Buddy (4 page)

“Welcome to our party!” Lizzie said to a woman with a little boy.

Lizzie was greeting people at the bookstore door. “Would you like a balloon?” She handed the boy a red balloon with a picture of a dog on it. “There’s cookies and punch in the children’s section, and later on Mary Thompson will be reading and signing her books.”

Lizzie’s great idea had come to life! Three weeks’ worth of planning had paid off. It was obvious already that the Lucky Dog party was going to be an event to remember.

Everybody had helped with the planning. Ms. Dobbins and Julie from the shelter, Dr. Gibson,
Jerry Small, and even Mary Thompson had been meeting at the Peterson house. They had worked out every detail of the party. Lizzie couldn’t believe Charles had gotten the author to help out! Having Mary Thompson at the party was going to bring
lots
of people to the bookstore. And she was a lot of fun. When they had their meetings, Mary always wanted to get the business part out of the way first, so they could move on to playing with the puppies.

Buddy was getting stronger every day, and all the puppies were growing up fast. Cinnamon could already sit on command, and Cocoa was learning to walk on a leash. All three puppies were eating solid food. They were just about ready for adoption. Lizzie and Charles tried not to think about that too much.

Dad had been spending hours at the computer, making a mix CD for the party — he
loved
finding just the right songs for any occasion —
and Mom had gotten an article into the
Littleton News
about the event. “Publicity!” she had said. “That’s the key.”

It must have worked, because people had been streaming into Lucky Dog Books ever since the party had started. “You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog” was blaring over the sound system. Lizzie and Maria were taking their turn as official greeters.

“Are you interested in adopting a puppy or a dog?” Maria asked the woman and the boy Lizzie had greeted. “If you adopt today, you get three free vet visits, plus a book about dog training and care.”

“We’ll definitely take a look,” said the woman. She smiled down at her son. “Jasper has been wishing for a dog ever since he was two years old.”

“I know exactly how he feels,” said Lizzie, giving Jasper a big wink. “Have fun!”

Just then, Charles and Sammy came running over. “We just put up three more yellow stickers!” Charles said.

“Great news,” Lizzie answered. “Our system is
really working well.” She almost hated to admit it, but it was true. At the very first planning meeting, Ms. Dobbins had said they could not have all of the dogs from the shelter at the bookstore. “Too crazy,” she said. “They’ll be barking, and running around, and stealing food. Nobody in their right mind would adopt a dog who was acting like that.”

Lizzie was disappointed — until Julie came up with the greatest idea. “That poster you and your friend made for the puppies is terrific,” she had said to Lizzie. “If you can make a poster for each dog from the shelter, we can put them up at the bookstore that day. People will get to see what the dogs look like and read about them.”

“Great idea,” Ms. Dobbins had said. “But there’s one big problem. There’s no way we can let people adopt dogs just from a poster. They really have to meet the dogs.”

“You’re right,” said Julie. “I’ve been thinking about that. I think I’ve come up with a fun idea. We can have three different stickers on the
posters: one can say adopt me; another can say someone’s interested in me; and the last one can say I’ve found a home. The shelter is only a five-minute walk from the bookstore. If people want to go meet the dogs, they can.”

Now the posters were up — Maria and Lizzie had made the best ones ever — and the party was in full swing.

So far, there were four red “
I’M A LUCKY DOG! I’VE FOUND A HOME!
” stickers on the posters hanging all around the bookstore. Those dogs were already adopted! Lizzie knew she was going to miss walking them at Caring Paws, but she was happy to know that they had found forever families.

Charles and Sammy offered to be greeters for a while, so Lizzie and Maria took a walk around the bookstore. There were people reading all the signs and looking at the books for sale, too. Dad’s CD was playing “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?”— which meant that the Bean was helping out at the DJ booth. That was his favorite
song lately. Mom was roaming around with her reporter’s notebook. Dr. Gibson was handing out pamphlets about how to keep your dog healthy. Julie and Ms. Dobbins were taking turns over at the animal shelter, introducing dogs to their possible new families.

“Cool!” said Lizzie, pointing to one of the posters. “Somebody’s interested in Tigger!” There was a yellow “
SOMEONE’S INTERESTED IN ME. TODAY MIGHT BE MY LUCKY DAY!
” sticker on Tigger’s picture.

