by Ellen Miles
“And, of course, the most important part of our research project,” Charles said, raising his voice as he knelt down and threw his arms open. “Puppies!”
At that, Buddy and Roxy trotted toward them. The two puppies jumped into the boys’ arms. Charles nuzzled the top of Roxy’s head while Sammy petted Buddy.
“Who’s a good girl?” Charles asked as Roxy wriggled happily and licked his cheek. Her funny, furry face tickled Charles.
Me! I’m the best girl!
After a few more hugs, Charles put Roxy down and picked up his clipboard. “Okay, let’s get to work,” he said. He had decided to teach Roxy and Buddy how to pick something up and then drop it again, into his hand — sort of like fetch, but without all the running. For a moment, Charles wished Lizzie was there, since she was such a good dog trainer. But this was something he wanted to do on his own. It was just as well that Lizzie had decided to go to Caring Paws to check on Roxy’s mom and siblings.
“Doesn’t Buddy already know how to fetch?” Sammy asked.
“Sort of,” said Charles. “He’s great at running after something you throw, but not so great at bringing it back or giving it to you. Sometimes I practically have to wrestle with him to get the ball back.”
“Or the octopus,” said Sammy, holding up the stuffed toy they had decided to use for training. The eight bright purple legs dangled temptingly, and Buddy made a little leap at the toy.
“Uh-uh, Buddy,” said Charles. “Sit.” He handed the clipboard to Sammy.
“Okay, get ready with the stopwatch,” he said. “Let’s see how long it takes to train Buddy to do this.”
He put the toy on the ground. “Take it,” he said. Buddy pounced on the octopus, tail wagging. “Good b —” Charles began, but before he could finish getting the words out, Roxy pounced, too.
The puppies began to play tug-of-war with the toy, wagging their tails as they growled happily, each tugging one purple leg while the octopus head dangled between them. They dug in their back feet and pulled as hard as they could. Buddy was bigger, but feisty little Roxy wouldn’t give up. She tugged and tugged, and Buddy pulled back. The toy’s squeaker squealed louder and louder.
“Hey! No! C’mon, Roxy, you’re going to hurt your leg,” said Charles, but he was laughing too hard to sound serious. He rescued the toy, pulling it away from both puppies. “Let’s try this again,” he said. This time he picked Roxy up and held her as he started over, dropping the octopus at Buddy’s feet. “Take it,” he said. This was the easy part. Buddy pounced. Before his puppy could start shaking the toy or run off with it, Charles pulled out a treat — the boring brown kind. “Okay, start the timer,” he said to Sammy. Then he gave the more difficult command to Buddy. “Drop it,” he said, holding out the biscuit, as if to trade it for the toy.
Buddy sniffed at the biscuit, without letting the octopus fall from his jaws. Then he ran off, shaking the octopus happily. Charles laughed again. “He seems more interested in the toy than in the biscuit,” he said.
“Should I stop the timer?” Sammy asked. He held up the ticking stopwatch.
“I guess so,” said Charles. “Then let’s try again with the special treat.” Still holding Roxy, he ran after Buddy and managed to get the toy back from him. This time, before he dropped the octopus, he reached into his pocket and pulled a nugget of cheese out of a plastic bag. Buddy sniffed the air, and his ears perked up. “I have a feeling he’ll drop the toy for this treat,” said Charles, smiling down at his adorable puppy.
He put the octopus down. “Take it,” he said quickly, before Buddy could grab it. As Lizzie said, some tricks were just natural dog behavior that you put a command to. “Good boy,” Charles said. “Now, drop it.” He held out his hand with the treat in it, and Buddy immediately let the toy drop to the ground so he could grab the hunk of cheese and gobble it down.
“Did you see that?” he asked Sammy. “Maybe my hypothesis isn’t so bad after all. I think Aunt Amanda is right. Good treats are the way to go when you’re training a dog.”
“Maybe,” said Sammy. “There’s only one problem. I — um — forgot to start the stopwatch.” He held up his hands. “Oops.”
Charles smacked his forehead. Mr. Mason always said that science wasn’t easy. Charles was beginning to see why.
