Pip and the Paw of Friendship

by Gill Lewis

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  Copyright Page

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  Welcome to Sausage Dreams Puppy Academy, where a team of plucky young pups are learning how to be all sorts of working dogs. Let’s meet some of the students …

  PIP

  the friendly one!

  BREED: Labrador retriever

  SPECIAL SKILL: Ball games

  SCOUT

  the smart one!

  BREED: German shepherd

  SPECIAL SKILL: Sniffing out crime

  STAR

  the speedy one!

  BREED: Border collie

  SPECIAL SKILL: Sensing danger

  MURPHY

  the big one!

  BREED: Leonberger

  SPECIAL SKILL: Swimming

  … and some of the teachers:

  MAJOR BONES

  One of the teachers at the Sausage Dreams Puppy Academy. Known for being strict.

  PROFESSOR OFFENBACH

  Head of the Sausage Dreams Puppy Academy. She is a small dog with A VERY LOUD VOICE!

  1

  The smell of sausages wafted along the line of puppies sitting in a neat row and drifted into Pip’s nostrils. A sausage smothered in thick gravy lay in front of each pup. Saliva dripped from Pip’s mouth and formed a large pool at his feet.

  Pip willed himself not to look. He tried not to sniff the rising steam swirling deliciously around his nose. He tried to ignore the sausage that was asking to be eaten.

  He glanced at the large bloodhound holding up his stopwatch.

  “One minute to go,” barked Major Bones.

  One whole minute! thought Pip. It felt like a lifetime.

  Pip looked along the line of puppies. No one had given in to the sausages … yet. Maybe they would all earn their Resist Temptation badges. He hoped they would. They had been practicing hard.

  They were pupils at the Sausage Dreams Puppy Academy for Working Dogs, where puppies trained for all sorts of important jobs. Some pups wanted to be police dogs. Others wanted to be sheepdogs. There were so many different jobs to choose from.

  But Pip knew what he wanted to be. He was a Labrador retriever and wanted to be an assistance dog for a human, just like his mom and dad. His mom was a guide dog for the blind, and his dad was an assistance dog for the deaf. Pip wanted to help people too. He knew that the training was hard and that many dogs didn’t make it through.

  Every day, he dreamed of receiving the Paw of Friendship, a badge to show that he was an assistance dog and could help a human of his very own.

  But first there were many tests to pass and badges to earn, beginning with the Resist Temptation badge. Pip had to pass if he wanted to be an assistance dog. His mom and dad were watching with the other parents in the academy hall.

  Major Bones, one of the teachers, was counting down the time. “Twenty seconds to go … nineteen … eighteen…”

  Next to Pip, a little pug puppy licked his lips. His nose twitched. His eyes kept sliding down to look at the sausage.

  “Hold on, Roly,” whispered Pip. “Be strong.”

  Roly’s tongue lolled out and dangled above the sausage.

  “Don’t do it, Roly. Hold your nerve. Not long now,” said Pip.

  Roly’s eyes fixed on the sausage. “It’s calling my name,” he whimpered.

  “Resist the sausage, Roly! Don’t look at it. You can do it.”

  Major Bones blew the whistle. PHHHHREEEEW! “Time’s up. Well done, pups. That was a very difficult test, indeed. We’ll have a break before we do the final temptation test.”

  Roly dived on his sausage and slurped it up in a single gulp. “Thank you, Pip,” he said, wiping gravy from his chin. “I don’t know what I would have done without your help.”

  “That’s okay,” said Pip. “I wonder what the next test will be.”

  Pip was worried. Would it be Ginger the old tomcat, or Peter the mail carrier? Some dogs just couldn’t help themselves when it came to chasing mail carriers. But Pip didn’t mind cats or mail carriers. He never felt like chasing them at all.

  There was one temptation, however, that Pip hoped he wouldn’t face in the next test. There was one thing he couldn’t resist. He just had to hope it would be something else.

  “When you’re ready, pups,” barked Major Bones.

  The pups lined up again as Major Bones brought a small box into the hall. “Inside here, I have something that many of you dream of chasing.”

  Too small for a mail carrier, thought Pip. Maybe Ginger was inside the box.

  Major Bones reached inside.

  Pip closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see what it was. If he didn’t know, he couldn’t chase it.

  BOING … BOING … BOING!

  Pip’s eyes snapped open. It was the unmistakable sound of a …

  TENNIS BALL.

  Pip was in the air, leaping for the ball. He snatched it and spun in midair, his legs running as he hit the ground. He raced around the hall with the ball in his teeth, daring anyone to chase him for it.

  “PIP!” Major Bones was charging after him.

  Pip ran faster, round and round and round. He had the ball, and he wasn’t going to let anyone else get it.

  “PIP! Stop at once!”

  Pip stopped. He dropped the ball and looked around. He suddenly remembered where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. But it was too late. His mom and dad had their heads in their paws. Everyone else was just staring at him. What had he done?

  Major Bones shook his head sadly.

  “I’m sorry,” said Pip. “Let me take the test again. Give me a cat or a squirrel instead.”

