready for more solid foods.
It was agreed that the families would stay for the barbeque, and after placing their own collar on their new chosen pup they let all five puppies play outside. Mr. Ken and Wayne then showed the new puppy families how they had been softening the puppy’s food. Mr. Ken told them that this way the pup would get their afternoon feeding, and they wouldn’t feel rushed to go out and buy some puppy food just to have it on hand, if they hadn’t already done that.
Ken Thomas also discussed with the new puppy families about neutering and spaying their pup at the appropriate time, if they weren’t planning on breeding it, or using them to breed in the future. He told them that he was planning on getting his new pup fixed when the time came, as he had no desire to be responsible for an unwanted litter of puppies. The families agreed that they would keep that in mind when the time came to decide if they would either spay, or neuter, their new family member.
Miriam did ask him if he was going to let Chief have another litter of puppies. Ken told her that he would sit down with the resident pet after the Holidays and asked her if she wanted to do that again. The man then declared that if Chief was willing, it would be her last litter and only, if he could find enough willing families to take on raising the puppies. Otherwise, this was Chief’s first and last litter.
While the new puppy owners were getting a quick lesson on fixing their new pup’s food from Mr. Wayne, the boys were getting the barbeque ready. The food would be ready sooner than normal, but that was so the families could learn about their puppy, get a bite to eat and then head on home with their new family member.
While the barbeque was being readied, the band members had been talking about a name for their band. It had only been a week since their parents agreed to let them play at the two venues, and they knew time was slipping by and they needed a name to call themselves.
The seven boys had kicked around loads of names, and Bryce brought out the list he’d created from what all the boys had offered. As he started reading from it, he asked the band members to think carefully on the names and to consider crossing out names that just don’t fit. The boys all agreed.
The bass guitar player began reading from the list, and in no particular order were Primarily Boys, Essentially Boys, Point of Departure, Deep Seated, Junior Grade, Pavilion Voices, Estate Voices, Estate Boys, Pavilion Boys, Cover Boys, Cover Voices, Elementary Voices, Seven Friends, Estate Garage Band, Pavilion Garage Band, Boys of the Lake, Pavilion Sunrise, or Sunset, Pavilion House Boys, or just Pavilion, Elaborate Seven, Complex Seven, Straightforward, Adolescence, Adolescent, Pre-Teens, Almost Teens, Period of Transition, Barbeque Boys and Texas Dreamin’.
When he finished the boys had all agreed to delete Pavilion Voices, Elementary Voices, Cover Boys, Cover Voices, Estate Garage Band, Pavilion Garage Band, Pavilion House Boys, Elaborate Seven, and Complex Seven. With those names eliminated, the boys decided they needed to think about the rest and decided to go and practice.
They had already decided they would wear black pants and a white shirt to start off with and if they got any more gigs, they would decide then if they wanted to change, like to a red or a green shirt if it was for a Christmas dance.
The adults fed the pups and they all watched as they chowed down everything in front of them as fast as they could, and when they were done Chief barked for them to follow her outside. The adults watched as their puppy eventually relieved itself in the same area where Chief had them going. Mr. Ken recommended that they show their puppy where they wanted it to go ‘potty’, as soon as they got home, and after they fed it, so it would know where it was supposed to do its potty business.
After the pups had played for a few minutes, Mr. Ken asked Chief to take her pups inside. The adults heard Chief bark and the pups all looked to her, and as their mother began to go inside all of the puppies peed before they went into the house.
Mr. Ken reiterated to the new pet owners to find and use one place for their new pup to do their business, and to pee before they go inside, as a means of continuing their training. He told them that it only was a suggestion, but their new pet had already been conditioned to do that ,and it would be easier to give them that special place right from the start.
The barbeque was ready when the pups had been fed, so everyone headed up to the Pavilion to get a burger and/or hot dog, and share in some conversation before the new puppy owners would head home to introduce their new family member to where they would now live, and be loved.
When all of his brothers and sisters were picked up and placed into a traveling carrier the new resident Cove puppy was now all alone, and he didn’t know what to make of it. For the past eight plus weeks he had six other brothers and sisters to play with, and then the other day he noticed two of them were gone. And now the rest of his siblings were nowhere to be seen.
The Cove’s new resident pet didn’t know what to make of what just happened and he began to whine, because he felt that he was now all alone. Chief went over to her son and pulled him to her to try to comfort him, and the two laid down together.
