A New Home for Truman
Page 4
When they entered the lobby, Truman barked and leaped forward. Zach and his mother were by the desk with one of Kitty’s coworkers. Zach was balanced on one foot on his skateboard while Dr. Goldman examined a fat white cat’s paw.
“Hi, Truman!” Zach exclaimed, hurrying forward to greet the little dog. “What’s up?”
“We just went for a walk.” Janey took Truman’s leash from Kitty, and pulled him in closer. “Truman did fab. We’re still working on his training, you know.”
“Yeah, I heard.” Zach rubbed Truman’s head. “I bet someone will adopt him soon.”
Janey nodded, stepping out of the way as the other shelter worker walked past carrying the white cat. “I’m thinking of posting again on my blog about how great Truman is doing,” Janey said. “I bet that will get more people to come see him.”
The bell over the shelter door tinkled as someone entered. Janey was surprised to see that it was Ms. Tanaka.
“Hi, kids!” The teacher seemed surprised to see them, too. She smiled. “You sure spend a lot of time here, don’t you?”
“What can I say?” Zach shrugged and hooked a thumb toward his mother. “My mom drags me here all the time.”
“I think she was talking to us,” Janey informed him. “Hi, Ms. T. Didn’t you already pick out a dog last weekend?” She’d been so busy thinking about Truman that she’d almost forgotten about her teacher’s quest for a pet. But now she was curious.
“Not yet.” The teacher shrugged. “There are lots of great dogs here, but I couldn’t decide on one, so I decided to wait and think about it.”
“So you came back for another look?” Kitty asked cheerfully. “I can help you as soon as I finish showing Dr. Goldman her next patient, okay?”
“No hurry, thanks.” Ms. Tanaka smiled as Kitty and Dr. Goldman headed off into the dog room. Then she patted Truman as he trotted over to say hi. “Who have we here?”
“This is Truman—the dog we showed you before,” Lolli told her.
Ms. Tanaka looked surprised. “Really? Wow, I didn’t recognize him! He looks totally different from that poor, scraggly dog in the picture.” She rubbed his ears, smiling as he slurped her hands and then rolled onto his back, begging for a belly rub. “Too bad he’s not a little bigger.”
Janey shot Lolli and Adam a look. Ms. Tanaka really seemed to like Truman—and he seemed to like her, too. Maybe they’d given up on her too easily!
“He might not be that big, but he’s got a huge personality,” Janey told Ms. Tanaka. “He’s just about fully trained, too—watch!” She snapped her fingers to get Truman’s attention. “Truman, heel!”
She quickly put Truman through his paces, demonstrating all the commands he could do. Truman got a little distracted when a shelter worker led a tiny, fluffy dog past, heading for the Meet and Greet room. But otherwise he was practically perfect!
When the demonstration was finished, Ms. Tanaka was smiling. “Very impressive, Janey,” she said. “Truman is cute. He’ll make someone a fantastic friend. I’m just not sure he’s quite what I’m looking for.”
“Are you sure?” Janey’s heart sank. What more could they do to convince her?
Zach stepped forward. “Can I take him for a sec?” he asked, reaching for Truman’s leash.
Janey almost didn’t hand him the leash. This was no time for Zach to start goofing around! She was sure if she could just figure out how to change Ms. Tanaka’s mind somehow…
But she didn’t resist as Zach took the leash. “Okay, Janey already showed you the boring stuff,” he told Ms. Tanaka with a grin. “Now watch this!”
“What’s he doing?” Lolli murmured, leaning toward Janey.
Janey shrugged. She watched as Zach kneeled down in front of Truman.
“Okay, Truman,” he said, lifting his hand. “High-five!”
Truman barked. Then he jumped up, smacking his front paws onto Zach’s palm.
“Oh, that’s cute!” Ms. Tanaka exclaimed with a laugh. “Did you really teach him to high-five, Zach?”
“That’s nothing,” Zach said. “Check this out.” He grabbed his skateboard and set it in front of Truman.
“Who taught Truman to high-five?” Lolli sounded confused.
Janey knew how she felt. She watched as Truman jumped onto Zach’s skateboard and then used his hind leg to push off, barking happily as he rode the skateboard halfway across the lobby.
This time Ms. Tanaka laughed out loud and clapped. “That’s so cool!” she exclaimed. “Did you teach him that, Zach? Very impressive!”
