ASPCA PAW Pals

by Brenda Scott Royce

  When his volunteer shift was over, Drew found his father in the office, putting the finishing touches on Maxine’s perch. It looked more like a treehouse, actually—with multiple branches for climbing and round hooks for hanging bells and bird toys. A braided rope ladder connected a lower resting platform to a higher one. The macaw was climbing up the ladder, using her beak like a third foot to grasp the rope, when Mrs. Noland entered the office.

  “It’s marvelous!” she exclaimed, admiring Mr. Bixby’s craftsmanship. “Now she won’t have to stay in her cage all day.”

  Drew wondered why they’d gone to the trouble of building such an elaborate structure for an animal who would most likely be adopted soon. Maxine was a beautiful bird—with brilliant blue top feathers, a golden chest, and a touch of green on her forehead. She was smart, too. Although “hello” was clearly her favorite, she could say about a dozen words. Who wouldn’t want a pet like her? He posed the question to Mrs. Noland.

  The shelter director tucked a strand of silver hair behind one ear. “I’m afraid it’s much trickier to find a home for a macaw than it is for a dog or a cat. They demand a lot of time and attention, and they can be loud and destructive. And because they can live up to fifty years, many—like Maxine—outlive their owners. Adopting a macaw is a big commitment, and it’s not right for everyone.”

  “Fifty years?” Drew said, amazed. “How old is she now?”

  “About fifteen or sixteen,” Mrs. Noland responded. “So she still has a long life ahead of her.” Patting his back, she added, “Don’t worry, Drew. We’ll find Maxine a good home, but it may take a while. In the meantime, she’ll have plenty of people to interact with in the office—and a wonderful climbing structure to explore! I can’t thank you enough, Mr. Bixby.”

  “My pleasure.” Drew’s father smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, Drew. Let’s round up the other Rangers and head home.”

  Drew said goodbye to Mrs. Noland and Maxine. “Bye-bye,” the bird said in a sing-songy voice. “Come back soooooon!”

  A Big Offer

  “Hey!” Amanda looked up from her science textbook. She and Meg were doing their homework in the dining room of Amanda’s apartment over WASH AND WAG, the Midori family’s grooming salon. Meg spent most afternoons at Amanda’s until one of her parents got off work and came to pick her up. “Number eight is about us!”

  “Us?” Meg said, her tone conveying both disbelief and frustration. “Slow down. I’m only on number five.”

  “Cousins,” Amanda clarified. They’d just begun studying genes in science class. Amanda loved learning how physical traits like eye color and height are determined by DNA. She knew she got half her DNA from her mother and half from her father. She had black hair and brown eyes like her father, and was tall like her mother. But she never would have imagined she shared any genes with her cousin. Indeed, besides their love of animals, she and Meg were nothing alike.

  Amanda had super-straight black hair; Meg’s was light brown and wavy. Even though she was the younger of the two cousins, Amanda was taller by a few inches. Meg struggled with math and science—Amanda’s best subjects. Meg did better in history and geography, perhaps because she’d traveled a lot with her family. Amanda’s parents ran their own business and rarely took time off for vacations. Though her father had been born in Japan, Amanda had never been there. Meg, meanwhile, had lived in Tokyo for a few months and could even speak a little Japanese.

  “Question eight,” Amanda said, reading aloud from her homework. “What fraction represents the genetic similarity between first cousins?”

  Meg looked up, her forehead wrinkled in concentration. “Our mothers are sisters, so that makes us first cousins. Siblings usually share one-half of the same DNA. That means cousins…” After a moment, she shook her head. “I have no idea.”

  They heard footsteps climbing the stairs from the grooming salon below, then a voice called out, “Hello?”

  “It’s Drew,” Meg said as their friend reached the top step.

  He waved at the girls and told Amanda, “Your mom said I could come up.”

  Amanda nodded. “Where were you after school? We walked home without you.”

  Drew pointed to the green and white jersey he wore. “Soccer practice. Season just started. I can’t walk home with you guys on Mondays or Wednesdays for a while.”

