Shadow (5 page)

Shadow liked this new girl. Even though she did not have peanut butter on her face, he wanted to lick her on the chin.

They took Shadow outside and played with him for a while. Sammy came over with Rufus and Goldie, and all three dogs tore around the backyard. “Well, that's one of the first tests,” Lizzie said, making a note in a little black notebook she was carrying. “Shadow gets along with other dogs.”

Maria snapped a few pictures of the dogs playing.

“What other tests are there?” Charles asked.

“I'll explain as we go along,” Lizzie told him. “Sammy, why don't you take Rufus and Goldie home so they won't distract Shadow? And Charles, can you go find an umbrella and a tennis ball? Oh, also find an empty soda can, put some coins inside it, and tape it shut.” She knew she sounded bossy, but they just didn't have much time.

Charles looked curious. “What's all that for?” he asked. It sounded like a scavenger hunt.

“You'll see,” Lizzie said. The boys took off and Maria and Lizzie played some more with Shadow.

When Charles and Sammy came back, Lizzie said it was time to start the testing.

“The first test is to see how easily Shadow gets scared by new things,” she said. She took the umbrella that Charles had found — it was her old pink Barbie one, from second grade — and called to Shadow. When he trotted over, she snapped the umbrella open, right in his face!

What was that thing? Shadow thought it was scary, but only at first. He had never seen anything like it! Shadow knew he had to figure it out. He would give it a good sniff.

Shadow stopped short. He frowned as he tilted his head this way and that, looking at the umbrella. Lizzie put the umbrella on the ground,
upside down. “Come on, Shadow,” she said. She patted the umbrella. The little pup looked at her. Then he looked at the umbrella. Then he walked closer and sniffed it. Then he walked right onto it! Maria snapped a picture of a very serious-looking Shadow sitting inside the pink umbrella.

“Great picture! What a good dog!” Lizzie said, picking Shadow up and giving him a squeeze. “What a brave puppy!” She turned to the others. “Some dogs will run away or bark at the umbrella. But others just want to find out more about it. Curiosity is a good thing for a guide dog to have.”

“Simba's very curious,” Maria said, nodding. “He's always sniffing around to make sure things are safe for Mom.”

Lizzie smiled. “Simba would be a great role model for any puppy,” she told her friend. Lizzie felt so lucky. Not only did she have a great new friend — but that friend knew all kinds of things about dogs. Lizzie could tell that she and Maria were going to have some wonderful times together.

Next Lizzie had Charles throw the can full of coins onto the ground behind Shadow. He jumped a little at the sudden rattle, but then he trotted over to sniff at the can and try to figure out why it was so noisy. “Another good sign!” said Lizzie.

After that, Lizzie said it was time to see if Shadow wanted to work with people. Sammy threw the tennis ball across the yard, and Shadow ran after it so fast he tumbled over his own feet. Then he picked it up in his mouth — even though it was almost as big as his head — and trotted back to Lizzie.

That meant he passed the test! Maria got a great picture of that.

Shadow had never had so much fun in his life. These people really knew how to play!

Lizzie wrote everything down in her notebook. “He really does have the perfect personality for a guide dog!” she said. “The tests prove it.”

It took her over an hour to type up all the results of their tests. Maria helped her upload the pictures they had taken and choose the best ones. Then, together, they wrote another long e-mail to the people at Helping Eyes. When they said good-bye, both girls held up their hands, fingers crossed. If they were very, very lucky, everything would work out for Shadow — and the Petersons would get to keep him for a whole year!

The subject line said,
“Good news and not-so-good news.”
Lizzie felt her heart thumping as she clicked to open the e-mail from Helping Eyes. It had arrived by the time she got home from school.

“Dear Lizzie,”
it said.
“The good news is that you have convinced us that Shadow would make a good guide dog for a blind person. We will need to examine his papers and do a little more testing, but we would like to gratefully accept your offer to take this dog into our training program.”

Lizzie could hardly believe her eyes! “Charles!” she called. “Come here! Hurry!”

Charles came into her room, carrying Shadow. “What?” he asked. “Did they write back?”

Lizzie read the first part of the e-mail out loud. Reading it again made it seem even more real. When she was done, she and Charles whooped and yelled and gave each other high fives.

Shadow did not know why the children were so happy, but he was happy, too. They stroked him and hugged him and told him what a good puppy he was. He already knew that, but it was always nice to hear.

“So, what's the ‘not-so-good' part?” Charles asked. He had seen the subject heading when he leaned over Lizzie's shoulder.

Lizzie scrolled down, and they read together.

“The not-so-good news is this:
We
require at least one child in our puppy-raiser families to be at least fourteen years old. That means that your family will not be able to raise Shadow — but we hope you'll be part of our program when you are older! Meanwhile, we do have an experienced puppy-raiser
family in your area. The Downeys have agreed to take Shadow. They will contact you today.”

Lizzie and Charles looked at each other and then at Shadow, who was still cuddled in Charles's arms. “I can't believe we have to give him up,” whispered Lizzie.

When they ran downstairs and told Mom all about it, she reminded them that maybe it was just as well, since they were heading to South Carolina in one week. She also told Lizzie how proud she was. “Imagine, a blind person is going to get a fantastic dog, all because of you. You had a great idea, and you followed through on it, all on your own,” she said.

