The Abandoned Hamster

by Tina Nolan

  This series is for my riding friend Shelley, who cares about all animals.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Other Books in the Series

  Copyright

  “OK, Eva, you can take Blossom off the website!” Karl and Eva Harrison were busy updating the Animal Magic website.

  Eva brought the picture of Blossom, the black and white stray cat, up on screen. “Cool!” she said as she pressed delete. Blossom’s photo and details vanished.

  “She went to live with Emma Matthews on Earlswood Avenue,” Karl reported. “And the couple from Clifford came in and collected Cleo the spaniel earlier this morning, so she’s gone too, plus we’ve had two phone calls about Hugo the rabbit, and there’s a man who’s interested in our gorgeous Labrador, Val—”

  “Stop!” Eva cried. “I can’t keep up!”

  It was Saturday morning and the surgery at Animal Magic was full to bursting with people eager to adopt pets. Early summer sunshine flooded through the open windows. In the stable across the yard, Mickey the noisy donkey let everyone know he was there.

  “OK, I’ve taken Blossom and Cleo off the website, but I still have to type details about Eddie the lizard and Peppy the greyhound. Tell me again about Hugo.”

  “We’ve had two phone calls,” Karl repeated.

  “Eva, could you go and take over from Joel?” Heidi Harrison broke in. “He’s out in the stables with Mickey. Tell him there’s a phone call for him.”

  Eva nodded. She was glad to break free from the computer and the chaos in the crowded room. “Hi, Grandad!” She waved as she jogged across the yard.

  “Hello, how’s my favourite granddaughter!” He waved back.

  “Only granddaughter!” she reminded him, laughing.

  He grinned and strolled on towards the house. “Come and have a chat if you get the time.”

  “OK, I’ll try!” Eva replied.

  She found Joel, Animal Magic’s veterinary assistant, spreading clean straw in Mickey’s stable. “Joel, Mum says there’s a phone call for you – hey, Mickey, get off my top. It’s not for eating!”

  “Yum!” Joel laughed. He slipped a harness around the donkey’s head and handed Eva the lead rope. “Do you want to take him out to the field?”

  “Cool! Come on, Mickey,” Eva murmured, careful now to avoid his big teeth.

  Clip-clop. Mickey trotted happily across the yard, tugging Eva after him. They went out on to Main Street, then down the side lane to the fields at the back of Animal Magic. “Ee-aawww!”

  “Ouch!” Eva put her hands to her ears. “Not so loud!”

  The donkey’s ear-splitting bray brought Guinevere, Merlin and Rosie the tiny Shetland pony, cantering up the hill.

  Eva led Mickey through the gate and took off his harness. “Go play!” She watched him trot off with the three ponies. If anyone gives Mickey a home, they’re going to need earplugs! she thought as she hurried back. She was about to return to Reception when she remembered her grandad and made a detour into the house.

  “So, Evie-Bee, how are things?” he asked, cradling a mug of tea. Eva’s dad sat next to him with his own “Best Dad in the World!” mug.

  “Cool, Grandad! We’re really really busy. We just found homes for Blossom and Cleo and maybe Hugo… Hey, I’ve just had a totally cool idea!”

  “Uh-oh!” Jimmy Harrison glanced at his son, Mark. “Why is Eva looking at me with that mad glint in her eye?”

  “She always has that mad glint in her eye,” Mark joked.

  Eva rolled her eyes and rushed on. “Grandad, why don’t you adopt Mickey?”

  “Who’s Mickey?”

  “Don’t ask, Dad!” Mark warned. But it was too late.

  “Mickey is a gorgeous donkey with long ears and ginormous eyes…”

  “And a voice to match,” Mark cut in.

  Eva ignored her dad. “He’s totally friendly and soft and cuddly, Grandad. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. And you’ve got that big empty field behind your garden centre. There’d be plenty of room for Mickey there. He’d love it!”

  “Say no,” Mark advised.

  “Da-ad!” Eva was cross now. “Do you want to find Mickey a home or not?”

  “Yes, but it has to be the right home. Don’t forget how busy Grandad is. Besides, what would his neighbours say if Mickey woke them up at six every morning?”

