The sun rose again for the start of another day in New Castle.
Ginger, Mike, and Rascal woke up when the sun peeked through the woods, and they all stretched.
"Well, Mike, are you ready to go home?" Ginger asked him.
Mike looked unsure how he would be able to find a potion but deep down inside; he knew Louise had to have something.
"I'm ready," Mike replied to Ginger.
They walked out of the woods.
An hour later, Ginger, Mike, and Rascal all looked determined while they marched down his neighborhood to start their mission.
While they walked down his street, an older man peeked out his living room window and saw the dogs. The older man frowned at this sight and rushed away from his window.
They walked up to Mike's house and sat on the sidewalk. Mike's home looked empty since Debbie's mini-van wasn't in the driveway.
"Debbie's probably at work, and the kids are probably in school," Mike said while memories of better times flooded his head while he stared at his home.
"So where does this Voodoo lady live?" Ginger said while she looked around at all the houses.
"The house to the right of mine," he said but then noticed it was now painted a light brown. He shrugged the color change off and stood up. "She does own this big huge dog," Mike recalled.
"That could be a problem," Ginger said while she recalled the recent encounter with the two Shepherds.
"He seemed friendly when I lived there," Rascal said.
The sound of the brakes of a vehicle was heard behind them.
"Let's come back later tonight," he told everybody.
They turned around and saw two Dog Catchers, Ernie and Peter, get out and rushed over to the side of their truck. They quickly removed two long snare poles.
"Dog catchers, run!" Ginger screamed out.
Ginger, Rascal, and Mike all ran off in separate directions.
Ernie ran after Rascal.
Peter ran after Mike.
It soon looked like a Keystone Kops chase scene while Ernie and Peter ran in circles after Rascal and Mike.
Ginger ran down the street. She stopped and sat on a sidewalk to watch to see if her friends escaped.
Mike and Rascal zigged and zagged in the neighbor's front yards.
Ernie tripped over his pole and tumbled in a front yard. He quickly got up and bolted after Rascal.
He was able to catch Rascal with his snare pole a few minutes later.
Ernie waked Rascal over to the truck.
Peter was able to catch Mike with his snare pole, and he walked Mike over to the truck.
Ginger watched from down the street while Ernie and Peter placed Mike and Rascal in the back of their truck.
Peter and Ernie got inside the truck and drove away.
"I'll try to rescue you!" Ginger yelled at the truck when she saw Mike and Rascal's sad faces peek out the barred windows at the rear of the dog pound truck.
She ran after the dog pound truck.
Later that day, Mike and Rascal sat inside separate cages next to each other. Mike looked across his cage and saw cages stacked upon cages. Inside them were other dogs and cats that waited for their fate.
"I've been successful at escaping these dog catchers until today," Rascal told Mike through the cage bars.
Then a Hound dog with sad droopy eyes in a cage across from Mike's cage stuck his nose out between his cage bars. "Nobody knows, the troubles I've seen. Nobody knows, my sorrows," the Hound dog sang out with a deep bass voice.
"Why did you hate me?" Rascal asked Mike from his cage.
"It's not your fault Rascal. It started when I was a kid. Our family dog got rabies, he bit me, and the doctor gave me stitches and a bunch of rabies shots," Mike responded and felt terrible for the way he treated Rascal.
"I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm sorry I broke your Les Paul thingy," Rascal replied with sincerity in his voice.
"That's alright. I could always get another one. If I was human," Mike replied then his eyes welled up believing he would remain a dog for the rest of his life and never see his family again. He lay in the cage and closed his eyes if I was human! He thought over and over again to himself. He closed his eyes and was soon asleep.
Hours later, and Mike woke up inside his cage. He looked around and looked sad when he realized he was still inside the dog pound.
"Psst, Mike. What's going to happen to us?" Rascal asked from his cage.
Mike sat up. "I'm afraid if nobody claims us, it's the end of the road of our doggy lives," Mike replied.
