A Word Before I Begin: My next story will be my last. I will consistently update this one and the next one as often as possible and I will still make small "episodes". But these will be released as new chapters to one story rather than being released as individual stories. That's the only thing that's changing. This will be one continuous story that I will update with new parts. Thank you for reading my content, and remember, don't be afraid to tell me what you think of it!

The Journey

"Alright, gang! It's almost time." Lucky shouted excitedly. They were all getting ready for a very special adoption. They were about to hit a big milestone. "It's hard to believe we've placed this many dogs!" Squirt commented. "And I'm the lucky puppy!" Said a puppy proudly. "That's right, Platinum. Congratulations!" Cookie said back. "Hey, guys! They're here!" Informed Niblet. Reacting to his information, they all ecstatically ran upstairs to view the arrival of Platinum's newfound person.

A car drove through the gate. It was an old '80s car with a metal insignia on the hood. A woman and her daughter quickly got out of the car. Mr. McLeish suddenly stormed out of the building nearby. "This better be important. I'm missing the rerun of my favorite episode of Inspector Prunepants!" He declared angrily. "Yeah, hi. We're here for my daughter, Kelly. We've come for the puppy." She said. "Yeah, sure. Why else would you be here, for a cat?" He replied sarcastically. He then turned and grumpily marched up to the kennel, grabbed Platinum, and handed him to Kelly. "There. That's the only puppy we have. Now, shoo." He continued. Despite Mr. McLeish's attitude towards him, Kelly seemed to have already bonded with him. "Look, mom! He's just what I wanted!" Kelly shouted excitedly to her mom. Platinum barked twice, further justifying her exclamation. "That's great, sweetie!" Her mom replied. "Now, let's go before that strange man gets any more hostile." She continued. She mostly said that for herself; she didn't expect her daughter to understand. They got back into their car; Platinum giving the Pound Puppies a look of joy and ecstasy. "Wait for it..." Lucky commanded. The family started their car. "Wait for it..." He repeated. They then drove their car out of the pound and to their home. "Now!" He shouted.

They all rushed downstairs. Confetti cannons went off everywhere. Noisemakers sounded. A great big cheer was made as well. "Congratulations, gang! Ten thousand dogs placed!" Lucky shouted. They all let out another cheer. "And, for this accomplishment, I have a special surprise announcement for all of you!" He said. He waited a bit to build up the suspense, until he finally announced it. "The D-7 is coming to personally give us a newly-created award in our honor for our record-breaking accomplishment!" He announced. Yet another cheer was let out. "They'll be arriving any moment. All we need to do is wait." He said. But suddenly, they heard a voice. "No need to wait; we're here!" A dog stepped through one of the tunnels, revealing that the voice was coming from Dash Whippet.

He walked through to the room he was in followed by the seven members of the D7, including Dolly. "Why, hello, everyone! Congratulations!" She said. "Well, thank you, Dolly!" Strudel replied. "Well, I think you all know why we are here." Dash went straight down to business, but suddenly, he smiled. "You all do not know how much we couldn't wait to give you this award, so we won't." He said with a chuckle. One of the members brought out a cart with small item covered by a tarp. Then, the D7 sat in a row like they do for formal ceremonies. Dash began a short speech. "Shelter 17. From the beginning, you have never ceased to amaze me. So, for your undeniable dedication and for your recent record-setting placement agenda, I give you:" He pulled the tarp off the cart, revealing an award with the Shelter 17 logo placed high on top of it. "The brand-new 'Shelter 17 Placement Award!'" He finished. The D7 cheered. Dolly decided to comment. "We hope you continue to surprise us and we wish you good luck on your future endeavors here at Shelter 17!" She said. Dash suddenly said something. "Well, that was splendid, but that's unfortunately all the time we have. We'll see you next time!" He and the D7 slowly made their way to the exit. Even with them gone, the happy attitude filling the pound remained. Everyone couldn't keep their excitement in.

"I really can't believe it!" Cookie exclaimed. "Yeah. I feel like we can do anything, now! Don't you, Lucky?" Squirt asked. "Of course." He replied. They all followed each other upstairs. Lucky walked proudly to the front of the fence enclosing the kennel. He breathed in and sighed. Pretty soon, the rest of them joined him. "Well gang, I suppose it's time to start a new chapter here at Shelter 17. We've reached our peak, but it's only going to get better from here." Lucky spoke triumphantly. The other four smiled, taking in Lucky's words, making them seem almost heroic.

Just as they all began to relax, the gates opened suddenly, startling them. However, an unusually long amount of time passed before someone finally entered. It was Ketchum. He drove through more slowly than usual. When he finally parked in the middle of the lot, McLeish bursted out of the building. "Ketchum?" He asked in confusion. "It was supposed to be your day off!" He said. Ketchum finally stepped out of the van and lethargically marched to the back, opened up the double doors, and went back without taking the puppy in the back out. Ketchum then just stared at McLeish, as if he was waiting for him to do something. McLeish took one look back at Ketchum and saw someone who was obviously not in the mood to deal with any nonsense at the moment, so he realized what he had to do. He reached into the back and grabbed the puppy who was in there. However, he did this in a manner that obstructed the Pound Puppies' view. He walked to the kennel and put the puppy down in front of the gate. It was only then that they managed to catch sight.

She was a puppy with a short, dark gray coat. Her hair was longer at the top of her head, and it was parted in a way that covered one side of her face. There was also a neon purple strand running through her bangs. Lucky looked at her in slight shock, as he's never really seen a puppy with such conveying attributes. None of them really had, but Lucky, just by looking at her, felt something weird. He felt like she wasn't just an ordinary puppy.

McLeish opened the gate, but the puppy was a little reluctant to enter. She looked frightened, or a little sad. "Well, what are you waiting for?" McLeish asked impatiently. He shoved her in with his foot and slammed the gate. She got knocked over, but she got back up quickly. McLeish left and went back inside the building, but Ketchum hesitated. He just looked at the puppy through the van window. After a little while, he finally drove off.

The new puppy sighed sadly and walked slowly to the edge of the kennel. "Hello, and welcome to Shelter 17." Lucky said to her calmly. "What!?" She suddenly shouted and stood up. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked worriedly. "No no, calm down. Don't worry." Reassured Cookie. "Oh, okay." She said. She seemed less worried, but didn't look satisfied. She let out another sigh and laid back down. "So, we never got your name." Lucky told her. "Please, if you will, I don't mean to interrupt; it's just that I've been through a lot in the last few weeks. I just need some time to think; alone." She explained sadly. "Oh, okay. Very well then." Lucky agreed to leave her alone. "Just come to us when you're ready. We're here to help." Lucky told her. He then left her alone.