Scout (4 page)

“Buddy!” Lizzie called.

“Buddy! Come!” Charles shouted.

Lizzie tried to do that fingers-in-the-mouth whistle, but as usual it didn’t work. So she clapped her hands instead. “Buddy!” she yelled again.

Buddy did not appear.

“We’d better start looking for him,” said Lizzie. “What if there’s a hole in the fence or something?” She started off toward the place where she’d seen Buddy last, near the boulders. Charles and Scout followed her.

Buddy wasn’t near the boulders.

Buddy wasn’t behind a tree.

Buddy wasn’t trapped in some bushes.

Buddy was nowhere to be found!

Lizzie turned to Charles. “Maybe you should go get Kathy,” she said. “I’ll keep looking.”

Charles nodded, looking serious. “We’ll find him, right?” he asked.

Lizzie gave her brother a hug. She knew how worried he was. Buddy was the puppy they had wanted for so many years! They both loved him so much. “He’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m sure he just found something that seems more interesting than us right now. He’s probably sniffing so loudly he can’t even hear us calling him.”

Charles nodded again. Then he took off toward the gate to get Kathy.

Lizzie looked around. How could Buddy have disappeared so quickly? It had only been a few minutes since she had last seen him. She decided to walk around the length of the whole fence, calling for him along the way. “Come on, Scout,” she said. “Let’s find Buddy.”

Scout’s ears pricked up when she heard that word. She knew what “find” meant! This game was the most fun ever. But why didn’t Lizzie sound happy, the way she usually did when they played? Scout glanced up at Lizzie with a worried look. Then she put her nose in the air and started sniffing for her friend Buddy.

“Buddy! Buddy!” Lizzie called as she walked along the fence. She didn’t see any holes or gaps that her little puppy could have climbed through. As she walked, she also looked toward the center of the playpen. She was hoping to see the quick flick of a tail or a flash of the white heart on Buddy’s chest. But there was no sign of Buddy.

Scout trotted along in front of Lizzie, sniffing at everything. She was wagging her tail, and her ears were as close to pointed as Lizzie had ever seen them. “You’re a good girl, Scout,” said Lizzie. “I know you’ll help find Buddy.”

There was that word again. Scout sniffed even harder.

Suddenly, Lizzie gasped. As she rounded a corner, she saw that a tall tree beside the stream had fallen over, crushing the fence beneath it. Scout ran over to the place where the fence had broken, sniffing like mad. “Oh, no!” Lizzie said. Instantly, she knew that Buddy must have escaped from the playpen. Now he could be
anywhere!
They had to find him quickly, before he could get into trouble.

Lizzie looked behind her, hoping to see Kathy and the others arriving. But there was nobody in sight. She knew what she had to do. “Come here, Scout!” she said. She clipped a leash onto Scout’s collar, so Scout couldn’t run away, too. Then she gave the command. “Let’s go! Find him! Find Buddy!”

Scout and Lizzie scrambled over the fallen tree
and the broken fence. They splashed through the little stream, which continued on the other side of the fence. “Look!” Lizzie said. There were paw prints in the mud. “Buddy must have gone this way!”

Scout seemed to understand. She leaned into the leash, pulling Lizzie along the path of the stream. They followed the footprints a long way, as the stream wound this way and that.

Soon, Lizzie began to hear the sound of cars. Her heart started thumping hard. There must be a road nearby! “Buddy!” she called. Her mouth was so dry that she hardly made any sound. She licked her lips. “Buddy!” she called again.

Then, suddenly, Scout began to pull even harder on the leash. She dragged Lizzie all the way to the edge of a road where cars were whizzing by. “Oh, no,” Lizzie said. If Buddy had tried to cross the road . . . she couldn’t even think about what might have happened.

But at the last minute, Scout did not climb up onto the road. Instead, she headed straight for a big pipe that went
under
the road. She poked her head inside and barked.

And Buddy barked back.

Casey had written to Mrs. Abeson’s class, too. All day the next day Mrs. Abeson had to keep asking the class to settle down. Everyone was buzzing with excitement about when Casey would get home from Mexico. Plus, Lizzie had shared the story about Scout finding and rescuing Buddy. The class was proud of Scout, too. They couldn’t wait until she was a real search-and-rescue dog, so they could sponsor her.

But Lizzie knew that what Scout really needed was a forever family to live with. She was such an amazing puppy! She needed a home with people who would really appreciate how smart she was and what she could do. Lizzie was really hoping that Meg would be able to help find Scout a
perfect home with one of her search-and-rescue friends.

Lizzie and Charles were walking home from school that afternoon when their dad pulled up next to them in the family van. “Hop in!” he said. “Meg just called from the airport. She and Casey just arrived. We’re going to pick them up!”

“Really?” Lizzie could hardly believe it. She and Charles climbed into the van. Lizzie watched the scenery go by, thinking about the last time she had come this way, when she and Meg had picked up Scout. That hadn’t been so very long ago — but Lizzie already felt as if she had known Scout forever.

