The Unwanted Puppy

by Holly Webb

  Scout was tired, and his basket was right there, nice and warm by the radiator, but he couldn’t seem to stop pacing. Maybe he’d never see them again? He whined louder and then slumped down suddenly, lifting his nose to the ceiling in a long howl, fear and loneliness taking over for a moment. He lay on the kitchen floor, howling and howling, until there was a loud thumping against the wall and a muffled shouting. Scout didn’t understand that it was the man next door, annoyed by the noise, but he could tell that the shouting was angry and it frightened him even more.

  Anxiously, he slunk into the living room, away from the kitchen and the scary shouting. He tucked himself away behind the end of the sofa – it was a tight fit for such a big puppy, but he felt safer in the small space.

  He was still upset, though.

  Scout listened, hunched and tense in the tiny space, wondering if the angry noises were still going on. The panicked feeling inside him was building up again and he pawed anxiously at the side of the sofa, scrabbling harder and harder with his claws. Somehow, the clawing seemed to help him feel a little calmer, and he went on, shredding the fabric with his claws till it hung down from the sofa in tattered ribbons. There was yellow foamy stuff behind the fabric and that pulled out, too, if he bit at it. Scout scrabbled and chewed and gnawed, and some of the miserable feeling inside him went away.

  Scout heard the footsteps coming to the door, and he jumped up, full of relief and excitement. They were back! They hadn’t abandoned him! He dashed to the door and leaped at it, his paws slipping and sliding on the smooth wood. He could hear Lauren laughing on the other side of the door.

  “Hello! Hello, Scout! Yes, we’re back. Did you miss us? I know, it’s not fair, is it? I didn’t have time to come and get you before I went to get Jack. Are you hungry?” She nudged Scout gently out of the way so she could get the pushchair over the front step. “No running out. Good boy. Hey, don’t jump up…” Lauren pushed Tilly inside and turned to shut the door.

  Scout knew he wasn’t supposed to jump up at the pushchair, but he was so desperate to see them all – to love them, to show his family how much he had missed them.

  “No, down,” Lauren said firmly, and Scout backed off from the pushchair and turned to greet Jack instead. But the little boy stumbled away from Scout’s scratchy paws as the puppy tried to jump up and lick his face.

  “Mummy! He’s hurting me!” The frightened tone in Jack’s voice made Scout’s ears flatten and he backed away. Had he done something wrong? He just wanted to be with them…

  “Mummy, look!” Jack was standing in the living-room doorway, staring at the sofa and the floor. Lauren lifted Tilly out of the pushchair and followed him in.

  “What’s the matter? Oh no…”

  “Was it Scout?” Jack asked, and hearing his name, Scout looked at them worriedly. Their voices were cross.

  “It must have been. It’s ruined. The new sofa! Oh, you bad dog!”

  Scout retreated down the tiny hallway, his head hanging and his bottom in a crouch. What had he done? He’d been so desperate to see them and now Lauren was angry. He just didn’t understand.

  “Hi, Zoe!”

  Zoe looked round from where she was sitting chatting with her friend Lucy and waved at Jack, smiling. A group of Reception children were kicking a ball around the playground.

  “Hi! Are you playing football with the others?”

  “Yes – I just came to tell you about yesterday. Guess what Scout did!”

  “I don’t know… Um… Did he pull you to school on your scooter?”

  “No! He chewed up our sofa! He really wrecked it. Mum was so cross. We came in from school and there were bits of it all over the floor. She had to put a blanket over the end of it so we could watch TV, otherwise we’d have been sitting in the sofa!”

  “Oh no. Why did he chew it up?”

  Jack shrugged. “Don’t know. Mum said maybe he didn’t like being left on his own when she had to go to work and Dad did, too.”

  Zoe nodded. “Ooops.” Some dogs really hated being on their own. Honey hadn’t liked it much, either, but luckily her mum and dad had managed to work their shifts round looking after Zoe and being home enough of the time that Honey didn’t get too upset. And sometimes her gran had popped in to see Honey if they were going to be away for more than a couple of hours.

  “Mum shut him in the kitchen today – there’s not much he can chew in there, she said.”