“Well, Charles and Maria and Sammy all helped,” Lizzie said modestly. She still wished they could keep Shadow, but Mom was right. It was so cool that he was going where he was needed!

Mom looked down at the Bean, who was crawling through the living room, following Shadow. “I
have a feeling this is going to be very hard on a certain someone,” she said, nodding toward the Bean. “He's going to be losing a special friend. Fortunately, he's young enough so that he probably won't be upset for too long. But I'm not sure he could have handled keeping Shadow for a year and
then
giving him up.”

Lizzie had to admit that Mom was right. “I'm not sure I could have handled it, either,” she said.

The Downeys called that night, after supper. Lizzie talked for a long time with Peter, who was sixteen. He told her all about the two other puppies his family had raised. Lizzie told him all about Shadow and what a special puppy he was. Peter liked hearing about how close Shadow and the Bean had become.

“I bet Shadow will like my little sister, too,” he said. “Amanda is crazy about puppies.”

Peter told Lizzie that his family had a big, fenced-in yard and that they loved to go for hikes and do other outdoor things. Lizzie had to admit that
they really might be the perfect family for Shadow.

Afterward, Peter's mom talked to Mrs. Peterson. They agreed that the Downeys would come the next day, Saturday, to meet Shadow.

That night, the Petersons spent a lot of time playing with Shadow and talking about how much they would miss him.

“I feel funny giving Shadow to people we don't even know,” said Lizzie. “I mean, I know the Helping Eyes people trust the Downeys . . . but we won't be
sure
they're the right family until we meet them.”

“If the Downeys aren't the right family to raise him,” Mom said, “we'll just keep looking until we find the perfect family.”

Lizzie beamed at her mother.

Mom shrugged. “We only want what's best for Shadow, right?”

Maria came over first thing Saturday morning.
“I can't stand it!” Lizzie said as they watched Shadow chasing a leaf in the backyard. He tumbled and rolled, making them laugh out loud. “How can I say good-bye to him?”

“But Lizzie,” said Maria. “Just think if Simba never came to my mother. Shadow is going to end up being a guide dog, just like him! Someday he'll make a real difference in a blind person's life.”

Lizzie nodded. Maria was right. Lizzie was glad Maria was there. “I know,” she said. “I'm really happy about that. And Peter said we'll probably be invited to attend when Shadow and his blind handler graduate from the Helping Eyes program next year.” She gave Maria a grateful glance. Lizzie was so happy that she'd finally found a best friend.

Maria was still there when the Downeys arrived in their minivan, complete with a crate in back for Shadow.

Lizzie, Maria, and Charles watched as the
Downeys came up the walk. Lizzie thought they looked like nice people. But were they the right family for Shadow?

“Hey, little dude,” Peter said to Shadow when the puppy came running to meet the new people. “What a cutie!”

Lizzie was glad Peter appreciated the puppy. She felt proud of Shadow. “He's so smart, too. I already taught him how to sit before I give him his dinner.”

At the word
dinner,
Shadow cocked his head and wrinkled his forehead in that very serious way.

Was it time for food? Yay! Shadow was always ready for a meal. He sat down quickly, looking up at the girl.

Peter laughed. “I see!” he said. He smiled at Lizzie. “You've done a great job with him, I can tell. And you were really smart to figure out that he could be a guide dog.”

His parents and his little sister laughed, too. Amanda had joined the Bean on the floor next to Shadow, and both of them were patting and hugging him.

Shadow liked these new people. Especially the little one. She smelled delicious!

Lizzie saw that Amanda was gentle with Shadow, just like the Bean was. That was a good sign.

“We brought the Bean a present,” said Mrs. Downey. “We thought it might help him not miss Shadow as much.” She pulled a stuffed animal out of a shopping bag she had brought in. It was a big, soft, black Lab puppy.

“Uppy!” said the Bean, reaching for it.

Lizzie watched as her little brother hugged the toy close. She had a feeling she might need to hug it herself over the next few days.

Why?

Because now she knew for sure. When the Downeys left, they were going to take Shadow with them. It was obvious that they were the perfect family to raise him.

Lizzie watched Shadow lick Amanda's cheek, and for a second she felt like crying. She had really fallen in love with Shadow, and it was going to hurt to give him up. But Shadow was going to spend a year with this great family, and then he was actually going to learn how to be a guide dog! Giving him up was the right thing to do.

Lizzie looked over at Mom and gave her a special smile and a little nod.
They're the ones,
Lizzie was saying, without using any words.

Mom nodded back. Then she smiled at the Downeys. “How about some lemonade?” she asked.

“Great,” said Mr. Downey. “We brought some pictures of the other pups we've raised.” They all headed for the kitchen, with Shadow trotting along after Amanda. Lizzie could tell that the Downeys would take great care of him.

It wasn't easy giving up Shadow. But Lizzie knew it was the right thing to do. And she knew that there would probably be another puppy coming along sometime soon, a puppy who needed her family's help finding just the right place to live. Lizzie couldn't wait to meet it!

Some puppies, like Shadow, learn very fast. Other puppies take longer to figure things out, but stick with it! With time and patience, you can teach your puppy good manners and more.