Mission Impawsible

by Daphne Maple

  “I have no idea,” I said with a sigh. Every time I thought about it my mind became a gigantic blank.

  “But you do so much with the dogs,” Sasha said.

  “I know, but I’m not really sure how to make that into an essay,” I said. “I just like playing with dogs.”

  “I was thinking we could write about Popsicle,” Taylor said, sidestepping a puddle on the sidewalk. “Like how we helped out with washing her and named her and stuff.”

  “Oh, good idea,” Sasha said. Her hair was loose today and it blew in the slight wind.

  “We can’t all write the same thing,” I pointed out. We were passing the Ice Creamery, another store not named after Roxbury Park. I couldn’t help thinking about the start of the summer, when it had been just me and Sasha getting ice cream and then going to the park.

  “Right,” Taylor said. Her shoulders slumped a little.

  “Here we are,” Sasha said brightly, opening the door of the shelter.

  As soon as she saw us, Lily ran over, panting happily, and my mood lifted instantly. I knelt down and gave her a good rub.

  “Hello, girls,” Alice said. Her ponytail seemed to have more hair falling out of it than usual. “How was school today?”

  Sasha answered and as I listened I realized there was an unusual sound in the shelter. Along with the normal barking, scuffles from play, and Tim and Caley chatting in the corner, there was a whining sound. Something was wrong with one of the dogs.

  “Are all the dogs okay, Alice?” I asked. As I spoke I realized I had interrupted Taylor but I was too worried about the upset dog to apologize.

  Alice sighed. “Popsicle has been having a hard time,” she admitted. “And honestly I have too. She won’t stop crying, she’s scared of everything, and she wants attention all the time.”

  Sure enough I realized that the sound came from Tim and Caley’s corner, where they weren’t chatting; they were both comforting the small black and white puppy.

  “A puppy is a lot of work,” Alice said. “I’m worried it was a mistake to take her in. Puppies adopt out much faster than older dogs, and I really need to be focused on finding homes for the others.”

  “But where would she go?” Sasha asked in a small voice.

  I realized I was holding my breath as we waited for Alice’s answer.

  Alice smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep her,” she said. She looked over to where Tim was now cradling Popsicle in his arms. “She’s too sweet to resist. We’ll just have to double our efforts to find homes for the older dogs.”

  I saw Sasha’s brows draw together and I wondered if she was confused about the same thing I was. “Is there a rush to adopt out the dogs?” she asked.

  Yeah, exactly what I had been thinking.

  Alice’s face seemed to fall just a bit but maybe I was imagining it because her voice was cheerful. “I just want them to find homes,” she said. “Don’t worry.”

  But as I watched her take out a leash and head over to Popsicle, I couldn’t help but feel like things weren’t quite right. Between Humphrey and Popsicle it seemed like there was a lot to worry about.

  “Hey, guys,” Caley said as she and Tim came up to us, Boxer and Hattie following close behind. Tim tossed a ratty tennis ball and both dogs flew after it.

  It suddenly occurred to me that maybe one of them could walk Humphrey after school. I cleared my throat, wondering how to best ask. They were always super friendly, but I still felt kind of intimidated talking to high schoolers like they were just regular kids. “Um, one of my neighbors needs someone to walk their dog after school,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat up as I spoke. I probably looked like a little kid but I pushed ahead. “None of us could do it but would either of you guys maybe be interested?” And now I definitely sounded like a little kid.

  But Tim and Caley were both just shaking their heads reluctantly.

  “I wish I could but I’m in drama club the afternoons I’m not here,” Caley said.

  Tim grinned. “She always gets the lead in the school play.”

  “Not always,” Caley said, but the way her eyes sparkled told me Tim was probably right.

  “I’d love to do it,” Tim said, running a hand through his black hair. “But I take computer programming classes twice a week.”

  “I hope you can find someone to help,” Caley said, looking concerned.

  I nodded. “Thanks,” I said.

  Boxer and Lily raced up with the ball, almost crashing into us.

  “There’s a lot of energy here,” Caley said, laughing. “Let’s take these guys outside to run around.”

