by Ellen Miles
“Oh, no,” he said, holding up his hands. “We can’t take on three puppies. We’ve done it before, but it’s a lot of work, and Betsy’s in the middle of researching a big story right now.” Charles’s mom was a newspaper reporter.
Ms. Dobbins barely blinked. “How about one puppy, then?” she asked, gesturing to the puppy on the exam table.
Charles grinned. “Yes!” he whispered to Sammy, pumping his fist. Up until that moment, he had not even thought about whether his family would foster the puppy with the hurt leg. Everything had moved so fast, from the very first moment when the Bean had spotted her on the side of the road. Now, suddenly, he wanted — more than anything! — to bring this sweet puppy home and take care of her.
Dad just laughed.
“I’m serious,” said Ms. Dobbins.
Dad’s face changed. He stopped laughing. “Oh,” he said. “Well …”
“I’m already full at the shelter, but I’m squeezing this mom and two pups in,” said Ms. Dobbins. “We are way too busy at Caring Paws to also be caring for a pup who needs special attention.”
Dr. Gibson nodded. “This puppy will need to be kept quiet for at least a few days. No running around. She needs to rest, ideally in a very calm environment.”
Dad laughed again. “Well, I can’t exactly say that our home is a very calm environment, with three kids and a puppy — but I suppose it’s calmer than the shelter.”
“She can stay in my room,” said Charles. “I’ll make her a cozy little bed with soft blankets and towels in a big cardboard box. I’ll bring her food and water and sleep right there next to her at night.”
“You’ll probably even read to her,” Sammy said. “The way you always read the Sunday comics to Buddy.”
“Awww, do you do that?” Dr. Gibson asked Charles. “That is so sweet. I bet Buddy loves that.”
Charles felt himself blushing. “I guess,” he said. “Anyway, we’ll take really good care of her, I promise!”
“Hold on there, mister,” said his dad. “I can’t remember agreeing to this. Did we even talk about it?”
Charles just looked at his dad. He tried to make his eyes look as huge and pleading as Buddy’s did when he was begging for a treat. If Charles had a tail, he would have wagged it. How could Dad be able to resist helping this feisty little pup? After all, that was what a foster family did. That’s what the Peterson family did. They helped puppies who needed them.
Dad asked again. “Did we?”
Charles did the big-eye thing again, cocking his head this time. If he could have stuck out his ears hopefully, the way Buddy did when you asked if he wanted to go for a walk, he would have.
Dad raised his hands. “I surrender!” But then he reached for his phone and punched a button. “But only if Mom agrees.”
“Yesss,” Charles whispered to Sammy, with another fist pump. He knew Mom would not say no when she heard that this puppy especially needed their help.
* * *
“I knew it,” Charles told Lizzie later, as they sat on the floor in his room with the brown-and-white puppy. “Once I used the ‘begging puppy’ face on Dad, it was all over.”
She held up a palm for a high five. “Well done,” she said. “And this little one here did her part, too,” she added, gently petting the puppy who lay nestled in Charles’s old red-plaid baby blanket. Her purple-wrapped leg stuck out straight, but she looked cozy and happy. Charles could tell she enjoyed the attention.
Wait till you see me when I can run around again! Then you’ll really be impressed.
“She’s a little toughie,” said Charles. “She made it, even out there on her own. You can tell her leg hurts, but she barely ever cries.”
“I wonder if she misses her family,” said Lizzie.
“That’s why I put so many of Buddy’s toys in with her,” said Charles. “So she wouldn’t feel too lonely.” The puppy was surrounded by a floppy duck, a long purple snake, three cushy balls, and a mostly shredded yellow teddy bear. Looking up at Charles, she put a paw on the duck and gave her tiny head a shake.
I’ll never be lonely as long as you’re my friend!
“Wow, that was so much fun,” Sammy said to Charles. It was a few days after the Great Puppy Rescue, and they were at the snack bar at LazerQuest, eating french fries after a wild game of laser tag.
