Karen's New Puppy

by Ann M. Martin

  We thanked the family for calling us and drove home.

  “Tomorrow will be a week and a half since Midgie disappeared,” said Seth. “We have to start thinking that she is probably gone for good.”

  Family Meeting

  By Thursday we were all feeling very gloomy. Especially Seth. Midgie had been his dog since before he met Mommy. He had brought Midgie home when she was an eight-week-old puppy.

  Mommy, Andrew, and I were sitting at the kitchen table. Seth was sitting in the den.

  “Losing Midgie is extra hard on Seth,” said Mommy. “It has only been a couple of months since he lost his dad.”

  Grandad had died in February. We loved him so much. I think about him a lot.

  I wondered what I could do to make Seth feel better. I thought about suggesting getting a puppy. But Andrew and I have asked for a puppy lots of times. I would not want Seth to think we were asking for ourselves.

  I thought about making Seth a get well card. But he was not really sick. I could make him a feel better card. Then I got a very good idea. I went into the den.

  “Do you want some company?” I asked.

  “I would love some,” said Seth.

  I sat on the couch next to Seth. It was awfully quiet without Midgie around. Usually she ran around chewing a squeaky toy to let us know she wanted to play fetch. Or she rolled over at our feet and whined to let us know she wanted her belly rubbed.

  For awhile, Seth and I just sat together not talking. I was happy when Andrew joined us. He sat on the other side of Seth.

  “Thank you for keeping me company, kids,” he said.

  That night I was in bed thinking about Midgie when I heard Mommy and Seth talking downstairs. I could not hear what they were saying, but they talked for a long time. The next night after dinner, they called for a family meeting.

  “It feels awfully empty without a dog in the house,” said Seth. “What do you think about our getting a puppy?”

  Andrew and I looked at each other. Had we heard right?

  “Did you say puppy?” I asked.

  “Yes, I did,” replied Seth. “What do you think?”

  “We always wanted a puppy,” said Andrew. “But how will Midgie feel if she comes back and finds a new dog living in her house?”

  “That is very thoughtful,” said Mommy. “But there is a good chance that Midgie will not come back. Someone very nice may have found her and not know we are looking for her. Or it is possible that she was hurt somehow. She may even have died.”

  “Poor Midgie,” I said. “We may get a new puppy, but I will still miss her.”

  “We all will,” said Seth. “But even while we miss her, we can love something new.”

  “We were thinking it would be nice to get a puppy from the animal shelter,” said Mommy. “That way we can help an animal who needs a home.”

  “I like that idea,” I said. “I bet Midgie would like it, too.”

  Seth said we would go to the shelter first thing in the morning. I felt happy and sad at the same time.

  Picking a Puppy

  We were at the shelter when it opened on Saturday morning.

  “Take your time choosing. When you are ready, come see me. My name is Joe,” said the man at the adoption center.

  We saw rows of cages. We saw big dogs, small dogs, short haired, and shaggy dogs. We saw older dogs and puppies. They were barking, yipping, and howling.

  “They are all asking to come home with us. How will we pick just one?” I asked.

  “We will go cage by cage,” said Mommy. “By the time we are through, we will know which one belongs with us.”

  We had decided to get a young puppy so we could raise it ourselves. The first one we came to was white with brown spots. He was chasing his tail. He was very funny. The next one was tiny enough to fit in my pocket. The puppy beside him was curled up in a fluffy ball, sleeping.

  I knew we were supposed to look in each cage. But a puppy at the end of the row was looking right at me. Her tail was wagging. I could hear it thump, thump, thumping on the cage floor. I could not wait. I ran to meet her.

  She had golden fur and big brown eyes. She poked her nose through the bars of the cage and licked my face.

  “Andrew, come look!” I called.

  Andrew raced to me. He reached out to pet the puppy. She licked his hand.

  “I like her. Can she be our puppy?” he said.

  Mommy and Seth came to see her. The puppy ran to the back of her cage and brought us her ball. She tried to push it through the bars of the cage, but it would not fit.

