by Blake Morgan
“Look, Buddy. Here’s Noah playing in the bath as a baby.” I nudged the tip of my nose under the corner of the next page and Lucy laughed in delight. “See! He’s turning the pages!” She hooked a finger under the next page and we all crowded round to gaze at photos of Noah swimming in a pool.
It was strange to see Noah looking so energetic. He hadn’t always been ill, which meant he could definitely get better again.
Noah’s smile faded. “That was before I got ill,” he said quietly. His sister turned another page and I saw more photos of him – building a Lego statue and sitting on a slide in the back garden.
“But you’re getting better now,” Lucy reminded him softly.
Exactly! I thought. She kissed the top of my head, as though she was reading my thoughts again. I squirmed, as if I didn’t like it, but I didn’t move away. Didn’t like it? I loved it! “And you have Buddy here to help you get back to normal!” She handed the album to Noah and he shoved it under his pillow.
“Thanks, Mum.” He climbed off the bed to give her a hug.
“You’re welcome,” his mum said, and then she and Lucy left.
I spent the rest of the day sniffing around my new home, chasing balls on the lawn and following Noah around. By the time we’d had supper, I was exhausted! Fortunately, Noah was looking pretty sleepy too. He gave a big yawn and I did the same. His mum laughed.
“I think the two of you are ready for bed. Why don’t you get into your pyjamas?” she said to Noah.
“All right.” He pretended to look reluctant, but I could see he was secretly pleased and the two of us ran upstairs.
I started to settle down for the night. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I’d heard Noah and his mum talking earlier in the day about Noah’s new school. Apparently, they’d been waiting for me to arrive before Noah started. I took a big gulp. No pressure, then! Katie had told us how important school is to Humans. It’s like being at a dog agility competition, only it goes on for longer – much longer. And you don’t get ribbons.
I watched Noah get into his pyjamas and then pad across the landing to the bathroom. There was the sound of water running and a smell of mint floated over to me. He was brushing his teeth! I recognized this because Katie sometimes brushed our teeth with paste and a soft toothbrush.
A light snapped off and then Noah came to get into my bed – I mean, his bed.
“Shove up, silly,” he said to me, and I rolled over to one side of the mattress. Noah climbed in and we lay down side by side. Our faces were so close they were almost touching and we gazed deep into each other’s eyes. I don’t know what Noah saw in mine – balls, treats and blankets, maybe – but in his I saw hope and a little bit of fear. I gave his hand a small lick, as though to say, You can tell me all about it.
Noah reached out and stroked my ears, then he rolled over on to his back to stare at the ceiling, where someone had pressed stickers of glowing neon stars. It was comforting to see them up there.
“I’m worried, Buddy,” he said in a quiet voice. “What if I don’t like being at school? People might not understand about…” His words faded away, but I knew what he meant. He was talking about the anaemia.
For the first time, I felt an ache in my own heart. I could protect him from hurting himself, but when it came to finding friends – there was nothing I could do to help him with that. Well, I could be cute obviously, and people always love cute dogs, but beyond that? Noah was on his own.
I wriggled across the quilt and pressed my nose into the palm of his hand. I breathed a gust of warm air out through my nose, knowing it would tickle him. He laughed and squirmed and rolled his head over so that he could look at me again.
“I’ll be fine, Buddy. Won’t I?” We looked deep into each other’s eyes again, and I blinked slowly. You’ll be more than fine. You’ll be brilliant.
Noah smiled and switched off the bedside lamp. The two of us were plunged into darkness, but I didn’t feel alone at all. I felt loved, and I hoped Noah knew he was loved too. You’re probably going to say it’s impossible for a dog to love his new owner so quickly, but that’s where you’re wrong. We recognize good people the moment we meet them, and Noah was good to his bones. And dogs, you see, they don’t just like good people. They love them. We’re all or nothing kind of animals.
My eyelids slowly grew heavy and I heaved a deep sigh as I sank into sleep. Noah would be just fine with me by his side.