Later that evening when the Covers had their daily meeting, the boys brought up the question as to what they were going to name their new puppy, which was being held by Matthew. ‘Dad’ Ken agreed that with all of the other pups gone, that it was time that they came up with a good name for the new resident pet.
Before they started, Matthew and Phillip mentioned the names they came up with during breakfast the other day and their ‘brothers’ laughed at hearing them. ‘Dad’ Ken confided in the boys that after Matthew and Phillip left to go to school, Momma asked him not to name their puppy any of those names. The boys smiled knowing that they would never call their new puppy any of those.
So, with that done, the boys started calling out names they all figured would be a good name for the young family member. Names like Rover, Rufus, Blackie, Prince, Duke, King, Foster, Max, Bailey, Buddy, Lucky, Rocket, Scout, and Sparky were all bantered about. But ‘dad’ Ken didn’t like any of them.
The group discussed many more names and each time someone suggested a name for the new resident pet, someone, or a few of them, would say they didn’t like it. They tried many different names and they even started going through the alphabet letter by letter.
Then Phillip, out of the blue, as they already did the letter ‘M’, suggested Major. But Charles quickly spoke up and said that they can’t have the puppy out rank his mother the ‘Chief’. Everybody laughed.
Matthew then suggested, “If we can’t have him outrank his mom, then why don’t we call him Sergeant. Or, better still, we can call him Sarge!”
At hearing the name Sarge, the puppy’s head lifted up from Matthew’s lap and he looked around. Robert then said the word Sergeant, but the puppy didn’t respond. But when Matthew said the name ‘Sarge’, the puppy sat up in Matthew’s lap.
“Boys … I think we might have a winning name for our youngest family member. So, what do you all think of the name ‘Sarge’ for our puppy?” inquired ‘dad’ Ken.
And again, the puppy, upon hearing the name ‘Sarge’ began to look around and then he made a few yelps. Matthew figured he’d try the name again and quickly voiced the name, ‘Sarge’. This time the puppy turned around and began to lick the pre-teen’s face.
Mr. Ken looked over to Chief and asked her if she liked the name ‘Sarge’ for her son. Chief immediately barked out a few very loud “Woofs”, and then went over to her puppy and began to lick at him.
“Boys,” began ‘dad’ Ken, “do you all agree that ‘Sarge’ is the name we’ll all call our newest Cover member?”
The boys all agreed to the name, but their next question was who would be the puppy master. Billy suggested Matthew since the puppy seemed to like being with him, and that he was the one who thought of the name for the puppy.
After some discussion, ‘dad’ Ken agreed to let Matthew be the puppy master for the time being with the caveat that if things didn’t work out then he would look for a new puppy master. The boy’s ‘dad’ told them that they all still needed to be a part of the puppies’ training and socialization into The Cove, but that Matthew would be the one who would work at teaching Sarge tricks and feeding him, while introducing him to everything that was there at The Cove.
After the meeting, ‘dad’ Ken sat down with Matthew and reminded him that he would be responsible for feeding Sarge and taking him for his potty breaks, and slowly letting him stay in the pre-teen’s room in the carrier, after he took the pup out for his last pee break before bed.
‘Dad’ Ken explained to Matthew that with the puppy being only eight weeks old it would take some time for him to get into the habit of peeing before bed, and that he might whine during the night if he needs to go out again. The two agreed to let the puppy only stay in the bedroom when Matthew didn’t have school the next day, or until Sarge was better able to hold his ‘water’ throughout the night.
‘Dad’ Ken didn’t spend a lot of time with each of the boys that night because of the protracted meeting about the naming of the new family member. But in Charles’ room his son reminded him that last week he gave him a ‘raincheck’ and he promised that he would take them out to breakfast tomorrow.
‘Dad’ Ken, being reminded that he promised to take the boys out to breakfast in the morning, told his son to tell his ‘brothers’ that they should be showered, dressed and down in the Kitchen Nook by nine-thirty. Charles hugged his dad and thanked him, and told him that he’d have his ‘brothers’ downstairs and ready to go by nine-thirty.
A few minutes later in Phillip’s room, the man commented that he knew he had talked to his ‘brothers’ about where they went. He asked if he had yet to decide where he might want to go on his special three-day trip next month.