  It didn’t sound like much of a fun day for Scout, Zoe thought, locked up in the kitchen. She wondered if Lauren would bring him to school to pick up Jack that afternoon. She’d missed seeing him the day before because she had football club after school, but it sounded as though Lauren hadn’t brought Scout on the school run anyway.

  “I’ve got to go, it’s my turn in goal! See you later, Zoe!” Jack suddenly raced away and Zoe waved after him. She watched Jack running around with his friends and bit her lip, feeling worried. Jack seemed to be really settling in, but what if Scout was getting himself into more trouble, stuck at home on his own?

  When Zoe came out of school, she spotted her mum waiting for her in the playground.

  “See you tomorrow!” Zoe called, waving goodbye to Lucy.

  “Did you have a good day?” her mum asked, giving her a hug.

  “Um-hmm.” Zoe nodded. “Oh, Mum, look! Scout’s here!”

  Her mum looked round. “What, in school? I thought dogs weren’t allowed in the playground.”

  “No, over there by the gate.” Zoe pointed to the puppy, whose lead was tied on to the railings. He was watching the children streaming out of the gate and wagging his tail at them hopefully. “He doesn’t seem worried, does he?”

  Her mum looked confused. “Why would he be worried?”

  “I was talking to Jack at lunchtime and he said that Scout had chewed up the sofa yesterday when he was on his own. Jack said he really wrecked it. But he doesn’t look as though he minds being left alone right now.”

  Her mum sighed. “Ugh, I remember Honey doing things like that. Once she scratched all round the carpet by the front door!”

  “Did she?” Zoe blinked. She didn’t remember about that.

  “Yes, but you were only little. It was before we worked out we needed to get Grandma or Anna next door to pop in and see her if we were out for a long time. And I got her one of those toys that you can put treats in, that helped a bit.”

  Zoe nodded. “That’s clever – did it stop her worrying?”

  “I think so. She was distracted by the toy, you see. We put peanut butter in it sometimes, she loved that.”

  Lauren and Jack caught up with Zoe and her mum as they were threading their way down the path out of school, and Zoe’s mum smiled. “Hello! You’re out later than usual.”

  Lauren nodded. “Jack couldn’t find his lunchbox. It took us a while to track it down.”

  “Are you going to the park?” Zoe asked hopefully, as Lauren undid Scout’s lead. Scout nudged his nose affectionately into Zoe’s hand and she smiled to herself at the chilly feel of it.

  Lauren laughed. “Yes. We need to work off some of Scout’s energy. He’s really not liking being at home without us now that I’m working.”

  “Jack told me about the sofa,” Zoe said, making a face.

  “Our old dog Honey used to chew things when she was on her own,” Zoe’s mum said with a sigh. “I remember feeling as though everything had to be up on a shelf!”

  “The sofa’s got a big hole in it!” Jack told Zoe’s mum. “Scout was so naughty.”

  Lauren looked suddenly tired, Zoe thought, and she felt guilty for reminding her about it. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do,” she said, sighing. “We love Scout, but he’s quite tricky to look after, and he’s growing so much! We knew how big he was going to get – we’d seen his mum. But I don’t think we really understood… He’s nearly the same size as Jack already.”

  “But he’s friendly, isn’t he?” Zoe asked, looking at Scout ambling alon
g beside Jack. He really did look like a teddy bear. She couldn’t imagine him being fierce.

  “Absolutely! Bernese mountain dogs are really good with children, that’s why we wanted to get one. It’s just that Scout can easily knock Jack or Tilly over when he’s excited. I hadn’t realized how strong he was going to be. And he really does need a good long walk every day. It wasn’t so much of a problem before – Jack’s dad used to take him out. But since he’s changed jobs, and I’m back at work as well…” She sighed. “I think yesterday was just too much for him. He must have been really lonely. Luckily I didn’t have to do so many hours today.”

  “Do you have any family locally who could pop in on him while you’re out?” Zoe’s mum asked.

  “No. All our relatives live close to our old house. We weren’t planning to move, but then Ben’s new job came up. We love our new house, and the new school, it’s all worked out – except it hasn’t worked out that well for Scout.”

