The Hero Pup

by Megan Rix

  ‘This is Patch.’

  ‘What a sweetie. How’s Riley doing?’ the receptionist enquired.

  ‘Getting there slowly,’ Lenny told her.

  ‘Who’s Riley?’ asked Joe when they sat down with Patch to wait for the vet.

  ‘A dog I’ve been seeing. He’s refused to go out of the house ever since he was attacked by another dog,’ Lenny said as Patch investigated his shoes and pulled at the Velcro straps.

  Joe gulped. What if Patch got attacked?

  ‘Does that often happen?’ he asked.

  Lenny shook his head. ‘No. You and Patch have nothing to worry about.’

  But Joe couldn’t help worrying. He didn’t ever want Patch to be hurt or unhappy.

  A few minutes later the vet called them into the consulting room.

  ‘What a fine-looking puppy,’ she said, listening to Patch’s heart through her stethoscope.

  Patch gave an ouch yelp when he had his vaccination, but the pain was soon forgotten when the vet gave him a puppy treat.

  ‘I’ll just scan his microchip to make sure that’s working fine,’ she said, and waved a machine that looked a bit like a barcode reader across the nape of Patch’s neck and then looked at the screen. ‘That’s all good.’

  ‘What’s he need a microchip for?’ Joe asked.

  ‘So that if Patch ever got lost and was handed in to the police or a vet’s or even an animal shelter, they’d be able to find out who he belonged to and return him to his owner,’ the vet explained as she saw them out.

  ‘Not long now and you’ll be able to take Patch for a proper walk, but before that the two of you can start coming along to some classes at the training centre,’ Lenny said when he dropped Joe and Patch off at home.

  Chapter 12

  On Monday morning Joe’s mum dropped him and Patch off at the Helper Dogs centre for their first pre-puppy class.

  ‘I wish I could come with you,’ she said. ‘But we’re so busy at work.’

  ‘It’s OK, Mum,’ Joe said. He knew she was doing her best.

  He opened the hatchback boot and then the door of Patch’s puppy crate in the back. Patch was so pleased to see Joe that he almost jumped out of the crate, his tail wagging, ready for their next adventure.

  ‘Pick you up in an hour,’ Mum said as she drove off.

  There were three other cars as well as Lenny’s Helper Dogs van already in the small car park. A woman with a Staffie puppy smiled as she passed Joe and Patch and headed into the training centre. The two puppies were wildly desperate to say hello to each other, their tails wagging as they stretched their leads as far as they would go.

  Then a brown and white spaniel arrived and Patch wanted to say hello to her too.

  ‘Come on, Patch,’ Joe said, coaxing him into the centre.

  ‘Puppy playtime’s out the back,’ Lenny told the puppies as they arrived with their owners. There were four puppies already playing together in the outside bark-covered area at the back of the training centre.

  Joe unclipped Patch’s lead and he raced to join a wire-haired terrier and mixed collie dog as well as the pug and spaniel. The puppies sniffed and wagged their tails, chased, jumped and rolled over each other.

  Soon three more arrived. Some of them were shy and hovered close to their owners’ legs rather than playing, but Patch wasn’t shy at all.

  ‘He thinks everyone wants to be his friend,’ Joe said to Lenny.

  ‘And they do,’ Lenny smiled as he watched Patch and the others playing. Then he raised his voice so everyone could hear. ‘Right! Call your puppies back to you now.’

  ‘Toby … Kai … Lulu … Jellybean … Otis … Dex … Harvey …’ The owners called to their puppies. A few of the dogs listened, but most of them were too busy playing to hear.

  ‘Here, Patch … Patch, come!’ Joe called, and Patch immediately came running back to him. All their pre-pre-puppy training had been worth it and Joe felt very proud of Patch. He clipped Patch’s lead to his collar and gave him a small biscuit for being so good as they waited for the other owners to grab their pups.

  Once the puppies had all been retrieved, Lenny led everyone inside and asked them to form a circle and introduce themselves and their puppies. All the other owners were grown-ups and Joe felt a bit nervous. Some of the people took ages to tell everyone all about their pup, but Joe didn’t.

  ‘I’m Joe and this is Patch and he’s a Helper Pup,’ he said.

  ‘Joe’s looking after him for us,’ Lenny said. ‘And he’s doing a very fine job.’

