Spirit

by Ellen Miles

  Even after the Bean had calmed down, Spirit stayed by his side. The puppy crawled right into the Bean’s bed that night and curled up next to him for his bedtime story. Lizzie had taken a picture on Mom’s phone and sent it to the Leckners, along with the story about how Spirit had helped her little brother.

  Now, as Lizzie arrived home from the library, she saw Dad in the driveway. He was whacking the sharp end of a shovel against the thick, hard-packed ice. It looked like hard work. Dad stopped to wipe the sweat off his forehead. That was when he noticed Lizzie. He grinned and waved, propping himself on the shovel as she approached. “Hi, Lizzie,” he said. “How was your day?”

  “Good,” Lizzie answered. “Actually, it was pretty great.” Lizzie got ready to tell Dad all about her library success, but then she saw the smile drop from his face. “What is it?” she asked.

  “Sorry to tell you,” Dad said. “But I heard from the police chief. He says he’s sorry, but he doesn’t have any officers who are looking for a canine partner right now.”

  Lizzie sighed. The extra books in her backpack suddenly felt really heavy. She shifted it off her shoulders and let it drop to her feet.

  “He did mention that they’ll have a new class starting in the spring,” Dad added. His tone was upbeat, but Lizzie and Dad both knew that spring was too late. Spirit needed his new life to start now. He was ready. He had way too much to offer to have to wait several more months.

  “Thanks, Dad,” Lizzie said, forcing a smile. She yanked the backpack off the ground and headed for the house. The bag’s bottom brushed against the snow as she walked.

  “Oh! I think your mom took a message for you earlier,” Dad called out just before Lizzie reached the door.

  Lizzie felt her heart lift. Maybe the search-and-rescue association or the service-dog program had called to say they had a spot for Spirit.

  “Mom! Mom!” Lizzie was calling, even before she’d stepped in the door. She kicked off her boots and left her bag in the entry hallway. “Mom!”

  “Goodness, Lizzie,” Mom said, appearing in the kitchen doorway with a crumpled dish towel in her hands. “What is it?” The Bean walked up behind Mom and peeked through her legs.

  “Dad said you have a message for me?”

  Mom nodded. “It’s not good news, I’m sorry to say. The search-and-rescue people called to say they have no trainers available for new dogs right now.”

  Lizzie’s face fell. “Ugh.” She sighed and kicked at her dropped backpack. “I think I’ll take Spirit for a walk.” If she couldn’t find the sweet puppy a home, at least she could take the books to Eli. At least then she’d feel like she accomplished something. Plus, hadn’t Mr. Leckner said he wanted to see Spirit again? Lizzie had a feeling he might be missing the sweet white pup.

  “All right,” Mom said. “Be home by dinner.”

  Lizzie found Spirit sleeping by the beanbag chair. She rubbed his head. The short fur on his ears was so, so soft. “Want to go for a walk?”

  The puppy opened his eyes, blinked, then jumped up eagerly.

  Of course I want to go for a walk—especially if I get to visit my mom again!

  Even with all the books in it, Lizzie’s backpack was a lot lighter after she took out her lunch box and her other school stuff. With Spirit bounding at her side, Lizzie already felt much better. He was such a sweet, smart dog. One way or another, she knew she’d find him a great home.

  As they came to the edge of the park, Spirit began to tug on the leash. “Easy, boy,” said Lizzie. She would need to work on his leash manners.

  “Yes, we’re going to your old house,” Lizzie said, looking down at the puppy. His ears were pointed forward and his eyes were bright. “Please remember to stay calm. Don’t get all rowdy.”

  Lizzie realized that she should have called before she left. What if they weren’t home? She could always leave the books inside their screen door if they weren’t there. The books would be safe and stay dry. Still, Spirit would be sad if he did not get to visit his mom and his old family. Lizzie would be disappointed, too.

  At the sight of the house, Spirit barked and flashed a doggy smile up at Lizzie. “That’s right—we’re almost there,” Lizzie said. Spirit’s tail swished and spun in its happy wag as they climbed the porch steps. It made Lizzie laugh. Lizzie started to take off her glove to knock, but she decided to try the doorbell, just in case. When she pressed the round button, a ding-dong followed. “They fixed it!” Lizzie said to Spirit.

  Mr. Leckner looked surprised when he opened the door. “Hey, everyone,” he called over his shoulder, “it’s Lizzie and Spirit.”

