Chewy and Chica (8 page)

What fun! What fun!

Whee!

Lizzie tried to grab Chica, and Charles tried to tackle Chewy.

“Over here!”

“No, this way!”

But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t capture their wild puppies.

Then Mr. Beauregard stepped out from the middle of the crowd. Calmly, he reached down and scooped up both Chihuahuas. He stuffed Chewy into his right overalls pocket and Chica into his left. “Okay, folks,” he boomed in his big foghorn voice. “Let’s all just take it easy now. Just a couple of pups having fun, that’s all.”

“It’s all your fault.” Lizzie scowled at Charles as he helped her gather up a bunch of soggy brochures. The demonstration had never quite recovered after everybody had gotten soaked. Most of the people had drifted away, including Maria and Sammy, who had both suddenly remembered things they had to do. Mom was still roaming the parking lot, interviewing the last stragglers for a follow-up story on the demonstration, and Dad had taken the Bean and Buddy back home. Lizzie jabbed a finger at Charles’s petition, which drooped halfway off the wet table. Now the heading said
E THE USIGED
. Inky blotches showed where people’s signatures had melted away. “You had to go telling everybody
about the demonstration,” she went on. “If there weren’t so many people here, it wouldn’t have turned into such a mess.”

“If there weren’t so many people here, we wouldn’t have a hundred ninety-eight signatures on our petition,” Charles shot back. “And you wouldn’t have raised all that money from the dog wash.” He pointed to the jar on the table, which was stuffed with bills. “And did you hear that Ms. Dobbins found homes today for four of the puppy mill puppies?”

Lizzie knew he was right. In a lot of ways, the demonstration had been a success. But she was still mad. “I thought I’d found a home for Chica. Senator Bisbee was all set to take her — until his wife saw what a troublemaker she can be. You should have seen Mrs. Bisbee’s face. There’s no way they’re adopting Chica now.” Mrs. Bisbee had been one of the first people to disappear when the demonstration had gotten out of control.

“Well,” said Charles, “I didn’t tell you before, but I thought I had found a home for Chewy, too.” He told Lizzie about the lady who owned Foxie. He hadn’t even had the chance to talk to her before things got crazy. But he’d seen her and Foxie scrambling to avoid the wildly spraying hose. “She didn’t even bother to come over and say anything. And I bet she won’t call, either. She grabbed Foxie and left before I could stop her.”

Lizzie plopped down on a chair, her arms folded tightly across her chest. “What a disaster,” she said. “That’s the last demonstration
I
ever plan.”

Chica scampered up onto Lizzie’s lap and licked her chin.

Cheer up, cheer up! Soon it’ll be dinnertime!

Lizzie gave Chica a scratch between the ears. “I know. Who wants to go live with that silly
old senator, anyway? But we do have to find you a home.”

“Silly old senator? Are you referring to me?” Lizzie looked up to see Senator Bisbee standing there, with Mom beside him.

Lizzie coughed. She felt her face grow warm and knew she was blushing. But the senator just smiled. “I came back to give you some
good
news,” he said. His chest puffed out and he looked into the distance as if he were making a speech to thousands of people, even though his only audience was Mom, Lizzie, and Charles. “I want you to know that I intend to do every thing I can to ban these puppy mill operations in this state. I saw today that a lot of people care, really care, about this issue. They signed the petition; they turned up to let their voices be heard. I want them to know that I hear them loud and clear. That’s what I do. I listen to the people. Then I try to change things.”

Then he relaxed and smiled down at Lizzie and Charles. “I was going to wait to say so until my next official press conference, but your mother here convinced me to tell you right away.”

Mom, who stood just behind the senator, gave Lizzie and Charles a big smile and a thumbs-up.

“Wow!” Lizzie turned to Charles, then back to Senator Bisbee. “That’s great news.”

Charles just beamed.

Then the senator had to ruin it all. He nodded wisely. “It just shows what one determined little girl and boy can do.”

Ugh. “Little” again
. But Lizzie didn’t even care. She felt terrific.