“I know,” said Charles. “I hated to leave the puppy, but I couldn’t miss your birthday party. Anyway, Lizzie’s taking good care of her.”
Another boy came over and smacked Sammy’s hand. “Great shot,” he said. “I thought I had you cornered in that purple room, but you escaped. Then you got me when I came through the yellow hallway.”
Sammy and Charles laughed. “We ambushed so many people in that hallway,” said Charles. “Green team rules!” Charles’s heart was still thudding from all the crazy running around. The lights were so bright, and the music was so loud. It was like being inside a video game. Hmm, video games. Charles glanced over to the arcade area. “Do you have any quarters?” he asked Sammy. They had time for a few games before cake and presents.
Sammy shook his head.
“I think I could loan you a couple,” said someone behind Charles. He turned to see who had spoken. It was Mr. Mason! His teacher put his soda down next to his own basket of fries and started rummaging in his pocket, looking for quarters.
“What are you doing here?” Charles asked, without even thinking. Then he felt bad. “I mean — it’s funny to see you here.”
Mr. Mason smiled. “It’s funny to see you, too,” he said. He put his arm around the woman standing next to him. She was pretty, with long wavy brown hair and big brown eyes that matched her brown skin. “I’m here with my sweetie. This is Janice.”
Janice smiled at Charles and Sammy. “You must be in Tom’s class,” she said. “I mean — Mr. Mason’s.”
Charles and Sammy nodded. Charles was still getting used to the idea of seeing his teacher at LazerQuest. Now he also had to get used to the idea that his teacher had a first name — and a girlfriend! He stared at Mr. Mason and Janice, but somehow he couldn’t think of a thing to say.
Mr. Mason seemed to understand. “How’s that puppy?” he asked. Charles always told his classmates about the puppies they were fostering, and he’d already shared a lot about the new puppy.
Charles smiled. “She’s doing great,” he said. “She’s so smart! Lizzie and I taught her some tricks already, even though her leg is hurt. She can sit up pretty and play dead.”
“The puppy gets around really well on three legs, too,” said Sammy. He had come over to play with the puppy that morning.
“I heard that you foster puppies,” Janice said to Charles. “My son, Derek, wants to do that, too — but I’m so busy as a single mom. I work long hours as a nurse. But Derek lives with his dad three nights a week, and he might agree to fostering. They’ve been visiting a mother dog and two puppies over at that shelter. Caring Paws, I think it’s called?”
“That’s our puppy’s mom!” Charles burst out. “And her brothers!” For a second, Charles wasn’t sure how he felt about another family in town fostering puppies. Would there be enough to go around? He shook his head. That was silly. Of course there would. Sadly, there were always puppies who needed help. And how great would it be if someone fostered the mother dog and her puppies?
“Cool,” said Janice. “That’s my son over there.” She pointed to some boys playing video games in the arcade. “He’s here for a birthday party.”
“It’s my birthday, too,” said Sammy.
“Oh, happy birthday!” said Janice.
Charles recognized a teenage boy from the science fair the other night — the one who had made the robot. He was tall and skinny, with an Afro and oversized glasses. He could see a resemblance to Janice — their faces were the same shape. Was that him?
“What’s your puppy’s name?” Janice asked. “I hear she’s really cute and feisty.”
Charles nodded. “She
is,” he said. “She doesn’t have a name yet. I mean, she has a lot of names, because everybody in the family calls her something different. But nothing has stuck so far.”
Janice laughed. “What are some of the names?”
“My dad calls her Rosie,” said Charles, “because she’s such a happy girl. And my mom calls her Moxie because she’s a little toughie. Mom says that’s a name for someone with a lot of spirit.”
Mr. Mason nodded and popped a french fry into his mouth. “What about you? What do you call her?”
“I just call her all kinds of nicknames,” said Charles. “Like Little Girl and Honey Bun. Lizzie, my sister, calls her Isabella de la Luna. I have no idea why.”
“And the Bean calls her Uppy, of course,” added Sammy.
Janice closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m good at naming things,” she said. “Let me think…. How about Roxy? It’s cute, and it combines Rosie and Moxie.”