  “We’ll survive,” Amanda teased, motioning for Drew to join them at the dining room table. While he waited for them to finish their homework, he ate some apple slices from a snack plate Amanda’s mother had prepared for them.

  “Found it!” Meg said, pointing at a page in her science text. “According to this family tree chart, first cousins have about one-eighth of the same DNA.”

  Amanda looked at the chart. She would never have guessed that she and Meg had one-eighth of anything in common, but she wrote down the answer and moved on to the next question.

  When they’d finished their work, Drew told them about the shelter dogs, especially Arnie the shaggy schnauzer. “He’s the calmest, coolest dog there,” he concluded. “But with his crazy cyclone hair, he doesn’t look like a dog you’d want to bring to the library.”

  “We could brush him,” Meg suggested.

  “That dog needs more than a hairbrush,” Drew said with a chuckle. “He needs a lawn mower.”

  Amanda slapped one hand on the table, like she often did when she had an idea. “My parents can groom him!”

  Drew looked thoughtful. “That would be awesome, but how will we get him to the salon?”

  “They have a mobile grooming van. They can drive it to the shelter and groom Arnie in the back. I’ll bet there are other dogs there that need to be groomed, too.”

  “Definitely yes.” Drew nodded. “There are some real scruffballs. They get baths, but lots of them need their hair and nails trimmed, too.”

  “What about cats?” Meg wondered.

  “Cats, too.” Amanda stood, her excitement mounting. “They’ll groom all the animals—at no charge!”

  Later, after Drew and Meg had left, Amanda helped her parents close up the salon. Amanda’s older brother Gage was upstairs playing video games and keeping an eye on Willow. As she mopped the floor, Amanda told her parents about her plan. She thought they’d be as enthusiastic as she was to help Arnie and the other shelter animals. When both stopped their work and stood staring at her she realized she’d miscalculated.

  Her mother shook her head. “You shouldn’t have done that, Amanda.”

  “No,” her father added in a stern voice. “Not without asking us first.”

  Amanda bit her lip and blinked back tears. She hated disappointing her parents. “I’m sorry. I got so excited, I didn’t stop to think—”

  “We’d love to help, sweetheart,” Mr. Midori said, placing a hand on Amanda’s shoulder. “But we’re way too busy. It’s hard enough taking care of you kids and running this salon. We just don’t have the time to groom a shelter full of animals.”

  Amanda stared down at the floor. “I understand.” Looking up at them, she added, “Can I go make a phone call? I need to ask Drew not to talk to Mrs. Noland about my offer.”

  When Drew answered the phone, his voice was bubbling with excitement. “I called the shelter,” he said. “You should have heard Mrs. Noland’s voice when I told her the news. Free grooming for every animal in the shelter!”

  “Oh, no.” A sick feeling rose in Amanda’s stomach. She was too late.

  Down in the Dumps

  The fact that it was Taco Tuesday at Pinegrove Elementary did little to brighten Amanda’s spirits. The school’s tacos weren’t as good as the ones served at her favorite Mexican restaurant, but she still loved them. Today, though, she had too much on her mind to care about food. As Blanca and Meg devoured their tacos, Amanda picked a tiny piece of chopped tomato off hers and popped it into her mouth.

  Blanca eyed Amanda’s tray. “Aren’t you hungry?”

  Meg turned in her seat to stare
at her cousin. “You’ve been acting down in the dumps all morning. What gives? You were so happy yesterday when Drew told us about Arnie.”

  “Who is Arnie?” Blanca asked.

  “He’s a schnauzer,” Meg responded. “Drew thinks he has the personality—but not the looks—to be a reading buddy at the library. So Amanda had the brilliant idea to have her parents bring their grooming van to the shelter and give him a free makeover! And not just Arnie, but all the animals.”

  “Brilliant!” Blanca agreed.

  Amanda noticed Blanca staring at her uneaten taco, so she slid it onto her friend’s plate. “You can have it. I don’t have much of an appetite.”

  “Thanks,” Blanca said. “Wait till we tell Mr. Henderson we’ve found a dog for his reading program.”

  “No, we can’t tell him.” Amanda rubbed her hand over her forehead. “I made a promise I can’t keep. My parents can’t groom the animals.”