  “You can’t take the test again. I’m sorry, Pip,” said Major Bones. “You have to resist all temptations. What if you had led a blind person into a busy road just because you wanted to play ball on the other side?”

  Pip hung his head. Major Bones was right. It didn’t matter if he could resist sausages and cats and mail carriers. If he couldn’t stop himself from joining in a ball game, he’d be no use to anyone.

  He couldn’t bring himself to look at his mom and dad again. He turned from them and ran.

  He’d messed up in one of the very first tests.

  His dreams of being an assistance dog were over before his real training had even begun.

  2

  “I’m sorry,” said Suli. “Maybe you could be a sniffer dog, or a search and rescue dog.”

  “I only want to be an assistance dog,” wailed Pip. “What’s wrong with me, Suli? Why can’t I stop myself from chasing balls?”

  “Well, it’s good news for us,” woofed Star. “We need you in the pawball final next week. Come on, Pip, we’ve got to run. Gruff Barking and the other teammates are waiting for us on the field.”

  Pip followed Suli and Star. He didn’t feel like joining in, but all that changed the moment he saw the ball in the middle of the pawball field.

/>   It was waiting just for him.

  PPPHHHREWWWWW! Gruff Barking, the Puppy Academy sports teacher, blew his whistle for the training to begin.

  Pip was off even before the whistle finished sounding. He dribbled the ball between his paws, in and out of the cones. Ahead he could see Star racing into the goal. Star was a border collie pup with lightning feet—and one of the best goalies in the academy. Pip knew he had to get in close before he tried to score.

  Left paw … right paw … left paw … right paw … Pip took the ball forward, looking for an opening. Nosey, a Jack Russell terrier, dived for the ball, and Lulu, a poodle, tried to tackle, but Pip skipped past them both and knocked the ball into the air. Star jumped for it, but Pip’s nose reached the ball first, sending it flying into the goal.

  PPPHHHREWWWW! “Well done, pups, well done.” Gruff Barking called all the pups together. “Great practice session. You’ll need to play like that next week when we’re up against the MadDogz in the pawball final.”

  The five pups of the pawball team looked at one another. The puppies of the MadDogz team were the unbeaten champions. They were young guard dogs from the Security Dog School on the other side of town. They all looked big and scary. It was rumored that Exterminator, their goalie, wasn’t even allowed out without a muzzle.

  “Do we have to play them?” asked Suli. Suli was a saluki pup. What she lacked in strength, she made up for in speed and in her midair turns.

  Gruff Barking looked slowly around at them. “MadDogz have been beaten before,” he said.

  “That was ten years ago,” said Lulu. “They’ve held the Golden Ball in their trophy cabinet ever since.”

  “They can be beaten again,” said Gruff Barking. “You’ve gotten to the final, so you have a chance of winning. Come on, pups, you can do this. Don’t forget who you are!”

  “Give me an S,” woofed Star.

  “Give me a D,” barked Suli.

  “Give me a P,” yapped Lulu.

  “Give me an A,” yipped Nosey.

  “Who are we?” The pups high-fived one another and barked, “We’re the Sausage Dreams Puppy Academy!”

  Pip joined in, but he couldn’t help thinking that they didn’t sound very tough compared to the MadDogz.

  PPPHHHREWWWW! Gruff Barking blew his whistle again. “Right, pups,” he said. “Let’s try some nose balances.”

  Pip was just perfecting balancing the ball on the tip of his nose when Major Bones arrived on the playing field with Pip’s mom and dad.

  Pip dropped the ball and stared down at his feet. “I’m sorry I didn’t pass the test,” he said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” said Pip’s mom.

  “But it does matter,” wailed Pip. “I can’t take the test again.”

  Pip’s dad sat down next to him. “How much do you want to be an assistance dog?”

  “More than anything,” said Pip.

  Pip’s mom and dad looked at each other, and then at Major Bones. “Well, if that’s really what you want,” said Pip’s mom, “Major Bones says he will let you take the test again.”

  “Really?” asked Pip.

  “Really,” said Pip’s mom.

  “That’s right,” said Major Bones. “But before you take the test, we must be sure you are ready. We have to stop you from chasing balls or playing any ball games.”

  Pip stared at Major Bones. “Even pawball?”

  “Yes.” Major Bones nodded. “It’s the only way.”

  “No!” gasped Pip.

  “He can’t leave us,” woofed Star.

  “We’re playing against the MadDogz next week,” wailed Lulu. “We need Pip!”

  Major Bones shook his head. “If Pip really wants to be an assistance dog, he’ll have to give up pawball.”

  “For good?” whispered Pip.

  Gruff Barking’s whiskers bristled. “Can’t it wait until next week? We need Pip in the final.”

  “I’m afraid not,” said Major Bones. “I’ve just heard that a place has opened up at the training center for assistance dogs. Pip has been invited there for a trial period on Monday.”

  Pip looked around at his teammates. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “You don’t have to go,” said Star.

  “But I do,” said Pip.

  “You don’t have to be an assistance dog,” said Lulu. “You’re so good at pawball; you could turn professional. You could be famous and travel the world.”