I didn’t get as much sleep as I’d have liked on the first night in my new home. Noah kept tossing and turning and I realized he was still worrying, even in his sleep. I was anxious too. I kept getting up to turn in circles on the quilt until finally I flopped down, exhausted.
But the next morning, we were both up bright and early. Noah went to clean his teeth again and I had a sniff around the garden. The lawn was damp with dew and I padded across, chasing the footprints of birds and cats, wondering if they had already heard about me. Katie always said I was the fastest dog in Detection Training and maybe word had spread?
I wolfed down my breakfast – biscuits with turkey in gravy, yum! – and waited for Noah by the front door. He came out with his mum following him, smoothing down his hair. Funny how Humans always like fur to be neat and tidy, even on their own heads.
“Now, you have a good day,” she said to Noah. “Don’t worry about it being the middle of term. They’ll all be really pleased to meet you.” She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. He rolled his eyes at me and wiped his cheek as she turned to me. I stared hard at the ground so she wouldn’t see me laughing.
“Buddy, look at me.” I gazed up at her from beneath my eyelashes. “Now, you take care of Noah. Remember what you have to do.”
Oh, I knew all right. My Very Important Job. I had to stick with Noah at all times. If I detected the scent that indicated his anaemia was getting the better of him, I had to make him either sit or lie down until the chance of him fainting had passed. Easy! The rest of the time, I could enjoy having lots of walks, lots of company and lots of treats. How hard could this be?
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Noah’s mum asked, walking out with us.
“No, Mum!” Noah cried. Then he bit his lip. “I mean, that’s kind of you, but I think it will just make it even more obvious that I’m the new boy. Besides, I’m nearly twelve and I don’t need to be walked to school any more.”
She smiled. “Good point. Go on, then, you two. Behave yourselves!” As if we wouldn’t!
The two of us set off for school. I couldn’t wait to see what it was like. As we got closer, more and more students joined us in the street.
“Is that your dog?” a girl asked Noah. She looked at my shiny new lead as though she’d really love to be holding it. I couldn’t blame her – it was a nice lead and, you know, I’m a cute dog. Noah’s face flushed with pride.
“Yes. He’s called Buddy,” Noah told her, and she came round to stroke me before heading through the school gates. I looked up at Noah. I told you it would be fine! I wanted to say. I just had to start believing this myself too.
The pavements were wide here, not like in the city, and the houses were big. And the school building was even bigger! It turned out that school is nothing like the Training Centre. I counted – one, two, three … – wow, more windows than a dog could possibly count. There were several different buildings with nameplates on the doors – Dining Hall, Assembly Hall, School Library, Craft Centre… The list went on and on!
Noah gulped. “It’s a big school,” he murmured, as other kids pushed past him. I gulped too – it really was! We were both the new kids and I wanted to cross my paws, hoping we’d be all right. “Right, let’s do this.”
We quickened our pace and I gazed up at Noah, full of admiration. You’re going to be busy here, fella. It was too late by the time I noticed the Human walking towards us, and I barrelled straight into a set of legs.
The owner of the legs gave a shout. “Hey! Get him away from me!�
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“Careful, Buddy!” Noah cried, tugging back on my lead.
The boy frowned down at me.
“I’m sorry,” Noah said. “It’s our first day and we’re still finding our way around.”
“Then you should look where you’re going!” the boy growled. Wow, he sounded just like a bear woken up from hibernation.
A couple of girls came over. “What’s wrong, Jake?” One of them asked, and glanced between the boy, Noah and me. Her face split into a smile as she realized what was happening and she shook her head. “You don’t need to be scared of a dog.”
The other girl kneeled beside me. “What’s your name, boy?” She looked at my little brass dog tag and read out loud: “Buddy. What a great name! Hi, Buddy. I’m Lily.” She ruffled my fur and stood back up, smiling at Noah. “How come you get to bring a dog to school?”
But before Noah could answer, I caught the whiff of a familiar scent – sharp and high, like lemons. Uh-oh! I noticed that Noah’s face had gone pale too. It probably didn’t help that the boy, Jake, had been so angry. I began nudging my nose against his leg.