  Meg frowned. “Not even Arnie?”

  Amanda shook her head. “I made the offer without their permission. I should have known better, but I got carried away. Drew already told Mrs. Noland at the shelter about the offer, and she’s thrilled about the free grooming. I have to go there today after school and tell her the truth.”

  “Oh no. I’m sorry, Amanda. I know you didn’t mean to cause trouble. And we’ll find another dog for the library,” Blanca said. “We just have to.”

  The bell rang and the girls stood and gathered their trays. As they were leaving the cafeteria, Meg told Amanda, “I’ll go with you to talk to Mrs. Noland. I got to know her pretty well when I adopted Chance.”

  Amanda put one hand on her hip and turned to her cousin. “You have to go with me anyway, since we walk home together.” In a softer voice she added, “Thank you.”

  In Mrs. McKay’s English class, the students were reading from The Island of the Blue Dolphins, one of Blanca’s favorite books. She’d read it twice before it was assigned to the class. Even though she knew the story inside and out, her heart still raced when the heroine, Karana, jumped off a ship to go back for her brother, who’d been left behind on their island homeland.

  A boy named Aaron was reading aloud from his seat in the second row. Aaron had played Ben Franklin in the school play last year and was a good actor. His voice lifted when Karana begged the chief not to set sail without her brother. Blanca hoped when it was her turn that she’d get to read an equally exciting part of the story.

  After Aaron had read a few paragraphs, Mrs. McKay called on another student, a girl named Janelle. Blanca sighed, wishing she’d been selected instead. Janelle was not the best reader. Her small voice rarely raised above a whisper, and she often struggled to pronounce longer words. Today, she stumbled over an easy one, “forlorn,” saying “floor-lorn.” Some of the kids in the back of the classroom giggled at the gaffe.

  Janelle stopped reading and looked up at Mrs. McKay. In a trembling voice she said, “I’m sorry. I can’t.” Squinting, she added, “There’s … something in my eyes, I think.”

  The teacher tapped Meg to take over reading and asked Janelle if she’d like to visit the school health office. “No, thank you, I’ll just rest my eyes for a minute,” the girl said, crossing her arms and putting her head down on her desk.

  Meg was a good reader, but Blanca was no longer paying attention to the story. Instead she was thinking of Janelle. The girl never volunteered in class, and when she was called on to read aloud, she often got herself excused, like today.

  With or without an audience, Blanca loved to read—so she’d never realized how difficult it could be for some kids. Lately, she’d been reading about library dogs for Project PAW. She’d learned there were lots of different reasons some kids struggled with reading—and most had nothing to do with intelligence. Some had learning disorders such as dyslexia, which made it difficult to interpret words and letters. Others had speech impediments. A stutter or a lisp could make someone self-conscious. Shy kids might read well in private but freeze in front of a crowd. Then, of course, there were the kids who just plain didn’t like to read—as crazy as that seemed to Blanca. She wondered if Janelle fit one of those categories—or if she really did have something in her eyes.

  Janelle remained bent over her desk, face buried in her arms, until the bell rang.

  Blanca caught up to her as they exited the classroom. “It’s a really great story. Karana has to learn to hunt and survive on the island all alone after her brother—” She put a hand over her mouth. “Oops. Spoiler alert!”

  “It’s okay.” Janelle smiled. “I’ve read the book. I know what happens.”

  “Then you can read,” Blanca blurted. “That’s great! I thought you had a learning disability or something. So, why do you always try to get out of reading in class?”

  Janelle’s mouth dropped open but she didn’t speak. Her cheeks reddened.

  Blanca immediately regretted her words. She’d been genuinely curious and hadn’t meant to embarrass her classmate. Her mother often warned her that her nosiness would get her into trouble. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, Janelle took off running. Blanca tried to catch up, but Janelle had already disappeared into the sea of children exiting the school and heading toward the waiting buses.

  Meeting Arnie

  When Amanda opened the front door to the Grant County Animal Shelter, a voice called out. “Helllooo!”

  “Hello?” Amanda stepped inside, followed by Meg and Drew. She looked around but didn’t see anyone. There was no one at the front desk. She rang a bell on the counter.

