by Holly Webb
“I love Dalmatians,” Hannah told her. “I’ve been dreaming of having one, ever since I can remember.”
“Hannah’s right about the deafness,” Lisa explained to Hannah’s mum and dad. “But Chrissie and Robby both scored well on the hearing tests, and the pups are going to be tested next week.”
“I know they need lots of exercise too, and they need to be around people. But Dad’s going to take me and the puppy on long walks every day,” Hannah explained. “And Mum and Zak are at home, even when I’m at school.”
“That’s great! Dalmatians have loads of energy, and they get bored very easily, because they’re so clever. You’ll need to take him to training classes. I can recommend a good trainer close to you.”
“So we can have him?” Hannah asked, cuddling the puppy close, and looking anxiously between Lisa, and her mum and dad.
Lisa smiled. “I think you’d give him a lovely home. He’s really settled with you, and he’s been quite nervous with some of the other visitors.”
Dad nodded slowly, and Hannah laid her cheek gently against the puppy’s soft head. He made a happy little cooing growl, and she giggled. “You’re pleased too, aren’t you, little pup?”
The puppy yawned hugely, showing his little pointy teeth, and curled up in Hannah’s lap. He looked as though he wasn’t going anywhere.
Mum reached down to stroke him. “I don’t think it’s up to us at all. He’s definitely chosen you, Hannah!”
Chapter Three
“We’re bringing the puppy home the weekend after next!” Hannah whispered to her best friend Lucy at school on Monday.
“You’re so lucky! I wish we could have a dog, but my mum just says we don’t have time to look after one properly.”
“You can come on walks with us,” Hannah offered.
“Oh, I think it’s nearly our turn!” Lucy looked over at their teacher, Mr Byford, who was standing behind them at the back of the hall. “There’s only Izzy and Ben before us.”
Their class were auditioning for the school Christmas play. Hannah was hoping for a big part this year. She loved being in plays, but she always felt really nervous when they had to try out, and she’d never been given much to say before. She and Lucy had to read a scene from the play from up on the stage, so Mr Byford could hear how loudly and clearly they could speak.
“Are you nervous?” Lucy muttered. “I am!”
Hannah smiled. Lucy was a brilliant dancer and had done loads of ballet exams. She was bound to be given a part with some dancing. “You know, I’m so excited about our puppy, I actually don’t feel nervous at all!” she said. Usually nerves made her tummy feel funny.
“Right, Lucy and Hannah!” Mr Byford called, looking at his list.
“Break a leg!” Hannah told Lucy, and they both crossed their fingers for luck.
Two days later, Hannah dashed out of school to tell her mum the good news.
Mum was waiting in the playground with Zak in his pushchair. “Did you get a good part?” she asked, seeing Hannah’s beaming face. The girls had had to wait for Mr Byford to make up his mind. It was lucky that Hannah had been so excited about the puppy, or it would have been torture.
“I’m going to be the angel!” Hannah told Mum. “It’s the main part, I do all the storytelling! And Lucy’s the innkeeper’s daughter. She gets to dance.”
“Well done, Hannah!” Her mum gave her a hug. “You’ll have to tell Gran when she comes round for tea tonight.”
“Dog?” Zak asked, seeing that everyone was happy and hoping it meant more puppies.
“Oh, sweetie, not yet. Soon,” Mum promised, as they headed out of the gate. Zak was just as desperate as Hannah for their puppy to come home, and he’d even taking to curling up on the lovely blue dog cushion they had bought. They’d had to do a huge shopping trip at the pet store to get everything the puppy would need.
“Only another ten days!” Hannah beamed. “And the puppy’s bringing me luck already. Maybe I’m going to be an Oscar-winning actress!” She stopped dead in the middle of the pavement. “Oscar! Mum, can we call the puppy Oscar? That’s such a cute name.”
Mum looked at her thoughtfully. “Mmm. I like it. Definitely better than Freckles, and all those other spotty names we were thinking of.”
“He looks like an Oscar,” Hannah said. Oscar. Her puppy. It was only a little while longer until he came home!
