The Abandoned Puppy

by Holly Webb

  “OK, little one,” Auntie Jo murmured to the puppy on her lap. “I need to go and get your sister a hot-water bottle. And make up some milk for you guys. Hmm? Want to go and see this nice basket?” She lifted the puppy in, and stroked him for a few seconds until he got used to being somewhere new. Then she got up slowly. The other boy puppy trotted over to the basket too, nosing affectionately at his brother.

  “Those two seem fine,” she said, sounding relieved. “And I’m sure they’ll be even perkier once they’ve had something to eat.”

  Zoe looked up at her. “What about this one?” Her voice wobbled. “You don’t think she’s going to be all right?”

  Auntie Jo sighed. “We don’t know yet. She seems very weak. I’m going to call Sam at the vet’s and ask if she’ll come over as soon as she can and have a look at them all. Are you OK with them for a minute, while I get a hot water bottle for the little one?”

  Zoe nodded, still gently rubbing the puppy through the blanket. She wished she could feel her moving. The puppy felt like a saggy little bean bag, slumped on her lap. Carefully she moved the blanket from round the puppy’s head, peering down at her. Her eyes were closed, and her pink tongue was slightly sticking out of her mouth. It looked dry, Zoe thought worriedly. Auntie Jo had better hurry up with that puppy milk. She hoped they’d be able to persuade the pup to drink it. She didn’t look like she wanted to make the effort to do anything just at the minute.

  “Here’s the hot water bottle,” Auntie Jo said, hurrying back. “I’ve wrapped it up so it isn’t too hot.”

  “Do we lie her on top of it?” Zoe asked, starting to lift the puppy off her lap.

  “No, that would be too hot. I’m going to put it at the side of the basket, then she can snuggle next to it. We’ll just have to keep an eye on her brothers, and make sure they don’t nudge her away.”

  “Maybe we ought to put her in a pen on her own,” Zoe said doubtfully. “They’re a lot bigger than she is. They might push her around.”

  “I’d rather keep them together if we can. She’s already lost her mother, and her home. Her brothers are the only security she knows. Also, if we separate her, she might find it difficult to manage being around other dogs when she’s bigger.”

  Zoe nodded as she laid the puppy close to the hot water bottle. “We don’t want her to be lonely,” she agreed.

  “I’ve started to warm up some puppy milk. I’ll just go and get it, and we can see what they think.” Auntie Jo nipped into the kitchen, and came back with a shallow metal tray of the special puppy milk. “Hopefully they won’t tip this over,” she explained to Zoe, who was looking at the tray in surprise – it looked like something her mum would make chocolate brownies in.

  The two boy puppies had been nosing around the edges of the pen, trying to explore, but as soon as Auntie Jo put the tray down, they galloped over to see what it was – so fast that they got tangled up, and fell over each other. They struggled to their feet, mock-growling, and then scurried up to the tray, sniffing at it excitedly. It only took seconds before they were eagerly lapping, burying their tiny muzzles in the milk and splashing it around.

  “They must have had milk from bowls before,” Zoe said, watching them and giggling.

  “Maybe. Or else they’re just fast learners,” said Auntie Jo. “I don’t think we need to worry about them not feeding. I’ll mix a bit of Weetabix into the next lot.” But she was frowning. “I’d really hoped that the smell would wake the little one up, but she doesn’t seem to have noticed. We’ll have to try feeding it to her by the bottle.”

  Zoe nodded. “Shall I put her on my lap?” she asked hopefully. She’d loved holding the puppy before, and trying to warm her up. Even though it was frightening that the puppy was ill, it felt really special to be the ones trying to make her better.

  “Yes. Unwrap her, and we’ll try to get her to take a bottle. I brought one just in case.” Auntie Jo took a baby’s bottle with a cap out of the pocket of her fleece, and sat down next to Zoe. “She’s still so sleepy…”

  The puppy was really floppy now, and she didn’t wriggle when Zoe unwrapped her. Auntie Jo held the teat of the bottle up to her mouth, but she didn’t seem to notice it. She certainly didn’t start sucking, as Zoe had hoped she would. She only turned her head away a little, as though Auntie Jo nudging the bottle against her mouth was annoying.