  Running around with dogs sounded fantastic to me. I headed for the back door and the second I opened it Lily was out like a shot, with Hattie on her heels. I followed, laughing. There was a cool breeze that felt good on my warm cheeks.

  “Let’s try to separate Lily and Hattie,” I said.

  “Right,” Sasha said. She picked up a tennis ball and threw it for Lily while I distracted Hattie with a green Frisbee. I threw it for her in the opposite direction and after a moment she took off after it. A second later, Boxer, who had come out right behind me, beat her to it. He snatched up the prize in his mouth and began prancing in circles, Hattie running happily behind him.

  I took off after them, Mr. Smashmouth at my heels. It was amazing how much he could do despite being unable to see. He was clearly using his other senses to know where we were and what the action was around him.

  I grabbed the Frisbee and began to play tug-of-war with Boxer and Hattie. A moment later Sasha came up, still playing fetch with Lily. I managed to get the Frisbee free and sent it flying across the yard, Hattie and Boxer racing after it. They came racing back, followed by Lily, who set her ball at Sasha’s feet and then jumped on her joyfully. Hattie and Boxer immediately jumped up on me, Mr. Smashmouth right behind them. Sasha and I were cracking up as we tried to cuddle all four dogs at once. It was perfect. Exactly how I imagined it would be, back before Taylor. And that made me realize that it was strange she wasn’t here, in the middle of the action, with us.

  I glanced around the yard and saw that she was still on the porch, playing with her phone. The way she was standing was stiff, as though she felt awkward, and her braids, which she usually kept back neatly, were falling over her face. It was very different from the Taylor at school and the one who chatted so easily with Caley and Tim.

  Was she feeling left out? I knew how bad that felt. And I didn’t want anyone, even Taylor, to have that feeling. So I untangled myself from the dogs, brushed a stray leaf out of my hair, and walked over to her.

  “Taylor, come play with us,” I said.

  Taylor looked down at her feet. “Um, thanks but I need to watch the door, to make sure the dogs all stay outside.”

  For a moment I felt annoyed, like she just didn’t want to help out. But then I watched Taylor for a moment, the way the corners of her mouth turned down and her eyes kept darting at the dogs. And I realized my dad was right.

  “You’re scared of the dogs,” I blurted out.

  Taylor’s face instantly hardened. “I am not,” she said.

  I took a deep breath. This wasn’t going well and I really needed to understand what was going on with Taylor. Otherwise it would never feel right to have her here.

  “Sometimes it looks like you’re not totally comfortable here,” I said gently.

  But Taylor’s face remained hard. “I’m fine,” she snapped. “Not everyone talks to dogs like they’re people.”

  “True, but it seems like you never want to play with the dogs,” I said, making sure my voice did not sound accusing. I honestly just wanted to know what was going on.

  “I play with them,” she said defensively.

  “It looks like they make you anxious,” I said. I was ready to give up. If she didn’t want to talk to me I couldn’t force her.

  But then Taylor’s shoulders slumped and she sighed. “You’re right,” she said, her eyes downcast. “I’m ok
ay with little dogs, and puppies like Popsicle. But big dogs like Lily and Boxer make me nervous.”

  I reached out and touched her arm, glad she had trusted me with the truth.

  She gave me a sad smile. “I was worried about it when Sasha asked me to volunteer here with you guys,” she said. “But I really like Sasha and I wanted to be with her. Plus, the way she talked about you, like we’d all be such great friends, it sounded too fun to pass up.”

  I felt a prick of guilt at her words. True, I’d felt left out a lot, but maybe I hadn’t tried that hard. After all, Taylor was the one who’d had to leave her home and all her friends to live here. I probably could have helped Taylor more instead of just pulling away. And trying to pull Sasha with me.

  “I do like the shelter,” Taylor was saying. “I just don’t like it when Boxer jumps on me. And I’m not like you—I don’t know what to do when Hattie gets nervous.”

  Maybe I hadn’t helped enough before but I could help now. “I totally understand,” I said, linking my arm through hers. “But all you need is to show the dogs who’s in charge. It all falls into place after that. I’ll show you.”