  One of the first things puppies in the class needed to learn was not to eat something they weren’t supposed to.

  ‘It’s very important for your pups to understand that sometimes they can’t have something until you say they can,’ Lenny said. ‘What if you dropped a bottle of pills on the floor? Pills that might look a lot like treats to a puppy. Especially a puppy who doesn’t usually stop to think before he eats. Anyone have a puppy like that?’

  Most of the puppy owners, including Joe, put their hands up. Patch had tried to eat a chocolate biscuit from a plate the other day and Joe had only just got to it in time. Chocolate was very bad for dogs.

  ‘Puppies get very hungry and you don’t want yours to get sick by eating something he shouldn’t. So today we’re going to practise the “leave it” command with lots of tasty foods that your puppy would probably like to have very much. He’ll find it hard to understand why he can’t have the treats straight away, but he, or she, has to learn that they need to listen to you.’

  Lenny gave everyone a treat or two and told them to hold it in their hands and show it to their puppy.

  Joe showed Patch the treat in his hand, but when Patch jumped up at him, he closed his hand and said ‘Leave!’ just as he had been told. He felt a bit mean, but the puppies had to learn not to eat just anything – and it was especially important for a Helper Pup.

  Patch sat down and looked up at Joe, his head tilted to one side as if he were trying to work out what was going on. He looked around at the other people and their puppies, all doing the same thing. Then he looked back at Joe.

  Joe showed him the treat in his hand again and this time Patch sat still and didn’t try to grab it.

  ‘Leave it,’ Joe said.

  Patch didn’t try to get the treat, but his eyes never left the hand that Joe had the treat in.

  After a few more tries Lenny said, ‘OK, they’ve all done very well – you can give the puppies the treats now.’

  Joe held the treat out to Patch, who stood up and took it gently from him and gobbled it up as fast as he could. Joe couldn’t help laughing.

  ‘Right, that’s enough keeping still,’ Lenny said. ‘Now we’re going to learn how to walk a dog.’

  The puppy owners looked at each other.

  ‘But we know how to do that,’ the woman with the pug puppy called Toby pointed out.

  ‘Everyone knows how to,’ said Jellybean’s dad.

  Lenny shook his head. ‘Everyone knows how to drag or be dragged along by a dog. But most people don’t know how to make sure a dog walks on a loose lead politely, and stops and sits down when it comes to a kerb.’

  ‘How do you get a dog to do that?’ the Staffie lady asked.

  ‘By not dragging it about in the first place so it gets the idea that that’s what it’s supposed to do. All a dog gets from being dragged is a muscular neck!’ Lenny said. ‘Come on, Patch, let’s show them how it’s done.’

  Lenny took Patch from Joe and as Patch looked up at him he said, ‘I want you to try walking your puppy with the lead loose, not stretched tight, and talk to him. That’s it, Patch, this way. What’s this? The puppy should want to be with you, not racing ahead of you to see what’s more interesting round the corner!’

  Joe laughed and did his best to relax as he took hold of Patch’s lead from Lenny.

  ‘You’ll also need to be prepared for letting your dog off his lead,’ continued Lenny.

  �
�What if Patch runs away when I let him off?’ Joe said.

  Lenny shook his head. ‘It won’t happen. People so often worry about letting their puppies off the lead, but the truth is, the longer they leave it and the older the puppy gets, the greater the risk that he will run away when he’s finally let off. At the moment all Patch and the other puppies want is to be with you. They’re not going to run away when you let them off their leads, they’re going to stay close.’

  Joe nodded, although he was still a little unsure. The other puppy owners looked a bit worried too.

  Next Lenny dragged a wooden gate on a stand into the middle of the room.

  ‘It’s important for your puppies to learn good manners,’ he said. ‘And that means not barging their way in front of you when you’re out and about. That’s what we’re going to be using this gate for. It’s part of the Kennel Club’s bronze exam. Your puppies aren’t ready for exams yet, but they’re not too young to learn to be polite.’

  ‘What do we have to do?’ Joe asked, looking down at Patch, who was sitting next to him, watching Lenny as if he were listening to his every word.

  ‘You come to the gate with the puppy,’ Lenny said, ‘and then you tell him to sit as you open the gate and walk through. Then tell Patch to come through and sit and wait as you close it. Give it a try.’