  “She doesn’t want it,” Zoe said worriedly. “Is there anything else we can give her?”

  “We could try using a syringe…” Auntie Jo said thoughtfully. “We can poke it into the corner of her mouth, and try and trickle it in.” But Zoe could see that her aunt was doubtful about the puppy ever feeding at all.

  “What about…” Zoe brushed her fingers against the teat, letting a few drops of milk ooze out of the tiny hole on to her fingers. It was thick and yellowish, not like ordinary milk at all. Holding her breath, she stroked her milky fingers across the puppy’s mouth, letting the milk run on to the dry, pink tongue.

  The puppy shivered with surprise, and the little tongue darted out, licking Zoe’s fingers.

  “She likes it!” Zoe squeaked.

  Auntie Jo smiled. “Quick, you take the bottle. Squeeze a little out on to the end of the teat, and dribble it into her mouth.”

  The puppy licked eagerly at the teat this time, and when Zoe pushed it gently against her mouth, she sucked, harder and harder, until she was slurping messily at the milk.

  And then, at last, she opened her dark eyes, and stared up at Zoe.

  Chapter Four

  To: Becca

  From: Zoe

  Subject: Puppies

  Hi Becca!

  Hope you’re having a good time at your gran’s. Sorry I’ve not mailed you for a couple of days. Been sooooo busy! I went to the shelter with Auntie Jo on Monday, and someone had abandoned three puppies in a box on the front steps!!! (Here’s a photo. Auntie Jo took it on her phone. Aren’t they gorgeous?) It was a box that was meant to be for chocolate biscuits, so we’ve called the two boys Choc and Biscuit, and the little girl puppy Cookie. She’s really lovely. When we first found them she was really weak and Auntie Jo told me afterwards she wasn’t sure she was going to make it. We’re giving her milk from a bottle because she won’t eat mashed-up Weetabix, even though her two brothers love it! (You should see them eating, it goes everywhere, we have to wash them afterwards!) But some of it must be going inside them - they’re getting fatter every day! Cookie is definitely getting bigger too, and she likes me to carry her round everywhere! I’ve got lots more photos that Mum’s printed out for me, I’ll show you when you get back.

  Love Zoe xxxxxxxxxxxxx

  To: Zoe

  From: Becca

  Subject: Re:Puppies

  Hi Zoe!

  I can’t believe you found puppies! You are so lucky. Gran’s is OK but it’s a bit cold as it’s by the sea. I went paddling and my toes almost fell off.

  Will the puppies get new owners from the shelter? How old are they? I wish I could come and see them. Guess what? Mum and Dad say we can definitely have a dog (you know they wouldn’t make up their minds before). But now they say we have to go slow and make sure we find the right dog! Aaargh! I really want to have a dog NOW! When I get back please ask your auntie if I can come and see the puppies. Maybe one of them could be our dog!!!

  From Becca xxxxxxxxxxx

  Zoe read Becca’s reply to her email, smiling to herself. Becca wrote emails just like she talked. But her smile faded a little as she read on to the end. Becca was so lucky to be allowed a dog. Zoe had been talking to Auntie Jo about the puppies today at the shelter. They’d been weighing them to check that they were eating enough, which was quite difficult because Choc, Biscuit and Cookie saw no reason why they should stand still on top of the scales, and just kept bouncing around. In the end, Auntie Jo had made a guess at their weights, but she said they were definitely getting heavier, which was the main thing.

  Then they’d taken five minutes just to play w
ith the puppies – it seemed like fun, rather than work, but Zoe knew it was actually really important. If the puppies didn’t ever get played with, they wouldn’t know how to behave with their new owners.

  “How could anyone have abandoned them?” Zoe said sadly, watching Biscuit and Choc bombing up and down the pen, chasing after a ball. Cookie was scampering after them, not quite brave enough or fast enough to take the ball off her brothers, but having just as much fun. “They’re so gorgeous, all of them. How could anyone be so mean?”

  Auntie Jo sighed. “Well, at least they brought them here. It was a start.”

