Bijou Needs a Home

by Susan Hughes

  For lovely, lively Leah Witten and her rambunctious poodle Santo

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Also Available

  Copyright

  CHAPTER ONE

  Kat giggles. There are puppies everywhere! Some are tumbling in the grass. Some are chasing butterflies. Some are playing in the flower beds.

  Some puppies are white, some are brown, some are red with spots. There are dachshunds and Afghans. There are Boston terriers and cocker spaniels.

  There are too many puppies to count!

  “Hey, Kat!” a voice said. “It’s for you.”

  “Hey, Kat!” her brother Aidan says. “They’re for you, Sis. Any puppy you want. Mom and Dad have finally agreed.” He punches her gently on the shoulder.

  Kat grins. She can’t believe it! It’s a dream come true.

  But which one should she pick? The sweet black and white border collie with the sparkling eyes? The Bernese mountain dog pup wagging its roly-poly body? The cute Labrador retriever with the white star on its black tummy?

  “Hey, Kat!” It was her brother’s voice again. “Sis!”

  Kat was sitting at the computer in the living room. It was Saturday. Kat had been looking at photos of different breeds of puppies on the computer until she began daydreaming.

  “Earth to Kat,” her brother said, handing the phone to her. “It’s for you. It’s Aunt Jenn.”

  Kat’s favourite daydream in the world ended. In real life she wasn’t allowed to get a puppy. Her parents said they didn’t have enough time to look after puppies.

  But she was happy her aunt was phoning her. Aunt Jenn was the best. She loved dogs as much as Kat did. She had opened up a dog-grooming salon in town. Her business was called Tails Up! Grooming and Boarding and it was doing really well — better than she had thought it would. In fact, Aunt Jenn had just hired someone to help answer the phone and make appointments. But even with her new office helper, Aunt Jenn was still busy, busy, busy. So she often asked Kat to give her a hand. Most times Kat got her best friend, Maya, and her new friend, Grace, to come along. They usually helped Aunt Jenn with puppies that were boarding at Tails Up.

  Kat grabbed the phone from Aidan. “Hi, Aunt Jenn!” she said.

  “Hi, Kitty-Kat,” said Aunt Jenn, using her special name for Kat. “Listen, I wonder if you can help me out. Things are usually busy here on Saturdays. But this morning, there is an extra challenge.”

  “Sure,” said Kat. “What is it? Has someone left a puppy to board with you? Does he need a walk or a play in the yard?”

  “Well, something like that — times three!” Aunt Jenn laughed. “This morning I came downstairs to the salon early to prepare for another day of business. I opened the main door to pick up the newspaper, and what did I find? A big cardboard box — with three little white bichon frise puppies in it!” Aunt Jenn said. Now her voice sounded a bit upset.

  Kat gasped. “Three abandoned puppies?”

  “Yes,” Aunt Jenn said. She sighed. “I think they are about eight weeks old. I put them in a kennel in the doggy-daycare room, and I gave them food and water. They need more attention, but I’m so busy today. It’s almost noon, and this is the first chance I’ve even had to call you. You don’t mind helping out this afternoon?”

  “Of course not!” Kat said quickly. “Is it okay if Maya and Grace come? We all love helping out at Tails Up. You know how dog crazy we are!”

  “That would be wonderful,” Aunt Jenn said. “That way there would be three of them and three of you!”

  “I’ll check with Mom and Dad,” said Kat. “Then I’ll call Maya and Grace.”

  “Oh, and Kitty-Kat, can you bring along poster-making supplies? It would be great if you could make posters advertising that the three pups need homes,” suggested Aunt Jenn.

  “Sure thing,” said Kat. “See you in a flash. Or sooner!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Fifteen minutes later, Maya and her mom pulled up in front of Kat’s house. Maya leaned out the passenger window.

  “Hi, Kat-nip,” she called.

