Echo Come Home

by Megan Rix

  Lenny tested three other rescue dogs before it was Little Houdini’s turn. Roxy, the chihuahua cross, a collie called Peter and a Labrador named Nora. But none of them were suitable.

  ‘Good dogs but not quite right to become hearing dogs,’ Lenny said. It always made him sad when the dogs didn’t pass the test. Especially if they’d been waiting for some time to be rehomed. But there was too much time and work involved in training a hearing dog to spend it on animals that were unlikely to succeed.

  Karen took Lenny to Little Houdini’s kennel.

  ‘This little chap was brought in by the dog warden yesterday,’ she told him. ‘He isn’t microchipped and has been living rough for some time. He’s pretty streetwise and somehow ended up sleeping on the visitors’ chair and eating our biscuits last night.’

  Karen smiled at the memory and Lenny laughed.

  ‘Sounds like he’s got a lot of potential,’ he said.

  Little Houdini came over straightaway to sniff at the stranger and the bits of chicken and cheese in the dog-treat bag round Lenny’s waist. He wagged his tail and then sat down and stared pointedly at the bag, his head tilted to one side.

  ‘Can’t be more than a couple of years old,’ Lenny said.

  He squeaked a toy that he had hidden in his hand to the left of Little Houdini and the dog immediately looked towards the sound.

  ‘Good dog,’ Lenny said softly, and he gave him a tiny bit of chicken from his treat bag.

  Then he made a sound to the right and Little Houdini looked over in that direction instead.

  Lenny smiled and made the sound one more time and this time Little Houdini put out his paw to the hand that Lenny had the toy in and looked him right in the eye.

  ‘Very good,’ Lenny laughed. ‘Very good indeed! Let’s see what he’s like out of the kennel.’

  Karen opened the door and clipped a lead to Little Houdini’s collar.

  As they walked together, Lenny was very pleased to see Little Houdini’s interest in the different sounds around him. The little stray had lots of potential even if he did keep trying to choke himself on his lead.

  ‘My major concern is his fear of being stroked,’ Lenny told Karen. ‘But he’s got so much going for him otherwise that I’d really like to give him a chance. Maybe we’ll try using an assessor hand and see how that goes.’

  With dogs who were very nervous of being touched, they sometimes used a fake hand to stroke them, for a minute or so a day, and gradually built up the length of time before moving on to proper human–pet touch. By using the assessor hand, the dogs were able to sniff at it and no real scent came off it as it would a person’s. But that could be a long, slow process.

  ‘It’s worth a try,’ Karen said.

  ‘How would you feel if I took him back to the centre with me and then home over the weekend to give him a proper assessment?’ Lenny asked. ‘I know he hasn’t been here for seven days yet and someone may well come forward to claim him.’

  Karen didn’t think anyone was going to, but rules were rules.

  ‘I’ll microchip him now,’ she said.

  Lenny held Little Houdini while Karen injected him between the shoulder blades with the tiny chip.

  ‘If you do get a call about him, I can bring him straight back, but I think he needs to be seen in a different environment,’ Lenny said.

  Karen looked down at Little Houdini and smiled. She was always pleased when the dogs got to be fostered in regular homes because she knew it was where they were happiest.

  ‘OK,’ she said. She’d never have let a stranger take a dog away for the weekend. But she knew Lenny and she desperately wanted Little Houdini to have every chance he could get.

  ‘I’ll let you know how he gets on,’ Lenny said, as he led the little dog over to the Helper Dogs light blue van.

  ‘You ready, Mum?’ Jake called up the stairs. What was taking her so long? She’d spent ages eating her cereal and now she was spending ages putting on her make-up. He didn’t want to be late. Dad had intended to come with them, but then he’d had to work. He was a long-haul lorry driver and sometimes, during the holidays, Jake got to travel with him.

  ‘We don’t want to be too early,’ she said, coming down. ‘Our appointment isn’t until eleven thirty and it’s only a short drive.’

  ‘If we get there early, maybe they’ll see us early,’ Jake told her.

