by Holly Webb
“He didn’t!” Carly said angrily, crouching down beside Hugo and putting her arm round him. “Stanley hurt him! Look at his poor nose!”
Mum sighed. “We don’t know which of them started it. I suppose we’ve been lucky we haven’t had any issues with them until now – it’s weird this has happened so suddenly... But if they’re going to start fighting with each other, we’ll have to talk to Amy in the morning. Stanley’s old enough to stay at the shelter now until they find a home for him. Hopefully they’ve got room.”
“What?” Lily gasped. “No, Mum, he’s staying here. We said we’d look after him until we found him a proper home. He can’t go to the shelter!”
“He has to, Lily,” Dad said gently. “I know you’ve loved having the kittens here and you’ve worked so hard with them but we can’t risk Stanley being hurt if he and Hugo aren’t getting on. What if Stanley tries to scratch Hugo again and Hugo lashes out? I know Hugo wouldn’t deliberately hurt him – at least, I don’t think he would – but he’s just so much bigger than Stanley. It’s not safe.”
“And this is Hugo’s home!” Carly put in.
“She’s right, Lily,” Dad said. “We can’t send Hugo away.”
Lily shook her head, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Stanley wriggled a little as one fell on to his nose and he licked it, liking the salty taste.
This couldn’t be happening, Lily thought, looking miserably from Dad to Mum to Carly. Everyone seemed to be certain that Stanley had to go. How could this be happening now? Tomorrow was supposed to be the start of her grand plan to convince everyone they could keep their gorgeous kitten forever – and now instead he was going to be sent to the shelter.
“He just can’t,” she whispered. “He’ll hate it there. We saw the cats when we went to get Hugo – they had those little rooms. He’s used to a whole big kitchen and my bedroom. He’ll be so lonely without us.” And without Hugo, Lily added in her head. She still couldn’t understand what had happened. Hugo had never barked at the kittens – not even when he’d first found them in the woods. He’d looked after them so carefully – Stanley even slept in his basket. This just wasn’t right.
But nobody was listening to her. It felt like all the plans were already made – Mum and Dad were discussing who could go and drop off Stanley at the shelter. Carly was still petting Hugo and glaring at the kitten.
“What are we going to do with them tonight?” Dad murmured, looking between Stanley and Hugo. “We can’t leave them both in here, obviously.”
“I’ll take Stanley upstairs with me,” Lily said quickly. It was their last night, she realized. Her last time to cuddle him. “I’ll take his box upstairs with me and put it by my bed.”
Mum nodded. “OK. But shut your door, Lily.”
“I’ll bring the box for you,” Dad said. He picked it up and followed her up the stairs.
Lily couldn’t help crying into Stanley’s fur as she took him up to her room. He was still so little – far too little to go to the shelter, she was sure. It would be like sending him off for his first day of school. She half laughed, half sniffed at the thought.
“I’m really going to miss this one,” Dad said, rubbing one finger under Stanley’s chin as Lily climbed into bed, still holding him. She put him down gently on top of the sheet and Stanley started to wander around the folds, his paws sliding.
“Oh, Lily, don’t cry, sweetheart.” Dad put his arm round her. “He’ll go to a lovely new home. He’s so gorgeous, he probably won’t even be in the shelter for a day.”
“I don’t want him to have a lovely new home,” Lily sobbed. “I want him to stay here!”
“I know.” Dad sighed. “I had been thinking that, too… But this is Hugo’s home, Lily, love. You know that.”
“I still can’t believe they were fighting…” Lily whispered.
Stanley came stomping back up the bed towards her and began to clamber on to her legs, wriggling as he got caught up in the sheet. Dad laughed and helped him up with a hand under his bottom. “There you go, Stanley. Night, Lily.” He went over to close the bedroom window. “Just in case – we don’t want Stanley getting out. I hope it’s not too hot. Everything will be OK, honestly.”