Charles raised his eyebrows. “Wow, that’s great!” he said. Mr. Mason’s girlfriend was really smart. “I bet everyone can agree on that one.”
“Boys!” called Sammy’s dad just then. “Time for cake and presents!” He waved from the long table he and Sammy’s mom had been busy setting up.
“Have fun,” said Mr. Mason.
“I hope I get to meet that puppy someday, whatever you decide to name her,” said Janice, smiling at Charles. “She sounds like one special pup.”
“See you two at school tomorrow,” said Mr. Mason. “I can’t wait to hear what you’ve come up with for your science fair projects.” He and Janice walked off, hand in hand.
Charles’s stomach fell. He stared at Sammy. “Uh-oh,” he said. He had totally forgotten that Monday was the day they were supposed to tell Mr. Mason what projects they’d decided to do for the science fair.
“Roxy!” Lizzie said when Charles told her about the name that Janice had suggested. “Hmm, Roxy.”
He held his breath. Would she like it? He looked down at the puppy in his arms. He had scooped her up the second he walked into the house, after Sammy’s birthday party. She was so irresistibly cute! He kissed the top of her head, and she licked his cheek with gusto. After a few days of rest, her sore leg barely seemed to bother her. They would be taking her to see Dr. Gibson again soon, and Charles had a feeling the vet would say that the puppy was all better.
“I love it!” said Lizzie. She grinned at Charles. “It’s much better than Isabella de la Luna. That name really never fit her.” She reached out to stroke the puppy’s tiny head. “Hi, Roxy,” she said.
“Woxy!” yelled the Bean when he heard. His smile lit up his whole face.
Mom and Dad liked the name, too. “Works for me,” said Dad.
“It’s perfect,” said Mom. “But don’t forget, whoever adopts her may decide to change it.”
Charles frowned. Why did she have to remind him about that? He didn’t even want to think about someone adopting this puppy. That was the worst part of fostering — when you had to say good-bye. It helped when you knew you had found a puppy the perfect home, but it was still never easy. And what was the perfect home for Roxy? He looked down at the puppy in his arms. She gazed back at him from under the long, bushy eyebrows that made her face so silly and cute.
“Who’s the cutest?” Charles asked.
She tilted her head and stuck her ears out in the most adorable way.
I am, silly!
The whole family burst into laughter.
“That’s it!” said Lizzie. “That’s Roxy’s new trick! I’ve been trying to think of tricks I can teach a dog with a hurt leg. I’ll teach her to tilt her head like that when you ask her ‘Who’s the cutest?’”
Hearing the phrase, Roxy tilted her head again, this time in the other direction. Her brown eyes sparkled as she held up one paw.
I told you! It’s me!
“I don’t think you even have to teach her,” said Dad, laughing again. “She’s a natural — and she knows exactly how cute she is.”
“That’s why it’s the perfect trick,” said Lizzie. “When you can take something that a dog does naturally and then reward them for it — especially with really good treats, like Aunt Amanda always uses — they learn super fast.”
* * *
On Monday morning at Sharing Circle, Charles told his class about Roxy’s new name and new trick. “And Janice, Mr. Mason’s girlfriend, was the one who thought of the perfect name,” he added.
At the word “girlfriend,” everybody hooted. Mr. Mason turned bright red. “Um, thank you, Charles,” he said. “Does anybody else have something to share?”
After Sharing Circle, Mr. Mason said he was going to meet with each of them individually to talk about their science fair projects. “The rest of you can do free reading, or begin work on whatever project you’ve chosen,” he said. He sat down at his desk and called Tiffany Alexander’s name.
Good, thought Charles. He’s going alphabetically. That gives me a little time.
Charles sat at his desk, doodling pictures of cartoon dogs while he tried to think of a science fair project. Should he do mold, like Sammy? No, that was copying. How about something on plastic pollution in the ocean? He had heard Mom talking about that. Or maybe he should try growing some bean plants under different conditions? Lizzie had done that once. Charles smiled to himself, remembering how the ones she had watered with raspberry drink mix had grown more than the ones she had watered with milk.