“I bring him to school because…” Noah’s voice was growing weak and I knew what could happen next, if I didn’t do something – he’d faint!
Noah, Noah! Sit down, quick! Katie had taught me a clever trick to make Humans sit down. I came behind him to press my nose against the back of his knee so that it buckled and – yes! – he sank down to sit on a low stone wall.
“Oh my goodness!” Lily said. She shoved her backpack into her friend’s arms and came to place a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “Put your head between your legs.” Noah did as he was told. The girl was taking charge and I licked her hand gratefully.
She gazed down at me. “Now I understand why you’re in school,” she said. “I’ve read all about you – you’re a Detection Dog, aren’t you?” I hate to admit it, because we’re trained not to bark at Humans, but I gave a woof of agreement. This girl was clever!
I nudged Noah’s backpack. That morning his mum had shown me where the bananas and glucose tablets were kept. Even though she thought I couldn’t understand, she explained that bananas contain something called ‘iron’ which helps with anaemia, and glucose tablets are good for energy. Of course I understood – I’m a pretty clever dog!
I kept nudging the backpack, until Lily read my signals. She unzipped the bag, pulling out a banana and unpeeling it for Noah.
She waited until he had sat back up and then handed it to him. “Eat it slowly,” she said.
“Here, Lily,” her friend said, passing back her bag. “I’ll go and get a teacher.”
“Thanks, Mattie.”
Mattie ran off and Jake stared at his feet, still frowning. His face was tight and pinched. I found myself hiding behind Lily’s legs. I wasn’t used to people frowning at me – not unless I’d stolen their dinner or made a bad smell.
I came out and wagged my tail, hoping to make him smile, but he just backed away from me. Suit yourself, I thought, returning to Lily. I wasn’t sure I liked him either.
“You’re our new Star Pupil,” Lily said to me, patting my head.
“No, he isn’t, he—” Jake started to say, but Lily wasn’t listening. She’d come to kneel beside me and didn’t notice how Jake’s face clouded with anger, but I did. I gave a whimper.
“Don’t worry,” she told me. “He’ll be all right, thanks to you.” I was glad to see Noah sitting straighter now, his cheeks pink with colour. She was right – I had done my first good turn for my new friend.
Noah had finished eating his banana and carefully folded the skin up in a napkin. “Come here, boy,” he said to me. I padded over to him and he dug his face in my fur. “Oh, Buddy, thank you,” he whispered, rubbing me behind the ears. “I knew you’d be perfect. You didn’t make a fuss at all!”
He sat back up and I could tell how important it was to him that I hadn’t run around barking my head off – I’d just let the nearest people know what was happening. I am well trained, I thought proudly. Maybe Noah would slip me an extra treat at suppertime?
Mattie and a teacher appeared in the distance. Everything would be all right now – or nearly everything. I couldn’t stop watching that boy, Jake, as he stomped off across the playground. He paused at a corner and turned back, staring hard at me.
Even from this distance, I could see the look in that Human’s eyes. They were like shards of flint – cold and sharp. Why was he so unhappy? It was Noah’s first day at school and all he’d done was make Noah feel bad about himself. What was going on in a Human’s heart to make them start the day like that?
The teacher came and kneeled beside Noah. “How are you feeling?” he asked, pressing the back of his hand against Noah’s forehead.
“I’m fine now,” Noah said, smiling at me.
“His dog showed me where he keeps the bananas!” Lily added breathlessly. “He’s a really clever dog!”
“OK, well done, Lily and…”
“He’s called—” Noah began.
“He’s called Buddy!” Lily said, grabbing hold of my dog tag and showing the teacher my name etched into the brass.
The teacher smiled. “OK, well, hopefully we won’t need another banana today. Let’s take it easy now.”
He led us all into the classroom and Noah sat at a desk at the front. I really wanted to look around – there was so much to see! – but I knew that a good dog only faced forwards and didn’t wriggle or draw attention to himself.
