To Bandit, the best dog I ever had.
–C.V.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1: Cute Times Five
Chapter 2: Doggie Drama
Chapter 3: Friends to the Rescue
Chapter 4: Meeting Madison
Chapter 5: Frisky Frankie
Chapter 6: Keiko’s Surprise
Chapter 7: Carnival Crafting
Chapter 8: A Major Mistake
Chapter 9: A New Forever Friend
Chapter 10: Terrific Teamwork
Sneak Peek
About the Author
Copyright
Jasmine Arroyo had never seen anything cuter than the litter of six-week-old kittens. Well, her own dog, Cookie—her eighth birthday present—was pretty adorable. But with the kittens, the cuteness factor was multiplied by five. They stared up at her with curious eyes, mewing loudly.
“They’re a noisy bunch, aren’t they?” her mom, Dr. Lydia Arroyo, said as she swept into the room at the animal shelter where the younger cats and kittens stayed.
Jasmine kneeled to get a closer look. The kittens had come in three days ago, along with their mother. The director of the shelter, Rosa Wallace, had settled them into a cozy cage on the second shelf against the wall. But when Jasmine came to meet them, Mrs. Wallace moved the litter into a large cardboard box on the floor, its bottom lined with newspaper and soft old towels.
Jasmine had instantly fallen in love with all five of them.
“Making a lot of noise is a good sign, right?” she asked her mom.
“It is,” Jasmine’s mom answered with a smile. “It means they’re getting stronger. Playing with them helps.”
Jasmine smiled and reached into the large box. She gently pet the kitten she had named Tiger between his silky brown ears. She noticed that his fur was almost the same color as her own corkscrew curls. Tiger purred, then squirmed to the side and pounced on her hand.
Jasmine’s mom was a veterinarian, a doctor who helps animals. Thanks to her mom, Jasmine knew pets needed things like certain kinds of food, plenty of water, and sometimes medicine to stay healthy. But since she had started volunteering at the animal shelter every Saturday, Jasmine had learned that petting and playing with the dogs and cats were just as important. Mrs. Wallace said the animals had to get used to being around humans and other animals before they could be adopted.
“Thanks again for coming in today,” Mrs. Wallace said as she carried in a grocery bag of canned cat food. She smiled warmly at Jasmine, straightening her thick glasses. The glasses were the only sign that Mrs. Wallace was close to retirement age. Her dark brown skin was wrinkle free except for the tiny crinkles that appeared around her mouth when she smiled.
“Because of your mom, their mom will soon be healthy enough to take care of these little guys again,” Mrs. Wallace said as she nodded at the kittens. They had begun burrowing into the folds of the towels. “At least until they’re a bit older and we find them forever homes.”
When anyone brought in stray or abandoned animals, Mrs. Wallace and her husband took them in, made sure they were healthy, and then found them new, loving families. Jasmine thought it sounded like a hard but wonderful job.
“It’s my pleasure,” Dr. Arroyo said as she took off her white coat and draped it over her arm. “But it’s close to dinnertime. We’d better get going, Jaz.”
“Aw, Mom, do we have to go already?” Jasmine protested. “I was going to help walk the dogs and maybe feed the kittens …”
“That’s sweet of you, Jasmine,” said Mrs. Wallace, “but Mr. Wallace will be along soon to walk the dogs, and I think these little ones have plans of their own.”
She gestured toward the box. The kittens were huddled together, fast asleep.
Jasmine hated leaving the shelter. If she could, she would come by every chance she got. She hoped to be a veterinarian one day, just like her mom.
“All right,” she said, reluctantly getting to her feet. “I’ll see you next Saturday. I just wish there was more we could do for them now.”
Mrs. Wallace took a step toward Jasmine and Dr. Arroyo, her eyes sparkling. “Well, maybe there’s something you could do for all the animals, actually,” she said. Then she motioned for Jasmine and her mom to follow her. They trailed Mrs. Wallace out of the cat room, across the shelter lobby, and right through the front door.