  Joe nodded and walked over to the gate. He could feel the eyes of all the other puppy owners staring at him.

  ‘Sit, Patch,’ he said softly.

  Patch sat down and looked up at him with his head cocked on one side.

  ‘Wait,’ Joe instructed, and he held up the palm of his hand towards Patch. Then Joe opened the gate and walked through, holding it open for the puppy. ‘Come, Patch.’ Patch immediately jumped up and came through the gate too. ‘Sit,’ Joe said, and Patch sat as Joe closed the gate.

  ‘Well done!’ said Lenny. ‘That was perfect. Give Patch lots of praise for being such a good puppy. Puppies and older dogs want to know that they’re making you happy and so you should let them know what you like. I always think it’s amazing how dogs are able to work out what we want them to do. I don’t think we’d find it so easy if the roles were reversed!’

  Toby the Staffie and his owner tried it next, only Toby kept jumping up as soon as she’d told him to sit down.

  ‘You made it look so easy!’ she said to Joe.

  ‘You’ll get there,’ Lenny said encouragingly. But none of the other puppies managed the gate task as well as Joe and Patch.

  As soon as Jellybean’s dad opened the gate, Jellybean raced through it ahead of him.

  ‘Give it another go,’ Lenny said.

  Jellybean’s dad did, and it was better, although Jellybean still looked like she wanted to go first.

  Just before the end of the class, Lenny set up a line of cones and asked Joe to unclip Patch’s lead and weave in and out of them. Joe did so and Patch followed as closely behind him as he was able.

  ‘See how close Patch is staying to Joe? That’s what it’ll be like for all of you on your first off-lead walk,’ Lenny said. ‘Puppies like to stay close.’

  ‘Patch is a lot better behaved than Jellybean,’ Jellybean’s dad said doubtfully.

  ‘I can’t believe you’ve never had a dog before, Joe,’ said Toby’s mum. ‘You must be a natural.’

  Joe and Patch were both exhausted by the end of the class and so were the other puppies and their owners.

  ‘Everyone’s done brilliantly today. I want to hear all about your first off-lead walks with your puppies next week,’ said Lenny.

  ‘How was it?’ Joe’s mum asked when she came to pick him up.

  ‘Patch did really well,’ Joe said as he lifted the sleepy pup into the crate. For once Patch didn’t protest. ‘Lenny says it’s time for Patch to have his first off-lead walk.’

  ‘Looks like he’ll need a bit of a rest first,’ Mum said, laughing at Patch, who had already fallen into a deep sleep.

  Patch slept for two solid hours as his little puppy brain digested all he’d learnt that morning. Joe watched him sleep. Patch was still so small and vulnerable. Was he really ready to meet other dogs and go out into the big wide world?

  Once Patch woke up again he was full of energy. Joe gave him some food and an hour later he put some of Patch’s favourite treats in his pocket.

  Patch wagged his tail when he saw his lead. He already understood that this meant going out. Joe clipped Patch’s lead to his collar and together they walked to the park at the end of the road.

  ‘Good boy, Patch,’ Joe said, once they were inside the gates. Although he tried not to show it, he was feeling very nervous as he unclipped the puppy’s lead and stood up. Patch stared at him, then trotted round in a little circle and did his business.

  ‘This way,’ Joe said when Patch had finished, and he carried on walking, pretending that he didn’t care if Patch came with him or not; he was going this way and Patch had better follow, just like Lenny had told them to do at the pre-puppy class.

  Patch tried to keep up, but there were so many interesting smells that he kept getting distracted and stopping for a quick sniff before running to catch up with Joe again. The puppy never once let Joe out of his sight, though, and Joe, although he pretended not to, watched Patch like a hawk.

  There was only one other person and their dog in the park. Joe was glad that the dog was on a lead and far away.

  When they came to the big field, Joe took a ball from his pocket and threw it, but Patch didn’t want to play ball today. He didn’t want to venture too far away from Joe and he wanted to sniff all the amazing new smells.

  The ten minutes that a ten-week-old puppy should be walked for sped past in no time.

  ‘Eleven minutes next week,’ Joe told Patch as he re-clipped his lead. ‘And then twelve minutes once you’re twelve weeks old.’