  But his mum just shook her head as she picked up the car keys. That didn’t seem very likely, but they could maybe see some of the dogs in training at the centre and she knew Jake would love that. She picked up the application form for a hearing helper dog they’d had to fill in and they went out to the car.

  Jake sat hunched low in his seat. At least his mum had let him sit in the front for once. Usually Vicky was with them and his sister made such a fuss over whose turn it was to be in the front that it was easier for them both to sit in the back. But she wasn’t there today because she’d had a sleepover last night and was spending the day at her friend’s house.

  Vicky was always being invited to parties or on fun day trips.

  Jake sometimes took his hearing aids out when her friends came round because they were so noisy. He tried not to get jealous, but he never seemed to be asked to anything.

  Today Vicky was going bowling with her friends and Jake was glad he wasn’t. The last time they’d been, the server at the cafe there had given up trying to find out what he wanted to eat and had asked his mum instead. Jake had been so embarrassed. He wasn’t a little kid. He could choose for himself. But the server hadn’t given him enough time to decide and Jake couldn’t hear what the ‘specials’ were.

  The drive to the Helper Dogs centre took longer than usual because the old bridge over the river was being taken down that weekend.

  ‘Lucky we left early,’ Jake’s mum said, as they finally turned into the driveway of the centre. ‘Are you excited?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Jake said, but he said it quietly and his mum frowned as Jake looked out of the window. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to come here or that he didn’t want a hearing dog of his own. He did want one badly, but he also knew that there weren’t enough dogs that were suitable for deaf children to go around. His mum had told him he might have to wait for up to a year and he had a bigger worry that he hadn’t told anyone. What if the dog didn’t like him? What if it didn’t want to be his dog? Maybe it would growl at him or turn and run the other way when he tried to say hello.

  Jake sighed. He’d never get a hearing dog. Maybe there was no point even getting out of the car. But, just as he was thinking this, he saw a man opening the back of a light blue Helper Dogs van and a little smooth-coated tan dog jumped out.

  Jake gasped as the dog looked right at him and wagged its tail.

  CHAPTER 5

  The next moment Jake had flung open his car door and was scrambling out.

  ‘Jake …’ his mum said, and she quickly jumped out of the car and headed after him.

  Little Houdini backed away slightly from the boy running towards him and then looked up at him, his furry head tilted to one side, before taking two steps forward instead.

  ‘What’s his name?’ Jake asked Lenny, as he reached Little Houdini and knelt down beside him. He didn’t want to scare the dog so he made sure he wasn’t too close and he didn’t try to stroke him.

  Little Houdini sniffed at Jake and took a step nearer. Sniffed again and came even closer until his fur was almost brushing against Jake’s hand.

  ‘Doesn’t have a name yet. I’ve just brought him from the rescue centre. What do you think his name should be?’ Lenny said, as he searched in the back of the van for Little Houdini’s paperwork.

  The dog sat down and looked up at Jake.

  Jake frowned. What would be the perfect name for a hearing dog? Ears? That’d be a good one. Or maybe … maybe … yes, that’d be even better!

  ‘Echo,’ Jake said, and the little dog jumped up and started wagging his tail, as if he liked his new name.
Jake reached out a hand and tentatively stroked him.

  ‘Hello, Echo.’ He kept on stroking him and grew more confident as he saw that the little dog liked it.

  The newly named Echo stood up on his hind legs and put his paws on Jake’s legs as the boy gave a soft laugh of delight.

  Lenny finally found Echo’s paperwork under his coat.

  ‘He doesn’t like to be …’ Lenny started to say, as he turned round, and then did a double take when he saw Little Houdini being stroked and loving it. ‘Echo it is then,’ he said. ‘I think he likes you!’

  ‘Could he be my hearing dog?’ Jake asked without thinking, but then he stopped and blushed. He knew he couldn’t just have the first dog he saw. But it really felt like Echo should be his.

  ‘Jake …’ his mum said softly behind him. She’d already told him he might have to wait for a year or more.

  ‘Got a lot of training to do before this dog is ready to be anyone’s hearing dog,’ Lenny said. ‘And only if he passes all his tests.’

  ‘Do most of the dogs pass?’

  ‘About seventy per cent.’