“Senator, I have one more question for you.” Mom flipped open her reporter’s notebook. “Can you give me a timetable —”

They strolled away to finish their interview.

Lizzie and Charles smacked a big high five. “Yes!” they yelled.

A few minutes later, as Lizzie was wiping down a PetLove window that had gotten sprayed, she heard someone come up behind her.

When she turned around, she saw Mr. Sneed standing there. Was he going to yell at her? He held up his hands and smiled a thin smile. “I surrender,” he said. “You folks win. I haven’t had a customer all day. I guess people really do care about this issue. I’ll talk to that Ms. Dobbins woman first thing tomorrow, and arrange to take her shelter animals instead of those puppies from the puppy mill. Happy?”

Lizzie and Charles were speechless. They stared openmouthed as Mr. Sneed turned on his heel and walked off. Then Lizzie managed to find her voice. “Thank you!” she called. “If you want to let everybody know, you can tell that reporter over there. She’ll put it in tomorrow’s paper!”

“Well, well, well.” Mr. Beauregard strolled over a few moments later to talk to Charles
and Lizzie. “From what I’ve seen, I can guess that you two might be feeling pretty good right now.” He gestured to Mr. Sneed and the senator, who both stood talking to Mom by the shopping cart–return area.

So,
Charles thought,
he’s been watching
. Funny — Charles had been watching Mr. Beauregard, too. He had obviously had a great time at the demonstration. Why? Because he loved dogs. Charles could tell. He had pointed it out to Lizzie, too. Mr. Beauregard had visited with all the dogs at the demonstration, stopping to pet them and talk to them and scratch their heads. Sometimes he even squatted right down to give a dog a big hug or a kiss and whisper into its ear.

Mr. Beauregard had stayed around until the very last dog had left — except for Chewy and Chica, of course. Now he pulled out his checkbook. “Have you counted how much you earned, soaping up all those mutts?” he asked. “I intend
to write a check that matches the amount. That way, we’ll double the donation to Caring Paws.”

“Really?” Charles stared at him. What was it like to be so rich that you could just
do
that? He tilted his head. “So, do you have a private plane and every thing?” he asked.

“
Charles
,” said Lizzie in a “don’t be so nosy” voice. She pulled her chair up to the table and dumped all the money out of the jar so she could count it.

But Mr. Beauregard was nodding. “I sure do,” he said. “I have to, in order to see after all my businesses. They’re based all over the world.”

“So,” Charles said casually, “if you had, say, two teeny, tiny dogs that you wanted to take with you, it would be no problem. Not like it would be on a regular plane.”

“Ha! I guess you’re right about that. I can pretty much do whatever I want. I own the plane, after all.” Mr. Beauregard shoved back his red baseball cap and laughed.

Charles didn’t have to say anything to Lizzie or even give her a look. She knew just what he was up to. She stopped counting money and joined right in. “Chewy and Chica are so smart,” she told Mr. Beauregard. “We’ve taught them a lot, but they’ve learned from each other, too. Like, Chewy taught Chica about a good place to pee out in our yard, and Chica is always teaching Chewy that it hurts if he bites. They’re both good dogs, but together, they’re
great
.”

“Plus, they really like you,” Charles said. “They calmed down so fast when you put them in your pockets. Chewy likes some people, and Chica likes others, but there’re only a very few people that they both love.”

Mr. Beauregard laughed again. “Well, my dear old mother always did used to say that I had a way with dogs.”

“That first day we met you, when you bought all the puppies from that truck,” Charles said,
“you said you wished you could keep them all.

How about just keeping two?
These
two?” He reached down to pick up Chewy. Lizzie picked up Chica. “What do you think?” Charles and Lizzie held out the puppies.

Chewy’s tiny foot pawed the air, and Chica let out a “yip-yip-yip.”

Take us! Take us!

Please! I love it in your pocket!