  “She is sweet and frisky,” said Mommy.

  “She looks like a golden retriever. They are wonderful dogs,” said Seth. “I will ask Joe if he can take her out.”

  Guess who got to hold the puppy first. Me! She was cuddly and warm.

  “She just came in yesterday. She’ll go fast,” said Joe.

  “We’ll take her!” I said.

  “Wait just a minute,” said Mommy. “This is a big decision, Karen. We have to decide together.”

  “All in favor, say aye!” I said.

  “Aye!” Andrew and I shouted.

  Mommy and Seth petted the puppy in my arms and smiled.

  “Aye!” they said.

  “Congratulations,” said Joe. “She’s a sweetheart.”

  We filled out adoption papers and paid twenty-five dollars. I felt sad leaving the other dogs behind. But we were only allowed to take one puppy.

  Andrew and I took turns holding our puppy on the ride home. (Seth gave us an old towel to put on our laps in case she made a puddle.)

  “We need to think of a name for her,” said Mommy.

  “I like Wags,” said Andrew. “She wags her tail a lot.”

  “That is a nice name,” said Seth. “Let’s think of a few others. Then we will decide.”

  “How about Goldie because she has a gold coat,” I said.

  “That is another good name,” said Mommy.

  “Joe told me the woman who brought her in called her Sadie,” said Seth. “That is a pretty name, too.”

  “Hi, Sadie,” said Andrew.

  Our puppy turned her head and looked at him.

  “She knows her name. I think she likes it,” I said.

  We took a vote and chose the name Sadie.

  The moment I got home I called Nancy to tell her my exciting news.

  “I am on my way!” said Nancy.

  Soon Andrew and I were in the yard playing with Sadie and all our friends. Sadie knew how to fetch. And she would sit when we told her. Well, sometimes, she would.

  Andrew and I were very lucky. We had the best puppy in the whole world.

  An Awful Night

  Sadie was the best puppy in the whole world. Until it was time for us to go to sleep.

  “Can Sadie sleep with me?” I asked.

  “No, me!” said Andrew.

  “Sadie will sleep downstairs with Rocky,” said Seth. “Maybe they will get used to each other that way. It would be nice for them to become friends.”

  So far, all Rocky had done was hiss at Sadie whenever she came near him. Sadie backed away with her tail tucked between her legs.

  I gave Sadie a big hug.

  “Sleep well in your new home,” I said.

  “See you in the morning, Sadie,” said Andrew.

  I was so tired I fell asleep right away. When I woke up, I felt even more tired. That is because it was the middle of the night. Something in our house was howling.

  Woo-woo-woo! Woo-woo-woo!

  It was Sadie. I jumped out of bed to see what was wrong. Mommy, Seth, and Andrew were just coming out of their rooms. We hurried downstairs. Seth turned on the light. As soon as Sadie saw us, she stopped howling and started wagging her tail.

  Woof! Woof!

  She was so excited to see us she started spinning around. When she stopped we saw the puddle she had left in the middle of our living room rug.

  “No, Sadie, no!” said Mommy. />
  Seth picked Sadie up and put her on the newspapers we had left on the kitchen floor.

  “This is where you go,” he said.

  “I think we need to keep Sadie in the kitchen until she learns to go on the newspaper,” said Mommy.

  We put Sadie in the kitchen and closed the door. As soon as we did, she started whining.

  “I can stay up and play with her,” I said.

  “Thank you,” said Seth. “But I would like you to go back to bed and get some rest. I will stay with Sadie until she quiets down.”

  Boo. I wanted that job. But I was very tired. I fell asleep as soon as I climbed back into bed. I did not stay asleep very long.

  Crash! Bang! Woof!

  I opened my eyes. It was just as dark as before. My family ran downstairs to the kitchen.

  “Oh, Sadie!” said Mommy.

  Sadie was running around with a dish towel in her mouth. A can of coffee must have fallen off the counter when she pulled down the towel. Her water bowl had turned over, too. There was coffee mud everywhere. It was pretty funny.