  “Zoe, will you push me on the swings?” Jack asked hopefully, pulling her hand as they walked along the path to the little playground in the park.

  “Course.” Zoe grinned at him. She wanted to make a fuss over Scout, and maybe be allowed to take him for a run again, but she liked playing with Jack, too. It was like having a little brother. She followed him towards the fenced-off playground, and Jack gave the gate a push and it swung open. Zoe wondered if she should close the bolt that was supposed to stop the little ones running out, but she could see two little girls and their dad coming, so she didn’t. People were always leaving the gate open.

  She pushed Jack on the swings for a while, and then he jumped off and ran over to the climbing frame, clambering up the sloping climbing wall to get to the slide. Zoe glanced over – her mum and Lauren were chatting by the playground gate and it didn’t look like Mum was in a hurry to go. She stood there half watching Jack and half admiring Scout. He was watching them, too, looking as though he wished he could be with them.

  “I’m good at climbing, aren’t I?” Jack said to her hopefully, and Zoe turned back to smile at him.

  “Really good! You got up there so fast.” Zoe glanced over as she heard the gate clang again and gasped. Scout was dashing towards them, his lead bouncing on the ground. He must have pulled it out of Lauren’s hand.

  Zoe glanced at her mum and Lauren, and saw that they were still by the gate, looking horrified. Lauren was staring at her hand, as though she wasn’t quite sure what had happened. Then she hurried towards the playground, calling, “Scout! No! Come back!”

  “What’s that dog doing in here?” one of the mums over by the roundabout said crossly. “Who does it belong to? No, Poppy, don’t go near it!”

  “He’s not fierce—” Zoe started to say, as Scout came up to her, wagging his tail happily. Zoe picked up his lead and gently stroked his ears. Jack stood at the top of the climbing frame and glared at the dog. “You’re not meant to be in here, Scout! Bad dog!”

  Scout looked up at Zoe worriedly, as though he thought she might tell him off as well. The mum who’d been standing by the roundabout was marching towards them and Zoe could see that Scout was scared of her. His ears flattened, and he started to lick at his nose anxiously. “It’s OK,” she whispered.

  “That dog shouldn’t be in here!” the mum snapped at Zoe, but luckily Lauren came over just in time.

  “I’m really sorry – his lead slipped out of my hand. Come on, Scout.” She took the lead from Zoe with a whispered, “Thank you!” and hurried out, ignoring the mum behind her muttering about people who didn’t train their dogs properly.

  Jack slid down the slide and put his hand in Zoe’s. “Is she cross with us?” he asked, nodding at the other mum.

  “Only a bit. Shall we go and find your mum?”

  “I’m so sorry, Zoe. I hope that lady didn’t upset you,” Lauren said worriedly, winding Scout’s lead tightly round her hand. “Scout just pulled away from me – I think he wanted to play with you and Jack.”

  “It was an accident.” Zoe’s mum patted Lauren on the arm. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “He didn’t do anything really bad.” Zoe smiled at Lauren. “It’s fine.” She glanced between her mum and Lauren. “I could take him for another run, like I did the other day, if you want. If it’s OK with you, Mum?”

  Her mum smiled at her. “I don’t mind. Actually, Lauren, I was going to say, if you’re ever stuck, I know Zoe would love to walk him. She hasn’t stopped talking about how gorgeous Scout is since she met him. We’d quite happily exercise him for you after school if it would help. We could do most days, I think. Zoe has football after school on a Wednesday, that’s all. We really miss having a dog around.”

  “Yes!” Zoe nodded. “It would be like we were borrowing him.” She crouched down to run her hand along Scout’s back and he nudged her chin lovingly.

  “You really wouldn’t mind?” Lauren asked. “It would be great for him to have a bit more exercise. I think it would help a lot with him being lonely at home if he was tired out!” She looked worriedly at Zoe’s mum. “I don’t want us to be a bother, though. It’s a lot to ask. I feel like we ought to be able to look after him by ourselves.”

  “It would be great for us, honestly,” Zoe’s mum promised, and Zoe smiled at Scout, who was leaning against her heavily as she scratched his back.

  “How could anyone ever think you were a bother?” she whispered in his ear.

