The Secret Dog

by Joe Friedman

  He checked the puppy’s temperature. Still way too hot. He tucked the bag of frozen chips in next to her.

  Then he told the puppy about his mother. How they had lived together in a tiny flat and how she was small and funny and warm and how she’d raised him all by herself and how they were just fine, the two of them . . . until she’d decided to be a good Samaritan and drive a neighbour who was having a baby to the hospital. She must have been going way too fast – they were both killed instantly.

  He was just seven at the time, and though he still had some photos of her, he just didn’t seem to be able to remember her properly. Not feel inside him what she was like. Not since he’d come to the island . . .

  That had happened two days after the crash. His mother’s brother, who he’d only met once when he was so small he couldn’t remember it, had taken him in. But Calum wasn’t at all like his mother. Not warm, not funny. He wasn’t cruel or anything like that, he assured the sleeping puppy. It was just that he wasn’t . . . her.

  Still – Josh remembered to check the puppy’s temperature and remove the bag of chips – the one good thing about living here was that he’d discovered the commons, the wild and varied land near his uncle’s croft. And it was there he’d discovered his passion: saving animals, like her.

  It wasn’t until the early evening that the puppy opened one of her eyes and with a huge effort, turned her little head to look up at him. She just gazed at him and Josh felt a huge joy well up inside him. He knew then that she’d pull through.

  And a name for her popped into his head – almost as if she’d put it there. Reggae. The music his mum had loved.

  Chapter 4

  It was the first class after lunch and the air in the Portakabin classroom was stale. Josh’s desk was near the window, in the sun, and his head was muzzy. Reggae was still waking him in the night, even though she’d fully recovered from her infection.

  She wasn’t noisy, but she loved to climb all over his face. Just when he’d finally fallen deeply asleep. Josh guessed she needed attention. She was alone way too much, even though he usually ran home at lunch time and spent as much time as he could with her before and after school.

  She was growing fast. Too fast. Josh knew he couldn’t keep her secret in his room much longer. His uncle’s hearing might not be the best, but his sense of smell was fine. And Reggae’s pee plus the hot sun in the loft were a potent combination.

  Mr Eldon, his geography teacher, was droning on. He insisted on talking about places on the other side of the world – when Josh wanted to understand the geography of the island where they lived. He knew it was fifty miles long, and that the loch his uncle lived on was roughly in the middle. But he didn’t get how it had come to have so many different types of landscape in such a small area. It had mountains in one place and moors and lochs and cliffs in others.

  Once, when he’d been bored – or brave – enough to ask about this, Mr Eldon had made fun of him, saying that Josh might have very limited horizons, but that other students were interested in the wider world. Looking at the blank faces around him, Josh didn’t think this was true.

  Josh stared out at the empty school grounds. A distinctive van was making its way along the road towards the village. It was the vet. His mind drifted back in time to the day, not long after he’d arrived on the island, when he’d first met him.

  He had been wandering through the fields one afternoon when he’d heard a worrying sound. On the other side of a hillock he’d found Morag, one of his uncle’s Highland cattle, lying on the ground, groaning in pain. She’d looked terrible. Her calf was lowing plaintively not far away. Josh had run to his uncle.

  ‘Uncle Calum! Uncle Calum! Morag’s not well!’

  Josh led his uncle to the sick cow. Calum took one look and ran back home to phone the vet.

  Josh knew even then that this meant it was serious. One of his uncle’s favourite topics at the dinner table was how much the vet cost.

  But there were only twenty cattle on the croft and losing one would be a major blow, especially Morag, who reliably produced a healthy calf every year.

  The vet’s distinctive van had arrived ten minutes later. The sides were brightly painted with scenes from the American old west: canyons, covered wagons, horses, Indians and an Indian village. A gruff-looking man with a trimmed white beard emerged wearing a cowboy hat. He greeted Calum with a warm hand-shake and then turned to Josh.

  ‘Calum’s nephew! I’ve heard a lot about you.’