  “Sadie, Sadie, silly lady!” I said.

  Mommy was not laughing.

  “Kids, please go upstairs. Seth and I will clean this mess up,” she said.

  “Good night, Sadie,” I said for the third time.

  “See you in the morning, Sadie,” said Andrew for the third time.

  “I bet we see her sooner,” I told him.

  It was almost light out the next time she woke us.

  Woof! Woof!

  The four of us marched downstairs in a sleepy line. Sadie was sitting in the middle of the kitchen. She looked happy to see us.

  “Look,” said Andrew. “Sadie made a puddle on the paper.”

  “Good dog!” said Mommy.

  “The first night can be difficult for a puppy in a new home. But Sadie will learn fast,” said Seth.

  “Who is ready for breakfast?” asked Mommy.

  We all were. We had given up on sleeping. But we had not given up on Sadie. She had given us an awful night. But she was still the best puppy in the whole world.

  What a Mess!

  “Rise and shine, Karen,” said Mommy.

  It was late Sunday morning. I was rising. But I was not shining. I had gone back to sleep after breakfast. But I was tired from waking up so much during the night.

  I ate another breakfast of Krispy Krunchy cereal. (That is my favorite kind.) Then I went outside to see if any of my friends wanted to work on the treehouse.

  Andrew and the other little kids had been invited to a birthday party, so just the big kids came to help. That was probably a good thing. I was starting to worry about the little kids getting hurt around the treehouse before it was finished.

  “We need to put sides on our treehouse,” said Lynda. “Do you think Seth can help us today?”

  “I do not think so,” I replied. “He is kind of tired.”

  Seth had been up more than any of us with Sadie. And he was going to be spending a lot of time training her.

  “We can put up the walls ourselves,” said Mark. “We just have to put these pieces of wood over here. And those pieces there. The nails can go somewhere in here. It will be easy.”

  Mark was pointing all over the place. I do not think he knew what he was talking about.

  “Let’s do it,” said Bobby.

  We carried a big board up the steps to the platform. It was too short for one side and too long for the other.

  We climbed back down and found another board. It was a good thing our treehouse was not far off the ground. The second board did not fit either. We climbed up and down three more times. We could not figure out which boards went where.

  “Instead of putting up sides, we can make railings. Railings are good, too,” said Nancy.

  Seth had made a neat pile of wood we could use if we wanted railings. Each piece was just the same size.

  “We can start at this end and work our way around the platform,” I said.

  We took turns holding and hammering. The first railing was a little lopsided. But I did not think it would matter when the rest of the railing was in place.

  “Next piece!” said Mark.

  We started an assembly line. Two kids carried the wood up to the platform. Two kids held the wood in place. Four kids took turns hammering.

  Get the wood. Hold the wood. Hammer, hammer, hammer. Get the wood. Hold the wood. Hammer, hammer, hammer. We were working fast and well.

  Finally all the railings were up on one side. We stepped back to admire our work.

  Uh-oh. Some pieces were high. Some were low.

  “How did that happen?” I asked. “They were all the same size when we started.”

  “Um, I think I hear my mom calling,” said Mark.

  “I just remembered homework I forgot to do,” said Jackie.

  “My cousins are coming over later. I have to clean my room,” said Kathryn.

  Everyone was gone in a flash. It was just me and the treehouse.

  Boo and bullfrogs. The treehouse was a mess!

  Big Trouble

  “Mommy, where are my sneakers?” I asked.

  It was Monday morning. I was trying to get ready for school.

  “There is a pile of shoes in the kitchen. Sadie has been stealing them and chewing them up,” replied Mommy.

  I went downstairs in my stocking feet to find my sneakers. They looked a lot different from the last time I had seen them. The right one had a hole at the toe. Half the left shoelace was missing.

  “Bad dog, Sadie!” I said.

  Sadie tucked her tail between her legs and slunk out of the room.