  “Hellloooo,” the voice repeated.

  Amanda looked through an open doorway to the hallway beyond. “Mrs. Noland?”

  At the third “hello,” Drew broke into a grin and pointed at the large macaw in the corner. Maxine was perched on a curved branch near the top of the climbing structure Mr. Bixby had built. “That’s Maxine. She’s been here a few weeks. How’s the weather, Maxine?”

  The macaw cawed, “hot-hot-hot,” and the girls laughed.

  Just then Letty Noland appeared in the doorway. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” Seeing the kids, she said, “Hello, Drew. And Meg Harper, how nice to see you again.” She reached over to shake Meg’s hand. “How’s Chance?”

  Meg’s border collie had lived at the shelter for a short while after he’d been abandoned by his previous owner. Mrs. Noland had been instrumental in helping Meg and the dog get into a service dog training program at the university. “He’s doing fine, thank you,” Meg replied. “Do you remember my cousin, Amanda Midori?”

  “Yes, of course.” The shelter director shook Amanda’s hand. “We’re all so excited about your family’s generous offer to groom all our animals!”

  There was an awkward pause as Amanda looked down at the floor, and Drew and Meg exchanged glances. Finally, Amanda lifted her head and spoke. “They can’t do it. I’m sorry. I meant it when I made the offer, I really did. But I didn’t realize how much work that would be for my parents…”

  “I’m disappointed,” Mrs. Noland said when Amanda finished telling her story, “but your heart was in the right place.” She put an arm around Amanda’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Grooming all the animals in this facility would be a massive undertaking. I should have known it was too good to be true. I appreciate you coming here to talk to me in person. I know you’re probably disappointed, too.”

  Amanda felt pressure lifting from her chest. She’d spent the whole day worrying about how Mrs. Noland would take the news. She was thankful the woman was so understanding. “I really am sorry.”

  “Sooorrry,” Maxine mimicked. The wordy bird brought a smile to Amanda’s face.

  “Would you like to meet Arnie?” Drew asked Amanda, who nodded eagerly. He turned to Mrs. Noland. “Is it okay if I take them back to the dog wing?”

  “I see what you mean,” Amanda told Drew when she got her first glimpse of Arnie the schnauzer. “He’s o
ne hairy hound.”

  Mrs. Noland had escorted the kids to one of the shelter’s small “meet-and-greet” rooms, where families could interact with animals they were considering adopting. She’d left them there, and a few minutes later, a worker named Chad arrived with Arnie. When Chad unclipped the dog’s leash, Arnie lumbered over to Drew and sniffed at his shoes. Then he plopped down at his feet.

  “He is very calm,” Meg observed. “He wouldn’t frighten little kids, even ones who are nervous around dogs.”

  “He wouldn’t frighten a flea,” Chad agreed as he watched the dog’s reaction to the kids.

  Drew let out a chuckle. “He might frighten himself if he ever looked in a mirror.”

  Meg sighed. “Poor thing probably can’t see himself in a mirror. There’s so much hair in his eyes.” Leaning down, she smoothed back the thick, tangled hair that covered the dog’s forehead.

  After spending several minutes with Arnie, Amanda and Meg agreed that Drew was right about the dog. Underneath all that scruff lay a pooch with a sweet personality. Maybe he’d enjoy visiting schools and libraries and interacting with kids.

  “One more thing,” Amanda said, removing a book from her backpack. She opened it and began reading aloud. At the sound of her voice, Arnie scooted closer. He lay down next to her and put his head on her lap. Chad’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Amanda looked up at her friends and flashed them a big thumbs-up.

  By the time the three friends left the shelter, Amanda had come up with another plan. She told Meg and Drew about it as they walked home. When they reached the salon, they found Mr. Midori in the back, trimming a standard poodle. Without waiting for him to finish, Amanda launched into her plea. “Can you please groom one of the shelter dogs, Dad? Just one. Please?” She told him about Arnie’s friendly demeanor, and Drew chimed in to say of all the shelter residents, Arnie was the one who would most benefit from a professional grooming. “I’ll pay for it with whatever’s in my piggybank.”