Hannah carried the puppy carefully into the kitchen. “Look, this is your bed.” She gently set Oscar down next to the big blue cushion. The puppy looked at it thoughtfully. It was huge, but it looked comfy. He hopped his front paws up on to the edge of the cushion, and then scrabbled to get his back paws on too. He sniffed round the cushion, interested in the smell of newness. Then he looked hopefully at Hannah. The cushion was too big for him all by himself. Would she come and snuggle up with him?
“Dog bed!” Zak squawked, pushing past Hannah and flinging himself on to the cushion with Oscar.
Oscar cowered back, horrified by this noisy thing that had nearly landed on him. Whimpering, he wriggled off the cushion, and slunk over to Hannah.
“I want do-og!” wailed Zak, and Mum picked him up.
Hannah gently scooped the puppy into her arms. “He really frightened Oscar!” she whispered crossly to Mum. She was trying hard not to sound angry, after what Lisa had told them about Dalmatians being nervous.
“Zak doesn’t really understand about being gentle,” Dad explained. “He’ll get there.”
Hannah sniffed. Mum and Dad never told Zak off – whenever he was naughty, they always said he was just little. Well, Oscar was littler! Hannah just hoped that Mum wouldn’t let Zak upset Oscar while she was at school.
The first day with Oscar was so special. Hannah hardly left the kitchen. Oscar was going to stay in there for the first few days – with trips out into the garden for wees, of course. She had bought him a special squeaky bone with her own money, and he loved it. He kept jumping on it and shaking it in his teeth, and then the bone would squeak, and he would look really surprised and drop it on the floor. Then he’d start all over again, until he wore himself out. Hannah spent ages curled up next to his cushion just watching him sleep. He was the most gorgeous thing she had ever seen.
Oscar didn’t spend that much of his sleep time actually on his cushion. As soon as he’d finished exploring, he would wander back to wherever Hannah was and collapse on her – he particularly liked her feet, draping himself over them like a spotty, saggy little beanbag and falling fast asleep.
Hannah was worried that the first night was going to be really difficult. How could they leave Oscar all on his own downstairs? But Mum had been really firm from the beginning that Oscar was not allowed in her room. Mum said he would soon be far too big to sleep on her bed, even though he was tiny now. And there were lots of things upstairs that she didn’t want chewed.
Lisa had told them about a special technique to get Oscar used to being left alone in the kitchen, and Hannah practised it with him that afternoon. Mum took Zak out for a walk to get him out of the way, and Dad and Hannah pottered about in the kitchen, with Oscar watching them. Then they went out, shutting the door.
“Can we go back in yet?” Hannah asked. “Dad, come on, Lisa said to go back before he gets upset! Remember, you’re going to read the paper and pretend you aren’t watching him.”
Dad nodded and opened the kitchen door. Hannah glanced over at Oscar. He was looking puzzled and a little worried. She looked away again and went to tidy up some cups from the draining board. Then she nudged Dad. “Time to go again!”
They kept popping in and out, making sure that they always got back before Oscar cried. Eventually, he got bored watching and went to sleep.
“Lisa was right,” Hannah whispered. “I hope it works tonight.”
At bedtime, she took Oscar out for one last wee in the garden, and made sure there was some newspaper down in the corner of the kitchen for the night. Then she closed the door behind her, and
looked hopefully at Mum and Dad.
“Lisa said he’d be sure that we’re just on the other side of the door,” Hannah said. “And he must be worn out from all the playing we’ve done.” But as she pressed her ear to the door, she couldn’t help feeling a little doubtful. There was no whining. Just a little tappity-tap of claws on tiles and a snuffling noise. Hannah held her breath.
On the other side of the door, Oscar sniffed thoughtfully, wondering if Hannah would come back in soon. Maybe with some more of those good meaty biscuits? He yawned and padded back to his cushion. He clambered up and flumped on top of his toy bone. It squeaked, and he gave it a half-hearted chew. Perhaps if he went to sleep, it would be food time when he woke up…
Oscar curled up and closed his eyes – and out in the hall, Hannah grinned at her mum and dad. There was a little growly snore coming from behind the kitchen door. It had worked!
