I made a fic for @stanuary in going with the prompt Animals. This is set in my Lost and Gained AU where Stan has a wife and kids as well as grandkids. Enjoy this small read of the animals Stan has had in his life!
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A young Stan huffed when he was tasked to take out the trash this time around after dinner. It was full and heavy, but his dad Filbrick told him to suck it up and take it out to the trash cans outside. Out the back door, Stan was dragging the hefty load to the back when all of a sudden, he heard the sounds of chittering and the clanks and shattering glass falling out. It alarmed Stan so he put up a tough-guy attitude to confront this supposed intruder.
“Hey! Stay out of our trash or I’ll give you a knuckle sandwich! And not the edible kind!”
Stan marched up the trash and what he found shocked him. It was a young possum that was munching on a tossed out sandwich when it looked up at the young boy and hissed at him. Stan expected a seagull or rat in there, but this possum seemed like a cooler animal than any other animal he encountered. A little guy trying his best to survive in this world all alone. Stan couldn’t help but to give some sympathy.
“Uh… actually,” Stan presented the garbage to the possum, “you can have this. I’m not allowed to have pets, but you seem real neat! I’m gonna call you Shanklin!” The possum inched closer to Stan and sniffed at him. Stan slowly reached to touch the possum and pet him, disregarding he was stinky and covered in trash.
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Some years later….
Stan and Andrea took the time to go camping with their three children, James, Jessie and Leroy while in Perdido Key, Florida by the water. The day was sunny and the water was fine for sailing on the Stan o’ War. It was a good, sturdy boat for the occasion, even without Ford there to enjoy it, too. Stan thought back to him, but he wanted to be happy for his kids and put on a smile.
It would be the afternoon while James and Jessie were chasing each other by the shore when they come across a young chocolate labrador looking at them with interest.
James stopped in his tracks to take notice of the dog. The dog seemed to be a stray and didn't see another person around whom the animal could belong to. Jessie was immediately happy to see a dog.
“Doggie!” Jessie slowly goes up to the dog to let him sniff at her and open to being petted.
“Hey, dog, what are you doing out here?” James and Jessie noticed the dog not having a collar and name tag. “You lost, boy?” The dog licked at him.
“He doesn’t belong to anyone, it seems like,” Jessie smiled brightly at an idea. “Think we can ask Mom and Dad if we can keep him?” James appeared doubtful, having heard his dad say they can’t have a lot of pets, but pets weren’t exactly out of the question.
“We can try, but you know Dad doesn’t approve of most animals. Like that one time we tried to convince him we wanted a hamster.” Jessie frowned but she was hopeful.
“We can still try. This dog needs a home.”
The twin boy and girl lead the eager dog back with him to the camper where Stan and Andrea were cooking hotdogs and displaying the chips and soda/water for them all to have. Leroy helped with setting it up.
James and Jessie arrived with the dog walking next to them, wagging his tail smelling delicious food. Leroy gasped seeing the dog and brought a smile on his face.
“Mom! Dad! We found a dog!” announced James. Stan looked from the grill and Andrea from the cooler to see the dog. Stan wasn’t too keen about it. No other pet can replace what Shanklin had in his heart.
“No. We can’t keep the dog.” The dog stopped wagging his tail and the kids were disappointed. Andrea seemed dismayed as well. Stan continued grilling the hotdogs. “We don’t have the means and that dog could belong to someone.”
“But he has no collar and name tag. He’s a stray that needs a home.” Jessie displayed the puppy eyes and quivered her lips in pleading.
“We never had a dog before,” mentioned Leroy.
Andrea looked at her husband and got up from her seat to go up to him.
“We can make room, Stan and pick up pet supplies on the way home.”
“See? Mom wants a dog, too!” James spoke.
Stan could see he was outvoted four to one. He took a look at the dog and was reminded of when his dad denied him pets, but not Shanklin as he never told him nor his Ma of him when he was around and stayed outside. The white cat they had was more of their Ma's cat named Pearly than his and Ford's, the cat having been considered an exception. A dog was very different from a possum. But he cannot deny the family a pet when he’d been denied for much of his life. Why deny them this?
“... Okay. We can keep him. So long as he doesn’t pee and poop on anything, he can stay.” The kids cheered and hugged the dog. Stan gave the dog an unseasoned hotdog and pet the animal.
“What name do you think we should give him?” The kids each had their idea of what to name their new family member.
“Butch!”
“Chocolate!”
“Beethoven!”
“Lion.” Andrea suggested. “Like the Sea Lion, dogs of the sea.” The kids seemed onboard with the name. “And they love the water like this one does.”
Stan felt his heart warmed seeing his family happy with the new addition and agreed to the name. “Alright, Lion it is.”
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Years later….
Stan found a kid(young goat) on his property when one of his grandkids showed him the small goat outside in his front yard.
“Grandpa, look!” exclaimed one of the grandsons Leon, looking much like a younger version of his grandpa Stan, but with blue eyes filled with excitement. “Someone left a goat here and drove away. I don’t think they’re gonna come back.”
Stan snorted, recognizing the guy who shorted him on cash that drove off. “That cheapskate! … Well, I’m stuck with a goat now.” He knelt down to the brown goat with the chipped horn as he bleets at him and reached for his burgundy fez hat to chew on, making Leon laugh.
“I think he likes you!”
“He ain’t gonna be eating this. I’ll get him some food and think about what to do with him. I have to talk to your grandma about it.” Leon perked a smile.
“I think you should keep him. You and Granny Andy should have a pet.”
“Oh? How come?” The young boy shrugged.
“Goats are neat to have, I think. He can keep the lawn from growing more and less money for you to spend on mowing.” Stan laughed in amusement.
“That’s a great idea! We’ll just see.”