Lily watched him go, blowing her a kiss from the doorway and then closing the door behind him. How can everything possibly be OK? she thought sleepily, as Stanley padded round and round on her tummy, making himself a comfy little nest. It’s not OK at all…
Stanley tucked his nose under his tail and closed his eyes. He loved the feeling of snuggling up on top of Lily. He could tell that there was something wrong, her breathing sounded different, with strange little hitches that made him bounce on her tummy each time. But he’d never been able to sleep on her bed before – it was even better than curling up next to Hugo. He was warm and safe…
His ears flattened back for a moment as he suddenly remembered and he let out a little mew of fright. He’d been fast asleep and then the barking had woken him. Stanley had never heard Hugo bark like that before – he was protecting his house. He’d been trying to protect Stanley, too, but the noise was still so scary.
Stanley had run madly around the kitchen, trying to find a hiding place but nowhere had felt safe. In the end he’d jumped on to the kitchen table and then made a flying leap on to the counter, scrabbling madly and nearly falling back down. He’d huddled himself behind the curtains, curling up as small as he could as the barking and hissing went on and on.
Stanley stood up, pacing round and round on the bed to calm himself down. Lily shifted a little, with a wheezy moan, and settled again. Then, at last, they slept.
“Do you think they’ll want his toys at the shelter?” Mum said doubtfully, holding up a catnip mouse with half its tail gone and a hole where the stuffing was coming out.
“He loves that mouse,” Lily said, with a catch in her voice. “You have to take it!” She abandoned her cereal – she wasn’t hungry anyway – and got down on the kitchen floor, looking for all the jingly balls, feathers and other toys that were scattered about. Of course, Stanley’s favourite toy was Hugo, she realized, looking at them both under the table. Mum and Dad had decided that as long as someone stayed with them both the whole time, it was OK to let them be in the same room until Mum took Stanley to the shelter.
Hugo was lying full length under the table – probably hoping for Carly’s toast crusts – and Stanley was playing with his paws. He was hopping over them, pouncing and patting at them with his own. Every so often Hugo would yawn and move a paw a little, so that Stanley leaped on it with ferocious tigerish growls.
Mum kept turning round from the bacon she was cooking and glancing over at them, obviously checking that they weren’t about to fight again but they weren’t. It was a game, it always was. Lily stared at them, trying not to let herself start crying again. She still couldn’t quite believe that this was happening. How could they be happy together now, when Hugo had been so furious last night and Stanley so terrified?
“Can you get that, Lily?” Mum said, as the doorbell rang. “I don’t want to leave this pan. It’s probably just the post.”
Lily got up and went to the door, opening it just as her dad came downstairs. Their next-door neighbour, Anna, was standing there, looking worried.
“Hi, Anna.” Dad came over to the door. “Is everything all right?”
Anna smiled. “I hope so… But I’ve come to apologize, just in case.”
“OK…” Dad said, looking puzzled. “Would you like some coffee? We’re just having breakfast.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt!”
“Honestly, it’s fine.”
“I’d love a coffee.” Anna smiled, and followed Lily and Dad through to the kitchen, where Mum was dishing out the bacon.
“I do feel bad, though,” Anna continued. “I’ve a horrible feeling that Pixie’s been in here again. She bolted in through the cat flap at about midnight, in a bit of a state. She was soaking wet and all the fur tha
t wasn’t plastered down with water was sticking up. And I heard a lot of barking, so I wondered if she’d climbed through Lily’s window again and had had a bit of a bust-up with Hugo… You mentioned she’d come in that way before.”
Anna looked between Mum and Dad as the whole family stared at her. “I really am sorry,” she added. “I know she’s a nightmare. My neighbours on the other side got quite cross with her the other day – they found her on the kitchen table licking the butter…” Her voice trailed away. “Oh no, what did she do?”
“It was Pixie!” Lily breathed, remembering her open bedroom window. “It was Pixie, not Stanley! Hugo was barking at Pixie!” And that meant Stanley didn’t need to go…
“Mum, do you think…?” Lily put her hand on Mum’s arm, trying to get her to listen, but Mum was looking at Anna and not paying attention.
“She was in here, then. Oh dear…” Anna looked around the kitchen. “I really hope she didn’t break anything.”
