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For my friends who are working to save them all at Best Friends Animal Society.
1
Snow had melted, the birds were in the trees, and I was in the backyard playing ball with my girl, Maggie Rose, her older brother Bryan, and her even older brother Craig.
What a great day! Craig would throw the ball at Bryan, who would try to hit it with a big wooden stick. If he missed, I would run after the ball and grab it and then carry it to Maggie Rose because I am a good dog who makes sure that everyone gets to play.
When it was Craig’s turn to hit the ball, it sometimes went over the fence and into the trees beyond. If that happened, Maggie Rose would open the gate, and I would sniff out where the ball had gone.
The grasses were long and fragrant, full of their own odors, which made it difficult to find the scent of the ball. I had help, though, because there was a crow who was playing with us. His name was Casey, and he was my friend.
I first met Casey at a dog park. He had a wing that did not work well. Then he lived at Work for a little while. (More about Work later.) Now both of his wings are very strong, and he can fly wherever he wants. Some of the time, he wants to fly to where I am for a visit, which I like very much.
Whenever I dashed out of the gate, I looked up into the trees to see where Casey had flown. Usually, Casey chose a branch very close to where the ball lay in the tangle of weeds and shrubs. If I followed Casey, I would get close enough to the ball to catch the scent trail it made as it bounced into the woods. Then, of course, finding it was easy.
I always jumped on the ball and played with it a bit, throwing it up in the air and catching it for myself, because I am a dog who knows how to add extra fun to a game. Then I trotted back to the gate where Maggie Rose was waiting. I would give her the ball because, as I mentioned, I am a good dog.
Maggie Rose would carry the ball over and hand it to one of her brothers. That disappointed me. When Maggie Rose threw the ball, I could usually catch it on the bounce and then we could really have fun, playing Chase-Me. When Craig or Bryan threw, it was a lot more work to chase the ball down.
“Hey,” Craig called to Maggie Rose. “Want a turn at bat?”
I glanced at Maggie Rose curiously. She suddenly seemed a little shy and scared. What had Craig said to her?
“No,” she said in a small voice.
“Why not? Come on, give it a try,” Craig told her.
Maggie Rose shrugged. “I can’t hit it hard. I’m just a runt,” she said. Her voice was very quiet.
Craig went up to her with a frown on his face. He looked at Bryan. “Good going, Bryan,” Craig said.
“How is this my fault?” Bryan replied.
“You’re the one who always calls her a runt,” Craig accused.
I went over to Craig, who had the ball. I did Sit so that he would know I was ready to play the game some more. Maybe they had stopped playing because they believed I might not be prepared.
“Well,” Bryan replied, “she is a runt. She’s the shortest girl in the third grade.”
Craig frowned at Bryan and then turned back to his sister. “Don’t listen to him, Maggie Rose,” he said. “You’re not a runt.” I nosed Maggie Rose’s leg because she still seemed a little sad. “Besides, Bryan’s the shortest boy in the fifth grade.”
“Am not!” Bryan cried.
“Are, too. Come on,” Craig said to Maggie Rose. “Take a turn at bat.” Craig walked a few steps away from my girl and turned. I sat right next to Maggie Rose. Bryan held out the stick, and Maggie Rose took it from him. She bit her lip and stood with the stick on her shoulder, facing Craig.
Bryan went behind Maggie Rose. “Here,” he said. “Choke up on the bat a little.” He reached out and moved my girl’s hands so that they were higher up on the stick. “That’s it.”
I wagged because it seemed that something fun was about to happen. I noticed that Casey had soared out of the trees and was watching from his perch on the fence.
“Okay,” Craig said to Maggie Rose, “keep your eye on the ball!” Craig gently tossed the ball in our direction. I was about to jump up for it, and it’s a good thing I didn’t, because Maggie Rose chopped at the air with her stick. The ball bounced into the heavy glove Bryan wore on his hand.
“Strike one!” Bryan called.
“We’re not doing strikes right now, Bryan,” Craig said.
“No,” Maggie Rose said. “He can do strikes.” She looked and sounded stubborn. “I want to play with the real rules.”
Bryan threw the ball back to Craig. I hoped Craig would drop it and I could chase it. Wasn’t that the point of all of this, me chasing the ball?
“Here it comes, Maggie Rose!” Craig called. Maggie Rose tensed. I tensed, too. Craig threw the ball, and it landed on the ground past my girl, and Bryan grabbed it before I could.
This wasn’t how we were supposed to be playing the game!
“Strike two!” Maggie Rose called.
“Three strikes and you’re out, Maggie Rose,” Bryan said as he threw the ball back to Craig.
“Okay,” Craig said encouragingly, “third one’s a charm!”
Craig carefully moved his hand and the ball sailed through the air and my girl swung her stick and there was a loud thud. She hit it! The ball bounced into the dirt, moving very slowly.
