Big Dog Decisions

by Michele Jakubowski

  “I’ve got play practice three nights next week, too,” Sydney said. She’d had so much fun in our school play that she joined a local theater group. I’ll probably never do another play again, but Sydney was a good actress. I think it’s because she is so dramatic.

  I looked at the list of dogs we needed to walk. It was a big list, and we were all really busy.

  “How are we going to get this all done?” I asked. “I can’t miss basketball.”

  “Me neither,” said Gomez.

  “Well I can’t miss play practice!” Sydney said, crossing her arms again.

  “There’s no way I can miss soccer,” Harley said.

  I was so frustrated! Nobody was willing to give up anything, but we had all these dogs to walk.

  * * *

  Later that night I told my mom about our problem.

  “That’s a tough one,” she said. “You’ve taken on a lot of responsibility. Now it sounds like you’ve got some tough choices to make.”

  “Choices?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you’ve made a commitment to your friends and your clients. You’ve also made a commitment to your basketball team. It sounds like you can’t honor both of them at the same time.”

  “But I really want a dog! I thought this would show you that I could take care of one.” I was trying not to cry, but I felt tears in my eyes. I didn’t want to seem like a baby, but sometimes even boys have to cry.

  “Oh honey,” my mom said. “Watching you start this business has made me so proud. I’m glad, though, that it’s has shown you how much work goes in to taking care of an animal.”

  “It sure has,” I mumbled.

  “And the commitment of having a pet doesn’t go away when you get busy with other things,” she said.

  I hadn’t thought of that before.

  “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m not ready for a dog,” I said softly.

  “Maybe not yet, but you’re close,” my mom said. “When the time is right, you are going to be a great dog owner.”

  I lifted my head up. “You mean I can get a dog one day?”

  “You’ve shown me that you can be very responsible,” she said. “When we are both ready, we can definitely get a dog.”

  I was so happy! “Can we get a big dog like Louie?” I asked.

  My mom shook her head. “That sounds like a discussion for another time!”

  I was done with Happy Tails. The only problem was how to tell the others. I thought Sidney felt the same way until we walked Louie. I knew he still really wanted a dog.

  I had decided I didn’t want a dog anymore. Instead I wanted a kitten. Kittens don’t need to be walked, and I could still carry it around in a purse. My mom loves cats. When I asked her about getting a kitten, she said maybe. Everyone knows maybe is practically a yes.

  We were meeting at Sidney’s to try to figure out next week’s walking schedule again. We had tried the day before, but everyone had gotten mad and gone home.

  The whole way over to Sidney’s I thought about how I could tell everyone I wanted out. I felt so bad. Happy Tails had been my idea, and now I was bailing.

  As I walked up to Sidney’s house, I saw Harley, Gomez, and Sidney standing on the porch. I took a deep breath and walked up.

  Before I could say a word, Sidney said, “We all want to quit Happy Tails.”

  “What?” I asked. I was so confused. “I thought you all loved Happy Tails?”

  “We all love the dogs,” Harley said, “but we all have other things we’d rather do. I can’t give up soccer, and I don’t have time for both.”

  I turned toward Sidney and asked, “Don’t you still want to get a dog?”

  “That’s the best part,” he said. “My mom was so happy with how hard we worked she said that when we were both ready we could get a dog. I don’t know exactly when, but at least I know we will.”

  “That’s great!” I said. I was so relieved! This was working out perfectly. Then I realized that nobody looked as happy as I felt, which didn’t make any sense. Clearly I was missing something.

  “What’s wrong? Why do you guys look sad? We all want out, right?”

  “Sure,” said Gomez, “but what about our customers? We can’t just leave them.”

  I had been so worried about telling my friends that I hadn’t thought about that part.

  “Part of showing my mom that I’m responsible enough for a dog is finding a way to quit Happy Tails without upsetting all the neighbors,” Sidney said.

