by Andrew Kole
An angry, stubborn look came over Spencer’s face. He was definitely going to make trouble for his father and what he considered to be his latest money making scheme.
The team of groomers put the finishing touches on the Westminster dogs. Their coats were immaculate. Their teeth gleamed. Their toenails were perfectly manicured.
Yet Lady Maya stood out, even in this crowd, in a luxuri- ous, custom-made Victorian-style cape. Major had a camouflage bandana around his neck. Duke sported a dapper tweed vest, bow tie and a coordinating tweed cap. Piper was beautiful in a pink dress, her name embroidered on it in black, and set off by her apricot puffed-out fur. A tiny, bejeweled princess crown was attached to her lion mane groomed head. None of the other dogs wore outfits, but they all had new designer leather collars in different colors with their names engraved on gleaming brass tags.
Duke admired himself in a mirror. “I look fabulous!” He then turned and looked at the others, “The rest of you look... pretty good.”
“I believe I look more than pretty good,” Major stated with absolute pride.
Sandor shook his head, getting his hair out of his eyes. “Do we?
It’s hard to tell.”
“We all look amazing,” Piper said. “Of course Lady Maya and I look the best.”
Lady Maya stayed quiet. She was a bit self-conscious about her extravagant cape.
An extremely perky, high-energy publicist trotted into the dog spa toting a stack of oversized posters. “Aw! Everybody looks so fabulous!”
“I just wish I could see... something... anything...” said Sandor.
The publicist waved the posters at the groomers. “Mister Shuttleworth wants all the dogs to ‘sign’ these posters. They’re going to be used for the new national campaign... So, let’s get some paw prints on these before you go out.”
She then laid the posters on the floor. At last the dogs got a good look at the new advertising campaign. Lady Maya was front and center. The other Westminster dogs were arrayed behind her. Their pictures much, much, much smaller.
“You can barely see me!” Piper said.
“Well, you are very little,” Sandor said, stating the obvious.
“I think I need a new agent.” Aldo said out loud to himself.
“This isn’t very sporting,” Duke said with a stiff upper lip.
“So much for us being champions,” Winnie said, the disappointment in her tone rang true for all the dogs.
“This is a travesty!” Major exclaimed. “I won’t stand for it!”
In unison, the Westminster dogs stared daggers at Lady Maya.
“I had nothing to do with it! I promise!” Lady Maya said, in her defense.
“Of course. You’re the real champion. Just getting what you deserve,” said Piper sarcastically, causing Lady Maya’s eyes to fall to the ground. She was so embarrassed by the poster she couldn’t look the other dogs in the eye.
Amos and Taylor worked the crowd with Bohdi and Indy in tow. They introduced the dogs to everyone they met, telling the party guests how wonderful adopting a rescue mutt could be. They told tales of Indy’s pre-injury heroics as a ‘rescue dog who res- cues.’ Bohdi scored a few chin scratches while nearly everyone patted Indy admiringly on the head. Taylor and Amos told the people about the shelter, the good work it did and the funding they needed to keep it open. It was working, but slow going.
Amos was just thanking a couple for their small donation when Shuttleworth came charging over. “Hopton! What the devil are you doing here?!”
Amos waved his invitation at Shuttleworth. “You invited me.” “I doubt that,” said an annoyed Shuttleworth.
“You probably just had your assistant invite every prominent person in Aspen.”
“I did... But that doesn’t explain how you got an invitation.” Shuttleworth said.
Amos smiled, then offered an explanation. “I guess it was just bad luck for you, that I was included for some reason.”
Shuttleworth was very angry, but didn’t want to make a scene.
“I saw Sam Sackson give you a check... Begging at my party? That’s pathetic, Hopton.”
A slight shift of the wind drew Bohdi’s attention away from the arguing men. What was that smell? He’d smelled that heavenly aroma before. Bohdi sniffed deeply. And then he knew. “Ribs!” barked Bohdi as his mouth began to water. He quickly slipped away into the crowd, on the hunt for the very delicious ribs he remembered so fondly. A few seconds later, Taylor realized he was gone. “Where’s Bohdi?” Indy looked around but couldn’t spot the little mutt in the
crush of well-dressed people.
Taylor looked at Indy. “I’m going to look for him. Stay with Grandpa, okay?”
Bohdi followed his nose right up to the Hickory House van which was parked where the guests wouldn’t see the caterers unloading – right next to the guest house where the Westminster dogs were staying. He quickly nudged the unlatched cargo door open and followed his nose inside.
Now dressed for the party, Spencer strode confidently into the dogs’ guest house. Lady Maya ran over to him and greeted him happily. Spencer was thrilled to see her, but he didn’t want to risk losing his authority by playing with her. Instead, he put on his most grownup voice and informed the groomers that his father told him to get the dogs and that he wanted them to join him on stage. The groomers shrugged. This wasn’t the plan, but Spencer was a Shuttleworth so they obeyed his instructions.