But Phillip changed the subject and he wanted to know if his ‘dad’ had decided, if when they go on that trip, if his friends could go with his ‘brothers’ and their friends, when they go to either Six Flags, or SeaWorld, to enjoy the park’s Halloween theme.
‘Dad’ Ken wasn’t prepared for that question, so he put the onus back on the young Cover by asking if it was important for him to go during October, or would he be OK if they went in November, instead.
Phillip quickly asked if he doesn’t go on his three-day trip in October would it mean that he and his friends would get to go with his ‘brothers’, and their friends, to whichever amusement park they choose.
‘Dad’ Ken, again, wasn’t ready for the boy to put him in a corner. He truly hadn’t put much thought on what the boy was asking, but in the end, he knew he needed to give the boy an answer in order to get this weight off the young boy’s mind.
“Phillip, yes, if we wait until November, it will mean that you and your friends will get to join your ‘brothers’ and their friends and go to whichever park they chose. Will that be OK with you?” now teased ‘dad’ Ken.
Phillip heard what his ‘dad’ just decided and he jumped up on him and thanked him with a great big, strong hug. The boy quickly asked if he could tell his friends when he sees them tomorrow.
The foster dad told the boy that he could and to also tell them that he would pay for their admission and dinner, and the only cost they would have would be for snacks and drinks during the day before dinner. ‘Dad’ Ken encouraged Phillip to have their friends ask their parents as soon as they could if they could go, and then to let him know if they could or if there was going to be a problem. The young Cover said he understood.
Before long they shared a goodnight hug and ‘dad’ Ken told the boy that they would be going out to breakfast in the morning, so for him to set his alarm clock. ‘Dad’ Ken then headed down to his own retreat, while Phillip proceeded to his bathroom to drain his dragon before going to bed.
And now that her brood was out of the house. Chief also went outside to relieve the pressure in her bladder, before heading back up to, again, sleep with the youngest Cover, Phillip.
Sometime during the night, Chief quietly left Phillip’s room and went to Matthew’s and silently opened the pre-teen’s bedroom door and went to Sarge’s carrier and opened the door to let the new pup out, so she could take him out to pee. About eight minutes later, the two resident pets came back to Matthew’s bedroom where Sarge entered his carrier and Chief lay down in front of it. That Sunday morning when Matthew got up, he was surprised to find both resident pets in his room.
Mr. Ken got up at his usual weekend time, did his usual ritual, and then headed out to retrieve his morning Sunday newspaper. After pouring his first cup of coffee the man sat down at the Kitchen Nook’s table and began sorting the newspaper as was his habit. The headline of another fire in the lower county caught his eye, which made him put everything down and begin to read the article.
The man was surprised to read that it was the second one that weekend and the third fire in just two weekends. Another thing he noticed was that they only occurred either on a Friday or Saturday night. As he read further, he learned that the structures were always vacant buildings, with two of them being businesses, and one being a house. The article stated that the Fire Marshal would only reveal that the fires showed they were all set by an arsonist who used the same technique, which would be his eventual downfall.
When the boys came down to the Kitchen Nook by nine-thirty, Matthew told everyone how he found Chief and Sarge in his bedroom when he woke up. Everyone laughed, and ‘dad’ Ken speculated that Chief took her son out to potty in the middle of the night.
The man then told Matthew to feed Sarge and to take him outside immediately afterwards. Chief gave the preteen a few “Woofs” of approval. ‘Dad’ Ken then told Phillip to make sure he fed Chief. The two boys went about their task together and before long both resident pets were having their breakfast. When Sarge was finished eating, Matthew made sure he took the newest Cover out to do its business before heading up to the Nook, so the Covers could leave to go out to Breakfast.
The Covers left The Cove to go out for breakfast later than Mr. Ken had planned, but it is because he’d forgotten they had to feed the newest member of The Cove beforehand.
The Covers headed to Mr. Ken’s favorite breakfast place, IHOP, with Billy driving the Sprinter van. They stopped at the Main Gate to remind the guards to let the boy’s friends into The Cove if they weren’t back from breakfast.
All of the Covers enjoyed eating at the International House of Pancakes. The restaurant offered so many different combinations they could have, that they sometimes had a difficult time deciding what they wanted to eat. But none of them ever went hungry.