“Run to first base!” Craig called. “Hurry, Maggie Rose!”
Maggie Rose dropped the stick and started to run toward a tree, and I had to make a decision. Bryan was chasing the ball, which had not gone very far and was already slowing to a stop. On the other hand, my girl was running, and I loved to run with her.
But I felt that we were still playing ball! So I dashed past Bryan and leaped on it.
“No!” Bryan bellowed.
No? No what? How did no apply to a wonderful situation like this?
“Run to second base!” Craig yelled.
My girl slapped the tree. She switched direction and started running toward a spot on the fence behind Craig. Bryan made to grab the ball from me, and I took off. We were playing Chase-Me! I love this game!
“No, Lily!” Bryan called. “Come here!”
Maggie Rose touched the fence.
“Keep running, Maggie Rose!” Craig cheered. “Go to third, go to third!”
Bryan was still chasing me. Craig can catch me, but Bryan could run all day and all night and he would never be able to get the ball from me. I darted happily around, with Bryan lunging and grabbing and missing.
Maggie
Rose jumped on a flat rock with both feet.
“Go home!” Craig shouted happily. He was laughing. “You’re going to make it, Maggie Rose!”
Part of what is fun about Chase-Me is letting another dog or a person have the ball sometimes so that the game can reverse and become Chase in the other direction. I bowed with my front legs flat on the ground and my rump high in the air. The ball dropped out of my mouth and bounced between my front paws.
Bryan rushed up and threw himself forward, landing and sliding in the dirt. He picked up the ball!
Bryan ran at Maggie Rose, and I bounded joyfully after him. As he ran, the ball in his hand swung back and forth, and I wanted him to know that I knew we were playing the game of Chase-Bryan-with-the-Ball, so I jumped up to try to grab it from him. Bryan tripped over me and sprawled in the dirt.
“Hurry, Maggie Rose!” Craig called.
Maggie Rose was running as fast as she could, heading back to where she had dropped the stick.
Panting, Bryan stumbled to his feet, his shoes digging into the dirt as he ran at my girl.
“Safe!” Craig yelled. He bounded over and picked up Maggie Rose and swung her around and around, laughing.
Bryan turned and threw the ball with all his might at the fence. It bounced a few times on the way there, hit the fence, and I caught it in midair!
This game was the best!
The back door of the house slid open, and Mom leaned out. “Maggie Rose? Boys? Would you like to go with me to save some baby pigs?” she called.
2
Car ride! Craig sat up in the front next to Mom, and I sat in the back with Maggie Rose and Bryan. They smelled deliciously sweaty in their T-shirts.
“Where are the pigs, Mom? Are we going to a farm?” Craig asked.
Mom shook her head. “No,” she replied. “It’s the strangest thing. I just got the call. It may even be a hoax. They said there are two baby pigs running around inside a truck stop off the highway. It doesn’t seem very likely, but that’s what they said.”
“What’s a hoax?” Maggie Rose asked.
“It’s kind of a joke that involves someone telling a lie,” Mom replied.
“Well, then,” Maggie Rose said, “I hope it’s not a hoax because I’d love to see some little piglets. Can I name them, Mom?”
“We’ll see,” Mom answered.
“If they’re boy pigs, then Craig and I should name them,” Bryan declared.
“We’ll see,” Mom repeated.
I wagged because I smelled wonderful things outside the car, things like dogs and trees and horses and other animals. Wherever we were going was probably going to be a lot of fun!
We drove long enough for me to become drowsy in the back seat and fall asleep with my head on Bryan’s shoulder. When he said, “Lily, quit breathing on me,” I woke up a little and licked his ear. Everyone but Bryan laughed, so I did it again.
Bryan had eaten a peanut butter sandwich earlier, and I could taste it on his ear, which I thought was simply amazing. Why don’t all people put peanut butter in their ears? It seemed a very smart thing to do.
I licked Bryan’s ear again, and he pushed my face away.
Finally, we arrived at a hot place where the ground was covered with hard cement and the grass and trees were in the distance. Nearby, cars and trucks large and small roared up and down a very busy road.
“Okay, everyone,” Mom said. “Stay close to me. I don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”
We walked up to some glass doors, and when they slid open, a gust of cold air brought me delicious food scents: melted cheese; broiling hot dogs; sweet, sticky drinks in cans and cups.
There was something else as well: two animals I had never smelled before. There were animals inside this place!
A large man walked up to greet us. He smelled a little like meat and a little like plastic. “Are you from the animal rescue?” he asked.
“Yes,” Mom replied. “What’s this about some pigs?”
The man shrugged. “I was just sitting behind the cash register and the doors opened, and these two pigs came walking in as happy as you please. They’re pretty young, these pigs, but they’re fast. I tried chasing them—no luck.”
The animal smell was coming from something called pigs.
“Mom, can I have a candy bar?” Craig asked.
“Me, too!” Bryan said.