  Kat made a face. Maya had called her “Kat-nip” for as long as she could remember. “You love dogs, but your name is Kat? How goofy!” she’d say. Maya often teased her, and Kat teased her back. But it was all in good fun. They had been best friends forever.

  Maya waved Kat over. “I told my mom that your aunt needs us yesterday,” Maya said, grinning, “so she’s going to give us a lift to Tails Up.”

  Kat jumped into the back seat. “Thanks, Mrs. Berg.”

  “You’re welcome, Katherine,” Maya’s mother answered.

  “What about Grace? Is she meeting us there?” Maya asked as Kat did up her seatbelt.

  “Yup. In a while,” Kat explained, “after a doctor’s appointment. Oh, and she’s going to bring along some art supplies for the posters.”

  Five minutes later, Maya’s mother dropped off the girls in front of Tails Up. The grooming salon was on the main street of Orchard Valley, just a few blocks from Kat’s house.

  The girls hurried inside. A young man sitting behind the front desk waved. “Hello, girls,” he said. “You’re Kat? And you’re Maya? I’m Tony, the new receptionist,” he explained, standing up.

  “Hi, Tony,” said Maya.

  “Nice to meet you,” said Kat.

  “And this is Marmalade. She’s fifteen. She won’t go anywhere without me.” Tony grinned.

  A big, elderly tabby cat was sitting on the countertop.

  “Hi, Marmalade,” Kat said.

  “Can we pet her?” Maya asked.

  “Go ahead,” Tony said. “But don’t think for a moment that she’ll enjoy it. She’ll allow it but only as a favour to you!” He winked at them.

  Kat and Maya stroked the elderly cat, and sure enough, she didn’t look at them. But she purred loudly.

  The phone rang. “Your aunt should be out in a minute,” Tony said, before answering the phone with a cheerful “Tails Up! How can I help you?”

  Kat looked around the waiting room. As always, it was packed. It had a small couch and three chairs. Today almost every seat was taken. A bald man sat with a stocky bull terrier lying at his feet. A teenage girl with a shaved head, five earrings in one ear and one in her bottom lip held her Great Dane on a short leash. It had black studs on its collar. It wagged its tail happily at Kat and Maya.

  A young woman sat sprawled on a chair. She wore a trim jacket and skirt, and black boots. She had long, black hair in tight curls that cascaded down her back.

  Maya nudged Kat and tilted her head toward the young woman.

  Kat studied her. What breed of dog would she have? This was one of Kat and Maya’s favourite games.

  “Puli,” Kat whispered to Maya, after a moment.

  “Puli?” Maya frowned. “Okay, Einstein. What’s a puli?”

  “It’s a really rare dog breed,” Kat began to explain. “Pulis look really unusual, like moving mops! They have—”

  Just then, Aunt Jenn came bounding out of the grooming studio. As usual, her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a light blue jacket sprinkled with black, brown, tan and red dog hairs. Beside her bounced a black dog with long cords of tightly curled hair that touched the ground. When he moved, the cords swung back and forth.

  “Cocoa!” The young woman bent down to gre
et her dog. “You good boy!” Her own curls bounced up and down.

  “Cocoa’s a puli!” Kat said, grinning.

  Maya gasped in surprise. “And his owner has a matching hairdo! Nice one, Kat.”

  Aunt Jenn turned to the waiting clients. “I just need a minute to speak with my niece and her friend. I’ll be right back,” she said firmly.

  “Hello, wonderful girls,” she said to Kat and Maya. “Thank you so much for coming!” She waved them to follow her into the doggy-daycare room.

  It had a large fenced-in area, like a playpen. There was a stairway that led to a big room for puppy training and Aunt Jenn’s apartment. There was a window looking onto a big fenced-in yard. There were also four large dog kennels along one wall. In the closest one were three little white puppies. When they saw the girls, two of the puppies jumped up and began wagging their tails.

  “Here they are,” said Aunt Jenn. “The bichon frise pups!”

  Kat and Maya squealed with delight and hurried over. They dropped to their knees beside the kennel.