Dad laughed. “Actually, I think she broke a mug but don’t worry, Anna. That’s about the best news you could have given us. We came down last night because Hugo was barking his head off to find the kitchen in a bit of a mess and Hugo with a scratch on his nose. No, no, it’s OK!” he added, seeing Anna put a hand up to her mouth. “You see, we thought it was Stanley who’d done it. We were going to take him to the animal shelter this morning and now we don’t have to!”
“Pixie scratched Hugo?” Anna looked down at Hugo guiltily. “Poor Hugo. She’s a horror, she really is.”
“But you love her to bits,” Mum said, laughing.
“I’d better start locking the cat flap at night.” Anna sighed.
“Mum.” Lily pulled at her sleeve. “Mum, listen, please, it’s important. You need to call the shelter.”
Mum gave her a hug. “It’s OK, Lily, you don’t need to tell me. We’ll call them right now and let them know we don’t need to bring Stanley in after all.”
“I should have listened when you said that Hugo wouldn’t have been barking like that at Stanley,” Dad said, shaking his head. “I mean just look at them.”
Everyone looked down under the table. Stanley, worn out from his game, was collapsed over Hugo’s enormous paws. As they stared at him, he opened one eye lazily, just a slit of green peering up at them all.
“Please…” Lily whispered. “Couldn’t we keep him? I know we had Hugo first but Hugo loves him, too.”
“Can we?” Carly put in. “It would make Hugo sad if he had to go,” she admitted. “I think Stanley should stay.”
“Yes! Oh, Carly, thank you!” Lily hugged her sister tight.
Mum smiled. “I’d better go and ring the shelter, hadn’t I?”
“What are you going to say to them?” Lily asked anxiously.
“I’m going to ask them to take his photo off the website – he’s already got a home.”
Lily threw her arms round her mum and then her dad and even Anna – she wanted to hug everyone.
Then she crouched down beside Stanley and Hugo. “You’re staying,” she said, stroking the fluffy white fur on Stanley’s tummy. You’re our kitten now!”
Stanley opened the other eye and stretched, rolling over on to his back and padding his front paws against Hugo’s nose. Hugo snorted, shifted his head and gently licked the little kitten.
Stanley uncurled himself from the big dog and stood up, stretching again and arching his back as he yawned. He padded deliberately over to Lily, and rubbed the side of his head lovingly up and down her shorts. He climbed on to her knees and stood up, nudging her chin with the top of his head and purring loudly. Then he jumped down and touched noses with Hugo.
“They’re perfect,” Lily whispered, crouching down to stroke Hugo. “They belong together, here with us.”
“Shall we head down to the field now?” Amelie suggested. “Then we can give Monty a really good run.” She laughed. “Look, he heard me!”
Monty’s soft black ears had suddenly pricked up and he was staring hopefully at Amelie. He was only a puppy but he already had long Labrador legs and he loved to run.
Her brother checked the time on his phone. “Yeah, OK, but not for too long. We’ve already been out twenty minutes and he’s only supposed to walk for about twenty-five.”
Amelie sighed. “I know the leaflet said that but look at him, Josh! He’s desperate! He wants a proper run, don’t you, Monty?”
The little black Labrador frisked round her feet with an excited bark. “It’s just not fair, is it? You love walks so much and so do we!”
Amelie crouched down to rub his head and run his ears through her fingers. His ears were so silky, and she loved the way he closed his eyes and stuck his nose in the air every time she did it.
“Well, it won’t be that long till he can go on really big walks,” Josh said and then grinned. “He’s already five months old – so that’s only another seven months to go!”
Amelie rolled her eyes. Josh thought he was so funny sometimes – she and Mum reckoned it was a teenage boy thing. “Come on, Josh, pleeease? If we go to the field then we can take the alley and go the quick way home.”
When they’d first got Monty, three months earlier, the breeder had given them a leaflet of tips on how to look after a Labrador puppy properly. She’d explained that Monty couldn’t go out for walks at all till he’d had his vaccinations. And even then, they’d have to be careful not to overwalk him while he was still under a year. The information leaflet suggested a five-minute rule – only five minutes of proper exercise for every month of Monty’s age, so as not to injure his growing legs.
