CHAPTER 1 Tug of Toothpaste I’m Alfie Wolfe and there’s one thing I hate the fact that my twin sister Alfreeda is stronger than I am There I said it Out loud For the whole world to hear But this story isn’t about how much I stink in the strength department Well not totally It’s about a powerful dog named Murphy A Rottweiler to be exact A Rottweiler that weighed about 100 pounds to be exacter One-hundred pounds of pure muscle and fur and bones of course to be exactest
The adventure started early one morning last month Way too early My dog-shaped alarm clock barked at seven for Pete’s sake TOO EARLY I banged the buttons on top until the clock shut up Did you have to wake me up this early I asked it with a groan As usual the clock-dog just stared at me Suddenly I remembered and sat up fast A Rottweiler was coming to Hound Hotel that morning Murphy the Rottie Murphy the Dog of Iron Murphy was paws down the strongest visitor who had ever stayed at our dog hotel After he’d stayed here last summer Mom had said Never again But Murphy’s owner had a wedding to go to and Murphy couldn’t go along Every other kennel had said no So Mom caved and said she’d take Murphy for just one
night She can be a softie sometimes Man I couldn’t wait to see that beefy guy again Too bad my dad couldn’t see Murphy Dad likes big dogs best But he was up north again studying wolf packs That’s his job I leaped out of bed I had to beat Alfreeda to breakfast and call dibs on Murphy I just had to hang out with him first
I yanked off my pajamas and dug through some piles of dirty clothes I found a pair of dirty jeans and a stained Hound Hotel T-shirt I got dressed and bolted to the bathroom Oh no I thought Alfreeda was standing by the sink all ready for the workday She wore jeans and a Hound Hotel T-shirt too except hers were fresh smelling and clean And of course her face was washed And her poodle like hair was brushed I’ve got the same kind of hair and I’m telling you brushing it is not a piece of cake Alfreeda reached for the toothpaste Hey give me that I said jumping toward the tube No way Alfie she said I got here first We both dived at the toothpaste She got a tight hold on one end I got the other