When the groomers were out the door, Spencer took command. “Dogs... come.” Spencer said firmly. But only Lady Maya responded. “Come, now!” The other Westminster dogs obviously weren’t convinced. Spencer thought to himself for a long moment. “It’s show time!” That was a command that all of the Westminster dogs understood. They eagerly followed Spencer out the door. “This way!” Spencer quickly led the dogs toward the Hickory
House catering van. Away from the main house.
Winnie looked confused. “Aren’t we supposed to go the other way?” “I think I smell ribs,” said Aldo, drool dripping from his jowls. Sandor tossed his dreads off his eyes and looked at Aldo in-
credulously. “How can you still be hungry? You ate four bowls of dog food!” “I’ve got a very high metabolism,” responded Aldo.
Spencer held the cargo door wide open. “In you go...” Piper struggled with the idea, “I thought the party –”
Lady Maya cut her off. “We can trust Spencer. He’s my person, remember?”
“Ah... getting a ride to the party, so we don’t get our paws dirty. That’s an excellent idea, even if it is in a filthy van,” sniffed Major.
“Yes,” agreed Duke. “I’d hate to ruin my pedicure on this gravel.”
The dogs that could, jumped into the back of the van. Spencer lifted Duke and Piper and put them inside and closed the set of back doors.
It was dark inside the Hickory House van. It took the dogs’ eyes a few seconds to adjust. And when they did, they were startled to see Bohdi, face covered with barbecue sauce, and front paws inside a large tray of ribs. The immaculately groomed purebred Westminster dogs stared in shock at the dirty, scruffy mutt before them. And the dirty, scruffy mutt stared back.
“Who are you?!” they all asked in unison.
“Who are you?” Bohdi asked, holding his ground.
Major raised his nose as high in the air as it would go, “We are the Westminster champions. Perfect specimens of our breeds. What are you doing in our van, mutt?”
“Your van? This is the Hickory House catering van!” Bohdi explained, but could tell they still didn’t get it. “The rib joint?”
“That’s why it smells like heaven,” said Aldo.
“Why would your person put us in a catering van?” Piper asked Lady Maya as they all turned their heads to her just as the van’s engine roared to life.
Taylor walked past the parked cars to the back of the house, calling over and over for Bohdi. She was starting to get a little worried. Bohdi was usually good about sticking close to her. But her concern for her dog was superseded by another worry when she spotted Spencer at the wheel of the Hickory House van. Taylor still worked part-time there and considered the owners friends of the family. She was not going to let some spoiled, rich jerk go joyriding in their catering van!
“Hey! You! Stop!” yelled Taylor.
As soon as Spencer saw Taylor running toward him, he flipped the van into drive and pressed the gas. But the driveway was packed with cars, so Spencer had to slow down to slip the van safely past some of them. Taylor seized the opportunity, pulled the passenger door open and hopped in. “Stop the van!”
“No way,” said Spencer and he accelerated down the driveway and out the gate.
Cole Shuttleworth burst into the dogs’ guest house trailed by a line of the groomers. He looked around the empty room.
“Where are the dogs?” Shuttleworth demanded to know. The groomers looked at each other. Uh-oh.
Chapter 8
The Escape
The Hickory House van careened down the winding road as the afternoon sun dipped behind the tall mountain.
In the cab, Taylor glared at Spencer. “Where are we going?” Taylor demanded.
“Why do you care?” Spencer snapped.
“Because! This van belongs to my boss. And I’d like to make sure it gets back to him in once piece.”
“Don’t worry, I’m a good driver,” Spencer said as he steered the van around yet another tight turn which caused the dogs to begin barking.
“Who’s in the back?” Taylor asked.
“What do you mean?” Spencer answered, playing dumb.
In the back of the van, the unrestrained dogs slid across the floor as the van took the tight turn causing them to bark even more. An extra container of barbecue sauce slammed against the van wall, knocking the lid off and dumping the red sauce all over Winnie.
“I’m bleeding!” Winnie exclaimed.
“Nah, it’s just barbecue sauce,” reassured Bohdi.
“Barbecue sauce!” enthused Aldo. “I love barbecue sauce.”
Aldo prepared his very large tongue and then started licking Winnie enthusiastically. “You’re very tasty.”
“That tickles!” Winnie giggled.
The dogs slid again as the catering van took another tight turn at high speed.
One of Duke’s nails splintered when he careened into the shelves on the far side of the van. “My pedicure!” Duke lamented.
“What is your human doing?” Major demanded as the van took another high-speed turn and the dogs slid across the floor again.
“I’m sure Spencer has a plan,” Lady Maya said confidently, but she looked deeply unsure as she answered Major’s question.
Spencer made a final right turn into the airport, which was nearly deserted on this holiday weekend. He stopped the van twenty yards from his father’s private plane. Spencer jumped out of the van, followed by Taylor, ran around to the back, and opened the rear doors. Both of them were startled to see the barbecue sauce covered pooches staring out at them.
“I guess I did take those turns a little fast,” Spencer confessed. “You think?” said Taylor rhetorically.
Bohdi was surprised to see his person. “Hi, Taylor!” He bounded over and gave her a lick on the cheek.
