by David Lewman
© 2019 Universal Studios. The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, and in Canada by Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto. Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
rhcbooks.com
Hardcover ISBN 9781984849915
Trade Paperback ISBN 9781984849922
Ebook ISBN 9781984849939
v5.4
ep
Contents
Cover
Copyright
Title Page
Scenes from The Secret Life of Pets 2
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Max and Duke’s life change dramatically when their owners have a baby. New York City is a big and scary place, making overprotective Max a little anxious trying to keep the little tike away from…well…everything.
When Gidget loses Max’s favorite toy, she’s forced to do something no dog has ever done before: go undercover as a cat!
The only way to really be a cat is to be born a cat—but Chloe’s intense training gets Gidget as close as any dog has ever come.
Snowball is a mild-mannered bunny by day, eating cereal and playing video games with his little girl, but at night, he becomes…
CAPTAIN SNOWBALL!
When crime calls, he answers with his two furry fists of fury, Paw & Order.
Mel and Buddy are always willing to help their friends, no matter how wild the adventures get.
Pops was just trying to teach his owner’s new puppy the ropes of being a dog, but somehow the old dog ended up having to teach every puppy in the neighborhood.
Pops has taught his students Princess, Pickles, and Tiny that staring at humans with big, round puppy eyes is a great way to get what they want.
On a beautiful sunny day in New York City, lots of happy kids were playing in Central Park. They ran around chasing each other, hiding behind trees, and screaming with joy and excitement. They were having a great time!
Max, a small brown-and-white dog with a black nose and floppy ears, watched the children curiously. What were they screaming about? Was something wrong? The kids were smiling and laughing, so they seemed happy, but Max didn’t get all the screaming. In fact, it made him a little nervous.
Max spotted three kids riding on a large dog’s back. He turned to his brother—a big, brown, shaggy dog named Duke—and said, “Ugh. Can you believe that?”
Duke grinned. “Having a kid looks like fun!”
Another dog walked up to them, shaking his head. “Nah, man,” he said. “It ain’t fun. I’m telling you; once the humans bring home a kid, your life ain’t the same.”
The large dog with the kids on his back ran right between Max and Duke. They dodged out of the way.
“Seen it a billion times,” the dog continued, nodding wisely. “Having a kid changes you.”
* * *
The next day, Max was walking along the sidewalk with Duke and their owner, Katie. This was one of Max’s favorite things to do. He loved it when Katie got out their leashes, snapped them to their collars, and took the dogs outside for a stroll around the bustling city. Just the three of them. No more, no less. And no noisy kids. That was how Max liked it.
A guy on a bicycle noticed Katie walking her dogs. He smiled at her…and pedaled right into the back of a parked taxi!
WHAM!
The rider flew over the handlebars and landed on the sidewalk right in front of Katie and her dogs. Luckily, Chuck—that was the bicyclist’s name—was wearing a helmet, so he wasn’t hurt too badly.
“Are you okay?” Katie asked Chuck, helping him to his feet.
“Oh,” Chuck said, looking up at Katie. “Uh, yeah.”
Relieved, Katie smiled. Max thought Katie had the best smile in the world. Chuck seemed to like it, too. He smiled back. Duke licked Chuck’s face. SHLURRRP!
“Sorry about that!” Katie said, giggling. “Looks like Duke likes you!”
“That’s okay,” Chuck said, laughing and wiping the slime off his face. “I love dogs! And their sloppy kisses! Hiya, Duke! How are ya?”
He petted the big hairy dog. Then he reached over and petted Max, too. Max’s tail wagged.
Katie smiled, watching the three of them.
* * *
Before Max knew it, Katie and Chuck were seeing a lot of each other. Then they got married. And then they were all living together in the same apartment. It was a bit of a change, but Max didn’t mind, because he thought Chuck was a good guy. And now Max had two people to throw his ball and take him on walks.
But then, something huge happened…
…Katie and Chuck had a baby!
“Max, Duke…meet Liam!” Katie said when she and Chuck brought their son home from the hospital. Duke and Max walked slowly up to the infant carrier to see the new baby, who was under a blanket. Liam sucked on his pacifier as he smiled at the two curious dogs. Duke smiled back, but Max still wasn’t sure how he felt about having a baby in their home. He was pretty sure he was against it.
At first, Liam slept most of the time. Smiling, Katie held him in her arms, rocking back and forth in a rocking chair, humming a lullaby. Max figured Liam was dreaming about…whatever babies dream about.
When Max curled up in his doggy bed, Katie and Chuck sat with Liam on the couch, saying things like, “Who’s a cute little baby?” and “You, little cutie pie!” Things seemed fine to Max. Liam had his place, and Max had his.