  We all sat quietly thinking. I had been the one to think up the dog walking business, but I was having trouble finding a way out.

  “I wish we could just think of something quick,” Gomez said. “Lucas and his friends are playing football today. Now that they think we’re cool, I kind of like watching them play.”

  Suddenly Sidney smiled and said, “That’s it!”

  “What’s it?” I asked, totally confused.

  Sidney looked excited as he said, “Everyone go and get a dog and meet at Gomez’s. I have the perfect plan!”

  My plan just had to work! All of us were ready to quit Happy Tails, and we needed to do it quickly.

  Harley, Gomez, Sydney, and I each picked up one of our dog clients and met at the corner of Gomez’s street. I could see that Lucas and his friends were out front getting ready to play football. I quickly went over the plan, and we began slowly walking toward them.

  When we were about a house away, I started talking loudly. “I can’t believe we have so many dogs to walk!”

  “I know!” Gomez shouted loudly. Too loudly. Sydney nudged him, and he spoke more normally. “With all of these dogs, we’re going to make so much money.”

  I noticed that a few of the guys were looking over at us. As we got closer we slowed down. I gave a small nod to Sydney. She said, “Who knew a dog walking business could be so much fun? I can’t believe people pay us to walk and play with these adorable dogs!”

  She bent down and started petting Princess. As soon as she did, Princess began to twirl around on her back legs. Sydney gave her a treat. Princess did a few more tricks.

  I knew Sydney was a good actress, but I didn’t realize she was that good. She looked like she was having so much fun. Watching her with Princess almost made me want to keep Happy Tails!

  Lucas and his friends walked over to where we were.

  “Does she do any other tricks?” Jamel, one of Lucas’s friends, asked.

  “Oh sure,” Sydney said. Princess rolled over and played dead. She seemed to be enjoying the attention.

  Two of Lucas’s friends began chasing Buster. A couple others were laughing as they watched Pancake chase his tail around and around.

  “Well, we’d better get going,” I said. “We need to go get the money we make from playing with these dogs. It’s really starting to add up!”

  My acting was not as good as Sydney’s, but I certainly got their attention.

  “You get paid to play with these dogs?” another friend named Pete asked.

  “Yep,” said Harley. “We’ve got a dog walking business called Happy Tails. It’s super fun.”

  “We should start a business like that!” said another boy. “How do you do it?”

  “We already walk most of the dogs in the neighborhood,” Sydney told them. “I don’t know if you could get any other clients.”

  “Then we’ll just work with you,” Lucas said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “The business is technically ours, so you’d be working for us,” I reminded him. “We’d be the bosses.”

  Lucas and his friends were a lot older and bigger than us. I was sort of nervous. I knew Lucas would never go for having his little brother be his boss.

  “No way!” he said. “I want to be the boss!”

  “Besides,
since we’re older, we’d probably do a better job,” Pete said. “We could take over the business from you. Then we’d be the bosses. You guys would work for us.”

  “I don’t know,” Sydney spoke up. “Are you sure you want to work with a bunch of third graders? You could probably do it better by yourselves.”

  They all nodded in agreement. I could tell they all liked the idea of running a dog walking business.

  “We sure could!” Lucas said. “Why don’t you let us take over Happy Tails?”

  I smiled at Sydney, Harley, and Gomez. My planned had worked!

  “Sidney, you are a genius,” I said as we walked down the street.

  We had gone to see all of our dog walking clients. We told them that Lucas and his friends were going to be taking over. We let them know that not much would change other than the name of the business. They had changed it to Super Awesome Dog Walkers.

  “I can’t believe Lucas and his friends fell for that!” Sidney said with a laugh.

  “I know,” Gomez said. “It was perfect! Are you sure you still want a big dog after all the work we just did?”

  Sidney laughed, “Yes! The bigger the better. I put all the money I made from Happy Tails in the bank for when my mom is ready.”

  “Is it hard for you to wait?” I asked.