  Josh had just stared, quite unable to speak. The vet seemed like a larger-than-life hero out of a movie.

  After waiting a moment for a response, the vet had simply tipped his hat to Josh, and then followed Calum to the field where Morag was still lying on the ground. Josh had trailed along behind the two men, not close enough to get in anybody’s way and get told off, but not far enough to miss anything.

  To Josh’s surprise, the vet stopped some distance from Morag, who was twitching on the ground. He took in the situation.

  ‘I think you’re right. It’s the staggers,’ he’d said to Calum.

  Then he’d turned and walked away as if he there were nothing urgent about the situation. But once the vet was about fifty metres from Morag, he ran back to the van. Josh followed and watched as the vet opened the rear door and climbed in. Josh’s eyes opened wide. The back of the van was like a miniature operating theatre! There were shelves along the walls containing neat rows of medicines and a table covered with white paper. Along its side was an oxygen tank, and shiny medical-looking tools. The vet quickly picked up two small boxes, and two syringes – one big, one small – from a large box. Then he’d run back towards Morag. Josh had had to go at top speed to keep up.

  But when he came within sight of the cow, the vet slowed to a walk. Why, Josh had wondered, didn’t he run all the way to the cow? She was obviously in pain.

  The vet stopped about ten metres away from Morag. He filled up the small syringe with medicine from one of the boxes. Then he crept up to the cow, knelt, stuck the needle into a vein in her neck, and swiftly retreated.

  The vet must have noticed Josh was watching him. He said in a soft voice, ‘That was a sedative, to calm her down. Her nervous system is in a terrible state, because she’s depleted of magnesium. Any sudden movement could kill her.’

  So that’s why the vet walked slowly while he was close to Morag! He didn’t want to alarm her. Josh liked that the vet had taken the trouble to explain, even though he didn’t understand everything he’d said. The vet was filling up the second, much bigger, syringe. Josh could see that Morag wasn’t twitching as much as before.

  The vet walked slowly towards her, knelt and inserted the second needle into her vein. As soon as the syringe was empty, the vet retreated once again.

  For a couple of minutes, nothing seemed to happen.

  Calum was tense. ‘Were we too late?’ he asked in a low voice.

  Then all of a sudden, Morag had almost jumped to her feet. Giving the three of them no more than a quick backward glance, she’d galloped off to join her calf.

  To Josh, this had seemed little short of a miracle. It was as if the vet could raise the dead! He wanted to be able to do this too.

  Suddenly Josh remembered where he was. Not in a field healing Highland cows, but a classroom. He looked around anxiously. Had anyone noticed him daydreaming?

  It seemed not. He wished school were easier. Reception had been fine. But once teachers started writing on blackboards, he’d struggled to make sense of their sentences. For a while, he told himself it was their bad handwriting.

  But this past year, new computer whiteboards had arrived. He still couldn’t make out half the words, even when they were typed. Maybe it wasn’t as many as half. But it was enough so that he couldn’t figure out what sentences meant.

  So geography wasn’t horrible just because Mr Eldon was mean and boring. He also used the whiteboard a lot. Like his English, religious studies, history and citizensh
ip teachers.

  It wasn’t that Josh didn’t have plans to deal with this. He might not be able to read well but he wasn’t an idiot. But his major tactic was still praying the teacher wouldn’t call on him.

  ‘Josh? Are you with us today?’

  He’d drifted off again. Worrying what he was going to do about Reggae peeing in his bedroom.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Apologising automatically was one of the things Josh did to try to make things better when he got called on.

  ‘That’s very nice, Josh,’ Mr Eldon said sarcastically. ‘But I’d prefer an answer to my question.’

  Josh’s eyes searched the classroom. There were a lot of faces looking in his direction. He noticed Kearney, who was smiling maliciously at him. He wished he had a friend. Someone’s kind eyes would make these horrible moments easier.

  ‘I think I must have missed the question.’