  “Hi,” Lizzie said. “I was at the library, and I got some books for Eli.” She shrugged her backpack off one shoulder and started to unzip it. By the time she glanced up, the entire Leckner family had gathered by the door—even Eli and Mitzy! Lizzie swallowed down a gulp, feeling suddenly shy. “Um, hi, everyone.”

  Spirit wasn’t so shy. He sprang forward to sniff at Mitzy, his tail wagging harder than ever.

  It’s Mom! Oh, I really missed her! And my boy! I haven’t seen him for so long!

  Mitzy nuzzled Spirit with her nose and wagged her tail as her puppy darted all around her. Spirit pulled hard on the leash and it slipped out of Lizzie’s hand. The library books tumbled from her arms onto the porch.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Lizzie said as she grabbed for the leash. This was not how she had meant the visit to go. “I didn’t mean to cause a commotion,” she said. “Spirit, come here, boy. Calm down now.” Spirit jogged back to Lizzie at once. He sat down, his tail still wagging across the boards of the porch. Lizzie gave him a pat and started to pick up the fallen books.

  “It’s good to see you, Lizzie,” Mrs. Leckner said. “We were just talking about you.”

  Nora knelt down to help Lizzie with the books.

  “About me?” Lizzie asked.

  “Well, and Spirit,” Nora said. Hearing his name, Spirit walked over to Nora and stuck his nose right in her face. “Yes,” Nora said, ruffling the fur around the puppy’s neck. “We were talking about you, Spirit, weren’t we?”

  “We loved getting that picture of Spirit with your little brother last night,” Mrs. Leckner said. “It got us thinking.”

  By then, Spirit had wandered straight into the Leckners’ house, but no one seemed to mind. He went up to Eli and put a gentle paw on the armrest of the boy’s wheelchair.

  “We have family reading time at night, and Spirit was the only puppy who would actually stay still while we sat and read,” Mr. Leckner explained. “Your picture reminded us of that.”

  “He would always curl up with me,” Eli added softly, stroking Spirit’s back.

  Suddenly, Lizzie understood why Spirit had always seemed so sad when he watched Charles and Buddy cuddle together.

  “That’s sweet,” Lizzie said. She had not seen Eli since the day of the accident. He looked pretty happy for someone whose leg was all wrapped in plaster and propped up in front of him like a board. Eli scratched Spirit under the neck, and the puppy lifted his chin up high. Then Eli bent to pull Spirit into a great, big hug. His parents watched and smiled.

  “That’s one of the reasons I think Spirit would be a great service dog,” Lizzie said. “He’s very patient and brave. And intelligent. But I haven’t heard back from the training center yet. You sometimes have to wait a while for an open spot.”

  “So you really think Spirit has what it takes?” Mrs. Leckner asked.

  “Oh, definitely.” Lizzie stood up and handed the stack of books to Mr. Leckner.

  Nora stood up, too. Then she turned to look at Lizzie. “What my parents really want to ask is, do you think Spirit would be better as a service dog than a pet? Because ever since you sent that picture, we have all been thinking that we’d love to have him come back to live with us. He could keep Eli company. He could keep Mitzy company. He’d be sort of like a service dog for our whole family.”

  Lizzie frowned. “Really?” she as
ked. “I thought you didn’t want a hyper, rowdy puppy in the house. Because, you know …” She looked at Mrs. Leckner. “You’re having a baby.”

  “I know, I know,” Mrs. Leckner said, her hand moving to her belly. “It will be a lot of work, having a puppy and a baby, but I think our family can handle it.”

  “I promised to help a lot,” Eli said. “Even more when my cast comes off.”

  “And I can make sure Eli does what he says he’ll do,” added Nora, sounding like a typical older sister.

  Lizzie held her breath. Was this really happening?

  “Besides,” said Mr. Leckner, “Spirit isn’t nearly as rambunctious when he’s not with his siblings. He’s playful with Mitzy, but he isn’t out of control.”

  “You’re right,” agreed Mrs. Leckner. “Without his littermates around, he’s a lot more mellow.”

  “You know? I think this is exactly what Spirit has wanted all along—to be back with his mom and his people,” said Lizzie. “And, secretly, I did, too!”

  “So you think it’s a good idea?” asked Mrs. Leckner.

  “I think it’s a great idea,” said Lizzie.

  Spirit licked Eli’s face in celebration, and Eli gave him another hug.

  Lizzie couldn’t wait to tell her family and the Miyanos. This was the best news ever. Her wish had come true. Spirit had found the perfect forever home—with his very own family!