  Scout pulled a little against his lead, looking up at Zoe hopefully. He felt bouncy, full of energy, as if he could just run and run. Was Zoe going to let him race across the park with her, the way they had before? She had dashed back and forth, laughing and panting and chasing after him, and she’d never once had to stop and tie him up to a fence, or walk slowly to match the pushchair. It had just been fun.

  “Shall we go for a run?” Zoe asked him, crouching down to give his ears a rub.

  Scout barked. He knew that word. He skittered backwards, telling Zoe to come on, and Zoe laughed at him.

  “Morning, sweetie.” Zoe’s dad pushed the cereal box across the table towards her. Then he laughed. “I had to wake you up three times this morning and you still don’t look awake.”

  “Nnnngh.” Zoe sighed and poured herself some cornflakes. “I can’t believe it’s only Friday. It has to be the weekend.”

  Her dad shook his head sadly. “Nope. Definitely Friday, sorry. Eat up fast, Zoe, you have breakfast club today. You don’t want to be late for your second breakfast!”

  Zoe made a face as she poured on some milk.

  “What? Don’t you like breakfast club? I thought it was OK. Lucy goes, too, doesn’t she?”

  “Mmmm. It’s just if I go to school early I don’t get to watch out for Jack and Lauren bringing Scout with them.” She smiled at her dad. “He keeps an eye out for me, you know? He looks all round the school playground and when he sees me his tail speeds up like a … like a ceiling fan.”

  Her dad nodded. “Ah… Sorry, Zoe. You really like that dog, don’t you?” he added, stirring his cereal thoughtfully.

  “He’s the best.” Zoe looked across at her dad and realized that she was stirring her bowl just like he was. “But I’m worried about him, Dad…”

  “Why?”

  Zoe sighed, trying to work out how to say it. “Jack really loves Scout, and so does Lauren, but he gets into trouble loads. He chewed their sofa to bits and Jack’s always telling me about how he knocked something over, or chewed something else. Jack’s mum’s so busy with looking after Tilly and working and everything. And his dad works really long hours, so he’s not home a lot.” She hesitated. “It’s like Scout’s always the thing that comes last.”

  Her dad frowned. “I don’t know if that’s fair, Zoe. They take him for walks – we see them in the park with him nearly every day.”

  “Yes, but that’s not a proper walk! He just gets to come along on the way to school! He needs long walks. He’s such a big dog – and he’s still only a puppy, he
’ll need more when he’s bigger.”

  Her dad nodded slowly. “You really are worried about this, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.” Zoe heaved a massive sigh. “But we can’t actually do anything about it. I mean, except help out by taking him for walks when we can. Mum said to Lauren yesterday that I could take him for a run if we see them in the park after school.”

  “Mmmm…” Her dad swallowed a mouthful of tea. “Those Bernese mountain dogs do need a lot of exercise. Not just walks, either. Their brains need exercise. Obedience classes, or agility.”

  “How do you know?” Zoe asked, very surprised. She was pretty sure her dad hadn’t known what a Bernese was until she’d told him.

  Her dad looked a little embarrassed. “Ummm. I might have looked them up. A couple of websites… Stop laughing at me! He’s such a nice dog, I just wondered about them, that’s all.”

  Zoe stared at her dad, feeling as though pieces in her brain were clicking into place. “You mean, maybe one day we could get one? You’re thinking about it?”

  “Maybe. And I haven’t even mentioned it to your mum, Zoe, so you’d better not.”

  Zoe grinned at him.

  “Finish your cereal!”

  Scout peered into the hallway. He could hear people passing on the street outside – children’s voices, high and squeaky, like Jack. He was sure that Lauren and Jack and Tilly would be coming home soon. It felt like way past time for a walk.

  Since the day Scout had chewed the sofa to shreds, when he was home alone he had to stay in the kitchen. Lauren and Ben had bought him a special toy to keep him busy while they were gone, and he loved it. It wobbled about, bouncing over the floor as he nudged it with his nose or whopped it with a paw. He had to hit it just right to get the food out. But it was empty now, and it had been for hours, it felt like. Restlessly, Scout paced around the table again, and then again.