By the end of the session, Roxy and Buddy both knew how to pick up the toy and drop it quickly when Charles gave the commands. The boring biscuits had been put aside, and the cheese and hot dogs were just about gone by the time Lizzie arrived home.
“How’s it going?” she asked.
“Great,” said Charles. “I think my hypothesis is correct. All I need now is a few more dogs to test it on. Are Roxy’s mom and brothers still at Caring Paws?”
Lizzie shook her head. “No, they —” But before she could say more, Charles heard the phone ringing in the kitchen. “Ha!” Lizzie laughed. “I have a feeling this call might be just what you’re looking for.”
“That was the people who took Roxy’s mom and brothers,” Mom said after she’d talked on the phone for a while. “They are going to foster them. Lizzie left our phone number with Ms. Dobbins, in case they wanted to get together with us so Roxy could visit with her family. I invited them over.”
After dinner, the doorbell rang. “Oh! It’s you!” said Charles when he opened the door.
The boy on the porch raised his eyebrows.
“I mean, I recognize you from the science fair,” said Charles as he opened the door wider. “You made the robot, right?”
The boy smiled. “That’s right.” He stuck out his hand, the one that wasn’t cradling a puppy. “I’m Derek.”
Charles nodded. “I’m Charles. I met your mom at LazerQuest,” he said. “She’s really cool.”
The man behind Derek smiled. “Yes, she is,” he agreed. He was holding the other puppy in one hand and a leash in the other. At the end of the leash was Roxy’s mom. Her ears were up, and she was staring at something behind Charles.
Charles turned to see Roxy trotting toward them. Her ears were also up, and her eyes sparkled.
Mom! Wow, what are you doing here?
The puppy and her mom touched noses. Their tails wagged madly as they sniffed each other happily. Then Roxy put her paws up on Derek’s knee, sniffing at the puppy he held.
Hi, brother! It’s great to see you.
“Charles, are you going to invite our company inside?” Mom asked, coming up behind him. She smiled at Derek’s dad as she waved them in. “I’m Betsy Peterson.”
“Franklin Watts,” he said, sticking his hand out for a shake. “Great to meet you.”
Derek’s dad was big and muscular, with a shaved head and a cool beard. Once he was inside, he squatted to let the puppy down. “There you go, little man,” he said. “Check out your sister.” He stood back up. “Thanks for having us over,” he said. “It’s great to get them all together. Also, Ms. Dobbins said you’d be able to give us some tips on fostering pups.”
“We’d be happy to,” said Mom. “Would you like some cake? I was helping to test recipes today, and I brought home more than we can eat.” She explained that she was a newspaper reporter. “My friend Jim writes the cooking column, and this week he’s featuring chocolate cake.”
“My favorite,” said Franklin, smiling. He and Derek followed Mom into the kitchen and joined the Petersons around the table. While Mom cut the cake and passed it around, Franklin explained that he and Derek had just moved into a larger home with an attached barn so that they’d be able to foster more animals. “I’m a wildlife biologist,” he told them, “and Derek and I both love animals. We’ve taken care of every kind of critter you can think of, and then some. Iguanas, monkeys, a baby raccoon — you name it. Not too many puppies, though.” He smiled down at the puppies playing under the table. Their mom lay nearby, watching closely. “We’re learning fast, with these two scamps.”
“We already taught them to sit,” Derek reported. “And the one with more brown i
n his coat already knows how to shake, too.”
“Wait till you see what we taught Roxy,” said Charles. He told Derek and his dad about his science project.
“That’s so cool. Do you have more cheese? Let’s go test Roxy’s brothers!” said Derek, gulping down the last bite of his cake.
Charles called Sammy, who came back over to help with the timer and record keeping. After he’d had three pieces of cake, Sammy was ready. With Buddy and Roxy showing off their new skills, Roxy’s brothers learned fast. Soon, all four puppies knew how to take the ball and drop it.
* * *
The next day at Sharing Circle, Charles was full of news about how smart Roxy was and how quickly she and her brothers had learned their new tricks. He also told the class about meeting Derek and his dad. “First I wasn’t sure about having another foster family around,” he admitted. “But they’re great. We can help them learn about fostering puppies. And maybe I’ll get to help sometime when they’re fostering some other kind of animal, like a skunk or a fawn.”