  ‘And what happens to those that don’t?’

  ‘We make sure we find excellent homes for them,’ Lenny told him.

  ‘If Echo doesn’t pass,’ Jake said, ignoring the look from his mum – he knew what it was like not to pass exams – ‘could he be my dog then? It won’t matter to me if he passes or not – I’d still want him.’

  ‘Sorry for my son’s bluntness,’ Jake’s mum said. ‘He’s not usually so pushy. Not ever really.’

  ‘That’s what meeting a dog can do,’ Lenny said, as he watched Jake and Echo together. They certainly did seem to be getting along well. But it would be a while before they knew Echo’s full potential. Although letting himself be stroked by the boy was a major, and unexpected, step forward.

  Jake swallowed hard. He didn’t usually like talking to strangers because he was worried that his words might sound wrong. But if he didn’t say something now then he might not get another chance ‘Can I help?’ he said. ‘Can I help with Echo’s training? I’ll work really hard and I won’t get in the way and I’ll do exactly what I’m told.’

  ‘Echo’s really got to you, hasn’t he?’ Lenny said, and Jake nodded as Echo gave his face a surprise lick.

  ‘Yuck!’ Jake said, laughing.

  ‘And I can see the feeling’s mutual. Well, we could always do with more volunteers,’ Lenny grinned. ‘You’ll have to be committed though. It’s no good turning up one day and not the next. Dogs don’t understand that.’

  ‘I’ll be here,’ Jake said. He wouldn’t let Echo down.

  Echo pushed his head under Jake’s hand for another stroke.

  ‘Jake, it’s time for our appointment,’ Jake’s mum said, looking at her watch. She didn’t want them to be late for the real reason they were here.

  Jake hated to leave Echo. But if they didn’t keep the appointment then he wouldn’t be on the official waiting list for a hearing dog. His mum was already heading towards the reception.

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ he told Echo, as he stood up.

  Echo whined, but Jake had to go. The little dog watched as the boy ran off. He barked, but Jake had already gone inside the door to the Helper Dogs building.

  ‘He’ll be back,’ Lenny told him, as he led him to his new kennel. But Echo only dropped down to the ground, with his head in his paws, looking utterly miserable once he was put inside. Lenny scratched his head. That boy had really made an impression on the little dog.

  Inside the office, Jake and his mum sat on plastic chairs across from the assessor’s desk. Jake’s chair was closest to the window and he looked out of it.

  ‘Now then …’ the assessor, whose name was Lucy, said. ‘As you know, hearing dogs are given to children with severe or profound hearing loss in both ears. Children who have trouble sleeping?’

  Jake’s mum nodded.

  ‘Who are socially isolated?’ Lucy said.

  Jake’s mum nodded again.

  ‘Who suffer from low self-esteem?’

  She looked over at Jake, but he was still gazing out of the window so his mum answered for him again with a nod.

  Lucy reached over and touched Jake’s arm. ‘Jake, would you like a hearing dog?’

  ‘I’d like Echo,’ Jake told her.

  After the assessment was over, Jake couldn’t wait to get back to Echo and a dog-trainer apprentice called Becca took him to the kennel block.

  When Echo saw Jake, he immediately jumped up and looked at him, his tail wagging fiercely. Jake ran over and put his fingers through the wire and Echo licked them.

  ‘He really has taken a shine to you,’ Lenny said, as he came back with a bowl of fresh water for the dog.

  ‘He’s brilliant,’ Jake said. He’d wished for a dog and now it felt like his dream might come true.

  ‘Come on now,’ his mum said. ‘Time to say goodbye.’

  Jake really didn’t want to go, but he couldn’t stay here forever.

  ‘Just a little while longer,’ he said. Maybe he could take Echo for a walk.

  But his mum shook her head. ‘We need to pick Vicky up.’

  Jake sighed. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ he told Echo. But, as he started to walk away, Echo began to bark, as if he were telling him not to go. ‘Actually, I’ll walk home,’ Jake told his mum.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Jake almost never went for walks by himself because he was worried something might happen and he wouldn’t hear it.