  “They are so sweet!” cooed Kat.

  “They are so tiny!” exclaimed Maya.

  “Two females and one male,” Aunt Jenn said, pointing out which was which.

  “It’s hard to tell them apart,” said Maya. “All three are white and so cute!”

  “The male looks a little smaller than the females,” Kat said thoughtfully. “And he seems a little quieter.” The male puppy sat in the corner and watched his sisters play together.

  “Likely they are siblings from one litter,” said Aunt Jenn. “There may have been others in the litter. Perhaps the owner found homes for the others, but not for these three puppies, and so he or she left them here.”

  “But why?” Kat said angrily. She stood up. “Why would anyone just abandon a box of puppies outside a grooming salon?”

  “And what if you hadn’t found them right away?” Maya added, her eyes flashing. “What if the pups had climbed out of the box and run onto the street?”

  “These are good questions,” said Aunt Jenn. “We’ll never know who put the puppies outside Tails Up or why. But the good news is that these three little ones are safe and sound!”

  “True,” Maya said. Kat nodded. Aunt Jenn was right.

  “So your job this afternoon is to play with them while I work.” Aunt Jenn stuck her finger in the air. “And also to come up with an action plan. We need to find each one a home — and quickly! These pups are about eight weeks old. They will begin to bond with the people around them. So they need to be with their forever family as soon as possible. We don’t want them to bond with us! It would be too difficult for them to separate from us.”

  Kat swallowed hard. She stared at the puppies. What if they couldn’t find homes for all three puppies? What if one pup was left behind and never found his or her forever family?

  She forced herself to put the feeling aside. They would just have to do their best to see that didn’t happen.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “You’re okay with these three pups? You don’t need any reminders on how to lift them out of the kennel or place them back in?” Aunt Jenn asked.

  “No, we’re fine,” said Kat with a smile.

  “Good,” Aunt Jenn said. She turned to go, but then turned back. “Almost forgot. Names!” she said. “We need to be able to tell the puppies apart when we’re talking about them. Can you take care of naming them all?”

  Kat paused. “But won’t that make them bond with us too much, Aunt Jenn?”

  Aunt Jenn shook her head. “Don’t think so. Many breeders name their puppies and then the new owners rename them. Puppies learn their new names quickly. I have several books about dogs in my waiting room, including ones filled with names. Help yourself.” With one more grin at the girls, she was gone.

  Kat’s head was swimming. She looked at Maya. “What do we do first?”

  Maya slapped her hand to her chest. “Oh, woe is us,” she said dramatically. “Decisions, decisions, decisions …”

  Kat giggled. Her best friend would make a great actress!

  “But seriously, Maya, what do we do first?” Kat said. She knelt beside the kennel. Two of the puppies tumbled over to her excitedly. Kat longed to play with them all.

  “Well, how about we talk about the posters first,” said Maya.

  Kat turned back to the puppies. “We’re going to make posters to tell people about you three,” she told them. The two puppies wagged their tails excitedly. The third pup stayed in the corner, just watching.

  “We’ll put up posters around town, and we can put them up at school on Monday, as well,” said Maya.

  “Okay,” said Kat. “We’ll write on the posters that these puppies will only go to responsible people. People who will take good care of them and love them forever.”

  “Sounds good,” Maya agreed. “Now, while we wait for Grace to come with the poster supplies, why don’t we play with the pups?”

  “Great idea!” said Kat.

  Maya hurried over to join Kat by the crate.

  “The male is a little smaller, but the two females are exactly the same size,” Maya said, looking at the puppies. “Spunky and lively. White with black noses and black button eyes. It’s hard to tell them apart.”

  Kat looked back and forth, back and forth at the females. “You’re right,” she agreed. “Identical.”

  “You know what?” Maya said, looking at them closely. “I think there is one difference, after all. Neither of them actually has black eyes. She has eyes that are almost black.” She pointed to the pup on the left. “But her eyes are dark brown!”

  Kat peered at the puppies, then smiled. “You’re right, Maya!”