But then Liam started talking. Loudly! When Max was trying to sleep, Liam would screech and wail! He’d stand up in his crib and scream and throw toys! BONK! Max had to watch out, or he’d get hit right on the head!
And soon after Liam started making all these loud noises, he started crawling. Sometimes Max would hide in a closet just to get away from him. But if Max dared to peek out of the closet to see if the coast was clear, Liam would come crawling straight at him as fast as he could! Max had to duck back into the closet and hide in its farthest, darkest corner.
Other times, Max tried hiding under the dining table. But as soon as he settled down for a nice, relaxing nap, Liam would crawl up and bonk him with his ball! This was terrible! Balls were for throwing and fetching, not for bonking dogs on the head! Didn’t this baby know that?
Max felt as though his own home wasn’t safe anymore. It had been taken over by a little monster! Max tried hiding behind one of the window curtains, but Liam found him and lunged at him, pulling the little dog’s tail and yanking at his ears.
M
ax did his best to keep a safe distance from Liam. But then one day, while Max was lying in his doggy bed, Liam did something Max had never, ever expected….
Liam crawled right up to the doggy bed and said, “Max!” Then he threw his chubby little arms around Max and hugged him. Max was very surprised! “I love you, Max,” Liam said in his little voice. Loved him? Max thought Liam couldn’t stand him! Max licked Liam, and Liam laughed.
From then on, everything was different!
Max and Duke became role models for Liam. When they ate dog food out of their bowls, Liam put his bowl of cereal on the floor, got down on his knees, and ate his cereal out of the bowl just like a dog. Liam learned to bury toys in the dirt, too. And when the three of them saw a dog in a book, Liam threw back his head and barked.
Liam did lots of things the two dogs enjoyed, like blowing a hair dryer in their faces. It was just like leaning out of a car window to feel the wind!
When Katie blew bubbles in the apartment, Liam, Max, and Duke had a terrific time chasing them and snapping at them with their teeth. POP! POP! POP! “Bubbles!” Liam shouted with delight.
And the best was when Max, Duke, and Liam flopped down on the floor and hugged, Max would think, “I’m still not a kid person. I only like this kid. This is my kid. He’s perfect. And I’m never gonna let anything bad happen to him.”
* * *
Still, there was a tricky side to having Liam around, as far as Max was concerned. Max had always been a fun, happy-go-lucky dog. But once Liam came into his life, Max started to spend all his time worrying about Liam. New York City was a busy place, with millions of people and cars and bicycles and motorcycles and taxis and buses and pigeons and yucky things a kid could pop into his mouth. Max knew it was his job to keep Liam safe.
And his job was turning him into a nervous wreck!
Now when Katie took them for a walk, she slipped a safety harness over Liam’s head and held on to a strap. Max thought that putting the baby on a leash was an excellent idea. He and Duke weren’t really likely to run away, but with babies, you could never be too careful.
Max spent the whole time watching out for danger. He had to nudge Liam away from dirty wads of gum on park benches and flocks of dangerous pigeons. He could NEVER let his guard down!
One night there was a thunderstorm with lots of loud thunder and flashing lightning. Duke and Liam slept through the storm, but Max was wide awake, trembling, and hearing every BOOM. He turned around in his doggy bed, trying different positions, but he just couldn’t get comfortable.
Finally, Max jumped onto Liam’s bed and lay down next to him. Half asleep, Liam pulled Max close and murmured, “Good doggy.”
That calmed Max down. He smiled, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
* * *
The next morning, the rain had stopped. Drops still dripped off the trees and street signs, but the sun was shining, reflecting off the puddles on the sidewalks.
Chloe, a large gray cat who lived in Max’s building, woke up in her living room. Still feeling sleepy, she yawned and stretched.
Then she realized she was hungry. This happened a lot.
Holding her tail high and swaying slightly from side to side, Chloe strolled into her owner’s bedroom and hopped onto the bed. Her owner was fast asleep. “Meow,” Chloe said lovingly. Her owner kept sleeping. She tried meowing louder. “MEOW.” But her owner didn’t wake up.
So Chloe batted at her owner’s nose. She pushed down on her face with her paws. Still, she slept on. What would it take to wake this human up? Then Chloe had an idea.
She started hacking up a hairball. That did it. Her owner sat straight up in bed. “Ahhh!” she cried. “No, no, no, no, no, no!”
Chloe paused, ready to spit the hairball on the bed.
“No,” her owner warned sternly.
But no one could tell Chloe what to do. She coughed the hairball right onto the clean sheets. CACK! And then she smiled.
* * *
In the apartment below Max’s, a small white rabbit named Snowball slept peacefully in a bassinet in his owner’s bedroom. The girl, Molly, was already awake and ready for a new day.