When Matthew returned from eating, he gave Sarge his afternoon meal and then took him outside to do his business. Once that was all taken care of, the pre-teen put Sarge on his lead and took him up to the Pavilion. Matthew wanted the new resident pet to get accustomed to all of the boys that he would have to deal with over time.
Most of the Cover’s friends were already waiting for the Covers to return, and when Phillip came up to the Pavilion, the band was talking about their two upcoming gigs, and the questions about who was going to take them there and pick them up came up. Jeffrey told his bandmates that his dad told him that he would make sure he picked up his drums, and got them to the gig sites.
But the rest of the band members didn’t know how they would be getting there. Phillip told them that he would talk to his ‘dad’ later that night, during their nightly meeting, and he’d let them know at school in the morning what he said.
After practicing some, the band sat down and continued to discuss what they were going to call themselves. Bryce brought out the list that they worked on yesterday. He reviewed the names they deleted and then read the names that remained.
“OK, here is what we kept. Primarily Boys, Essentially Boys, Point of Departure, Deep Seated, Junior Grade, Estate Voices, Estate Boys, Pavilion Boys, Seven Friends, Boys of the Lake, Pavilion Sunrise, Pavilion Sunset, or just plain Pavilion.
“Then there is Straightforward, Adolescence, Adolescent, Pre-Teens, Almost Teens, Period of Transition, Barbeque Boys and Texas Dreamin’. Now, did anyone come up with anything new?” asked Bryce.
One boy suggested Complex Seven, since they were very complex. All the boys laughed. Then someone suggested Accommodation, while another asked if they liked Elaborate Seven.
The seven boys were just plucking names out of thin air trying to come up with something that sounded good to all of them. They liked a few of the names they just came up with, but then they realized that now they had way too many names, and they needed to cut the list down again.
Jeffrey asked Bryce to go through the list one more time and he asked everyone to honestly think if the name is what they really want the band to be called. With everyone in agreement, Bryce began reading off the list.
The seven boys listened to the names on the list and they did eliminate a good number from it and when they finished what remained were Point of Departure, Deep Seated, Pavilion, Adolescent, Straightforward, Period of Transition, and Accommodation.
Bryce read the remaining band names to make sure that was what everyone approved and when he finished everyone concurred. They all agreed that they could continue to come up with more names, though they knew time was of the essence and they had to choose a name sooner than later.
While the band was doing its thing, the rest of the Cover’s friends saw the new resident pet coming up to the Pavilion. They couldn’t wait until he arrived, and when he did, they all fawned over, and they all wanted to pet him at the same time. Matthew had to tell them not to crowd around Sarge, since he wasn’t used to having so many people around him just yet.
With so many boys crowding around Sarge, the young Cover asked everyone to just let his friends stick around, and let him get used to that small number first. The pre-teen Cover suggested that next weekend the puppy could maybe meet some more of his ‘brothers’ friends.
Matthew, Sarge and the rest of the boys walked away from the Pavilion, and out into the old soccer field. There, the young Cover took Sarge off his lead where the boys began letting the new resident pet chase them around.
The new Cover puppy was having fun chasing all of the boys around, but before long he was all worn out. Matthew saw that his charge had run out of steam and figured that it was probably time to take him down to the house. Through it all, Chief was there watching and making sure her son was being treated right.
The pre-teen thanked his friends for playing with Sarge, and he placed the lead back on Sarge, and the two of them slowly walked back to the house. Then once inside, Matthew gave Sarge some fresh cold water for him to drink, and then it was time for the new resident pet to take a nap, as he wasn’t used to all that running around.
The boys did fix the barbeque, and with Billy’s and Robert’s friends working now, there weren’t as many people to feed, as there once was. The boys did make sure to call Mr. Ken to see if he wanted to come up to get something to eat.
While the boys ate, they talked to Mr. Ken about how things had changed at The Cove during the summer. They told him how Billy’s, and a few of Robert’s friends were now working, and there weren’t as many coming to The Cove any more.
Charles told his dad that next summer it will probably be just his, Matthew’s and Phillip’s friends, if he is still living there, which will amount to only about twenty boys. Mr. Ken smiled, and then he asked his son if he thought that Robert would be working next year. Then, before he let Charles answer, he asked the teenager, “… wouldn’t there be more boys if he gets another foster?”
Charles saw the silliness in his dad’s smile, and predicted that he’d let his brother work at Four Corners, and as for a new foster, he pondered that they’d cross that bridge when they got to it. Everyone laughed at hearing that.