Rosa’s Refuge Animal Shelter was housed in a cozy one-story brick building with separate areas for cats, puppies, and larger breeds. There were also private rooms where people could play with animals before they adopted them. And the small, fenced-in yard behind the shelter served as a dog run.
Mrs. Wallace pointed to the empty storefront next to the shelter. A large red FOR SALE sign hung in the window.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed how busy we’ve been at the shelter lately. We need more space so that we can take in all the animals that are homeless or between homes. Right now, we have to turn quite a few away. My husband and I would like to buy this store and make it part of our shelter.”
Mrs. Wallace sighed. “But we would need to raise a lot more money to buy the store and remodel it to house animals. I’d love to have a community fund-raiser, but I’m so busy at the shelter, I could really use some help organizing it.”
Suddenly, Jasmine had an idea. She looked up at her mom eagerly, her eyes shining.
“Mom, we could help with a fund-raiser, couldn’t we?” she asked hopefully.
Her mom smiled.
“I don’t see why not,” she agreed warmly.
“My mom helped the PTA plan the spring fair at my school last year,” Jasmine continued excitedly. “We raised a lot of money to buy books for the library.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Mrs. Wallace replied. “I was thinking of a carnival in the park across the street. My friend has a small petting zoo that he could set up, and we could have a bounce castle and sell some Rosa’s Refuge T-shirts. We could even ask local businesses to match the donations we raise. With any luck, we’ll have our adopt-a-cat trailer out, and we can get some people to take home a new pet!”
“And we could raffle off prizes!” Jasmine suggested. “We did that at the school fair, and it was so fun. We also had a really cool arts-and-crafts area. Maybe we could do that, too.”
“Those are terrific ideas, Jasmine,” Mrs. Wallace said. “In fact, how would you like to be my assistant carnival planner? I could really use your ideas and opinions about fun activities for kids.”
Jasmine bounced up and down. “Ooh, Mom!” she said excitedly. “Can I do it? Can I? I already have ideas for signs and decorations …”
Jasmine got a determined gleam in her eye that her mom instantly recognized. Dr. Arroyo couldn’t help but grin at her daughter’s enthusiasm.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Dr. Arroyo said. Mrs. Wallace nodded in agreement. “Now, what do you say we get home for dinner? Your father’s making pastelón.”
Jasmine’s mouth watered. She loved her dad’s Puerto Rican lasagna.
“Sounds good, Mom,” Jasmine replied as they waved good-bye to Mrs. Wallace and headed to their car.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Dr. Arroyo said as they walked. “You were so excited just a moment ago.”
“I was just thinking of something Mrs. Wallace said,” Jasmine replied slowly. “What happens to the animals that Rosa’s Refuge turns away?”
Her mom grew serious. “If they can’t find them homes, they have to put them to sleep,” Dr. Arroyo explained gently, putting her arm around her daughter. “It’s very sad, niña.”
“Oh!” Jasmine said, shocked. No wonder Mrs. Wallace wanted to make the shelter larger. “That’s terr
ible, Mom. Now I realize how important this carnival is. I just have to help.”
“I know you do, niña,” her mom replied.
Jasmine was sure they would need more help to make the carnival a success. And she knew just the friends she wanted to ask.
The next day, Jasmine invited her best friends, Keiko Hayashi and Sofia Davis, over to her house.
Since it was warm outside, they decided to play soccer in the backyard. Sofia had joined the neighborhood soccer team the year before, and she loved showing her friends the new moves she had learned.
“This one’s called an inside rollover,” Sofia said. She gently kicked the ball, then ran her right foot over the top, sending it flying to the left. Jasmine and Keiko went chasing after it, trying to pass the ball to each other the way Sofia had shown them. It wasn’t as easy as it looked! Keiko tapped the ball over to Jasmine, but when she tried to bump it back, her foot got tangled up with Keiko’s and they both went tumbling to the ground.
Sofia picked up the soccer ball and looked down at her friends, who giggled helplessly. “What happened?” she teased.
Keiko plucked a few blades of grass from her short black hair. “Maybe we took the ‘rollover’ part too seriously?”