  Eva frowned. “Grandad doesn’t have any neighbours,” she pointed out. “Miss Eliot moved out. Ash Tree Manor is empty.”

  “Not any more,” Jimmy told her. “A new family called Platt have just moved in. They’re doing the old place up, and good luck to them.”

  “Oh – well, I’m sure they’d like Mickey.” Eva got the feeling she was losing the argument. It seemed that Mickey would have to stay on the Animal Magic website a while longer. “Gotta dash – I promised Mum I’d help out!” she said. “But, Grandad, will you think about poor Mickey stuck here while everyone else is getting adopted? He’s starting to think no one wants him!”

  “Bring on the sad violins, take out your hankies!” Eva’s dad sighed.

  “Da-ad!” It was no good. “Bye, Grandad!” Eva said, sighing and giving him a quick hug before hurrying back to the surgery.

  That morning, Animal Magic took in three orphaned kittens, a ferret, two rabbits and a grey, smooth-haired crossbreed pup called Benji. They found a good new home for Val, as well as Blossom and Cleo.

  “Working our magic!” As he sat at the computer, Karl happily chanted the centre’s catchphrase. “To match the perfect pet with the perfect owner!”

  Heidi had finally closed the doors and stood at the desk with Joel sorting through the paperwork. Meanwhile, Eva and Karl were busy uploading photos of all the new animals on to the website.

  “What a morning! Thanks, everyone.” Heidi glanced at her watch. “Come on, it’s lunchtime!”

  They were trooping out into the yard when Joel dropped his bombshell. “Erm, Heidi, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” he began awkwardly.

  Heidi shaded her eyes from the sun. “To do with your phone call earlier?”

  Eva and Karl turned and looked at Joel, who took a deep breath, then nodded.

  “Yes, it was important.”

  “So?” an unsuspecting Eva asked.

  Joel looked down at the ground. “It was about a new job I applied for. They made up their minds. It seems I got it.”

  “You want to leave Animal Magic?” Eva gasped.

  “I don’t want to, but I am,” Joel told them. “At the end of this month, if that’s OK, Heidi?”

  “Moscow!” Eva couldn’t believe Joel’s news. “It snows all the time. It’s freezing. It’s hundreds of miles away. Why do you want to work there?”

  It was early afternoon and Joel was checking stock in the drugs cabinet. He ticked off items on a long list and tried to explain. “The job is connected with the main vet school. I’ll get to work with some amazing experts. And I’ll learn a lot of new stuff.”

  “But what about us?” Eva sprayed tables in the surgery and wiped them clean. “Anyway, you could learn new stuff from Mum.”

  “No, I couldn’t,” Joel said firmly. “I’ve loved every minute here, Eva, but it’s definitely time to broaden my horizons and move on.”

  Eva knew she would miss Joel. With his tall, gangly figure and mop of light brown curls, he’d been part of the Animal Magic team since it opened. Now he felt like part of the famil
y. “Will you still come back and see us?” she asked.

  “Just try and keep me away!” He grinned, picking up the phone. “Hello, Animal Magic … oh, hi there, Jimmy. No, Heidi and Mark have gone to the shops. Eva’s here though. It’s your grandad,” Joel said as he handed the phone over.

  “Eva, listen there’s a problem here at Gro-well!” Jimmy Harrison sounded upset. “Two big dogs – Dalmatians – have escaped from next door’s garden. They’re making a right mess of my bedding plants.”

  “Oh no! Grandad, I’m sorry. Isn’t anyone trying to stop them?”

  “No. I’ve been round to the manor house but there doesn’t seem to be anyone at home. I was wondering if there was someone at your place who could lend a hand?”

  To get two rampaging dogs under control? You bet! “I’ll find Karl. We’ll cycle over straight away,” Eva promised.

  “Find Karl to do what?” Karl asked, wandering out of the cattery with one of the new kittens. “Where are you dragging me off to now?”

  “Here, pass her to me.” Quickly Joel took the grey kitten from Karl. “It’s important, so don’t ask questions – just follow Eva!”

  Eva and Karl cycled up Main Street, out of the village towards their grandad’s small garden centre.

