Piper Morgan to the Rescue

by Stephanie Faris

  For Rhett, the coolest little dude I’ve ever met

  CHAPTER

  1

  I’ve always really wanted a dog of my own.

  I’ve never had one before, but I’ve always wanted one. Mom always said it wasn’t the right time, but there’s never a bad time to have a puppy in your life.

  My nanna has a cute little dog named Oreo. He’s black and white and loves to have dance parties with me. I love Oreo. I got to hang out with him all the time when we lived with Nanna for a little bit. But Mom got a new job, so I don’t get to live with Oreo anymore. We just moved into a new place in Ohio.

  My mom has worked lots of jobs. She’s worked in a circus and a school. And each time, I got to help out in my own special way too.

  Now we were going to work where doggies and kitties came when they didn’t have homes. Mom said it was called a pet rescue. She was going to help the boss, who owned lots and lots of pet places in Ohio. Mom was going to be what’s called an “assistant director.”

  Plus, not only did we get to go somewhere new . . . it sounded like I might be able to be around a lot of really cute animals. . . . It was another great adventure.

  I hadn’t always liked new adventures. At first I was scared about going to new places. But every time we went to a new place, I got to make new friends and have new fun experiences. I’ve performed in a circus with other kids called Little Explorers, and was a helper bee at a principal’s office. And now we were at my mom’s new job. It was summer, so I didn’t have to go to school. That was good. It meant we could work at lots of jobs all summer and then maybe get a new job near a really good school that would be my forever home.

  But first, I would be hanging out with animals. Lots and lots of animals.

  “Can we keep one, please, please, please?” I asked my mom on the way to the rescue shelter to meet her new boss.

  One “please” doesn’t get you as much as three of them. Most of the time, grown-ups don’t say yes even to three pleases, but sometimes they do. So you should always try.

  Please, please, please!

  “No pets,” Mom said. “Not until we get settled somewhere.”

  “Maybe this will be our new home,” I said. “I like Ohio.”

  I did miss Nanna, though. Nanna was two hours from here. That was a long, long way, but not too long. Mom said we could still go visit on our days off, though, which were every Sunday and sometimes Monday.

  “Maybe it will be,” Mom said. “But we’re just helping out right now while the owner opens a new store, remember?”

  I knew that, but I thought I might like this job best of all the ones we had done so far. My most favorite part of the circus was the elephant named Ella. I made friends after that and they were the best part, but I still liked the elephant.

  Dogs and cats are even better than elephants. You know why? Because you can have them in your house. They can even sleep on your bed if your parents will let you.

  I decided this was going to be the forever job. I’d do an extra-good job and then Mom would let us have a puppy dog of our very own. Because life is just so much better if you have a puppy sleeping next to you.

  Fur Fact #1

  Almost half of all dog owners let their dogs sleep in bed with them at night. Some pet owners don’t like it though. They think it’s best that their pets sleep in their own beds at night, just like kids sleep in their own beds.

  But did you know that back in the old days, people in Australia slept with their dogs to keep warm? Two dogs were used for colder nights, and if it was really, really cold, it would be a “three-dog night.”

  Those were the days when people had to sleep outside, though. And they didn’t have blankets like we do now. So if you tell your parents you need a dog to keep you warm at night, you might want to leave those last two things out of your talk.

  CHAPTER

  2

  As soon as we pulled up to the rescue center, all we could see were happy dog faces and wagging tails. Dogs were everywhere! It was the coolest thing ever.

  There was a woman standing outside the door holding about a billion leashes. Each one had a dog attached to it. There were little dogs and big dogs and black dogs and tan dogs. There were dogs with lots of fur and dogs without much fur at all. I wanted to hug them all!

  “Mom!” I called out as we got closer. She could see the same thing I was seeing, but she didn’t look as excited as I felt.

  “Piper, stay with me,” Mom ordered.

  I looked over at her and wanted to ask why. But the look on her face told me, Don’t push me, young lady. I’d seen that look lots of times.

  Oh, wait . . . I bet I knew what was going on here. Mom didn’t want me to pet the dogs because she knew I’d want to take one home with us. I was just supposed to meet the nice person who owned this place, and then Mom would (maybe) take me for ice cream.

  “You must be Julie Morgan,” the woman with the dogs said to my mother as we got closer.

  “Yes,” Mom said, giving her big smile. She stepped in front of me, putting her hand on my shoulder to make sure I stayed nearby. A bunch of puppies that were close to Mom came rushing toward her, but the woman held on to the leashes really tightly.

  “Let me get these dogs inside,” the woman said. “I’ll be back in just a second.”

  The woman pulled out some keys and unlocked the front door. A big sign on the front window said BARK STREET, with the words WHERE PETS AND OWNERS MEET. A big white bone was behind it. I liked this place already.

  “Stay away from the dogs,” Mom warned. “Some may bite.”

  That was all she got in before the woman came back and opened the door for us. “Come on in,” she said. “I’m Pamela. What’s your name?”

  She was talking to me, but she was using a weird voice. Like she was talking to a puppy or something.

  “Piper,” I said. “I’m seven.”