Zach grinned and bowed. “Thank you, it was nothing,” he said. “I’ve been coming by and teaching Truman a few tricks while Mom’s here working.”
Janey frowned, not sure whether to be impressed or annoyed. Then she noticed that Ms. Tanaka was kneeling down and patting Truman, whose whole body seemed to be wagging as he enjoyed the attention.
“Truman is great, isn’t he?” Janey told her teacher. And then she had an idea. “He’s kind of like a big dog in a little dog’s body, right?”
“Yeah,” Adam put in. “I’ve worked with a lot of dogs, and Truman is one of the coolest. Seriously.”
Lolli nodded vigorously. “And I think he really likes you, Ms. Tanaka.”
The teacher laughed, holding up her hands. “Okay, enough with the hard sell, gang,” she said. “You don’t need to convince me—Truman already did that.”
“What? Really?” Janey wasn’t sure she’d heard her right.
“Really.” Ms. Tanaka gave Truman one last pat, then straightened up. “Actually, I’ve been thinking my apartment might be kind of small for a big dog. And now I’m totally convinced. Besides, a bigger dog couldn’t ride a skateboard like that, right?” She winked. “Anyway, when Kitty comes back I think I’ll talk to her about taking Truman home with me so I can see what other fun tricks I can teach him. What do you say, Truman?”
Truman barked and danced around her legs. Janey let out a whoop of joy. Talk about a happy ending!
Happy Endings…and Beginnings
“Leave that alone, Roscoe.” Lolli tugged on her dog’s leash as he stopped to sniff at a pinecone on the sidewalk. “Come on, we’re almost there.”
Janey stopped to let them catch up. It was Tuesday afternoon, and she and Lolli had decided to take Roscoe to the town park.
“Hey, look who’s here!” Lolli said as they entered the park. “It’s Ms. Tanaka and Truman!”
Janey looked where she was pointing. Their teacher was halfway across the park in a grassy area shaded by some huge old oak trees. Truman was there, too, chasing a ball his new owner was throwing for him.
“I still can’t believe how great everything turned out.” Lolli smiled as she watched the pair playing. “It’s like it was meant to be!”
“I know, right?” Janey nodded. “Ms. Tanaka told me she can’t imagine her life without Truman. Isn’t that fab?”
“Totally fab,” Lolli agreed. “Should we go over and say hi?”
Before she could answer, Janey heard a flurry of barking from the opposite direction. Turning to look, she saw Adam coming with one of his doggy clients, a pretty collie mix. Zach was with him, pushing himself along on his skateboard.
Roscoe’s whole hind end wagged along with his tail as he greeted the other dog. The collie mix barked, then came forward to sniff Roscoe’s nose.
“It’s okay,” Adam told Lolli. “This guy is friendly with other dogs. And I know Roscoe is, too.”
Zach was peering across the park. “Hey, there’s Ms. T and Truman,” he said.
“Yeah, we just saw them, too,” Janey said. “We were about to go say hi. Want to come?”
“In a minute.” Adam glanced at Zach. “Actually, it’s good that we ran into you. Zach has an idea he wants to tell you about.”
“An idea?” Janey looked at Zach. “What kind of idea?”
Zach flipped his skateboard and tried to jump back on, but he missed and staggered off a few steps. “It�
�s an idea about breaking my leg,” he joked. “I’m working on it now.”
Adam smiled. “No, seriously, tell them, dude,” he said. “I think they’ll like it.”
“What is it, Zach?” Lolli asked.
Zach patted Roscoe as the big dog came over to sniff at him. “It’s no big deal,” he said. “Just something I was thinking about, you know? After what happened with Truman, and everything….”
Janey sighed. “Just spit it out already,” she said. “We don’t have all day.”
Zach smirked. “Why not? Do you have an appointment with the President of the United States or something?”
“Just tell them,” Adam said.
Zach shrugged. “Okay. See, we did such a great job getting Truman the perfect home, right? All of us helped.”
“That’s true,” Lolli agreed.
Janey nodded. She had to admit that Zach’s tricks had probably won over Ms. Tanaka just as much as the training she, Lolli, and Adam had done.
“So.” Zach paused, glancing over toward Truman again. “I was thinking we should, you know, do more of that.”
“You mean we should volunteer at the shelter?” Janey said. “We’re already planning to.”
“Not just that,” Adam said. “He thinks we should form, like, a club or something.”