  Pip shook his head. “I love pawball, but I don’t want to play it forever. I love people more. One day, I want to make a difference in someone’s life. One day, I want to wear the Paw of Friendship on my collar,” he said. “I’ll do whatever it takes, even if it means putting my pawball days behind me.”

  * * *

  “WELCOME TO ANOTHER FRIDAY AWARD CEREMONY,” woofed Professor Offenbach. “PLEASE SIT!” Professor Offenbach was the head of the Sausage Dreams Puppy Academy for Working Dogs. She was a small dog with a big voice. Even Major Bones sometimes had to tie his ears beneath his chin when she was talking. “IT’S BEEN ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL WEEK AT THE ACADEMY, AND I HAVE SEVERAL AWARDS AND WORK PLACEMENTS TO GIVE OUT TODAY.”

  Pip sat with his friends and watched other pups climb onto the giant sausage podium to collect their awards and badges.

  “CONGRATULATIONS TO DUCHESS FOR HER CATTLE HERDING LEVEL-ONE BADGE,” woofed Professor Offenbach, hanging a badge around Duchess’s neck. “DUCHESS IS VERY LUCKY AS WE’VE JUST HEARD THAT SHE WILL BE VISITING THE ROYAL COWS FOR HER LEVEL-TWO BADGE.”

  The corgi pup puffed out her chest in pride and readjusted her tiara. She was from a long line of royal corgis.

  “AND FINALLY,” boomed Professor Offenbach, “I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT THE FOLLOWING PUPS WITH THE RESIST TEMPTATION BADGE.…”

  Roly leaned across to Pip. “I’m sorry you didn’t pass the test.”

  “That’s okay, Roly,” said Pip. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “It’s me I’m worried about,” whispered Roly. “Gruff Barking’s making me play in the pawball final in your place.”

  “You’ll be fine,” said Pip.

  “Fine?” said Roly. “Have you seen the size of the MadDogz team? They’ll eat us alive … literally.”

  Star gave Pip a nudge. Professor Offenbach was glaring right at him.

  “IT SEEMS THAT PIP CAN’T RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO TALK AS WELL AS PLAY BALL GAMES.”

  Pip tucked his tail between his legs.

  He watched his friends climb onto the podium and receive their badges. He wished he could join them up there too. Maybe he would one day. He hoped so. But he knew he wouldn’t be joining them on the sports field next week. He sighed and tried not to think about the final. It felt as if part of him had gone. His pawball days were well and truly over.

  3

  Pip climbed into the minibus next to Major Bones, ready for the journey to the Helping Paws Training Center in the city.

  His friends had come to wave good-bye.

  “See you soon,” woofed Star.

  The minibus rumbled to life and trundled down the hill, away from Sausage Dreams Puppy Academy.

  Pip pushed his nose out of the window. “Good luck in the final!” he barked.

  “Bye, Pip!”

  “Bye!”

  Pip waved and waved as the academy disappeared into the distance. The hills and fields were replaced by shops and houses as they drove into the city. The smells of car fumes and burger joints drifted in through the open window. It was noisy too. There were so many humans in the city. There were no fields to play in. At least there wouldn’t be any ball games to tempt him.

  “We’re here,” announced Major Bones, pulling into the parking lot of the Helping Paws Training Center.

  “Welcome,” woofed a large yellow Labrador. “Welcome.”

  “Colonel Custard!” said Major Bones, shaking the yellow Labrador’s paw.

  Colonel Custard was the head of the training center. He was a retired assistance dog with a gray
ing muzzle, a rickety hip, and a fondness for custard creams. What he didn’t know about being an assistance dog wasn’t worth knowing.

  Major Bones rummaged in the back of the minibus. “Professor Offenbach sent you these,” he said, holding out a packet of custard creams. “She knows how much you love them.”

  “Not for me,” said Colonel Custard, patting his tummy. “I must resist. The vets have put me on a custard cream restriction diet. They’re not good for the old hip.” Colonel Custard looked down at Pip. “So this is our new recruit, eh?” He gave Pip a good, long look. “So, you’re the pawball player?”

  “Ex-pawball player,” said Pip sadly.

  Major Bones turned to Pip. “Colonel Custard was once the rising star of the Junior Pawball League,” he said.

  Pip’s eyes opened wide. “Really?”

  “It’s true,” said Colonel Custard, a faraway look in his eye. “I could nose a ball into the goal from ten yards away, doing a half spin.” He sighed. “I had to give it all up, though.”

  “What happened?” asked Pip.

  Colonel Custard tapped his leg. “Bad hips, I’m afraid. That’s when I became an assistance dog instead.”

  “Didn’t you miss pawball?” said Pip.

  “Not after I met Andy.” Colonel Custard smiled as they walked inside. He took out a photo of a man in a wheelchair. “Andy said I saved him, but it was Andy who saved me. Being an assistance dog to him was the best thing in the world.”

  * * *

  Pip’s training began with the washing machine. He put his head inside and grabbed a wet towel, pulling it out onto the floor.

  “Let’s try to get it in the laundry basket this time,” said Colonel Custard.