  I said that last part because questions like, “How old are you?” and, “What grade are you in?” almost always followed the name question.

  “Seven!” Pamela exclaimed. “My favorite dog is seven years old too. Do you want to meet her?”

  I looked at Mom. She had just told me to stay away from the dogs, but I really, really wanted to meet Pamela’s favorite dog.

  “I’m a little nervous about Piper and the dogs,” Mom said. “Is it safe?”

  “Oh, of course!” Pamela said. “A lot of them are in their cages right now. Come with me.”

  She waved for both of us to follow, and we went through a door into a big room with stacks of cages. As we walked by, a few of the dogs inside ran to their cage doors, giving us excited barks of hello. I saw tons of the prettiest animal faces I’d ever seen. There were cats in some of the cages, dogs in others. I even recognized some from outside.

  “So do any of these guys have new owners yet?” I asked. Mom had told me that animals came here to wait for homes. She said people came here and picked out which animals they wanted to take home.

  “Not right now,” Pamela said. “But we’re going to the park this afternoon, and we’re taking a bunch of them to see if they might find their forever home. Do you want to go with us?”

  I nodded, my eyes really big. But then I looked at my mom, who still looked all nervous.

  “I was going to have you stay with the neighbors,” she said.

  “This would be more fun,” I said. “I want to help find homes for these dogs and cats. Please, Mom. Please?”

  I didn’t add the third “please.” I didn’t have to. I could tell my mom was going to say yes even after the first “please.” You know why? Because Mom wanted to go to the park too. And I had a plan: Operation Puppy Plan, that is!
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  Fur Fact #2

  Pet shelters help dogs and cats find homes. The nice people working there will take care of them until the animals find their forever homes.

  Some shelters have more than dogs and cats. You can get rabbits, hamsters, or turtles, too!

  Before you get a pet, you should make sure you can take care of it. You have to feed your pets at least twice every single day and keep water in their dishes. If you have a dog, you’ll have to take him out to potty. If you have a cat, you’ll have a litter box that has to be cleaned at least once a day.

  So when your parents say pets are a lot of work, think about all these things.

  CHAPTER

  3

  It was time to try to put my Operation Puppy Plan in action! But the first thing I needed to do was pick the puppy I wanted.

  After loading some of the dogs into the big Bark Street van, we made our way to a little park in the center of town. Pamela, Mom, and a high school helper named Sandie helped to set up the cages and some tables with all the papers people would need to fill out in order to get a pet.

  I started walking around the cages to take a look at who was up for adoption. They were all so cute. But I stopped right in front of one dog in particular, who stared at me with big brown puppy-dog eyes.

  I was in love.

  I took a look at his little nameplate, which Pamela had made for all the dogs who were up for adoption. His name was Gonzo, and right under his name, Pamela had put that he was a Maltese. That sounded like he was very, very important.

  Right next to Gonzo was another dog named Beanie. Beanie was a big female dog that they said was a mastiff. A mastiff is big. Did I mention how big she was? She came all the way up to my belly button. That was a big dog.

  Beanie also was a little slobbery. Yuck!

  I decided right then and there that I was more of a “little” dog person. They aren’t as slobbery and smelly as big dogs. I decided I wanted a dog like Gonzo or Oreo.

  “Hello there!” a woman said when I was near the cage. “Someone said you’re helping out the Bark Street people. Could I see the little white dog?”

  She wanted to see Gonzo, but I was standing in front of the cage so nobody could see him. We’d been at this park for a whole fifteen minutes, and I’d stayed in front of this cage the whole time.

  “He’s not for adoption,” I said quickly.

  The woman’s face changed. She looked disappointed. “Oh. Okay.”

  I felt bad after she walked away. My mom had told me never, ever to tell a fib. Fibs were like . . . little lies that weren’t big ones. Lies were important. I wasn’t supposed to tell those, either.

  Another woman walked up right after. She walked around me and looked inside the cage. Most people walked past when they saw me standing in front of it, but this woman must have really wanted to see.

  “How is the little Maltese, behavior-wise?” the woman asked. “He looks like a cutie-pie, and my kids would love him!”

  I thought about telling another fib—saying that Gonzo liked to bite. But I couldn’t keep fibbing. That wasn’t nice at all.

  “Same as the others,” I finally said. “He’s sweet. But did you see the mastiff?”

  I opened Beanie’s cage, hoping she’d reach in and pet her. The woman shook her head.

  “That dog is way too big for us,” she explained. She pointed at Gonzo again.

  “May I see him, please?” the woman asked.

  My job was to pull the dogs out and let people hold them. I was also supposed to watch and make sure the dogs didn’t get away. I didn’t know if I could catch one if it did run away, but I figured the grown-ups would all help.

  I didn’t move. I didn’t want the nice lady to look at my little Gonzo.

  Gonzo was going home with me.

  “What’s going on over here, Piper?”

  Mom’s voice came from behind the lady, who was now frowning. The woman smiled at my mom, and I knew I’d lost.

  Within seconds, Gonzo was in the woman’s arms and she was signing the papers to take him home. I wasn’t even sure how it happened, but I wanted to cry. Gonzo was supposed to be mine. I wanted to tell everyone there how upset I was about it.