Rascal looked sad while he looked through his cage bars, then his eyes widen with joy. "It's Kenny! Hey Kenny!" he yelled out.
Mike's ears perked up, as that was a name from the past, and he looked through his cage bars.
Kenny walked through the dog pound and looked at the cages. His eyes widen when he saw Rascal, as he recognized that patch of hair on his side.
Rascal barked at Kenny and wagged his tail.
"Rascal! I don't believe it. It's Rascal!" Kenny called out in joy then he looked back at the other end of the kennel. "Hey, Joe," he called out.
Joe Smithson was the manager of the dog pound, and he walked over to Kenny. "Yeah," he replied.
"Get Rascal out of this cage. He's coming with me," Kenny requested.
Rascal wagged his tail, knowing Kenny was going to spring him free.
Mike watched through his cage while Joe grabbed Rascal out and handed him to Kenny.
"Good to see you, Rascal. Debbie and the kids will be so happy to see you again," Kenny said while he petted Rascal's head.
"Hey, Rascal. Please don't forget about me. I know I treated you wrong, but don't let me die in here," Mike called out.
Rascal looked at Mike. He then whined and clawed at Mike's cage.
"What's wrong, Rascal?" Kenny asked when he saw Rascal clawing at Mike's cage.
Rascal whined louder and continued to claw harder at Mike's cage.
Kenny looked at Mike. "Is he your buddy?" Kenny asked.
"Yes!" Rascal replied.
"I know I mistreated you, but please take me home!" Mike called out.
Kenny heard Rascal and Mike bark.
"You have to take Mike!" Rascal said with a whine at Kenny.
Kenny heard Rascal whine then he hesitated for a second. "I'll take this dog also," he told Joe and pointed at Mike.
Joe opened up Mike's cage and removed him.
From the end of the dog pound parking lot, Ginger watched while Kenny and Joe placed Rascal and Mike in the backseat of Kenny's car.
Joe walked back inside while Kenny made a call on his cell phone.
"Hey Debbie, guess what?" he said, excitedly into his cell phone.
"I give up what?" Debbie replied.
"I found Rascal at the pound," he said.
"You're kidding?" she replied.
"No, but he wants his friend to come with him if you don't mind," Kenny told her.
"Ah, sure. We can handle two dogs," Debbie responded.
"Good, I'm on my way to your house," Kenny said then got inside his car and started up the engine.
"Everybody will be so happy to see you, Rascal. We spent months looking for you," Kenny said while he drove his car out of the dog pound parking lot.
Kenny drove his car down the street.
Ginger ran down the street after Kenny's car.
Later that day, Mike and Rascal watched from the backseat while Kenny pulled into Mike's driveway.
Kenny tooted his car horn.
Debbie, Jenny, and Chris ran out of the front door and to Kenny's car just as he got out.
"There they are. I sure miss them," Mike said while his eyes welled up at the sight of his family.
Chris and Jenny looked in the windows, and their eyes lit up when they saw Rascal and Mike.
"They've grown some," Mike said while he wagged his tail at his kids.
Debbie opened up the back door.
Rascal almost pushed Mike to the floorboard when he ran out of the backseat.
He jumped out of the car and to the ground.
He ran up to Jenny while she bent down. He frantically licked her face so happy to see her again.
Mike slowly jumped out of the car and looked at his family. He didn't know what to do while Debbie and Chris stared at him. Jenny was too busy hugging Rascal to pay attention to Mike.
"Rascal barked and whined and I took that to mean he wanted this other dog to come along. They must be friends," Kenny told Debbie.
"We'll take care of any friend of Rascal's," Debbie said while she bent down and rubbed Mike's head.
Mike wagged his tail as he loved the feeling of her hand on his head.
"Let's get them inside and give them a bath," Debbie told the kids then she picked up Mike while Jenny picked up Rascal.