  “Not really,” he replied. “After all that dog walking, I’m ready for a break!”

  I felt the same way. The dogs were so cute, but I was tired of so much walking and not having any free time.

  My mom and dad had been so proud of me. Plus, I was saving my dog walking money. I had heard they were making a Galaxy Conquest 3, and I wanted to get it the day it came out.

  We were just about to my house when we saw Nathan and his dog Calvin walking up the street.

  “What’s up, Nathan?” I asked.

  “Not much,” Nathan said. Then he let out a big yawn. “I’m just sort of tired. Calvin was afraid of the thunderstorm last night. He kept me up all night.”

  We all stopped to play with Calvin. He didn’t seem half as tired as Nathan!

  Nathan let out another really big yawn. “I’d really like to go home and rest, but my mom said I have to walk Calvin. Do you guys want to walk him for me?” he asked.

  We all looked at each other for minute.

  “Not today,” Sidney said. “Maybe another time.”

  “Okay,” Nathan said and kept walking. “Thanks anyway.”

  As Nathan walked, away we all laughed. We knew it would be a while before any of us would want to walk another dog!

  WHAT WOULD BE YOUR IDEAL PET?

  Sydney: Something cute and fluffy that I could dress up and carry in my purse.

  Sidney: A big dog. A really, really, really big dog. A dog like Louie.

  WHAT WOULD BE YOUR NIGHTMARE PET?

  Sydney: A snake. Gross.

  Sidney: A talking bird. My grandma had one. At first it was fun, but after a while it was annoying.

  WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT HAPPY TAILS?

  Sydney: Spending more time with my friends.

  Sidney: Playing with the dogs.

  WHAT DIDN'T YOU LIKE ABOUT HAPPY TAILS?

  Sydney: All the poop!

  Sidney: I agree! Poop is funny but really gross.

  WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN?

  Sydney: Yes! I learned a lot!

  Sidney: Of course! It was hard but super awesome.

  IF YOU WERE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?

  Sydney: A horse.

  Sidney: A skunk.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Raised in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Michele Jakubowski has the teachers in her life to thank for her love of reading and writing. While writing has always been a passion for Michele, she believes it is the books she has read throughout the years, and the teachers who assigned them, that have made her the storyteller she is today. Michele lives in Powell, Ohio, with her husband, John, and their children, Jack and Mia.

  ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

  Luisa Montalto followed a curved path to becoming an illustrator. She was first a dancer, then earned her doctorate degree in cinematography. She credits these experiences with giving her the energy and will to try harder. Finally, she went on to work with an independent comics magazine before becoming a professional illustrator in 2003.

  Sidney & Sydney is published by Picture Window Books

  A Capstone Imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  www.capstoneyoungreaders.com

  Copyright © 2015 by Picture Window Books

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Jakubowski, Michele, author.

  Big dog decisions / by Michele Jakubowski ; illustrated by Luisa Montalto.

  pages cm. -- (Sidney & Sydney ; [bk. 3])

  Summary: Sidney’s mother refuses to let him have a dog, so when his friend Sydney comes up with the idea of starting a dog-walking business, it seems like a way to have dogs to play with and make money at the same time — but soon the friends find out that dogs are a lot of work, and can really strain a friendship.

  ISBN 978-1-4795-5226-9 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4795-5227-6 (paper over board)

  ISBN 978-1-4795-6435-4 (ebook)

  1. Dog walking--Juvenile fiction. 2. Dogs--Juvenile fiction. 3. Friendship--Juvenile fiction. 4. Money-making projects for children--Juvenile fiction. 5. Responsibility--Juvenile fiction. [1. Dog walking--Fiction. 2. Dogs--Fiction. 3. Friendship--Fiction. 4. Moneymaking projects--Fiction. 5. Responsibility--Fiction. I. Montalto, Luisa, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.J153555Bi 2014

  813.6--dc23

  2013047091

  Design: Kristi Carlson