Mr. Beauregard let out a huge booming laugh. “Oh, why not?” he said. “They’re no bigger than a couple of fleas. I can fit ‘em in my briefcase, if I have to.” He reached out his long, skinny hands, and gently, he took the puppies. Cradling one in each hand, he beamed down at them. “My new best pals,” he said. “Everybody needs a friend when they’re out on the road.”

Mom came over when she heard everybody laughing. Lizzie and Charles told her what had happened. “Wow, great news,” she said. “You two really get the job done when you’re not busy squabbling, don’t you?” She gave them a meaningful look, and they knew exactly what she was thinking. The bet had made them so competitive that they had forgotten to work together. “It’s been a pretty good day all around,” Mom went on. “And now I get to tell your dad to start cleaning out that junk drawer.”

“Yay, Mom!” Lizzie and Charles cheered. Neither of them really cared that their own bet had ended in a tie and they would still be doing their same old chores. The main thing was that Chewy and Chica had found a fantastic forever home.

On the way home, Mom told Lizzie and Charles that now that Mr. Beauregard had adopted Chewy and Chica, there was still time to go up
to AdventureLand for a day or two. “Maria and Sammy can come along, too,” she said. “You both worked so hard with those dogs, and you deserve a treat.”

In the backseat of the van, Charles looked at Lizzie. She looked back at him. “I don’t know,” Charles said. “I kind of miss Buddy. I feel like I hardly got to play with him all week.”

“Same here,” said Lizzie. “Plus, I know Ms. Dobbins could still use some extra help over at the shelter. How about if we just stick around home and” — she winked at Charles — “figure out what’s next for the Caring Club?”

“Sounds good. No more demonstrations for a while, though, okay?” Mom smiled into the rear-view mirror.

“Fine with me,” said Charles. “I bet we can come up with some other great idea.”

“I bet you’re right,” said Lizzie. They grinned at each other and shook on it.

What can
you
do to help animals? Maybe you can start your own Caring Club, like Lizzie did. But there are lots of other ways, too. Is your birthday coming up? Some kids ask their friends to donate to the local animal shelter instead of giving presents. If you are old enough, you might be able to volunteer at a shelter. You can help spread the word about animals in trouble by writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. And of course you can take good care of your own pets. That means making sure that they are clean and healthy, that they have plenty of food and water and a safe, warm place to live, and that they get the training and exercise they need. And don’t forget: more than anything, dogs need love. Hug your dog!

Dear Reader,

Like Lizzie, I have always been a “big-dog person.” Big dogs are so huggable, and you can take them along on a swim or a run. My favorite breed is black Lab. But as I was writing this book, I learned that Chihuahuas can make terrific pets. They are smart, loyal, easy to take along anywhere you go, and of course very, very cute. I fell in love with Chewy and Chica. I hope you will, too!

Danielle, the woman who designed my website, adopted a Chihuahua. named Luna. Luna’s first owner was a friend who became allergic to dogs. Danielle sends her friend pictures of Luna every day.

Yours from The Puppy Place,

Ellen Miles

P.S. If you think Chewy and Chica make a good pair, check out Maggie and Max!

THE
PUPPY PLACE

Don’t miss any of these
other stories by Ellen Miles!

Bear
Buddy
Cody
Flash
Goldie
Honey
Jack
Lucky
Maggie and Max
Noodle
Patches
Princess
Pugsley
Rascal
Scout
Shadow
Snowball
Sweetie

THE
PUPPY PLACE

DON’T MISS THE
NEXT PUPPY PLACE
ADVENTURE!

Here’s a peek at
BAXTER!

Today was Picture Day at Bowser’s Backyard, Aunt Amanda’s doggy day care center — and Lizzie was there to help. Katana, a professional photographer, had come to take pictures of all of Aunt Amanda’s regular customers — at least, the ones whose owners were interested in paying for a professional portrait of their pet. Which was just about everyone.

Aunt Amanda got the dogs to sit. Katana adjusted her lights, focused her camera, and
gave Lizzie the signal. Lizzie squeezed the squeaky toy.