  “Really?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

  I grinned. “I’m the dog whisperer, remember? Trust me!”

  Taylor laughed.

  “Okay, so the first thing is how you feel,” I said. “You need to believe that you are the boss. Because if you don’t believe it, the dogs won’t either. And even if you don’t believe it, fake it like you do.”

  “I can do that,” Taylor said. “The faking it anyway.”

  “Next is giving commands like you mean them,” I said. “Dogs recognize certain words, like ‘no’ or ‘sit.’” I remembered Humphrey. “Or ‘breakfast,’” I added with a grin. “But it’s not just the words they respond to. It’s your tone of voice.”

  Taylor was nodding. “That makes sense,” she said.

  “It’s all in your attitude, really,” I said. “Let them know you’re in charge and they’ll listen, without getting wild.”

  “That would be great,” Taylor said. I suddenly realized how hard these past days at the shelter must have been for her. Plus her anxiety had probably made the dogs act up even more around her, making it all even worse. But what was cool was that we were about to change all that.

  “Okay, let’s give it a try,” I said, steering us over to a quiet corner of the yard. “We’ll start with Lily.”

  Taylor bit her lip, then nodded. I called Lily over to us. She bounded up to me and jumped up to give me a kiss. “Sit,” I said firmly. Lily sat. I turned to Taylor. “Your turn.”

  Taylor took a few steps away, then took a deep breath. “Lily, come,” she said, her voice a little shaky.

  Lily cocked her head but didn’t move.

  “See?” Taylor said to me. “I don’t know how to do it.”

  I thought for a second. “Pretend Lily is your older sister Anna and you’re telling her to stop bossing you around.”

  Taylor’s eyes lit up. “Lily, come,” she commanded in a strong, firm voice.

  Lily went right to Taylor, wagging her tail and looking up at her.

  “Tell her she’s a good dog,” I said. “Dogs need to know when they do a good job.”

  “Just like us,” Taylor mused as she reached down and stroked Lily’s fuzzy brown head. “Good dog, Lily.”

  The praise pleased Lily so much she gave a short bark and jumped up to play with Taylor. Taylor immediately took a step back, just like she had done before with Boxer.

  “You’re giving her a mixed message,” I said as Lily jumped again. “She thinks you’re playing. So if you’re not, tell her.”

  “No,” Taylor said as Lily jumped again. “No.”

  Lily stopped.

  “Sit,” Taylor said.

  And Lily sat.

  “You’re getting the hang of it,” I said, thrilled it was working.

  Taylor beamed. “That Anna voice really does the trick, doesn’t it?” she said proudly.

  We walked back toward the center of the yard, where Sasha was throwing the Frisbee for Boxer and Hattie. Mr. Smashmouth sat at her feet, panting happily.

  “I’m sorry if I’ve been pushing you away,” I said quietly. “And trying to keep Sasha for myself. It’s just that it’s always been the two of us, you know?”

  Taylor nodded seriously, then cracked a smile. “Looks like someone needs to work on improving her sharing skills,” she said in a perfect imitation of Mrs. Benson.

  I laughed and any last tension between me and Taylor flew away in the breeze blowing through the yard.

  “And I should apologize for not telling you guys I was scared of big dogs,” she said. “Especially since you could have taught me your dog whispering magic last week and then I wouldn’t have worried all weekend about being eaten by Boxer!”

  I laughed again. “He’s just a big, harmless sweetie, I promise,” I said. “Are you ready to hang out with him now?” We were nearing Sasha and the dogs.

  Taylor rested a hand on Lily, who was not leaving her side. “Let’s do it,” she said.

  So we headed into the fray. I took the Frisbee from Sasha, who gave me a questioning look. I nodded and smiled to show that everything was good with me and Taylor, then threw the Frisbee for Boxer and Hattie. They raced after it while Mr. Smashmouth got to his feet to greet Taylor. She bent down and rubbed his fluffy head. Hattie and Boxer came flying back and I saw Taylor stiffen. But then Lily nudged her and Taylor buried her hands in Lily’s thick fur. I could tell it calmed her to be with Lily by the way her whole body relaxed. I reached over and gave Lily’s ear an affectionate scratch. Sure, I’d given some pointers, but the real teachers were the dogs themselves. It might take some time but I knew Taylor and Boxer would be fine. Just like me and Taylor were finally going to be fine.