“You’ll learn a lot from Franklin,” said Mr. Mason. “He knows so much about animals. But you’re still fostering Roxy, though, right?” he asked. He looked a little worried.
“Yup,” said Charles. “She’s used to us now, so we’ll keep her until we find her the right home. I’m sure somebody will want to adopt her soon.” The thought made him sad, but he wanted what was best for Roxy.
When it was time for recess, Mr. Mason asked Charles to stay in the classroom for a moment. “I have a big favor to ask you,” he said.
Charles was surprised. What could he do for Mr. Mason? “Okay,” he said. “What is it?”
“It has to do with Roxy,” said Mr. Mason. “Maybe I could come to your house tonight so I can see her trick in person, and we can talk with your parents about whether you and Roxy can help me.”
“Honey, Derek’s here with the puppies!” Mom called from the deck. It was a few days after Mr. Mason had visited, and Charles and Roxy were out in the backyard waiting for Derek to come by for puppy playtime. While they waited, Charles had been working hard on the little pup’s training.
Roxy pricked up her ears. She sniffed the air and let out three little barks.
My family! Yay!!
Charles scooped Roxy up and gave her a hug. “Good job on the training today,” he said. “Mr. Mason is going to be really happy when he sees what you can do.” Then he pretended to zip his lips. “But remember, it’s a secret. We can’t tell anybody, and that includes Derek and your brothers.”
Roxy looked up at him with her sparkling brown eyes. He could have sworn that she gave him a wink.
It’s our secret. I won’t tell a soul.
“Hey, man, how’s it going?” Derek asked as he came down the back stairs into the yard, carrying both of Roxy’s brothers. “How’s Roxy? I see that the purple tape is gone. Is her leg all better?”
Charles nodded. “We went to see Dr. Gibson yesterday, and she said Roxy’s healing has been amazing. She’s got the green light to do whatever she wants.”
“Yesss!” said Derek. “I know two puppies who are going to be very happy to hear that.” He grinned at Charles as he let the puppies down onto the grass. “Go play, little dudes.”
Charles put Roxy down, and she and her brothers tumbled and wrestled, letting out tiny yips and play growls as they rolled around in the grass. Derek laughed as he watched Roxy pounce on her brothers. “She’s a little tiger, isn’t she?” he asked.
“She’s so smart, too,” said Charles. “I mean, of course her brothers are smart. But I think Roxy’s the smartest.”
“Could be,” said Derek. “Maybe we’ll have to give them one of those doggy IQ tests sometime. Remember that girl at the science fair who showed how to measure how smart dogs are?”
“That was a good exhibit, but yours was the best,” said Charles. “How did you make that robot, anyway?”
Derek laughed. “It took a long time,” he said. “Like, months of work. But it was fun. How’s your project coming along? Your science fair is tomorrow night, isn’t it?”
“Yup,” said Charles. “But I’m almost ready. Want to see the poster I made for my display?”
“Definitely,” said Derek. “I’ll watch the pups while you get it.”
Charles ran inside and came back out with a large piece of white poster board. On it he had drawn two giant stopwatch faces, with the hands in red and the numbers in black. One showed that thirteen seconds had gone by, and the other showed thirty-seven seconds. “I haven’t finished it yet, but this shows the average time for a puppy to learn a trick with the extra-good treats,” Charles said, pointing to the thirteen-second clock. “And that one shows the average time with plain biscuits.”
“Great!” said Derek. “I like your presentation. With a science fair, sometimes it’s all about the poster.”
“I’m bringing Roxy, too,” said Charles. “I think she’ll add a lot to my display. She can do the tricks she’s learned, and everybody will love her. Maybe somebody will even decide to adopt her!” He was dying to tell Derek the other reason he was bringing Roxy, but he couldn’t. That was between him and Mr. Mason.
“Your presentation is going to be the best one in the whole second grade,” said Derek. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“You’re coming?” Charles asked.
“Sure,” said Derek. “I mean, my mom and I will be there, you know, because she and Mr. Mason —” He grinned. “I mean, your teacher is my mom’s boyfriend. How weird is that?”