“Great,” said Maria. “Hey, let’s go visit the puppies.”

Skipper and her pups were the only real dogs allowed at the party. Jerry Small had set up a pen for them in the corner near the bookstore’s cash register. He and Mary Thompson were visiting with the puppies when Lizzie and Maria walked up.

“Who’s a little Cocoa Puff?” cooed Mary Thompson, reaching in to pet Cocoa.

“Hey there, Mr. Buddy!” said Jerry, picking up the tan puppy. “You sure have grown,” he added,
holding the squirming puppy close. “You’re a big boy now.”

Cinnamon gave a short bark, asking for the same attention her brother and sister were getting.

Pick me up! Pick me up! Cinnamon wanted a hug.

Cocoa licked the nice lady’s hand. Yummy!

Buddy felt safe in the big man’s arms — but where was Lizzie? And Charles? And their mom? He missed them all.

Skipper watched her puppies proudly. They were growing up so well! It was good that they liked to be around people, since she couldn’t take care of them forever. Soon they would be on their own.

“Hey, what’s this?” Maria asked.

Lizzie’s face fell when she saw the red “
I’VE FOUND A HOME!
” stickers on the puppies’ pen. “All the puppies have been adopted?” she blurted. “No!” Somehow, she had never expected this. She knew
her family was only fostering the puppies, but she still wasn’t prepared to see them go to their real homes.

“I thought you’d be glad,” said Mary Thompson. “Glad for Cocoa and Cinnamon, and glad for me.” She picked up Cinnamon and cuddled both puppies together, next to her smiling round face.

“You mean —?” Lizzie stared at her.

Mary Thompson nodded. “I’m taking both these girls,” she said. “I fell in love with them. Plus, it’s time to write a sequel to
So Many Puppies.
Everybody always tells me how much they love that book. Now Cocoa and Cinnamon can star in another story!”

“And I’m taking Buddy,” said Jerry Small. “A place called Lucky Dog Books needs a dog. This little guy will grow up here and be my mascot.”

“Wow,” was all Lizzie could say. This was good news. No, it was
great
news. All three puppies had found excellent homes. So why did she feel like crying?

“I don’t know why I feel so sad, when the party was so much fun,” Mom said.

“I’m sad, too,” said Charles.

“I know what you mean,” said Dad.

“I sad!” said the Bean, with a loud wail.

Lizzie sniffed and wiped her eyes.

The Lucky Dog party was over and the Petersons were home alone for what seemed like the first time in weeks. The party had been a huge success. At least seven dogs had found homes!

The puppies had found homes, too.

Which was probably why the Petersons looked so miserable, even though they were pretending to celebrate with ginger ale and pizza.

They sat in the kitchen, watching all three
puppies romp around together for one of the last times. They would be going to their new homes in a few days. Today was Saturday. On Wednesday, the puppies would get one last checkup from Dr. Gibson. “Unless something changes,” she had told Lizzie, “the pups should be ready to go to their new homes that day.”

The puppies were being as funny as always. Cocoa was nosing toward the puppy dish, ready to climb inside. Cinnamon walked right over her sister in search of the puppies’ new favorite toy: a rubber chicken. Buddy let out a ferocious puppy growl as he pretended to fight for the chicken, tugging it away from Cinnamon. The boy puppy was still smaller than his sisters, but now he was strong and healthy.

Ooh, look! Cocoa found a crumb of hidden food. Yummy!

Cinnamon growled back at Buddy. Hey, give me that chicken!

No, it’s mine! Buddy let his sister know that she couldn’t have the chicken all to herself. She couldn’t bully him around anymore!

“Hey, you,” Mom said to Buddy as she picked him up to give him a hug. “Leave your poor sister alone.” She nuzzled her nose into Buddy’s neck. Then Lizzie heard her sniff.

“Mom!” Lizzie said. “You’re crying.”

“Am not!” Mom answered. “Maybe I just became allergic to dogs.”

But Lizzie and Charles knew the truth. Mom had fallen in love with all the puppies, just like they had. And of all the puppies, everyone in the Peterson family loved Buddy best. Maybe it was because he’d needed their help most of all. Maybe it was because he was so small and cute. Whatever it was, the Petersons were going to have a very, very hard time saying good-bye to Buddy.