  “I’ve never heard him sound this upset before,” Eva told her brother. “You know Grandad – he’s always so…”

  “Happy?” Karl chipped in.

  Eva nodded. They flung down their bikes at the gates to the garden centre and ran into the tiny office to find their grandad on the phone.

  “Mr Platt? This is Jimmy Harrison from the garden centre next door. Do you own a couple of Dalmatians? You do. Well, I’m glad I’ve got hold of you at last. Did you know your dogs have escaped from your garden? Yes, that’s right. They’re in amongst my plants and doing terrible damage. So I’m hoping you’ll be able … Mr Platt, are you there? Hello?”

  “Don’t worry, Grandad, we’ll catch them no problem, ” Karl promised, dashing outside.

  Swiftly Eva followed him down the rows of upturned plants. “Wow, this is a mess!” she muttered.

  Pots had been tipped over, spilling soil across the narrow paths. Plants lay crushed and broken. Suddenly, Eva spotted the first of the two dogs. “Over here!” she called to Karl.

  The black and white spotted dog was snapping at a green hose that curled across the path. Its ears were pricked and it was pouncing as if the hose was a vicious snake.

  “Down, girl. Sit!” Eva said in a stern voice.

  The dog cocked her head to look at Eva, then pounced. She took the hose between her teeth and shook it hard.

  Eva tried once more. “I said, down!” This time she used an arm movement that she and Karl had learned at dog-training classes. With her palm facing inwards, she crooked her forearm from the elbow and brought it up sharply towards her face. “Sit!”

  The naughty dog saw her signal and obeyed.

  “Good job!” Karl muttered, spying the second runaway digging a deep hole in his grandad’s compost corner. He sprinted across and lunged at the dog, grabbing it by the collar.

  The dog squirmed and dragged Karl down, but he held on. When he stood up, his T-shirt and jeans were covered in wet, dark-brown compost.

  “Good rugby tackle!” Eva called.

  “I’m too slow these days,” Jimmy complained, bringing strong rope for Eva and Karl to use as dog leads. “It’s a good job you two are young and nimble.”

  Once on the lead, the two Dalmatians seemed to calm down. Eva and Karl walked them back to Jimmy’s office, and commanded them to sit by the door.

  “I’ve lost a lot of expensive plants,” Jimmy sighed, stooping to stand the nearest large pot upright. “I’ll definitely need to have a serious chat with my new neighbours about this.”

  Just then, a short, stocky man strode in through the entrance, closely followed by a girl about Eva’s age. Both had fair, straight hair and grey eyes.

  The man spotted the Dalmatians sitting quietly outside the office. “Bonnie, Clyde – there you are!”

  “Mr Platt?” Jimmy Harrison stepped forward. “We were speaking on the telephone. I think we were cut off.”

  The newcomer shook his head. “I was busy with something so I put the phone down. But in any case, we’re here now. I’m Mike, and this is my daughter, Katie.”

  Er, how about saying sorry? Eva thought, glancing round at the ruined plants.

  But Mike Platt didn’t seem as if he was the sort to apologize.

  “I’d already been round to the house before I rang you,” Jimmy explained. “It seemed there was nobody keeping an eye on – er – Bonnie and Clyde.”

  “As I said, I was busy.” Mr Platt turned to his daughter. “Katie, run and see if you can spot where the dogs got through the fence.”

  “I’ve already seen the broken planks,” Eva said. She turned to the girl. “I can show you if you like.”

  “Broken planks?” Mike Platt echoed. “Oh well, if your fence is the problem, I can’t take any responsibility for my dogs getting through.”

  Katie said nothing and looked down at her feet.

  “But that’s not my fence,” Jimmy objected. “It’s yours.”

  Mike Platt folded his arms and looked him in the eye. “I think you’ll find, when you look into it, that the fence is yours, Mr Harrison.”

  Cheek! Eva stared back at Katie. She didn’t like these new neighbours one bit.

  “Well, there hasn’t been a hole in it for as long as I’ve been here,” Eva’s grandad argued back. “I reckon you let your dogs run out of control. They wrecked the fence, then broke through and ran riot in my garden centre!”