  Caley came over with a ball that she threw for Hattie. Seeing her reminded me of earlier with Popsicle and the things that Alice had said.

  “Did you guys think Alice looked really stressed before?” I asked as I snuggled with Mr. Smashmouth.

  Taylor, who was still petting Lily, nodded. “Something doesn’t feel right at the shelter,” she said. “So much of the stuff here is old and run-down.”

  Boxer was back with his Frisbee and Taylor was right, it was old. It was covered with bite marks and a piece of the rim was torn off. A lot of the toys were the same, plus there were those holes in the fence. But I hated to hear anything critical about the shelter. “Alice probably doesn’t have a lot of funding to get new things all the time,” I said.

  “You’re right,” Caley said. Her face was somber. “But it’s actually worse than not having enough money for new toys.”

  An icy shiver traveled down my spine. “What do you mean, worse?” I asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

  “You guys know the shelter runs on donations,” Caley said. “But for a while now there haven’t been enough of them to cover even the basics, like rent and dog food. Alice has been doing fund-raising but so far she hasn’t been able to bring in much at all.”

  “So what does that mean?” Sasha asked, her eyes wide.

  “What it means is that Alice might be forced to close the shelter,” Caley said. “That’s why she’s trying so hard to find homes for the dogs.”

  “What happens if she doesn’t?” Taylor asked, her hands resting protectively on Lily.

  “They’d have to go to the no-kill shelter in Preston,” Caley said.

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “The shelter can’t close!” I cried.

  I could see tears in Sasha’s eyes at the thought and my own eyes were hot and prickly.

  “It’s really sad,” Caley said. “But if Alice can’t raise the money, there’s nothing else to be done.”

  “There has to be something we can do, something so that the shelter can stay open,” I said desperately.

  Sasha was looking at me doubtfully and I knew what she was thinking: If Alice
couldn’t find a way to keep the shelter open, how could we?

  But Taylor was nodding. “Kim’s right,” she said in her firm Anna voice. “We are going to find a way to save the shelter.”

  8

  A black cloud hung over our last hour at the shelter. Every time I threw the Frisbee for Boxer and Hattie and watched them run, my heart ached. What would happen to them at a big city shelter? And then there was Mr. Smashmouth, who was blind. Who would look out for him? I knew the workers at the city shelter would be kind, but it was crowded and understaffed. The dogs would never get the love and care they got here. It was just so unfair.

  The three of us were subdued as we said good-bye to Alice, who was in the middle of sending out an email blast about the dogs ready for adoption. Then we headed out. The sun was bright but the air had a nip of fall that had me a little shivery. Or maybe it was just the thought of the shelter having to close that had me hugging myself as we stood out on the sidewalk.

  “I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Sasha said, her normally bouncy voice flat.

  “Bye,” I said. I was heading home to squeeze in some homework before dinner.

  “See you, Kim,” Taylor said. Then she smiled at me. “And thanks for the dog tips.”

  At that Sasha’s eyes lit up a bit and she gave me a thumbs-up. I could tell she was happy Taylor and I were finally friends.

  I smiled back at both of them though my heart wasn’t totally in it. Of course I was really glad Taylor and I were going to be friends now, but even that was overshadowed by the news about the shelter.

  Still, as I started walking home I reminded myself that our new friendship was one good thing that had happened today. That was something my mom taught me, to remember the good things that happened, not just worry about the one thing going wrong. She called it big-picture thinking but what I liked was that it always made my problem feel a little smaller and more manageable. Though it was unlikely that would happen with this problem.

  “Hi, Kim,” my mom called from the kitchen when I walked in the front door a few minutes later.

  “How did you know it was me and not Matt?” I asked, dropping my backpack at the foot of the stairs and heading in for a snack.