  Kat opened the kennel and reached in. The two females came right over. They looked up at Kat and licked her fingers happily.

  “Okay, you first, little one,” Kat said. Gently she lifted up the puppy with the almost black eyes. She hugged the squirming puffball against her chest.

  “You are adorable,” Kat said, softly. “Just adorable.”

  She stroked the puppy’s soft coat. She liked how her tail curled up over her back, just like the top of a question mark.

  Maya lifted out the other female puppy.

  “Oh, she is so tiny!” Maya said. “I don’t think I’ve ever held such a little puppy!”

  “It’s almost like holding a stuffed toy dog, isn’t it?” Kat exclaimed. “Except these puppies are real!”

  Kat cuddled the puppy for a few more minutes. Then she set her down. “Time to play!” At once the curious female began to explore the room. She sniffed the three other kennels, which were empty. She found a basket of dog toys. She pulled out a plush squirrel. She held it between her teeth and shook her head from side to side.

  Kat laughed. “The squirrel is almost as big as the puppy!”

  Maya set the other puppy down. She ran to join her sister. The two bichon frise pups began to play a happy game of tug-of-war.

  Kat looked at the male puppy. He still sat in the corner of the kennel. He was watching his sisters closely. He didn’t look nervous or scared, just cautious.

  “Your turn to come out,” Kat told him. She put her hand in the kennel. The puppy approached it slowly. He sniffed Kat’s hand. Then, quick as a wink, out came his pink tongue to give her hand a gentle lick.

  “Thank you,” said Kat, feeling especially pleased. “Nice to meet you, too. Now here we go,” she said and picked him up. He was so soft. Kat held the puppy close against her chest. She could feel his heart thumping. He was even tinier than his sisters.

  Suddenly Kat was worried. The puppies were very sweet, but it might be difficult to find owners for all three. Especially in only a few days. Especially if one puppy acted a little shy. What would happen if they couldn’t find someone who would love each puppy forever? What would happen to this little fellow if they couldn’t find someone who wanted to take him home?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The door opened a
nd Grace peeked her head in.

  “Kat? Maya?” she called.

  “Hi, Grace,” replied Kat. “Come in quickly and close the door behind you. The puppies are loose!”

  Grace quickly slipped into the room. “Hi, guys! Sorry I’m late,” she said. Grace caught sight of the three puppies. “Oh my goodness!” she cooed. She whipped off her backpack and dropped the art supplies by the door. “Look at you cute little things!”

  Kat remembered the first time she saw Grace. It was just a short time ago. Grace had just moved to Orchard Valley. She was put in Kat’s grade four/five class. She stood at the front of the room with their teacher, Ms. Mitchell. She didn’t smile. Her arms were straight down at her sides. Her face was stony.

  At first Kat thought Grace was just … mean. That’s what all the other kids in the class thought, too. But Kat had been helping Aunt Jenn look after a puppy called Riley. And Riley had taught her that Grace was just missing her own dog and her own home. Grace looked mean when she was scared or embarrassed.

  Now Grace squatted on the floor. The two female pups were chasing a ball across the floor. But when they saw the girl crouching there, they hurried over to her, their legs flying. They jumped up at her like jack-in-the-boxes.

  “Bichons are really great at doing tricks. In the past they performed in circuses,” said Kat, grinning.

  Kat read about dogs on the Internet. She read every dog book she could get her hands on. Her favourite book was Dog Breeds of the World. She must have read it more than twenty times. She wanted to learn everything she could about dogs.

  Grace clapped her hands together. “I can believe it! Just look at these two prance and pirouette!” She patted one puppy with each hand. “Hello, my friends!” Then she looked at the male puppy. “And what about this little one?” He was happily chewing on a squeaky toy. “Come on over and see me,” Grace coaxed. “Come on.” She stretched out a hand to the puppy. He wagged his tail, but he stayed where he was. His sisters jumped at Grace’s hand, wanting the attention back on them.