  “But they left them out in the cold all night!”

  “Mmm. Some people just don’t think. The puppies were probably an accident – they hadn’t had the mum spayed, and then maybe the owners felt they couldn’t afford to buy all the puppy food, and take the puppies to the vet for vaccinations. Dogs are expensive to look after.” She reached over to put her arm round Zoe’s shoulders. “Don’t think about it, Zo. The puppies were lucky they ended up here, so they’ve got all of us looking after them. We’re going to turn them into lovely, well-behaved dogs, and make sure they only go to fab owners. They won’t remember their horrible start.”

  “I hope not,” Zoe whispered, with a tiny sigh. Auntie Jo’s words were meant to make her feel better. She knew the puppies would need to leave the shelter in a few weeks, but she’d been trying not to think about it too much. She’d only known them for a few days, but they were so sweet, Cookie especially. If they could stay at the shelter for a bit longer, she’d be able to keep on looking after them… But that wasn’t fair. They needed proper homes.

  Reading the exciting news in Becca’s email had made her think about having to say goodbye to the puppies all over again…

  To: Becca

  From: Zoe

  Subject: Puppies

  Hi Becca

  Auntie Jo thinks the puppies were about four weeks old when we found them, so now they’re five weeks. They can’t go to new homes until they’re about eight weeks old. I’m sure you can come and see them, I’ll ask Auntie Jo. You’re so lucky getting a dog! I hope your mum and dad decide on one soon. See you back at school in a week!

  Love Zoe xx

  It wasn’t as friendly as her emails to Becca usually were, but Zoe was feeling sad. She stared at her computer screen, not really seeing the cute photo of Cookie that she had set as her wallpaper.

  “What’s up?”

  Zoe jumped. She hadn’t heard Mum come in at all. “Nothing… I was just thinking about the puppies. I’m going to miss them so much when they get rehomed.” She gulped. “Especially Cookie.”

  Mum nodded. “She is gorgeous.” Zoe had shown Mum the puppies one afternoon at the shelter, when Mum had come to pick her up. “I think it’s her eyes. She’s got such a little face, it makes her eyes look huge, and then she’s got those lovely whiskery eyebrows. Has Auntie Jo worked out what breed they are yet?”

  Zoe giggled and shook her head. “Nope. Everyone at Redlands thinks they’re something different. Auntie Jo reckons maybe there’s some Jack Russell in them and maybe some Cockapoo too. But we might not be able to tell until they’re bigger. Almost grown-up. And we won’t have them then, will we? So we’ll never know.” She sniffed, and Mum hugged her.

  “But you knew they’d have to go to new homes, Zo! All the animals at the shelter do. You’ve never got this upset before.”

  “I know. Maybe it was because we found them – and feeding Cookie with the bottle has made her special to me, Mum.” Zoe smiled proudly. “I got her to take some puppy mix and milk in a bowl this morning. Auntie Jo was really pleased, she said that she’d thought Cookie was going to have to be on bottles for ever!”

  “Your Auntie Jo ought to be paying you wages!” Mum sighed. “I know you love it at the shelter, but maybe you should have a couple of days off from helping out? Do something else? I bet Kyra could take enough time away from her revision to take you shopping. Or the cinema?”

  Zoe looked horrified. “Oh no, Mum! I’ve got to keep going. I’ve got to help Cookie get on with the solid food. It’s really important.”

  Her mum gave her a worried look. “Well, I suppose so…”

  Chapter Five

  It sounds like the best Easter holidays ever!” Becca sighed enviously.

  Zoe smiled at her as they walked into their classroom. “It was fab. I really missed going to the shelter this morning. I was looking forward to seeing you, but apart from that I could have done without school!”

  “Me too, but I can’t see my mum letting me have the day off because I needed to go and visit the world’s cutest puppies…” Becca flopped down into her chair, and glanced over at the board. “Numeracy problems! Great start to the new term…” She got out her maths book, but went on talking in a whisper. “So is Cookie properly weaned now? She’s eating real puppy food?”