“Good morning, Snowball!” she said brightly. “Who’s the best bunny in the whole wide world?” She picked him up and hugged him, burying her face in his smooth, soft, white fur. Snowball acted tough, but secretly he loved when Molly hugged him like that.
Molly carried him into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth. Then she brushed Snowball’s teeth. They glinted and shone in the morning light coming through the window.
While Molly ate her cereal, she and Snowball watched a cartoon on the living room TV. “Take that, evildoer!” cried the superhero in the cartoon. “Off into the sun with you!”
“Yeah!” Molly said as the bad guy got what was coming to him.
The cartoon gave Molly an idea….
Back in her bedroom, Molly combed Snowball’s hair down smooth. Then she said, “Ears up!” The bunny pricked up his ears, and Molly slipped a superhero mask onto his face and hooked it behind his ears. She put a cape on Snowball and set him down on a chair at a small table. Around the table were stuffed animals costumed in superhero capes and helmets. Molly wore a cape, too.
“I’m calling this meeting of the Superhero Animal Friends to order!” she announced. “Commander Horsey, please read the minutes of the last meeting.”
A stuffed horse sat completely still.
“Thank you,” Molly said after a moment. “Now remember, everyone, crime is out there! We have to be ready!”
From the living room, Molly’s dad called, “Come on, Molly! Time to go!”
Molly looked at the clock on the nightstand next to her bed. “Oh!” she cried. “I’m gonna be late for school!” She whipped off her cape and planted a kiss on top of Snowball’s furry white head. “Captain Snowball, you’re in charge while I’m gone!” Grabbing her book bag, she hurried out of the room and off to school with her dad.
When she was gone, Snowball took over the meeting. “First of all,” he said, “I want to welcome White Thunder back from the washing machine. He was put in there with a red blanket and henceforth will be known as Pink Thunder.” Snowball looked at the pink stuffed animal and nodded. “Personally, I like the new look.”
The rabbit got up from his chair. “Okay, I’m gonna go check the perimeter.” He hopped out of the bedroom and jumped up onto a windowsill. The window was open. Snowball climbed out onto the fire escape and surveyed the metropolis. “Good morning, New York City!” he said, striking a heroic pose.
“Snowball,” a voice called. “Hey, Snowball!”
Snowball looked up and saw Max out on his fire escape one floor above, staring down at him. “What are you doing?” Max asked curiously.
“What’s it LOOK like I’m doing?” Snowball replied. “I’m looking for crime, Tiny Dog.” (“Tiny Dog” was the nickname Snowball had given Max when he first met him, even though Max was actually a lot bigger than Snowball.) “I’m doin’ superhero stuff. Let me tell you something: anybody comes in here lookin’ for trouble, they’re gonna meet my partners.” He held up his right front paw. “I’m talkin’ about Paw…” He held up his left front paw. “…and Order!”
“Uh-huh,” Max replied, not exactly sure what to make of the new direction the bunny was taking. “Okay, well, you do know that your owner is just playing superhero, right? You’re just wearing some superhero pajamas.”
Snowball laughed. “Tiny Dog, you are so naive!” He shouted in his best superhero voice, “Point me in the direction of any animal who needs my help…and stand back!” He started doing karate moves, kicking with his back paws and chopping the air with his front paws. “HAH! WAH! DEATH BLOW! WUP! JAB! HIIEEEEYAH!”
“Okay, okay,” Max said, holding up a paw. “I got it. So did your kid leave for school yet?”
Snowball stopped chopping and nodded. “Yeah, she’s got a quiz today. Advanced Spelling. She’ll ace it, though. You know, she writes her answers down in ink. That’s how confident she is.” Snowball thought Molly was the greatest owner ever.
“That sounds really smart,” Max admitted. “You know what? Liam is smart, too. In fact, I heard Katie say his head circumference is in the eightieth percentile.”
“Oh, that’s cool,” Snowball said, nodding casually. “That’s a lot of head.”
“Yeah, it is!” Max agreed enthusiastically. “And also, and this is not exaggerating, Liam knows how to turn on the TV all by himself.”
“Nice,” Snowball said, secretly thinking that Max might be a little overly impressed with Liam’s skills. “Hey, quick question: Is he still peein’ everywhere? Can’t control his bladder?”
Max frowned. Was Snowball trying to criticize Liam? “Yeah, he’s peeing, but every pet knows if you pee on it, you own it. And Liam is…um…he’s just thinking ahead.”
“Yeah, well you still better train ’em before preschool starts. You don’t want Liam to get a reputation as one of those pee-pee kids,” Snowball said.
Max looked confused. “Preschool?”
“Yeah, he’s around that age!” Snowball explained. “The baby bird is leaving the nest, T.D.”
“No, no,” Max said, shaking his head. “Baby bird is staying put. He doesn’t need preschool. He’ll stay home with me where it’s safe.”