“Let’s just figure out what we have first, boys. Sir, where are the pigs now?” Mom asked.
“I reckon they’re in the back somewhere, probably underneath the sweatshirt rack. That’s where I saw them last. I’m a little too old to be chasing critters on my hands and knees.”
“All right,” Mom said. “Bryan and Craig, you boys start checking up and down the aisles and see if you can spot the pigs. Maggie Rose, you stay with Lily.”
I knew the word Stay but had never been fond of it. It meant I should not move until I was told I was a good dog. Sometimes I didn’t even get a treat for doing Stay, which was very unfair.
Lily put her hand on my collar and told me to Sit, so I sat. I watched curiously as Mom, Craig, and Bryan crept through this big place.
There was food—I could still smell it—but they didn’t seem interested in that. I didn’t know why. Instead, they were pushing through big metal racks with pieces of soft cloth hanging from them. They also looked intently at the floor, but there were no treats there.
“I see them!” Craig called.
I watched, completely baffled, as Craig suddenly dropped out of view. A rack of clothing fell over, and I heard a squealing noise. It was an animal sound, and it sounded afraid.
Crash! A shelf with hats collapsed. The big man standing with us groaned quietly.
“They’re coming your way, Bryan!” Craig shouted.
I started in amazement when I saw the flash of two pale animals dart across a clear space on the floor. They were both smaller than I was, but very quick. They ran a little
bit like dogs, using all four legs. Obviously, these were the pigs!
“I missed!” Bryan yelled. He staggered back, and a cardboard box with bags of nuts hanging from it toppled and fell to the floor. I wagged, thinking that if my friend Casey the crow were here, he would appreciate this. He likes nuts more than just about anything.
All of a sudden, Mom knelt down. Then she stood up, shaking her head. “They just ran right past me, too. They’re so fast and wiggly!”
I watched as Bryan and Craig careened around. Some-times I caught a glimpse of the two pale little creatures as they dashed from side to side. This was fun! I didn’t understand any of it, but it was fun!
“All right, boys,” Mom called. “This is obviously not working. Come on back.”
“Mom,” Maggie Rose said, “maybe we should let Lily see if she can make friends with them.”
The boys came slouching up.
“Can I have a candy bar now, Mom?” Craig asked.
“I’ll give you both candy bars for free if you’ll help put the displays back once we’ve caught the pigs,” the man standing with us said.
Both boys brightened, and I glanced at them curiously. People do things all the time that dogs don’t particularly understand, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay not to pay attention. Right now, Bryan and Craig were alert and happy, though as far as I could see, nothing had changed.
I felt my girl’s hand releasing my collar. I shook, yawning, ready for whatever we were going to do next. Now I realized why the boys had suddenly become happy. They knew Maggie Rose was going to let me go!
“Okay, Lily,” Maggie Rose said. “Go tell the piggies that they should stop running away.”
I heard my name but did not know what my girl was asking me to do. I sat. Doing Sit is one of the first tricks I learned, and it remains one of my most popular.
Then, a movement caught my eye. Underneath a hanging shirt, a pale snout was poking out, sniffing vigorously. I got up and looked at Maggie Rose to see if it was okay for me to
stop doing Sit.
She smiled, so I knew that it was. Curious, I trotted down the aisle to take a look. I half expected Maggie Rose to call me back, but she said nothing.
I’ve learned that some animals are afraid of dogs, even an easygoing dog like me. So, as I got closer to the pig, I began moving more slowly and carefully. I didn’t want to startle it.
I saw that my scent had reached that snout because suddenly the nose turned in my direction, twitching and snorting. The little animal poked its face all the way out and stared at me.
My nose and eyes told me several things. First, I had never smelled creatures like this before! They smelled magnificent. A heavy, earthy odor clung to them, along with a mix of other scents that included, oddly, milk.
Second, as the other one poked its head out at me, I realized they were sisters. There is just something about the common smell of littermates. It doesn’t matter if they are dogs or cats or strange four-legged creatures like these pigs. You can always tell.
These two pigs were nearly identical in every way, except that one of them had a small dark patch under one eye. And I could tell they were young. Older and bigger animals are usually slow. These two were twitching and jumping, and their heads and eyes were moving quickly to take everything in. I knew they were babies.
There are some things I understand, and one of them is that for any sort of baby, whether it be a bunny or a kitten or a pig, to be away from its mother is sad. It’s not how things should be.
Something bad had happened to these pig sisters.
Or was happening.
3
The two pigs were staring at me, and I was staring at them. I was wagging as I drew near, being very friendly. They were not wagging, but that didn’t mean anything. Casey is a very friendly crow, but he has never wagged a tail, not even when Maggie Rose feeds him a peanut.
I decided that they had so much energy I could risk a little movement. I bowed. Then I jumped up, then bowed again.
Lily to the Rescue: Two Little Piggies Page 1