Then he shook his head. None of those ideas really grabbed him. He thought about what Mr. Mason had taught them about how scientists work. “Everything begins with ‘I wonder,’” Mr. Mason had said. “Like, I wonder what will happen if I mix these two chemicals. Or, I wonder how birds know when it’s time to fly south. I wonder if there is a way to create a whole new kind of rocket.” Mr. Mason had told them to let their minds wander and to write down the things they wondered about. “You never know where that will lead,” he’d said.
“Charles?” Mr. Mason called just then.
Charles gulped. It was his turn, and he still didn’t have an idea for his project. He trudged up to Mr. Mason’s desk as slowly as he could. Mr. Mason smiled at him. “So, Charles, what’s your project about?” he asked.
Charles bit his lip.
“I’m guessing it has something to do with puppies,” said Mr. Mason.
Charles sat up. Puppies! He hadn’t even thought about that. He remembered Lizzie teaching Roxy her new trick the night before. “I wonder …” he began slowly, “I wonder if it’s really true that using better treats helps dogs learn faster.”
Mr. Mason raised his eyebrows, looking confused.
“My aunt Amanda always says it does,” Charles explained. “When she’s training dogs, she uses stuff like roast beef, or cheddar cheese, instead of regular dog biscuits. But I wonder … is it really true that dogs learn faster with those treats? I can do some experiments to find out.” His mind was racing. This could be really fun. Sammy could help him, since he had plenty of time while his mold was growing. They could teach Roxy and Buddy all kinds of new tricks, and the people who came to the science fair would learn something about dog training.
Mr. Mason leaned back in his chair, made his fingers into a little tent under his chin, and thought for a moment. Then he sat back up, smiling. “I like it,” he said. “Great idea, Charles.”
Charles let out a sigh of relief.
“Now all you have to do is design your experiment scientifically,” Mr. Mason added.
“Okay, do we have everything we need for our big experiment?” Charles asked Sammy the next day. They were in Charles’s backyard, letting Buddy and Roxy roam around before their big training session. Buddy seemed to understand that Roxy was not up for a game of “chase me and I’ll chase you.” Both dogs wandered around, sniffing things, while the boys got ready. Roxy’s leg was still wrapped in purple, but she was healing fast. She was hardly even limping now, and she could even go up and down the stairs by herself.
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br /> Charles held a clipboard in his hand, and now he went down the list he’d made the night before, checking items off with a red pen. “Cheddar cheese bites?”
“Check,” said Sammy.
“Hot dog slices?” Charles asked.
“Check,” said Sammy.
“Regular old brown biscuits?” Charles asked.
Sammy laughed. “Got ’em,” he said, holding up the box and shaking it to make the biscuits rattle. “They may be boring, but every dog I know loves them. I’m guessing that your hypothesis will not be correct.”
Mr. Mason had talked the day before about hypotheses — good guesses that scientists made about the answers to their “I wonder” questions. Often, experiments were designed to prove a hypothesis. Charles’s hypothesis was that Aunt Amanda was right about dogs learning faster with good treats. Aunt Amanda was usually right about anything to do with dogs.
“We’ll see,” said Charles. He was pretty sure that Buddy would learn just about any trick faster if a piece of cheddar cheese was involved. Buddy always crunched up any dog biscuits that came his way, but he didn’t always seem so excited about them. Charles couldn’t blame him. Even the ones with fancy ingredients like blueberries or wild-caught Alaskan salmon didn’t look or smell very interesting.
“Anyway, let’s finish our checklist of stuff we need for our experiment.” Charles scanned the paper on his clipboard. He had figured out that the best way to make his experiment scientific was to measure his results and keep track of them. It wasn’t so hard, after all. “Stopwatch? Pen? Clipboard?”
“Yup,” said Sammy, holding up the stopwatch hanging around his neck. “And yup and yup,” he added, pointing to Charles’s clipboard and pen.