“No such thing as taking soccer too seriously,” Sofia joked as she helped Jasmine to her feet.
But before she could help Keiko up, a small, furry sand-colored creature came barreling across the yard and jumped into Keiko’s lap, knocking her onto her back again. It was Jasmine’s dachshund, Cookie.
“Help!” Keiko cried, shielding her face from the dog, who was licking her affectionately. “He thinks I’m a doggy treat!”
Jasmine quickly pulled Cookie off Keiko. “Sit, Cookie!” she told the dog gently. “Stay! We’ve worked on this. Manners, remember?”
Cookie sat on his haunches, panting happily as his pink tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth. Ever since the Arroyos had adopted him from the shelter, he’d been the liveliest member of the Arroyo family. So far, Jasmine had taught him how to sit, stay, and shake a paw, but she hadn’t quite figured out how to stop the pup from chewing on shoes or jumping on her friends.
Jasmine turned to Keiko, who had scrambled to her feet. “Sorry about that,” she told her. “Are you all right?”
Keiko glanced warily at Cookie before giving Jasmine and Sofia a shaky smile. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“It’s okay if you were scared,” Sofia offered. “Cookie was pretty ruthless with those doggy kisses.”
Hearing his name, Cookie padded over and sat at Keiko’s feet. He stared up at her with big brown eyes and rested one paw on her sneaker.
“I think he’s apologizing to you,” Jasmine explained.
“Oh, it’s all right,” Keiko said. “He just surprised me.”
Jasmine nodded with sympathy. She’d been friends with Keiko long enough to know that she wasn’t very comfortable around four-legged creatures. “Dogs still make you nervous, don’t they?”
Keiko started to deny it, but there was no use. She sighed and dropped her narrow shoulders. “I’m mostly nervous around bigger dogs like German shepherds. But even the tiny ones scare me sometimes.”
Sofia put the soccer ball on the ground and rested her foot on top. “Lots of people are afraid of dogs,” she said gently as she swung one of her reddish-brown braids over her shoulder. “You just need more time to get used to them, that’s all.”
“Can’t I just avoid them completely?” Keiko asked.
“You could, but then you’d miss out on the great things about them, too,” Jasmine told her friend. In her opinion, dogs were better than ice cream and roller coasters combined. Cookie, for example, was great at playing fetch, and he was always happy to see Jasmine when she got home from school. And he was a champion cuddler, despite his cold, wet nose.
“It’s just like the rescued street cats at the shelter,” Jasmine continued. She scooped up Cookie as she spoke. “At first, they’re super nervous around people, but eventually, they’ll eat right out of your hand! Maybe it’ll be the same way for you.”
“You want Keiko to eat out of your hand?” Sofia asked, giggling.
Jasmine couldn’t help smiling. “Ha, ha,” she said. “No. I just think the more time she spends with dogs, the less scared she’ll be.” She turned to Keiko. “You’ll see how sweet dogs can be.” As if Cookie understood what the girls were talking about, he licked Jasmine’s arm lovingly. Jasmine laughed. “See? You’re going to love dogs someday.”
“You think so?” Keiko asked, sounding unsure.
“Oh, I know so,” Jasmine said with complete confidence, grinning at Cookie. “And I know the perfect way for you to start.”
A few minutes later, Jasmine had stowed Cookie safely in his crate with a chew toy, and she and her friends sat at the wooden table in Jasmine’s kitchen. She told her friends all about how overcrowded Rosa’s Refuge was and about Mrs. Wallace’s plan to expand. With a serious expression, Jasmine explained what happened to many of the animals that were turned away.
“Wow,” Sofia said softly. “I had no idea.”
Keiko shook her head sadly. “Me neither.”
“What can we do to help?” Sofia asked.
Jasmine quickly explained Mrs. Wallace’s plan for the carnival. Then she told her friends some of her ideas about signs and decorations.
“I could use some help assisting Mrs. Wallace,” Jasmine explained. “So what do you say?”