‘Dad’ Ken asked Matthew how Sarge did with all of the boys around him today. The pre-teen told his ‘dad’ how he let his friends play with Sarge out in the old soccer field, and after he tired out, he took him inside for a cold drink, and then he put him down for a nap. Mr. Ken was happy that Matthew had done that and told him so.
About two hours after the barbeque was put away and Matthew was talking with his friends, Chief and Sarge came walking up to the Pavilion.
“Sarge … what are you doing outside?” teased the puppy master.
Sarge came running right up to Matthew, who picked him up and hugged him. And then Chief came over and placed the lead at Matthew’s feet.
“Thank you Chief. I would have to go down to the house to get that if you hadn’t brought it up here with you,” offered the young Cover, who then scratched behind Chief’s ears, as a way to thank the resident pet.
“Come on Sarge,” urged the puppy master, as he put the puppy down, “let’s see if I can begin to train you with some simple commands.” The three Covers, Matthew, Sarge and Chief, then walked away from the Pavilion, leaving the rest of the boys to play the games, or skate. And, as soon as they were away, Matthew and Sarge began working on some voice commands.
Matthew’s friends watched, as he would ask Sarge to sit. The puppy initially didn’t do anything. But Chief barked out a command and the puppy sat. Matthew scoffed at Chief that he wanted the puppy to do it when he said ‘sit’.
Chief barked back at Matthew like she was telling him to try it again, while Sarge just looked on.
Matthew figured that was what Chief was telling him to do, so he had Sarge to stand up and he again told Sarge, “Sit!” Sarge just stood there.
Chief barked out her command and Sarge sat. Chief then looked at Matthew, and barked at him, and then looked at her son and then it dawned on the pre-teen what Chief was telling him. Matthew then gave Sarge a treat.
Matthew then had Sarge stand and voiced the command, ‘sit’, and when the puppy stood there, The Cover gave the pup a gentle nudge to sit, and when Sarge did, he gave the puppy a treat.
Matthew and Sarge did that a few more times, and after about the eighth time, counting the two were Chief helped, Sarge got the idea that upon hearing the voice command ‘sit’, he got a treat. Chief just sat there and watched with a smile on her muzzle.
Matthew then wanted to try teaching Sarge another voice command. He remembered reading on the internet a way to teach your puppy to lay down. So, with Sarge still in the sitting position, the Cover took a treat and showed it to Sarge. He then began moving it to the pup’s nose and then moved it down towards the puppy’s chest.
Sarge watched where the treat was, and when Matthew moved the treat to the ground Sarge went down on all fours and his stomach to get it. As soon as the puppy ate the treat, Matthew immediately praised Sarge for doing that.
The Cover then wanted to repeat the task, so he asked Sarge to ‘sit’, and when the pup did, he gave him a treat. Then to try the new learned habit, Matthew did the same nose, chest, ground motion. But this time he added the word ‘down’ as he did it.
When Sarge went down and got the treat, the Cover gave the new resident pet the treat and praised him for doing so. Again, Chief watched on as her son was learning something new.
Matthew and Sarge did the new learned command a few more times until Sarge would automatically go down and get the treat without Matthew having to go through the motions.
The pre-teen and puppy worked on those two commands for about forty-five minutes, and the Cover figured that was long enough, and that it was time to play. So, the two played chase with one another out on the soccer field.
All the time Matthew and Sarge were working on those two commands, the Cover’s friends were watching from the Pavilion. They wondered at first if the puppy would ever learn. But they were surprised that the young pup did learn to ‘sit’, when Matthew asked him too.
Then, when they watched that Matthew was trying to get Sarge to lay down, they figured he would never get the young puppy to learn that command. Again, they had no confidence in either their friend, or the new resident pet, however after watching the two for another twenty minutes, or so, Sarge was laying down at Matthew’s command.
It was while the two Covers were out in the field playing, chasing one another, that it was time for the Cover’s friends to leave that Sunday. The boys who had ridden their bikes said goodbye to their friends, while the others waited outside the Main Gate for their parents to arrive to take them home.
Matthew saw what was happening so, he put Sarge on his lead and the two Covers walked up to the Main Gate. The parents who’d heard about the new puppy, but hadn’t seen, or met it yet, all wanted the chance to greet the new resident pup.