“Yeah.” Zach sounded excited now. “I was thinking we could call it the Pet Rescue Club! I bet there are lots of other animals right here in our town who need our help. We could use your blog to find them, and then to help find them homes—just like with Truman. And, well, like I said the four of us make a pretty good team…”
Lolli smiled. “What a super idea!” she exclaimed.
But, Janey hesitated. She wasn’t so sure. For one thing, Zach was pretty annoying sometimes. Did she really want to be in a club with him?
“What do you think, Janey?” Adam asked.
“I don’t know,” Janey said slowly. “My blog is supposed to be for sharing cute pet photos, not for stuff like that. Seeing that first picture of Truman pop up was really upsetting.”
“I know, but it could be for both things, couldn’t it?” Lolli said, stroking the collie mix’s sleek head. “We’ll be able to help other dogs like Truman. And cats and other animals, too, of course.”
“Isn’t that worth being upset a little bit?” Adam added.
Zach didn’t say anything. He was watching Janey carefully, not cracking jokes or messing with his skateboard for once. Janey stared back at him. Would he really take something like this seriously?
She wasn’t sure, but she realized something else. It didn’t matter. She took helping animals seriously. So did Lolli and Adam, and probably Zach. Working together, she was sure they could make it work.
“I guess you’re right,” she said with a cautious smile. “Helping Truman made it all worthwhile. And my blog has been getting tons of hits. Everyone loved hearing about Truman’s happy ending. It really is the perfect way to reach animals in need.”
“Cool!” Zach exclaimed with a grin. “So we’re going to do this?”
He raised his hand. Lolli high-fived him. Adam switched the leash he was holding to his other hand and did the same. Then Janey stepped forward and high-fived Zach, too. At least she tried to—at the last second, he pulled his hand away.
“Psych!” he cried with a grin.
Janey frowned. “Very funny.”
“Sorry.” Zach grabbed her hand and high-fived it. “So it’s official—we’re the Pet Rescue Club?”
“Yeah.” Janey’s mind was already filling with ideas for how to make the club work. It was going to be great! She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it herself. “It’s official. I can’t wait to get started!”
Kids Getting Involved
Are you a kid who loves animals and wants to help them? Then get involved! Some shelters allow kids to volunteer, like the one in Janey’s town. Others only accept adult volunteers for safety reasons. But even if the shelter in your town is the second kind, there are lots of ways to help needy animals. Here are a few ideas:
1. Organize a fund-raiser for your local shelter or rescue.
2. Donate food or toys for the shelter pets.
3. Publicize your local shelter on your blog or just by talking to your friends.
4. Read your shelter’s website and other animal welfare sites to keep up on current needs and issues, and to watch for other ways to help.
5. Set an example for all pet owners by always treating your own pet well!
For more ideas, check out:
www.aspca.org/parents/term/how-your-kids-can-help-shelter-pets
Meet the Real Truman!
A little gray dog named Harry Truman was surrendered to a shelter in Tennessee in 2010. He was skinny and had matted fur. He was sent to a shelter in upstate New York, where he met his future owner. She considered herself a “big dog” person, but Harry Truman convinced her that even little dogs have big hearts!
Look for the next book in the
PET RESCUE CLUB series!
Book #2—No Time for Hallie
Zach’s neighbors have a new baby and now they don’t have the time or attention for their cat, Hall Cat. Now they are thinking of bringing Hall Cat to the animal shelter! The kids in the Pet Rescue Club know that an older cat might have trouble getting adopted. Can they convince the family to give their kitty another chance—or perhaps find someone who truly appreciates all that an older cat has to offer? It won’t be easy, especially since Janey is busy helping a friend locate a lost canary and Lolli is worried about a sad classmate….
Look for all the books in the
PET RESCUE CLUB
series
A New Home for Truman
No Time for Hallie
The Lonely Pony
Too Big to Run
cover illustration by Steve James
Published by Studio Fun International, Inc.
44 South Broadway, White Plains, NY 10601 U.S.A. and Studio Fun International Limited,
The Ice House, 124-126 Walcot Street, Bath UK BA1 5BG
All rights reserved.
Text © 2015 ASPCA® and Illustration © Studio Fun International, Inc.
Studio Fun Books is a trademark of Studio Fun International, Inc., a subsidiary of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
*The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA®) will receive a minimum guarantee from Studio Fun International, Inc. of $25,000 for the sale of ASPCA® products through December 2017.
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ISBN: 978-0-7944-3708-4
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