“That sounds really cool,” Sofia said. “Maybe helping the shelter will prove to my mom and dad how ready I am for a puppy.”
Jasmine knew that Sofia had been begging her parents to let her adopt a pet for months, but they weren’t convinced that she was ready for the responsibility.
“Are you sure?” asked Keiko with a wince. “Didn’t you almost kill the class plant?”
“That was different!” Sofia protested. “I was busy with soccer camp. Plus, plants don’t bark to let you know when they need food or water, so really, whose fault is that?”
“Still yours, I think,” Keiko said matter-of-factly.
Sofia frowned. “Okay, fine. I’m a plant killer. But I’d be a great dog owner! I know it. I can’t wait to pick out a puppy.”
“Are you sure you want to start with a puppy?” Jasmine asked. “You have to spend loads of time training them and stuff. What about soccer practice?”
“No sweat!” Sofia said. “The dog can help me practice. If I can keep a ball away from a squirmy little puppy with four legs, the girls on the other team don’t stand a chance. And if I help out with the fund-raiser, maybe Mom and Dad will let me take home one of the rescued dogs.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Jasmine said. “How about you, Keiko? Can you help?”
Keiko bit her lip and looked away.
“Will I have to be around a lot of dogs?” Keiko asked nervously.
Jasmine shook her head.
“Not if you don’t want to be,” she said. “The dogs will be at the shelter during the carnival. What I’ll really need help with is coming up with lots of creative ideas to make it fun for kids.”
Keiko smiled. “In that case, of course I’ll help!”
Sofia pulled a piece of paper from Jasmine’s notebook and grabbed a pencil. “How about a spin art table?”
“Great idea!” Jasmine cried. “That will be perfect in the arts-and-crafts area. Ooh! And why don’t we write little descriptions of each animal that’s up for adoption? We can add a photo and put it on a poster that says ‘WANTED: A NEW HOME.’ Then we can hang the posters all around at the carnival.”
“I love it,” Sofia agreed, jotting it down. “That’s a really cute idea, Jaz.”
While they continued to shout out ideas, Keiko remained silent. But finally she leaned forward and said, “I’m not saying I’ll get too close, but what if I drew pictures of each of the shelter dogs for the carnival signs? Illustrations might really make the WANTED posters stand out.”
Cookie looked up, barked twice, licked the bars of the crate, and then went back to his toy.
“There you have it,” Jasmine told her. “Cookie says, ‘Hooray!’ Good for you, Keiko. BFFs forever.”
Jasmine touched the necklace she always wore and smiled at her friends. It was a simple silver chain with a charm at the end shaped like a dog biscuit. Her name was engraved on the front. Keiko and Sofia had charm necklaces with their names, too. The three friends had picked them out together. Sofia’s charm was a soccer ball, and Keiko’s was an artist’s palette with pretty colored gemstones. As long as the three of them had their special necklaces, Jasmine felt like they would always be friends.
Keiko smirked at Jasmine. “All that with two barks, huh?”
Jasmine shrugged. “What can I say? My dog’s a genius.”
That Saturday, Jasmine and her mom drove to the animal shelter as usual. But this time, Jasmine’s two best friends were in the backseat with her, talking excitedly about all the ideas they’d come up with for the carnival.
As they pulled into the parking lot, Jasmine saw a hint of worry in Keiko’s dark eyes.
“I could just wait in the car, and one of you can take a picture of a dog for me …” Keiko said.
Jasmine shook her head. “No way. You’re an artist! You need inspiration! And what could be more inspiring than meeting the animals we’re trying to help?”
Keiko groaned. “I guess you’re right.” But she didn’t sound convinced at all.
“Don’t worry,” Jasmine said. “The Wallaces make sure all the volunteers are safe. Mom and I come here every Saturday, and look”—she held her hands up for inspection—“not a scratch on me.”
Keiko looked closer. “There are a few scratches.”
“Oh, those don’t count,” Jasmine said, peering at her hands. “They’re from the new kittens. They’re the cutest. Come on, I’ll show you! You guys can help me finish choosing names for them.”
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