Matthew decided to try out his new ‘sit’ command and as the parents came towards Sarge he gave the command, ‘sit’, and Sarge did. The Cover also gave the pup a treat to reinforce the newly learned command.
Matthew asked the parents not to crowd the new Cover pet, telling them that Sarge wasn’t used to loads of people around him yet. The adults did as Matthew asked and they took turns petting the new resident pet. Sarge was a good puppy, and just sat with a puppy smile on his muzzle, while accepting all the new people who came up to pet him.
After dinner at the Four Corners Diner that evening, the Covers sat in the Study for their usual nightly meeting. Of course, Sarge laid across Matthew’s lap as ‘dad’ Ken covered who had appointments that coming week. The boys were to learn that only Phillip would still be seeing Doctor Doug during the coming week.
That evening Phillip asked his ‘dad’ how the band members were going to get to their gig. The young Cover told ‘Dad’ Ken that Jeffrey’s dad was going to make sure he took the drums to the place where the gig was, but that no one else knew how they were getting there.
‘Dad’ Ken told the youngest Cover that he would make sure he and the sound system got to his two gig appearances, but that he would contact all of the parents to discuss how they would get their sons to their gigs on Sunday the 22nd, which was the 5 to 8 p.m. engagement and Saturday the 28th, which was the 7 to 10 p.m. performance.
During that meeting ‘Dad’ Ken reminded the boys that they needed to decide where they were going during their three-day weekend, in order that Mr. Chris could buy the tickets and schedule the bus. He also told the boys that the bus would probably leave The Cove at nine in the morning, and return there around ten o’clock, depending on traffic, at night.
The boys quickly discussed the pros and cons of Fiesta Texas, and SeaWorld, and the Six Flags Park won out as having more attractions to ride throughout the day, which would allow them to have more fun.
With that decision made, ‘dad’ Ken recapped his need to go back east in the next week, or two, to help Kate handle a problem that Lane had made for her. He then announced that he and Mr. Ben would be attending the International Attraction and Amusement Park Association Expo (IAAPA) in Florida later in November.
Robert then reminded his dad that Mr. Diamond and Ms. Whittier were getting married in November, and he needed to check the dates to see if they would conflict. On his defense, the teen’s dad told the teenager that he hadn’t received the invitation yet, but that they needed to schedule the trip to Florida, as the Expo showcased new amusement rides, midway games and foods, and he and Ben needed to see what was being introduced to the industry for them to consider adding to their parks.
Robert brought up to his dad, when the man asked the boys if they had anything they wanted to discuss, that they wanted to have their sleepover either next weekend, or if that didn’t work then they could have it the following one.
Billy added that next weekend was two weeks before their three-day weekend and their amusement park trip to Fiesta Texas, and they could talk with Momma Maria, during the week, about which foods she would need to buy for them. ‘Dad’ Ken told them he would talk with Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis about being chaperones for the night, and which weekend would be the best one for them.
When the meeting was over, the boys went up to their rooms and soon thereafter ‘dad’ Ken went up to talk to them, as he usually did. The man started in Billy’s room, and when he got to Matthew’s the boy had to show him that he and Sarge had worked on two commands.
The pre-teen got Sarge’s attention and then gave the Command to ‘sit’. When Sarge sat, Matthew gave him a treat. Matthew then gave the puppy the command ‘down, yet the new resident pet just sat there. The Cover again gave the command ‘down’, and again Sarge sat there.
Matthew told his ‘dad’ that the puppy knew the command and that he just needed to think through what he might be doing wrong. Then it dawned on him that he always showed Sarge a treat. So, this time the young Cover showed Sarge the treat, and then gave the command and the new resident pet did what he was asked.
‘Dad’ Ken was impressed that the young puppy was learning some commands, and that the puppy master and puppy were getting along so well. ‘Dad’ Ken then reminded Matthew to make sure he took Sarge outside to pee before he went to bed. The two shared a hug, and Mr. Ken petted Sarge before he headed to the next boys’ room.
In Phillip’s room, the youngest Cover told his ‘dad’ all about the band’s attempt at choosing its name, and he mentioned a few of the names they were thinking of. ‘Dad’ Ken encouraged the youngster to stick with it, and soon they would have the name for their band. The two shared a hug before ‘dad’ Ken headed to his retreat for the night.
The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhnd at Gmail dot Com
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