  “She is not really a bad dog,” said Seth. “She is just being a puppy.”

  “She is being a puppy on the living room rug again!” called Andrew.

  “Sadie, no!” scolded Mommy. “Seth, please take her outside.”

  Seth ran for Sadie’s leash. Just then Sadie came trotting back into the kitchen.

  Me-ow! Hiss! Rocky had been sitting under the kitchen table. He did not like it when Sadie came near him. Sadie had tried to play with him a few times. He was in no mood for playing with a silly puppy.

  Rocky jumped up on the table to get away from Sadie. Sadie must have thought he was playing a game. She put her paws up on the table. Rocky swatted her nose with his paw. He scratched Sadie with his claws.

  Sadie started howling. Woo-woo-woo!

  Rocky answered her. Me-ow! Hiss!

  Sadie howled. Woo-woo!

  Rocky answered. Hiss!

  “We are going to have to keep them apart,” said Mommy.

  “Come on, Sadie,” said Seth. He put on her leash and took her outside.

  Rocky jumped down from the table. On the way he knocked over Andrew’s cup. Milk was dripping everywhere. Rocky lapped it up as it fell to the floor.

  Things were not going the way we thought they would. Sadie was getting live-lier by the minute. And she and Rocky were not getting along.

  I was happy when the school bus arrived. Being in school would be peaceful compared to staying home with Rocky and Sadie.

  My friends and I were looking forward to working on our treehouse after school. But it was raining. So Andrew and I stayed inside. We spent almost every minute trying to keep Rocky and Sadie apart. We opened doors and closed doors. We picked up food dishes and put them down. We took Sadie outside and brought her back in.

  Finally I went to my room and closed the door. I plopped down on my bed with Goosie.

  “Sadie is a nice puppy, Goosie,” I said. “But she is turning out to be big trouble.”

  Just then a little black nose poked through my door. (I must not have closed it tightly.) Sadie came bounding into the room. She ran straight to Emily Junior’s cage. She put her paws up on the table and started barking. Emily Junior ran into a corner. She looked terrified.

  “No, Sadie, no!” I shouted. I scooted her out of my room and closed the door. I closed it tightly this time so
she could not sneak back in. Then I picked up Emily Junior and stroked her until she calmed down.

  “I am sorry you got scared,” I said.

  I decided that bringing Sadie home to live with us might not have been such a good idea.

  A New Home for Sadie

  Things were not much better by Wednesday.

  It is true that Sadie was a fast learner. Seth had taught her to sit. She would even come when we called her — sometimes.

  But she was still a puppy. That meant she chewed our things, bothered Rocky, woke us up at night, and made puddles all over the house.

  We had a family meeting at breakfast. Sadie was lying at Seth’s feet while we talked. She was on her leash so she would not get into trouble.

  “Sadie is a wonderful puppy,” said Seth. “But Mommy and I have been thinking that she might not be the right pet for our family. We were wondering how you kids felt.”

  “I do not know how Andrew feels,” I replied. “But Goosie and I were thinking the very same thing.”

  “Sadie makes me sleepy,” said Andrew. “And she makes Rocky grouchy.”

  “We think she would do better in a big family,” said Mommy. “A big family could give her the attention she needs. They could walk her and play with her more. If she were outdoors and entertained she would not have the time or energy to get into trouble.”

  “She is a real handful for a family with another animal. A family with no other pets would be best,” added Seth.

  “We think it is time to find a new home for Sadie,” said Mommy.

  Sadie looked up at us with her big brown eyes. I would be sorry to see her go. But if she could be happier with another family it would be the best thing.

  Beep, beep. Andrew’s car pool had arrived to take him to preschool. My bus would be arriving any minute.

  “We will talk more about our plans for Sadie at dinnertime,” said Seth.

  After school my friends and I worked on our treehouse. Sadie was her happy, energetic self. She did not know yet that she would be moving to a new home. She was having fun stealing our wood, tugging our pant legs, and grabbing our shoelaces.