I did sneak one look over my shoulder and spotted Lily sat in the row behind us, with her books in a neat pile on her desk. She winked at me and I turned back quickly, before the teacher noticed her paying me extra-special attention. I didn’t want to get into trouble already – I’d heard the most terrible stories about detention. Doggie Detention – imagine that! I couldn’t think of anything worse on my first day at school. Though I won’t lie – I already liked Lily a lot. She had a great smell and she’d been kind to Noah.
“Now, class, we have an extra-special new pupil joining us today,” the teacher announced. I sneaked a look around, wondering who this could be, and realized that everyone was staring at me. Me? He’s talking about me?
Noah got up and led me to stand beside the teacher’s desk. Thirty pupils, twenty-nine pairs of eyes gazing at me with adoration. One pair of eyes frowning at me.
Oh no. Jake. He was in the same class as Noah.
I wish I knew what I’d done wrong, other than knock into him. I was a big dog, and fast on my paws – I couldn’t help it!
“… and that’s why Buddy is with me,” I heard Noah finish.
While Jake and I had been having a staring competition, Noah had been telling the rest of the class about my Very Important Job. I licked my whiskers, trying to hide my thrill of pride. I’ll be honest, my fur had bristled with nervous energy at the start of the morning but now I was beginning to relax into my new job. Katie had told me I could do this!
We walked back to Noah’s desk and the teacher took his place at the front of the class. “All right, everyone. Maths!” There was a groan as the pupils took out their exercise books. I guessed Humans didn’t like counting as much as dogs did. (I particularly liked watching a Human count out dog treats.) But now, I sank on to the floor and rested my chin on my front paws, letting out a deep, contented sigh as I thought about chicken and peanut butter dog biscuits – yum, yum. My stomach let out a huge growl that made the whole class burst out laughing. It wasn’t even lunchtime!
It turned out, I really liked school. I learned all sorts of things, like which animals live in the mountains (eagles and goats), how to draw a circle (not with paws) and what 10 x 2 equals (20 dog treats!). By the time the lunch bell rang out, I was ready for anything!
As Noah packed up his books, Lily came to stand beside his desk. “Would you like me to show you where the canteen is?” she asked. “It’s beef stew today, followed by apple strudel.”
Beef stew is my favourite
Human food in the whole wide world! Katie used to feed us leftovers sometimes. My tail began to wag so hard that the tip thwacked against the back of her calves and Lily laughed, ruffling my fur. “Your lunch will come soon,” she said.
I whined and Noah gave me a reassuring look. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Mum’s spoken to the head teacher. The dinner ladies have put aside some stew for you so it can cool down.” Yippee! All the quicker for wolfing it up. Maybe I’ll get a nice spoonful of gravy too…
Lily and Noah joined the crowd heading towards the canteen. The sun was high in the sky now and the playground was full of noise as kids ran around, calling after each other, playing games. All the commotion would scare some dogs, but not me. Katie had trained us to stay calm even when there’s a lot of energy in the air. Did you know that dogs can smell excitement? Oh yes! To me, it smells like a mixture of candyfloss and tennis balls. You probably don’t know what I’m talking about. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but the truth is that Humans’ noses are pretty useless. You guys just don’t really get smells!
Anyway, there was a lot of excitement in the playground. Noah walked me into the canteen. And wow, the smells in there! My mouth began to water and I had to swallow hard to keep from drooling all over the floor. I could see my metal bowl over on a shelf. But rules are rules – Humans eat first. Noah got his tray and went to sit between Lily and Mattie. As they ate, a woman in a green-and-white checked apron came and placed the bowl down beside me.
One, two, three swallows – gone! And Noah was still eating, the slow coach. I heard the dinner lady make approving, clucking sounds as she watched me with her arms folded. “You’re a good dog,” she said, taking the bowl from me. I’d licked it so clean I could see my face in it. You won’t need to wash that, I wanted to tell her, but she’d already taken it to the sink.
I waited until Noah and Lily were ready to leave. I really wanted us to go outside, where all those children were running around. It looked so much fun! But of course, I couldn’t leave Noah’s side. Eventually, after they’d eaten something called apple strudel, we stepped out into the sunshine.