Chapter Four
Oscar soon settled into Hannah’s house. He loved Hannah and they spent ages playing, Oscar frisking about as she rolled his ball or threw his squeaky bone. After the first couple of days, once Oscar was allowed out of the kitchen, Hannah discovered that he loved to curl up on the sofa with her while she read or watched TV.
Mum wasn’t sure about this at first. “When he gets to his full size, he’ll take up half the sofa just by himself,” she complained. But she gave in eventually, when Oscar sat on her feet while she was watching her favourite TV programme after she’d put Zak to bed. He sat there staring up at her lovingly, and Mum couldn’t resist. She sighed and patted the sofa, and Oscar scrambled and wriggled his way up. Then he lay there next to Mum with his head in her lap, slowly thumping his tail on the cushions.
Oscar’s only problem was Zak. It wasn’t that Zak didn’t like him – the little boy adored him and wanted to be with him all the time. He just wouldn’t leave the puppy alone. Zak wanted to cuddle Oscar on his cushion. He wanted to snuggle up with him on the sofa. He even wanted to eat his food out of a bowl like Oscar’s.
A week after Oscar came home with them, Hannah was up in her room learning her lines for the play when she heard a strange noise on the stairs. A whimpering noise, mixed with bumps, and panting. That was Oscar whimpering – and it sounded like Zak was with him! She flung down her script and dashed out of her bedroom. As she’d suspected, Zak was halfway up the stairs, with Oscar dangling from his arms, looking panicked.
“Want Ossa in my bed!” Zak wailed, when he saw Hannah coming down the stairs looking cross.
“You know we aren’t allowed!” Hannah told him furiously. Why did Zak always think he could get away with everything? It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t like Oscar in her bed! Oscar wriggled and whimpered again, and Hannah stretched out her arms to him.
But Zak wouldn’t let go. “My dog!” he whined.
“Zak! You’re making him sad, stop it. Give him to me!” Hannah was trying not to shout and upset Oscar, but it was hard when she really wanted to yell at Zak.
“Don’t want to!”
“Now!” Hannah hissed.
“No!” Zak burst into tears as Oscar finally wriggled out of his grip and scrambled into Hannah’s arms.
“Hannah! What are you doing with Oscar – you know he’s not allowed upstairs!” Mum had come out into the hallway, and she was glaring at Hannah.
“But I wasn’t…!” Hannah gasped.
“And what did you do to upset Zak?” Mum gave her an accusing look as she picked Zak up. He was really howling.
Hannah shook her head in amazement. It was so unfair. Sometimes she just didn’t know how Zak managed it. He never got into trouble.
After she’d caught Zak taking Oscar upstairs, Hannah made a real effort to keep an eye on her little brother and make sure he wasn’t bothering Oscar too much. She was glad when he had had all his vaccinations, and she and Dad could take him out for long walks. Oscar loved it, especially when they took him to the woods. He even loved splashing in the stream, despite the December cold.
One Sunday, Hannah finally persuaded Mum and Dad to let her and Lucy take Oscar for a walk on their own, now that Oscar was used to being on the lead. They agreed the girls could go as long as they borrowed Hannah’s mum’s mobile, and promised to be back in half an hour.
“We haven’t really got time to go all the way to the woods. Shall we go to the park?” Lucy suggested.
Hannah looked thoughtful. “Oh, I know, let’s go and show Oscar the horses in the field down past school! Dalmatians used to be carriage dogs, who ran alongside coaches hundreds of years ago. They’re supposed to love horses, and I don’t think Oscar’s ever seen any. Shall I nip back and tell Mum that’s where we’re going?”
Lucy nodded eagerly, and smiled with pride when Hannah passed her Oscar’s lead.
Oscar gazed up at the new girl with interest. She wasn’t like Hannah, but she was nice. He then looked hopefully towards the house, waiting for Hannah to come back. When she came running down the path, he yapped happily and danced round her feet.
“He really loves you,” Lucy sighed. “You’re so lucky!”
“I know.” Hannah nodded. “I love you, too, Oscar,” she told him, rubbing his ears.