  Mike Platt clicked his tongue. “Here, Bonnie. Here, Clyde!”

  The two strong Dalmatians stood up and strained at their leads, dragging Karl and Eva off their feet and forcing them to hand the ropes to Mr Platt.

  “My dogs are not out of control!” The new neighbour raised his voice.

  “No way!” Katie agreed, standing up for her dad.

  Eva and Karl glared at her.

  “So what do you call this?” Jimmy pointed at the wrecked plants.

  “Not my problem,” Mike Platt said, marching off with his dogs. “If I were you, Mr Harrison, I’d replace the whole fence so it doesn’t happen again.”

  “Yeah!” Katie muttered and followed her dad.

  “Or else what?” Jimmy called after them.

  “Or else you can expect a letter from my solicitor!” Mike Platt yelled back as he strode through the gates.

  “So the day turned out lousy,” Eva grumbled to her dad once she was tucked up in bed that night. “It was brilliant at the beginning, getting Cleo and Blossom adopted and stuff, but then Joel said he was leaving, which is totally bad news, and now Grandad finds out he’s got the worst neighbours in the universe!”

  “Never mind, these things happen,” Mark soothed. “I spoke to Grandad and said I’d come round tomorrow morning to help him clear up the mess. Would you like to join us?”

  From under her cosy duvet Eva nodded. “Grandad was really upset.”

  “Yes, well it will cost him a lot of money to replace the plants and put up a new fence. And we’re not even sure yet if it’s his.”

  “Miss Eliot would never have made him do that.”

  “No. But she’s moved out to her cosy bungalow and you have to realize that people are all different. Maybe Grandad’s new neighbours won’t turn out to be so bad in the long run.”

  “They’re horrible!” Eva insisted. “Just you wait till you meet them. I’m never going to like them, Dad – I promise!”

  Early next morning, Heidi sat at the computer in Reception typing in the details for Joel’s job. “Wanted – Veterinary Assistant. A vacancy has arisen at Animal Magic for a well qualified person to assist Veterinary Surgeon Heidi Harrison…”

  “Worse luck! I wish Joel wasn’t going,” Eva sighed as she read the opening sentence. She glanced up and saw he
r dad beckoning to her through the window. “Oops, I forgot – Dad and I are going to help Grandad clear up. Is that OK?”

  Heidi nodded. “Joel’s due to start work soon. And Karl’s around.”

  Eva fetched bin bags, brushes and shovels from the stables and piled them into the back of her dad’s van.

  “We’ll soon have the place straight,” Mark promised as they drove out to Jimmy’s garden centre. “And if necessary we’ll mend the fence so that it doesn’t happen again.”

  They parked outside the office and Eva leaped out. “Hi, Grandad! What do you want us to do first?”

  Jimmy looked relieved to see them. “We’ve got an hour before opening time. If possible, I’d like all the mess cleaned up before then.”

  So Jimmy, Mark and Eva set to, brushing up the spilt soil and crushed plants and tipping them on to the compost heap.

  “Do you want me to save the plastic labels?” Eva asked.

  “Yes, please. Put them in the top drawer of the desk in my office,” her grandad replied. “You’ll find a whole lot of spare labels there.”

  “What about the fence?” Mark asked from outside the door.

  Eva heard the two of them wander away discussing how it could be mended. Quickly she opened the drawer and slipped the labels in. Then she rushed outside again, eager to follow her dad and grandad.

  But something made her stop. A tiny rustling noise was coming from the rubbish bin that stood by the office door. The bin was used by Gro-well customers for sweet and ice cream wrappers and other bits of waste paper. It had a domed plastic top and a flap that swung in when you tapped it.

  Rustle-rustle! Eva was sure that the scrabbling noise was coming from inside the bin. “What’s that?” she muttered.

  Scrabble-scrabble. Maybe something was trapped in there. Something too small to climb out by itself… Gingerly Eva pushed at the flap and felt inside.

  “Ouch!” She felt a sharp nip and pulled out her hand. “Ouch – ow!”

  Luckily, when she looked at her finger there was no blood.