Over the next few days, the Petersons spent as much time as they could with the puppies. Mom kept feeding Buddy by hand, even though he had finally gotten strong enough to push his sisters aside when he was hungry. Lizzie and Maria took dozens of pictures of the puppies for a scrapbook they were making. Dad brought home new puppy collars for each of them: red for Cinnamon, purple for Cocoa, green for Buddy. And Charles and Sammy played with the puppies for hours, trying to teach them manners for their new homes.

Wednesday arrived all too soon. After dinner, Dr. Gibson was the first to arrive. She got right down on the kitchen floor and played with the puppies while she checked them over. “These are the healthiest pups I’ve ever seen!” she said after a few minutes. “Even the little guy is in great shape now.” She took off her stethoscope. “I’d say they’re ready to go,” she said. “Looks like their mom thinks so, too.”

It was true that Skipper had become less and less patient with the puppies. She still cuddled with them when they were sleepy, but she didn’t put up with their play-biting or baby growls. She let them know that she deserved respect, batting them away with her paw when they got too rough.

Jerry Small and Mary Thompson arrived next. “Where are those sweet girls?” Mary asked, coming into the kitchen. “Oh, you cuties! I can’t wait to take you home.” She sat down on the floor and pulled Cinnamon and Cocoa onto her lap.

Jerry Small looked uncomfortable. Lizzie wondered why he wasn’t picking Buddy up. “Listen,” he said to the Petersons. “I have good news and bad news.”

“Well, tell us the good news first,” said Dad.

“Business is booming,” reported Jerry, with a big smile. “Lucky Dog Books has been incredibly busy all week. Our grand-opening party really did the trick. Now everyone knows I’m there.”

“So what’s the bad news?” asked Charles. He
held his breath. Could it really be what he
hoped
it would be?

“Well,” said Jerry, “I guess the bad news is that I think the store is too busy for such a young puppy. I’m afraid that Buddy wouldn’t get the attention he deserves.”

“So — you’re not going to have a dog at the store after all?” Lizzie asked. She saw Jerry and Mary exchange a look.

“I’d still like to have a dog,” Jerry said. “I was wondering if I could adopt Skipper. I think she’d love it at the store.” He bent to pat Skipper’s ears. “What do you think, girl? Want to come be a bookstore dog?”

Skipper thumped her tail.

“I think that means yes,” said Dad. “That’s wonderful news, Jerry. Of course Skipper needs a home, too. And I’m sure she would love to be a bookstore dog.”

“But what about Buddy?” Jerry asked.

Now Lizzie saw her mother and father exchange
a look. She crossed her fingers. Mom gave a tiny nod.

“I think Buddy has already found a home,” said Mom. “Right here with us.” She went to scoop up the tan puppy and give him a hug. Dad put one arm around her shoulders and reached the other hand around to tickle Buddy under the chin.

Lizzie and Charles whooped.

“Finally, we have a puppy of our own!” yelled Charles.

“Buddy! Buddy! Buddy!” chanted the Bean, dancing around the kitchen.

“You’re going to stay right here with us,” Lizzie told Buddy. She reached out to touch the heart on his chest, smiling and crying at the same time.

Buddy looked from one happy face to the other. What was everybody so excited about? He had known it all along. He belonged here in this house, with this family. Buddy had found the perfect forever home.

When puppies are first born, they are very little. Their eyes are shut and they can hardly walk. Then, very soon, they begin to expore the world around them. Puppies need to stay with their mothers in a safe, warm place until they are old enough to eat by themselves.

It’s also important for puppies to be held and played with, so they start to feel comfortable around people. That’s why Skipper and her puppies were very lucky to find a foster home with the Petersons.

Have you ever held a newborn puppy? If you ever get the chance, be sure to be gentle and quiet. Puppies need a lot of love!

Dear Reader,

The first time I saw my dog, Django, he was just a tiny puppy who still lived with his mother. He had ten brothers and sisters! They were all black Labs, just like Django. It was not easy to tell them apart. Django’s mother had a big job, keeping track of all those puppies

Django was not the smallest, like Buddy, but he wasn’t the biggest, either. It was fun to watch all the puppies tumble and play. But the most fun was taking Django home and helping him grow up into a big, strong dog.

Yours from the Puppy Place,
Ellen Miles