  Zoe nodded. “Yup, they all still have a bit of milk, but they’ve started drinking water too. And Cookie’s really catching up with Biscuit and Choc. I don’t think she’ll ever be quite as big as they are, but she’s doing OK. I brought the photos Mum printed out – I’ll show you at break— Ssh! – Mrs Allan’s watching us right now.” She stopped talking and tried to look like she was concentrating on the problems that Mrs Allan had put on the board for them. Their teacher was usually lovely, but she always got extra strict when they came back after the holidays – as though she thought they needed to remember what school was like!

  Zoe showed the photos to Becca and some of the other girls in her class at break time, and everyone said how gorgeous the puppies were. Lots of the girls said they were going to ask their mums and dads if they could come to the shelter and see the puppies, and maybe even adopt one of them. Zoe knew that most of her friends wouldn’t be allowed to – Lucy already had two dogs at home, for a start! But the more people who came to see the puppies the better. However much Zoe hated the thought of them leaving the shelter, she wanted them to have the very best of homes.

  That afternoon, Auntie Jo had arranged to nip out from the shelter and pick Zoe up from school. Mum was going to fetch her after she finished work. Zoe got changed quickly in the staff loos – Mum hated her getting her school uniform messy – and then ran to see Cookie and the others.

  Cookie was curled up in their basket, watching her brothers playing tug-of-war with a bit of old rope that someone had given them. They’d had it since the morning, and it was their new favourite toy. Bits of it were scattered all over the pen. She sighed a little, and rested her nose on her paws, wondering where Zoe was. Zoe had played with her every day since they’d come here from their old home. Actually, the little puppy couldn’t remember much of where they’d lived before they’d been at the shelter. The only thing she was sure of was that their mother had been at the old place. She still wondered what had happened, and why they had been taken away, but she didn’t mind, because now she had Zoe.

  Except that today she didn’t, and she didn’t understand why. Zoe always fed her and her brothers. Zoe made a special fuss of them, even though she wasn’t feeding milk from her lap any more. Zoe still brought the food bowls, and watched to make sure that she was eating properly. Zoe even stopped Choc and Biscuit from trying to take her food if they finished theirs first.

  Today the other lady had brought their food - Jo, the one who was always with Zoe. Jo had said nice things, and she’d stroked her, and said how good she was. But it wasn’t the same.

  Cookie’s little ears pricked up sharply. Someone was running along the passage between the pens - someone with small, light footsteps. She jumped up in the basket and barked excitedly as Zoe appeared at the front of the pen, beaming at her.

  “Oh! Did you miss me? I really missed you,” Zoe told her, opening the latch. “You too, yes, I missed you as well, you great big monsters,” she told Biscuit and Choc, patting them lovingly as they waltzed round her feet. But it was Cookie that she sat down next to, and Cookie she
cuddled as soon as the puppy clambered happily into her lap.

  “I missed you more,” Zoe whispered into her ears, as she stroked her. “I know I shouldn’t really say it, but I did.” She sighed. “There’s some people come to look round, Cookie. Try and look like a perfect pet, won’t you? You aren’t old enough to go for a couple more weeks, but if they like you, they might wait.”

  She could hear them coming along the line of pens, now. A couple, who’d just bought a house together, and were thinking of getting a dog. They’d said they didn’t mind whether it was a puppy or an older dog, but when Auntie Jo had mentioned the three gorgeous little puppies they had got excited.

  “They’ll be looking out for you.” Zoe sighed again. “They looked nice, I suppose. Nice-ish…” She couldn’t imagine anyone being a good enough owner for her lovely Cookie. No one except her, she realized, with a miserable little gulp.

  “So they decided on Jasper?” Zoe asked as she helped her aunt to clean out the food bowls, feeling a bit surprised, but very relieved. Jasper was about five years old and was a mixed-breed, mostly Labrador. He wasn’t nearly as nice-looking as Cookie and her brothers, Zoe thought.

  “Yes, they decided that they wanted a bigger dog after all,” Auntie Jo explained. “Don’t worry, Zoe. It won’t be hard to find homes for those three at all. They’re gorgeous. It’s the older dogs that it can be hard to place.”