“Bohdi!” Taylor exclaimed. “You had me worried.”
Bohdi was surprised to hear this. “You were worried?” he asked. Taylor kept gushing at Bohdi, almost as if she understood him.
“I was looking all over for you! What are you doing here?” She then scooped the little dog up, noticing the barbecue sauce all over his face, and now on her hands. “Hickory House ribs. I should have realized that’s where you went off to.”
“You know how much I love barbecue,” responded Bohdi.
“I’m glad you found your dog,” Spencer said. “You should probably get going.”
“I’m not leaving without the van.” And then a thought occurred to her, “Hey, what are you planning on doing with these dogs?” Taylor asked suspiciously.
“I’m going to teach my father a lesson,” Spencer said. “Let’s go, dogs!”
Lady Maya was the first dog out of the van, Bohdi was next. Spencer looked at the ridiculous cape Lady Maya was still wearing, took it off, and tossed it on the ground. With Lady Maya by his side, Spencer led the other Westminster dogs toward the plane. Taylor and Bohdi followed in step.
“So you’re stealing the dogs?!?” Taylor asked. “Borrowing. I’m borrowing them,“ exclaimed Spencer. “Where are you taking them?“ Taylor asked.
“Las Vegas,” Spencer said with conviction.
Taylor pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I’m calling my Grandpa.”
Spencer reached for her phone. “No! You can’t call anybody!” “Give me one good reason why not.”
Spencer thought about it for a second. “We can save the shelter.” “What do you mean?” Taylor asked.
“We’ll take the dogs, then ransom them back to my father.” “You’re out of your mind,” Taylor said.
“How much money do you need?” Spencer asked. “I’ll say it again, you are out of your mind!”
“Do you want to save the shelter or not?” Spencer was liking his plan even more.
Taylor wasn’t sure if she should tell him the truth, but as she looked at Spencer, she decided to trust him. “We need $200,000.” Spencer took thirty seconds to do the math. “I’ve got an idea.”
“What’s your idea?” Taylor asked, intrigued.
“We’ll ransom Maya and the other dogs for $250,000. That’s a nice round number and will give you a little cushion,” Spencer said.
“Except... I’ll go to jail,” Taylor said. “And you’ll probably end up in jail too.”
“Part of the deal will be that my father agrees in writing that this is all a gigantic mistake. Therefore, nobody gets in trouble.” Spencer had an answer for everything.
Taylor was more than a little stunned. “Why would you help the shelter?”
Spencer grinned. “Maybe my father needs to get his priorities readjusted.”
“Hard to argue with that,” Taylor quipped.
“It’s actually the perfect plan. My father will be putting up the money to keep the shelter open, and losing his condo deal all in one sweet move,” Spencer said, quite pleased with himself.
“You know you’re crazy,” Taylor said.
“Probably. But the question is... Are you in?” asked Spencer.
Taylor looked at Bohdi as she thought of all the dogs in the shelter needing help.
“Okay... I’m in,” Taylor said.
“Great! Help me get the dogs onto the plane,” said Spencer.
Taylor helped Spencer get the Westminster dogs secured in their crates located in the back of the plane. “Better put your dog in a crate, too,” said Spencer. “We can’t have him running around in the cockpit.”<
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Taylor nodded. It was a good point. “Sorry, Bohdi.” She and Spencer put Bohdi in the crate with Lady Maya.
“You don’t mind a roommate, do ya girl?” Lady Maya licked Spencer’s hand, she’d do anything for him.
The teens headed into the cockpit. “So, how’d you talk the pilot into this plan?” asked Taylor.
“It wasn’t too hard,” Spencer said, as he sat down in the pilot’s seat and started flipping switches and running through a pre-flight checklist.
Taylor looked horrified. “Wait... you’re flying the plane?” “Don’t worry,” said Spencer reassuringly. “I’ve got tons of
hours in this bird.”
“Rich people’s hobbies…” Taylor muttered to herself. “What have I gotten myself into?”
Lady Maya’s oversized, luxury crate had plenty of room in it for both her and Bohdi. But the two dogs needed to adjust to the new situation. After a long silence, Bohdi cleared his throat and dove in. “I’m Bohdi.”
“Hi, Bohdi. I’m Lady Maya. Spencer’s my human.”
“Lady Maya,” snapped Major.“We do not speak to riff-raff.”
Bohdi assumed Lady Maya would listen to Major know-it-all, considering he was nothing like these fancy dogs, as every fancy dog he had ever met liked to remind him. But Lady Maya was a nice dog, and there was no way she was going to let Major be so rude to her new acquaintance. “Ignore him. Major is a snob.”
“Well I never!” huffed Major.
“Get over yourself, Major,” chimed in Piper. “You are a snob... and very bossy.” Piper looked at Bohdi – well, she kind of looked at Bohdi
–it wasn’t easy since they were both in crates. “I’m Piper. And that’s Winnie, Aldo, Sandor and Duke.”
All the dogs waved a paw in Bohdi’s direction. Except for Major, who pouted, wishing he were anywhere but there.
