Derrick groggily opened up his eyes and saw his Aunt looking down at him. A quick inspection of his surroundings showed him he was in a small carrier and traveling in the back of a cab. It was them that bits and pieces of memories flooded his head. He remembered hearing about a dog show in Vegas that his Aunt had registered Marcy in. Glimpses of the plane ride came back to him and he soon realized that his Aunt thought that he was the real Marcy, and would most likely be taking her place in the show. "Marcy was trained for this, not me!", he thought as he tried to think of a way to communicate with his Aunt.
The cab stopped and let them out at the entrance to the hotel. After a short check-in, him and his Aunt finally entered the room as the bellboy set down their luggage. After tipping the man, she closed the door and collapsed onto the chair, exhausted.
"How's my little girl doing?", said Aunt Lauren as she patted the bed beside her.
Derrick shook his head back and forth as he barked twice. His Mom and Aunt had established a code earlier when he transformed into a copy of Marcy. One bark for "yes" and two barks for "no". "No" was the closest answer that he could give to let her know something was wrong.
"Come on Marcy, relax a little. You were sleeping for most of the trip and it's finally over.", said Aunt Lauren as she reached in to rub Derrick's head.
Derrick barked twice and shook his head back and forth. He hoped that his odd behavior would point out the problem sooner or later.
Lauren stared at him for a moment or two as she inspected the collar. "Uh, Derrick?", she said with some hesitation.
"BARK!", said Derrick.
"What's 3 + 2?", questioned his Aunt.
"Bark, Bark, Bark, Bark, Bark.", said Derrick in his limited vocabulary.
"Derrick? Turn around 3 times if that's you.", said his Aunt.
After completing yet another task to confirm his identity, his Aunt looked at him and sighed deeply.
"What are we going to do now?", Lauren said in a depressed voice. "I certainly don't have enough funds to fly back and forth to swap you and Marcy, especially before the show starts." There was a long pause as she thought about what to do. Derrick wagged his tail and whined a little to show his sympathy for his Aunt's current predicament. "Derrick... Um, you did seem to be having a lot of fun as a dog, didn't you?"
"Bark!", yipped Derrick. He was having a pretty good time as a care free pooch. It was certainly interesting being smaller and walking on four legs.
Aunt Lauren rubbed behind Derrick's ears. "Maybe this isn't a lost cause. Would you consider taking Marcy's place? Before you answer, keep in mind that there is a very large cash prize for "Best in Breed", and even more if you'd take home "Best in Show". Marcy is a shoe in for the judges as far as the visual inspections go. She just had some issues with the obedience parts of the contest. I would certainly be willing to split the prize money with you. It will be the easiest summer job that you've ever had and I have plenty of time to train you. After that, all you have to do is look pretty.", said his Aunt hopefully.
Derrick tilted his head to the side as he thought over his Aunt's proposal. It looked like he was stuck as Marcy during their stay anyways. He felt a little responsible for his Aunt's situation and wanted to help her out. Besides, sharing the prize money was certainly enticing. How hard could it be? He looked at his Aunt and responded the only way he could. "Bark!"
His Aunt smiled and gave him a big hug. "That's my Girl- umm... boy, umm Derrick! I'm so excited! I have a good feeling about you taking first place! Winning has a whole lot of other benefits that go with it. Photo shoots for magazines, sponsors for products, and if we find a pedigree stud, people will pay a fortune for the puppies."
"Puppies!?", thought Derrick. "BARK! BARK!", he said with a worried look on his face.
Aunt Lauren laughed as she pet Derrick. "Not you Honey! The real Marcy will be more than qualified for that part.", said Aunt Lauren as she chuckled loudly. "Now then, it's time to get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow!"
Derrick wagged his tail and curled up on the bed beside his Aunt. He'd always wanted to see Vegas. He just never thought it would be on four legs.
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