  ‘That was the way it seemed to me too,’ Mr Eldon said.

  ‘Could you repeat it please?’ Josh asked.

  ‘I think not. Instead I’ll give you a detention – a double detention – in the hope that next time you’ll have some incentive to stay with us for the whole period.’

  A double detention – that might mean his uncle would get home before Josh! Before he had a chance to clear away the newspapers soaked with dog pee . . . His uncle might find Reggae!

  * * *

  Josh ran all the way home, praying that his uncle hadn’t come home early. He’d changed the newspapers in his room at lunch, but Reggae had drunk a lot of milk . . .

  After taking off his shoes at the door, Josh rushed through the house. Then he breathed a sigh of relief. He was home first.

  He climbed the ladder to his room, and then, holding his nose with one hand, he crumpled up the sodden newspaper with the other. Fortunately, he’d left the window open at lunchtime.

  ‘I know it’s horrible for you to be left alone. And with this stink,’ he told her. ‘At least you’ve managed to hit the paper. Most of the time.’ He finished gathering the soggy paper up. Reggae looked at him eagerly. As far as she was concerned, now that he was home, it was time to play!

  ‘Let me get rid of this first.’

  Even with the loft window wide open, there was no mistaking the smell from the bottom of the ladder.

  Why did dogs have to grow so quickly? She’d only been living with him a little over a month!

  As he climbed back into the loft through the hatch in the floor, Reggae attempted to jump up on him. Her little legs were not quite up to the task. Josh had to catch her to keep her from falling.

  ‘Careful!’ he said. ‘It’s a long way down.’

  Reggae gave him a cheeky look, as if to say ‘I knew you’d catch me!’

  ‘You think you’re pretty smart,’ Josh said with a smile in his voice.

  Then he heard the front door close. That had been close.

  ‘Josh, are you home?’ his uncle called.

  ‘Just got here,’ Josh shouted down the hatch. He could hear his uncle walking past the ladder on the way to his room. Then he heard him stop.

  ‘There’s quite a pong coming from up there,’ he said, and started to climb the ladder.

  Josh felt the blood drain from his legs. He shoved Reggae under the bedclothes and then rushed to meet his uncle, so he didn’t come into the room. At least he’d cleared away the newspapers!

  Calum stuck his head through the hatch.

  ‘I know,’ Josh said swiftly. ‘I should have washed my jeans last night. An otter I saved from a trap yesterday was so scared he peed on me.’

  Calum laughed as he imagined the scene. ‘Are you sure it was only one otter? It smells like a roomful of skunks here!’

  ‘He must have been really scared,’ Josh replied, smiling. His heart was thumping. ‘I think it affects their pee.’

  ‘At least your room is relatively tidy,’ Calum said. ‘But get those jeans in the wash. Now! I don’t want the whole house to stink like this.’ He chuckled as he retreated down the ladder.

  After Josh heard the door to Calum’s bedroom close, he rescued Reggae from under the bedclothes. ‘That was close,’ he whispered. ‘We can’t leave it any longer. I’ll put my jeans in the machine. And then we’re going to go out to find you a new home.’

  Chapter 5

  Josh’s school was the only secondary on the island. It was right at the edge of the main town, within easy walking distance for Josh. Many students had to travel a long distance to the school. Most people on the island had to make a special trip to get to town.

  It wasn’t like the town was huge. Especially in comparison to the city where Josh grew up. But it had everything an islander would need: a pharmacy, post office, several bakers and places to buy clothes and food. Josh knew other people from his school ordered things from the internet, and that people from the south of the island went over the new bridge to the mainland to buy clothes and food. But Calum and Josh bought everything they needed in town. Calum felt it was important to support the local shops.

  Because the school was so near the town, a lot of students went into it at lunchtime, or after school, before their buses left for their homes. Josh wasn’t one of them. Doing anything in town involved spending money. Money he didn’t have, especially now, when he was saving every penny to feed Reggae.