Amelie knew it was the right thing to do but she still didn’t like it. Their walks seemed to have hardly got going before they had to turn round again.
“I suppose…” Josh agreed. “At least he’ll be nice and hungry for his dinner. Come on then, Monty! Let’s go to the field!”
Monty pranced along happily. He loved going out in the afternoons with Amelie and Josh. In the morning he went out with their dad, who did too much stopping to chat to people while he walked round the lake. Amelie and Josh raced about and threw sticks, and they usually brought toys for him to chase. He pulled eagerly at his lead, making for the gate out to the field.
“Heel, Monty,” Amelie said, pulling him back gently. She and Josh had been taking Monty to puppy training classes, and they’d been told not to let him pull when they were walking to heel.
Monty dropped back obediently and Josh fumbled a treat out of his pocket. “Good dog!”
“You wouldn’t think he’d only been going to training for three weeks, would you?” Amelie said proudly, as she opened the gate.
Josh grinned. “He’s a greedy pig. He’ll do anything for those treats.”
“Yes, but some dogs never learn to do things like that. I mean, what about Daisy? Grandad can’t ever get her to sit and stay, and she only walks to heel when she feels like it. Think about last week!”
“Yeah…” Josh shook his head, remembering. Grandad had come with them on a walk to the park with Daisy, his little dachsund. They’d walked past a girl eating a biscuit and Daisy had nibbled it right out of her hand. Her mum had been really cross, even though Grandad had said sorry loads of times. He had felt awful about it but Daisy hadn’t been bothered at all…
“I reckon that’s because she’s a dachshund, though,” Josh pointed out. “They’re not very easy to train. Labradors like Monty are good at this sort of thing. I mean, you don’t ever get dachshund Guide Dogs, do you?”
Amelie giggled. “Daisy would be a useless Guide Dog. Maybe you’re right about all Labs being good but I do think Monty’s extra-clever. Here, you can take his lead for a bit, if you like.”
Monty was staring up at them both hopefully, waiting for the chance to dash off into the field. Amelie patted his head, then passed the lead to Josh.
“Come on, Monty,” she called, jogging backwards on to the long grass around the edge of the football pitch.
> Amelie loved Newland Park. She remembered going there when she was tiny. Dad had taken her for walks round the lake almost every day and let her throw food to the ducks. But it was only now they had a dog that she realized how lucky they were to have the park so close by. All the houses in their street backed on to it.
Josh and Monty raced past Amelie, Monty barking and yipping with excitement. She ran after them and then stopped to look through the wire fence as she reached their back garden. Sometimes Dad came out to drink a cup of tea if he was having a break from work. She peered past the apple tree, trying to see further up the garden, but he wasn’t there. She waved, just in case, before chasing after her brother and Monty. The puppy was so excited that he was dashing around in circles.
“Watch out, Josh!” Amelie cried but it was too late.
Monty had seen Amelie coming and decided to race towards her, pulling the lead tight around Josh’s legs and yanking his feet out from under him. Her tall, skinny brother fell like a tree, collapsing into the long grass with a groan.
“Catch him!” he called. “Amelie! The lead!”
“I’ve got it!” Amelie yelled, snatching at Monty’s trailing lead as he danced around her. “Here, Monty. You silly dog,” she said lovingly. “What did you think you were doing, hmm?”
“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” Josh muttered, heaving himself up out of the grass. “Uuurgh. I think I landed in something disgusting.”
Amelie peered at the brown patch down the side of Josh’s jeans. “It’s only mud,” she said reassuringly. “You are OK, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Josh sighed. “No thanks to you, Monty. Well, I’ll know not to let him wind me up in the lead like that again. I wouldn’t have thought he was that strong!”
Monty sat at Amelie’s feet, gazing up at them both and panting happily. He had no idea what Josh was talking about but he was hoping it didn’t mean the end of the walk.