While they walked to the front door, a Dodge mini-van pulled into Louise's driveway.
Mike watched while the Cooper family got out of the van with a while male French poodle named Napoleon. The Cooper family and Napoleon walked to the front door then went inside.
Mike looked worried when he saw them. Then it dawned on him. "Oh no! Louise moved!" Mike told Rascal.
"It's not nice to bark at neighbors," Debbie scolded Mike while she opened up the front door.
Debbie set Mike down on the living room floor.
He looked around the living room, and it seemed the same except for the new couch, lamps and another 60-inch HDTV.
Mike watched while Jenny and Chris hugged and kissed Rascal.
"Hey, what about me?" Mike said quietly.
Debbie heard Mike whine, and she knelt to him.
"So what's your name?" she asked while she petted Mike's head.
"It's me, Debbie. Mike!" he called out.
All Debbie heard was Mike barking, and she frowned. "Don't bark in the house," she said while she petted his head then saw his collar with "Peewee" as his name.
"You're kinda ugly, but there's something special about you. I don't like the Peewee name, so why don't we call you," she said while she looked Mike over and thought of a new name. "I'll call you, Buster. That's it. You're Buster," Debbie said.
First Peewee, now Buster! Mike thought to himself; then he scratched behind his ear.
Debbie noticed Mike scratching behind his ear. "Let's get you cleaned up," she said.
Mike wagged his tail at Debbie.
"Come, Buster," Debbie said then she walked down the hallway and Mike followed.
After Debbie filled the tub up halfway, she got some shampoo and placed Mike in the water. She proceeded to lather up Mike's dirty and filthy hairy body.
Fifteen minutes later, she was done and dried Mike off with a towel.
Fifteen minutes later, Rascal had his bath, and both dogs were one hundred percent cleaner.
Thirty minutes later, Kenny came back to Debbie's house with some dog food from his animal shelter and two dog dishes.
In the kitchen, Debbie placed the two dog dishes with dog food by the kitchen door.
"Dinner Rascal and Buster," she called out.
Rascal ran into the kitchen and ran to the door then he immediately started eating.
Mike ran into the kitchen, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the dog food in the bowls.
"You boys enjoy," Debbie said then she walked out of the kitchen.
"I was hoping for some of her great cooking," Mike said while he walked up to the bowl and stared at the canned dog food.
"This stuff is great!" Rascal said with a mouthful of food.
Mike sat down and watched while Rascal gulped down his food. His stomach growled, and he ignored it. His stomach growled louder, and he was starving since he hadn't eaten since last night at Momma's. "Ah man," he said then he ate a small portion of the food. "It's not that bad," he said then he took a bigger bite.
It was later that night in the Hanson home, and it was quiet.
Jenny slept with Rascal curled up next to her on her bed.
Debbie slept with Mike curled up next to her on her bed.
Mike woke up and got off the bed.
He walked out of the room.
Mike walked into Jenny's bedroom and walked up to her bed, and he looked up at it. "Rascal," he softly called out, and Rascal didn't respond. "Rascal," he softly called out again.
Rascal woke up and walked to the edge of the bed then looked down at the floor. "What?" he said, then yawned.
"We need to talk," Mike said then he walked to the door.
Rascal jumped off the bed and followed Mike out of Jenny's bedroom.
Mike walked into the kitchen where Rascal followed.
Rascal sat on the floor while Mike paced back and forth by the kitchen door.
Rascal's eyes closed, and he started to drift off asleep.
"I'm in deep doggie doo doo. The voodoo lady moved. What am I going to do? I can't spend the rest of my life eating dog food," Mike said while he paced back and forth.
Mike saw Rascal asleep on the floor. "He's useless," Mike said then he walked out of the kitchen.
Ginger sat in Mike's backyard with sad eyes while she stared at Mike's porch.
"Everybody gets a family but me. All I get is the streets," she said while her eyes welled up then she moped away.