  But today he had to buy stuff for Reggae’s new home. He’d emptied out his savings, which amounted to less than £2, so he knew he was restricted to the charity shop. But he was optimistic he would find everything he needed there.

  Josh stopped at the butcher first. He wanted to see Joanna, the butcher’s wife. As he entered the small shop, the wonderful smell of fresh sausages and grass-fed beef hit him. Suddenly, he was starving. Instead of eating lunch, he’d gone home to play with Reggae and change her newspapers.

  He spotted Joanna coming out of the big freezer at the back of the shop. She was a big, warm-hearted woman, with lots of freckles and wild red hair that was always escaping from her hairnet.

  ‘Hi Joanna,’ he said, pleased to see her. She wasn’t always at the shop. She had three kids. And a very time-intensive hobby.

  ‘Josh!’ she replied. ‘I haven’t seen you in ages.’ She looked at his empty hands. ‘No cubs for me today?’

  Calum had introduced Josh to Joanna several years earlier, when Josh had discovered a fox cub whose mother had been killed on the commons. Joanna was well known on the island for saving just such cubs. Over the years, Josh had supplied her with quite a few more. He knew that a lot of crofters didn’t approve. They regarded foxes as pests. But Joanna loved foxes.

  ‘Just dropped by to say hello.’

  Joanna came out from behind the counter and gave Josh a big, motherly hug. Josh knew better than to struggle. Lifting sides of beef made her incredibly strong. ‘That’s very nice of you.’ Then she held him at arm’s length. ‘Are you eating enough?’

  Josh smiled. Joanna’s exuberant personality reminded me of his mum. She was always worried about how much he was eating too.

  ‘I’m not going to starve.’

  ‘That’s not good enough,’ Joanna declared. She went behind the counter and chose several of Josh’s favourite sausages.

  ‘I can’t . . .’

  ‘Don’t you say another word! These are a gift for you and Calum.’ She then emptied a metal bowl of meat scraps into a plastic bag. ‘And these are for the wee ones in your care.’

  ‘That’s not necessary,’ Josh protested. But he thought, Reggae will have a feast tonight.

  As Josh headed for the charity shop, he couldn’t help thinking about how different Joanna and his mum were from Calum. Their personalities seemed to overflow their bodies, where Calum kept his firmly in check. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Calum and his mum had been brother and sister. His Aunt Gertrude was different again. But, even though she lived on the island, he hardly saw her because she spent so much time on the mainland with her daughter and grandchildren.

  I
n the charity shop, Josh nodded to the older woman who was behind the cash register. She nodded back, then returned to her conversation with a small, grey-haired man Josh didn’t recognise.

  At the counter, they had a small display of huge rawhide dog bones. Josh picked one up and fingered it, thinking about how much Reggae would love it. Then he noticed the price, and put it down. He had to be realistic. With £2, he couldn’t buy everything he wanted.

  He went to the back of the store, and searched through the plastic items. He found a large red plastic washing-up bowl that would serve as a bed, and a smaller bowl that Reggae could use as a toilet. The rest of his money went on a couple of old blankets, a tin of dog food, and some cheap dog toys.

  Back at the counter, he paid for everything with the change he’d taken from his piggy bank. He carefully packed all his purchases into a large black bin bag. He’d almost finished when the grey-haired man picked up one of the big rawhide bones from the counter and added it to the bin bag.

  ‘My treat,’ he said, smiling.

  Josh couldn’t believe his luck.

  * * *

  Josh’s bedroom was dark, lit only by the bedside lamp. His rucksack was almost full. He turned to look at Reggae, sitting on his bed watching him intently. He wanted to remember what it was like to have her in his room. It had been wonderful having her sleep in the bed with him every night. He would miss her.

  Josh put his hand under the fast-growing puppy and lifted her into the air. He flew her around like an aeroplane, making an engine noise, then landed her just inside the rucksack. She looked up at him intently. He put his finger to his mouth and fastened the rucksack over her head.