Lucy looked back at the house. “Oh, Zak’s waving to us. He looks a bit sad; I bet he wishes he could come too.”
Hannah groaned. “He’s being such a nightmare at the moment! He won’t leave Oscar alone, and Mum keeps making excuses for him. Yesterday he decided he wanted to feed Oscar, and he poured a whole bag of the special dog treats into his bowl, so of course Oscar ate them!” She sighed. “And you know what Mum said? That I should have made sure I put the treats away in the cupboard.”
Lucy giggled. “Sometimes I’m glad I’m the youngest!”
The horses the girls were going to see belonged to a riding school, and there were usually a few of them out in one of the fields. At the moment they were wrapped up in rugs and not out for the whole day, but Hannah was pretty sure there would be something for Oscar to see.
Oscar trotted along happily, enjoying the interesting smells and listening to the girls chatting.
“Oh, look, they are out!” Hannah said, quickening her pace. “Come on, Oscar.” They hurried up to the field to look at the horses, and Hannah picked Oscar up, resting his front paws on the top of the fence. She could feel his tail wagging against her arms, and it made her giggle.
Oscar gazed across the field at the horses, enchanted by the huge creatures. He’d seen other dogs, but never anything as tall and graceful as these.
At last Hannah sighed. “We should get back, or Mum’ll be worried. I promise I’ll bring you to see them again, Oscar.”
Hannah wished she could take Oscar out for a long walk every day, but now that it was getting closer to Christmas, the school play was taking up lots more time. Mr Byford insisted that everyone had to be word-perfect, and he’d planned some extra rehearsals for the main parts after school. Hannah had to go to all of them, because her big part meant she was in every scene.
Hannah loved being in the play, and so far she was dealing with her nerves really well. But the extra rehearsals made it hard to fit in Oscar’s walks. By the time she got home from school it was totally dark – and there was no way Mum would let her out to walk Oscar in the woods. They had to make do with a quick jog round the park with Dad when he got home. Other than that, it was down to Mum to take Oscar for a walk in the morning. But that meant Mum had to have Oscar and Zak’s pushchair, which wasn’t very easy. Hannah had also been hoping they could start dog-training classes soon, too, but Mum said that with all the rehearsals, there was no way Hannah could fit in anything else. They would have to wait until after Christmas.
Oscar really missed his walks. It seemed ages since he’d had a proper one, and Hannah hardly seemed to be at home at all. He was sick of watching the door, waiting for Hannah to come home. Why wasn’t she back?
He thoughtfully sniffed the shoe rack in the hallway and tugged at a trailing pink shoelace.
One of Mum’s trainers fell down, and he nudged it with his nose. This was fun! He growled at it, pretending it was something to chase, and then held it down with his front paws and started to gnaw at the laces.
Just then, Mum came down the stairs. “Oscar, no! No chewing! Bad dog!” She snatched the trainer back and shooed him into the kitchen.
Oscar slumped down on his cushion and licked his nose sadly. He didn’t really understand what he’d done wrong. He wanted to go out and have a lovely long run with Hannah. She was still Oscar’s favourite person, but she was never there. Why didn’t she want to spend time with him any more? He felt bored and grumpy, and that made him want to chew things. He didn’t know he wasn’t allowed to chew shoes…
He was still looking miserable when Hannah got home at last. She sat down by his cushion to stroke him. “Mum told me about her shoe. I’m sorry she was cross with you, Oscar. You were just bored, weren’t you, poor baby.” Hannah sighed. “It isn’t long till the play now. After that we’ll go on lots more walks, I promise.”
Chapter Five
Oscar sat on the back of the sofa and stared out of the window, watching for Hannah in the gathering dark. He missed her. It seemed so long since she’d left the house for school that morning. She had taken him out in the garden and they’d played with his jingly ball, which had been fun. But then Hannah’s mum had called her in. Since then he’d only had a quick walk round the park at lunchtime, with Zak trying to hold his lead, and pulling him backwards and forwards.
“Ossa!”
It was Zak again, running into the living room. Oscar whipped his head round and overbalanced. He slid down between the sofa and the window, yelping with fright, although he wasn’t really hurt, only surprised.