  German shepherds are one of the most loyal, trainable dog breeds. They become very attached to their owners and will do anything for the people they love. They can be trained as police dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, or service dogs—but they make wonderful family pets as well. They need plenty of exercise and, as Lizzie noted, they love to have a job to do.

  Dear Reader,

  I’ve always thought that white German shepherds were beautiful, so it was exciting to write about one. I also love writing books that are set in wintertime, since it is my favorite season—even when it’s cold and hailing! It was fun to imagine this pure white dog playing in the white snow.

  Yours from the Puppy Place,

  Ellen Miles

  P.S. For another book about a German shepherd, try CHAMP. For other books about dogs who help people, try HONEY, SHADOW, SWEETIE, or TEDDY.

  “Over here!” Charles Peterson called to his friend Sammy. “I need your help with this one.” He grabbed one end of a huge dead branch—more like a tree, practically!—and tugged as hard as he could. It didn’t move.

  Sammy trotted over. “That’s a big one,” he said, looking down at the branch. “Let’s drag it over to the fire pit. It’ll make awesome firewood for the party later on.”

  It was a chilly day in May. A few patches of blue polka-dotted the mostly gray sky. Charles and Sammy, and the rest of their Cub Scout pack, were busy helping clean up Loon Lake Park for the summer season. When they were done, their families would meet them there and they would celebrate with the first cookout of the year.

  Charles and Sammy were on the “pick-up” team. Their job was to pick up any branches or twigs that had fallen over the winter. Other teams were gathering trash, raking, and hauling the raked leaves to a big pile.

  Charles didn’t mind the work. It was fun to be at the park before the official opening day. In a few weeks, there would be kids racing around the playground, noisy volleyball games, and swimmers and kayakers splashing in the water. Now, everything was quiet and peaceful. The grass was just starting to turn green, the leaves on the trees were tender and new, and the colorful canoes and kayaks were still piled on shore, waiting for their first voyages across the lake.

  Springtime at Loon Lake Park was special, but Charles also liked being there in the middle of winter, when his family had a tradition of having a picnic each year. It was even quieter then, when snow covered the grassy areas and thick ice trapped the sparkling waters of the lake.

  Charles would never forget the winter day when his family had seen a puppy fall through the ice. That had been so scary, but with the help of a special cold-water rescue team they had saved the curly-haired pup. Noodle had become one of the Petersons’ favorite foster puppies as they tried to find out where he belonged. Lizzie, Charles’s older sister, had become especially attached to Noodle and had a hard time saying good-bye to him when the time came. But that was what fostering was all about: The Petersons only kept each puppy long enough to find him or her the perfect forever home. Even the Bean, Charles’s younger brother, understood that.

  “Remember Noodle?” Charles asked Sammy now, as they dragged the big branch toward the ring of stones near the sandy beach. It was slow going, but with both of them pulling hard they could keep moving.

  “Of course,” said Sammy. “I remember every single one of your foster puppies.”

  Ellen Miles loves dogs, which is why she has a great time writing the Puppy Place books. And guess what? She loves cats, too! (In fact, her very first pet was a beautiful tortoiseshell cat named Jenny.) That’s why she came up with the Kitty Corner series. Ellen lives in Vermont and loves to be outdoors with her dog, Zipper, every day, walking, biking, skiing, or swimming, depending on the season. She also loves to read, cook, explore her beautiful state, play with dogs, and hang out with friends and family.

  Visit Ellen at www.ellenmiles.net.

  Don’t miss any of these other stories by Ellen Miles!

  Angel

  Bandit

  Baxter

  Bear

  Bella

  Bitsy

  Bonita

  Boomer

  Bubbles and Boo

  Buddy

  Champ

  Chewy and Chica

  Cocoa

  Cody

  Cooper

  Daisy

  Edward

  Flash

  Gizmo

  Goldie

  Gus

  Honey

  Jack

  Jake

  Liberty

  Lola

  Lucky

  Lucy

  Maggie and Max

  Mocha

  Molly

  Moose

  Muttley

  Nala

  Noodle

  Oscar

  Patches

  Princess

  Pugsley

  Rascal

  Rocky

  Scout

  Shadow

  Snowball

  Stella

  Sugar, Gummi, and Lollipop

  Sweetie

  Teddy

  Ziggy

  Zipper

  Copyright © 2018 by Ellen Miles

  Cover art by Tim O’Brien

  Original cover design by Steve Scott

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First printing 2018

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-21266-2

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

 

 

  okFrom.Net