“Kind of weird,” said Charles. “But I like your mom a lot.”
“And I like Mr. Mason a lot, too,” said Derek. “He’s really cool, for an older dude.”
Charles couldn’t help smiling. “Yeah, he’s cool,” he said. Again, he wished he could tell Derek the big secret Mr. Mason shared with him, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t. He picked up a tennis ball and called the puppies over. “Come on, Roxy! Come on, puppies,” he said, holding up the ball. “Let’s play a little fetch!” He tossed the ball, and the puppies scrambled after it, falling over their own feet. “Have you named the puppies yet?” he asked Derek.
Derek shook his head. “No, my dad and I are just calling them both Little Man. My mom’s the one who is good at naming, and she hasn’t met them yet. Anyway, we’re only fostering them. We won’t be keeping them for long.” He looked wistful as he watched the puppies play.
“That’s the hardest part of fostering,” Charles said. “When you have to say good-bye to the puppies.”
Derek nodded. Then he brightened. “But I think I talked my dad into adopting their mom! We even named her. We’ve been calling her Ruby. She’s an amazing dog. I think that’s where Roxy got her feistiness from.”
Charles gave Derek a high five. “When you have your own dog, it’s a lot easier to say good-bye to the foster puppies,” he said. “That’s what we found out when we adopted Buddy.” Charles smiled at Derek. He had a feeling that Ruby was going to be very happy with this boy and his dad.
Charles felt a little tingle as his dad pulled into the school parking lot. The big sign with changeable letters said SCIENCE FAIR TONIGHT! He clutched his rolled-up poster tightly, wondering for the tenth time if he should have made the lettering even bigger, or if he should have added a chart or a graph.
Dad met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Nothing to be nervous about,” he said, as if he was reading Charles’s mind. “Your project is terrific, and everybody’s going to love Roxy.”
Charles smiled down at the puppy in his lap. Dad was right about one thing. Roxy was one of the most loveable puppies they had ever fostered. Now that her leg was better, she was a little spitfire, tearing around the house and getting into everything. Still, no matter what kind of trouble she got into, Charles could never be mad at her.
“You’re just too cute,” said Charles, ruffling her fur. “Who’s the cutest?”
Roxy looked up at him, cocked her head, and wag
ged her tiny tail.
Me! I know I am! But I love hearing it.
Charles smiled at Roxy, but he still felt nervous. The project was not the only thing Charles was worried about tonight. There was something much more important on his mind. Soon, everyone would know, and he wouldn’t have to keep Mr. Mason’s secret any longer — but until then, Charles couldn’t stop wondering how it would all turn out. He was hoping for the best, but anything could happen.
“Here we go,” said Dad, pulling into a parking spot. He held Roxy while Charles got out of the van, and they walked to the main entrance, Charles carrying his poster. As soon as he opened the big door, Charles spotted Mr. Mason waiting just inside.
“Dad, can you take Roxy and my poster over to the hallway near room 2B?” he asked. “I need to check with Mr. Mason about our plan.”
“Of course,” said Dad, winking at Charles. “I know this is a big night for Mr. Mason.” He pretended to zip his lips. “Don’t worry, I won’t spill the beans.”
Charles handed his poster to Dad. Then he joined Mr. Mason by the drinking fountain. His teacher looked nervous. He wiped some sweat off his forehead with a folded-up handkerchief as he greeted Charles.
“Are we all set?” he asked. “Roxy knows what to do?” He took a deep breath. “I sure wish we’d had more time to practice together.”
“It’ll be fine,” said Charles. “Just remember the cues. ‘Take it’ for her to pick it up, and ‘drop it’ for letting it go.”
Mr. Mason nodded. “Got it,” he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue velvet bag with a gold ribbon drawstring. “Here it is!”
“Wow, pretty,” said Charles. He felt sorry for Mr. Mason, who already had more little beads of sweat on his forehead. “Don’t worry. It’s all going to go great,” he said, patting Mr. Mason’s arm as he put the bag back into his pocket.
Mr. Mason smiled. “Thanks. Now get going! You only have a few minutes left to set up your display.”