  “Is something wrong, Piper?” Mom asked when I stood in front of the next cage. There were cute puppies inside, but none of them was Gonzo.

  I shook my head. I could feel tears coming, but I didn’t want to have to explain everything that happened. I did kind of fib, after all.

  “Where’s Beanie?” Pamela asked.

  We turned to look. Beanie’s cage was wide open. It was also empty.

  “Piper?” Mom asked. “Did you leave Beanie’s cage open?”

  Fur Fact #3

  Dogs come in lots of different shapes and sizes. Some people like really big dogs while others like teeny-tiny ones. Many of us don’t care—dogs are cute no matter what the size.

  But there are big differences between big and small dogs. Small dogs don’t take up much space. They’re also easy to carry around.

  Big dogs can be scary to kids, but they aren’t always dangerous. It all depends on the type of dog. You have to learn all about a dog before taking it home.

  What’s your favorite kind of dog?

  CHAPTER

  4

  Dinnertime was my favorite time with Mom. We sat at the table and ate and talked about our day. It was nice when we lived with Nanna, because we got to have dinner with her. But I liked having Mom to myself too.

  “This is nice,” I told Mom. I gave her a big smile.

  My mom didn’t smile at me. She was still a little not-happy because I’d let Beanie get out. She didn’t get far—it’s hard for a mastiff to sneak away without someone noticing. But Mom still said it showed I had a “responsibility problem,” and we needed to talk about it.

  Only we weren’t talking. Mom was just frowning all the time.

  “Mrs. Dorris is nice,” I commented.

  Mrs. Dorris was my new babysitter. I’d been on extra-good behavior since the park a couple of days ago, but my mom thought it might be better if I didn’t go to Bark Street until I learned the whole “responsibility” thing. Only then could I be with the dogs and cats again.

  “Mom?” I asked after another bite or two of my sketti. That was what my best friend, Dania, called spaghetti in kindergarten. I still liked to call it that because it reminded me of her.

  “Yes?” Mom asked. She was eating her sketti too.

  “Can I go to work with you tomorrow?”

  Mom sighed. “I told you, Piper, I can’t watch you and the dogs,” she said. “I really think you need to be with Mrs. Dorris next door while I’m at work.”

  “But I’ll help. I promise.”

  “You kept talking nonstop about some dog named Gonzo,” Mom said. “I can’t have you getting attached to all the dogs. Besides, I might get in trouble if I have you there every day with me.”

  I frowned. “Miss Pamela likes me,” I said. “I can tell she does.”

  “It’s not that, Piper,” Mom said. “It’s just that it is not professional if I keep bringing you in every day, even though I know she likes you a lot. Especially with all the dogs and some of the equipment in the shelter. We don’t want you to get hurt.”

  I knew that word “professional.” Grown-ups used it a lot. It basically meant “not fun at all.”

  “Can I come see the dogs for just a couple of hours?” I asked. “Please, please, please, please?”

  That was four “pleases.” No mom could resist four “pleases.”

  But then Mom said something all grown-ups say when they want to stop the questions.

  “We’ll see.”

  Fur Fact #4

  Piper Morgan’s advice on how to get your parents to buy a pet:

  #1 Promise to help take care of it.

  #2 Learn lots about the kind of pet you like. Find one that’s nice and cute and not too messy.

  #3 Drop little hints about what you’ve lea
rned about that type of pet.

  #4 Make a list of all the things you’ll do to take care of the pet. Sign it.

  #5 Let your parents see all the pets at the shelter. When they see how cute they all are, you won’t even have to say “please” once!

  CHAPTER

  5

  Saturdays were the best days of all. On those days, Mrs. Dorris couldn’t watch me. I thought Mom was going to get the nice lady across the hall from our apartment to watch me, but it “didn’t work out.” So do you know what that means?

  I got to go to Mom’s work. Only “temporarily” until she could find another sitter. But it didn’t matter to me.

  The whole drive to the pet rescue was a long, long lecture. Mom gave me a list of rules:

  1) No running.

  2) No playing.

  3) No letting dogs out of their cages.

  4) No talking to customers without permission.

  5) No getting in the way.

  There were other rules, but I knew them already. It was like when my mom worked in a school and I was told to stay in a seat in the principal’s office. That hadn’t worked out so well. But this time I was going to behave, I promised. This time I wanted to show Mom that I could be a good helper. Then she’d let me come to work with her every day. And I would be that much closer to having a puppy of my very own.

  Maybe this puppy called Taffy. Taffy was my favorite dog ever, ever, ever. Well, maybe except Oreo, but Oreo was at Nanna’s house. I was hoping maybe we could bring Taffy home with us soon.

  We walked in the door, and I went to the little table in the corner. I’d brought a book about puppies, and I was going to pretend to read it while Mom worked. Miss Pamela was behind the counter, talking on the phone, and she kept talking while Mom put her purse up.

  “Of course,” Miss Pamela was saying into the phone. “It’s just— Well, we have so much going on today. I’d need to—”