  ‘Yes,’ Jake said, and he raced back to Echo. The little dog ran round and round in circles and yapped excitedly.

  ‘Where did he come from?’ Jake asked Lenny, and Lenny explained that Echo was a stray who’d been picked up by the dog warden.

  ‘He was only picked up yesterday so there’s still a chance someone could claim him before the official seven days are up.’

  ‘Official seven days – what are they?’ Jake asked.

  ‘It’s the minimum amount of days until a dog that can’t be identified can be rehomed,’ Lenny told him.

  Jake felt like he couldn’t breathe. ‘So Echo might belong to someone already,’ he said. He should have known it was too good to be true.

  Lenny saw Jake’s stricken face and added quickly, ‘We don’t think so. He’s been a stray for weeks and he isn’t microchipped. The dog warden and rescue centre will contact the authorities, but it’s very unlikely anyone will come forward.’

  Jake nodded. But now he was worried. ‘Six more days,’ he said. Six more days until Echo couldn’t be taken away.

  ‘Why don’t you take him for a walk?’ Lenny said, handing Jake a lead.

  ‘Can I?’ Jake smiled.

  ‘Yes, take him to the field over there, but don’t let him off his lead. We don’t want him running away.’

  ‘OK.’

  Echo walked on his lead much better with Jake than he’d done for Karen or Lenny. But he still tended to pull. Once they were on the grass, Jake stopped walking and ran with Echo instead. Echo wagged his tail as his legs raced along. This was much more like the speed he wanted to go.

  When they got back, Lenny was waiting for them.

  ‘I’m taking Echo home with me this afternoon and overnight,’ he told Jake. ‘To assess how he gets on in a home environment.’

  ‘I wish he could come home with me,’ Jake said.

  ‘I know you do – you’re a good lad and I can see he thinks the world of you. But for now can you help with his training here?’

  Jake nodded and Lenny took Echo’s lead from him. ‘See you after school on Monday.’

  ‘I’ll be here,’ Jake promised, giving Echo one last stroke. The little dog kept barking as he walked away.

  The route from Helper Dogs to home was pretty straightforward and it was worth it because of the extra time he’d been able to spend with Echo.

  Jake had walked for fifteen minutes and was more than halfway home when a hand touched hi
m on the shoulder and scared him half to death.

  ‘It’s just me, just me,’ said Tony, holding his hands up and stepping back when he saw that he’d made Jake jump. Anyone else would have heard him shouting and running up behind them. ‘I live over there,’ Tony said, pointing to a house with a white door. ‘And I saw you from the window. Do you live near here?’

  Jake shook his head.

  ‘So how come …?’

  ‘I’ve been to the Helper Dog centre. Been to see a dog,’ Jake mumbled.

  ‘A dog. That was my wish at school yesterday. Do you like dogs too?’ Tony asked him.

  Jake looked down at his feet and kicked at a pebble. ‘It was my wish as well,’ he said, looking back up at Tony.

  Tony grinned at him. ‘Excellent.’

  ‘I want a hearing dog,’ Jake said, feeling a bit more confident now. ‘His name’s Echo.’

  ‘I just want a dog – any dog,’ Tony said, as he headed back towards his house and Jake went with him. ‘Come and see my room,’ Tony said, when they reached the gate.

  Jake hesitated for a second. Vicky was always being invited to other children’s houses. But not him.

  ‘This way,’ Tony said, opening the gate and heading up the path.

  Jake shrugged and followed him into his house and up the stairs, trying to act as if it were no big deal and the sort of thing he did every day. On the wall next to the stairs there were photos of Tony and an older girl, who looked a lot like him.

  ‘Big sister?’ Jake said.

  ‘Yes, she’s a pain,’ Tony told him.

  ‘So’s my little sister,’ Jake said. ‘Right pain.’

  ‘This is my room.’

  Tony’s room was full of posters of dogs, all sorts of different dogs, doing all sorts of different things.

  ‘Mum says I can’t have one because Tara’s allergic,’ Tony said, and he rolled his eyes.

  ‘Sisters are so annoying,’ Jake said, but at least Vicky wasn’t allergic to dogs.