  Patch didn’t look like he was tired at all, but when they got home Patch whimpered and bit at his paws and then he cried.

  ‘What is it?’ Joe asked desperately as his mum inspected Patch’s paws to see if he had a thorn in them.

  ‘I can’t see anything,’ she said, now very worried. ‘Do you think he could have been stung by something?’

  ‘I know what it is!’ Joe said suddenly.

  He ran out into the garden and wrenched up a few dock leaves. He’d intended to clear them away, but maybe it’d be better if he left them here for emergencies now.

  Mr Humphreys poked his head over the hedge. ‘Wretched weeds get everywhere,’ he grumbled.

  ‘Patch got stung by some stinging nettles,’ Joe told him. ‘Puppies’ paws are very sensitive.’

  ‘So what are you doing out here?’

  ‘Getting some dock leaves,’ Joe explained as he rubbed the leaves between his fingers to turn them into a pulp.

  ‘Smart lad,’ Mr Humphreys remarked as Joe ran back inside.

  Joe rubbed the dock-leaf mush on Patch’s paws and he stopped whimpering. The leaves really seemed to help. The little puppy crawled into Joe’s lap and he cradled him.

  ‘All right, little pup. You’re all right now,’ Joe said, stroking Patch’s soft fur.

  ‘But how did you know it might be stinging nettles?’ Mum asked him.

  ‘It’s in the Helper Dogs training manual,’ Joe told her. All that reading had been worth it to help Patch.

  Later Joe switched on the computer and wrote up Patch’s online diary.

  Today I learnt how to wait for Joe to go first at my pre-puppy class. He says it’s important because it might stop me from running into the road by mistake and getting hurt by a car.

  I also went for my first free-run in the park, but some nasty things called stinging nettles made my paws sore. Joe made them better with a dock leaf.

  Joe hadn’t got a photo of Patch at training or on the walk so he added one of Patch cuddled up to Squeaker on a cushion instead.

  Sam’s day had been a particularly tough one as the physiotherapists on the rehabilitation ward put
him through his paces. Without the use of his legs he needed to increase his upper-body strength to compensate. He’d been strong before and had lifted weights, but now his legs were a dead weight and it was much harder to do pull-ups with them dragging him down.

  Ten pull-ups weren’t too hard; twenty were a bit of a struggle. But the physiotherapists wanted him to do fifty and his arm muscles were shaking by the end of the session.

  After it was over he switched on his iPad and smiled as soon as he saw Patch’s diary had been updated. He checked every day and the nurses and other patients already knew all about Patch – and Sam’s hope that the puppy would become his Helper Dog one day soon.

  Reading about Patch always made his day.

  Chapter 13

  Joe and Patch went to their first Helper Dogs class on Wednesday. This time Joe’s mum came with them.

  As soon as Patch saw Ollie, Lenny’s retired Helper Dog, he bounded over to him.

  ‘You’d think they already knew each other,’ Joe’s mum smiled as Patch stood up on his back paws to get closer to the much bigger Ollie, his little tail wagging like mad. Ollie’s tail wagged too, but not as quickly as Patch’s.

  ‘Young pups can be a bit much for older dogs sometimes,’ Lenny said. ‘I don’t take Ollie along to my pre-puppy classes because of it.’

  Joe and his mum were the first to arrive, but soon other people came in with their dogs and puppies-in-training. The Helper Dogs were much better behaved than the pre-puppy class puppies had been, and they didn’t go for a run outside before the class started.

  Ollie went to greet each person and their dog with a tail wag, and Patch followed him like a little shadow so he got to greet everyone too.

  ‘Oh, aren’t you just gorgeous,’ said a lady called Ann with a black Lab called Dora.

  Joe watched as the volunteers put the dog mats and toys they’d brought with them next to the tethering rings spaced out along the sides of the walls.

  ‘Helper Dogs have to get used to waiting quietly,’ Lenny explained as the dogs lay down on their mats and were given a chew or a toy or usually both. ‘Sometimes it’s hard to learn, so we start early. We discourage barking because if a disabled person is taking his dog to work with him every day, he doesn’t want the dog barking every time someone walks past his office. I don’t think your teachers would like it much if Patch kept barking, either,’ Lenny said to Joe.