It wasn’t going to be easy to say good-bye to Scout when the time came for her to go to her forever home. That was the hard part about fostering puppies. Lizzie and Charles were always sad to let them go. But every puppy was so special. Lizzie felt very lucky to be able to spend even a little time with each one.

Soon Dad pulled into the airport parking lot. He, Lizzie, and Charles got out and headed across the walkway into the small terminal. Lizzie looked around. The building was full of people walking up and down, looking for their baggage, and getting in line for tickets. But where was Meg? Where was Casey?

Then she saw a woman bending over a dog’s travel crate, opening the door. A brown-and-black head poked out. Pointy nose, big pointy ears — it was Casey! Lizzie started running.

Meg stood up and turned to give Lizzie a hug. Her face was serious. “Lizzie —” she began.

But Lizzie had already bent down to say hello to Casey. Why wasn’t she coming out of her crate? Lizzie patted Casey’s head and scratched her between her ears, the way she liked. “Hey, girl,” she said. Then she saw the bandages. Casey’s shoulder was wrapped in gauze.

By then, Charles and Dad had caught up. “What
is it?” Dad asked Lizzie. He could tell she was upset.

“Casey’s hurt,” Lizzie said. She looked at Meg. “What is it? What happened?”

“Remember when Casey was limping that time at your house?” Meg asked. “Well, she fell when she was climbing into a cellar in Mexico to save a little girl, and that old shoulder injury got a lot worse. She had to have an operation.”

Dad put an arm around Meg’s shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Meg nodded. “So am I. But she’s not in pain anymore. The vet said she’ll heal quickly and be able to walk around again really soon.”

“That’s good,” Lizzie said. She and Charles were kneeling by Casey’s crate, patting her gentle face. “So when will she be able to go back to work?”

Meg didn’t answer.

Lizzie looked up to see that Meg’s eyes were filled with tears. She was shaking her head. “Never,” she
said. “Casey is going to have to retire from search-and-rescue work. I’m losing my partner.”

“Wow.” Lizzie didn’t know what to say. That was terrible news! Casey was so good at what she did. “But she’ll still be your pet, right?” she asked.

“Of course!” said Meg. “This girl is going to have the cushiest retirement ever. I’m going to get her a big soft bed, and feed her bonbons every day, and rent videos for her to watch.” Lizzie could tell Meg was trying to sound happy, but the tears were still in her eyes.

“I’ll come over and take her for walks,” Lizzie promised. “And she can still be our class mascot!” She knew it wasn’t much, but she wanted to say something to make Meg feel better.

On the way home, Meg told them about the things Casey had done in Mexico. “She was amazing,” Meg said. “She found at least five people who were stuck inside buildings. That little girl was the last one, and Casey managed to pull her out
of the wreckage, even with her shoulder hurting so terribly.”

“She should get a medal,” Charles said.

“She’s a hero,” Meg agreed.

Dad had invited Meg over for dinner, so they drove straight home. Dad helped Meg lift Casey out of the van, and they brought her inside and laid her down gently near the fireplace. Mom had made lasagna and garlic bread, and the house smelled wonderful.

Buddy and Scout galloped over to say hello to Casey. “Easy, you two!” said Lizzie. Charles grabbed Buddy and picked him up.

But Scout went straight to Casey. She seemed to know it was important to be gentle with the big, injured German shepherd. The older dog and Scout touched noses, and Casey’s tail thumped on the floor. Then Scout curled right up next to Casey, as if she knew Casey needed comforting. Casey’s eyes closed contentedly as she lay her head down and fell asleep.

“Casey’s all worn out from the trip,” Meg whispered. “Boy, does she love that little pup.”

Watching the two dogs together, Lizzie had one more great idea. She crossed her fingers. It was probably too much to hope for — but Meg would be the
perfect
person to adopt Scout. After all, Meg was going to need a new partner. Scout needed a new home. And Casey needed a friend.

Lizzie looked up at Meg. “You know, Casey really wants to teach Scout about being a search-and-rescue dog,” she said. “And Scout would love to keep Casey company so she won’t get bored since she’s not working anymore.”

“It’s funny . . .” Meg’s eyes were filled with tears again, but now she was smiling. “I have been thinking the exact same thing.”

“Really?” Lizzie grinned at Meg, then reached out to pat Scout. “So, does that mean you’re going to adopt Scout?”

“That’s right!” Meg gave Scout a kiss on the head. “And I hope you’ll help me train her, too!”

“I would love to!” Lizzie was thrilled that she’d get to spend so much time with Scout.

Lizzie looked over at her family. Charles was holding Buddy close, but Buddy still managed to stretch his neck out to lick the Bean’s nose. Mom reached out to pat Buddy, and Dad put an arm around Mom.

The Petersons smiled at one another. Once again, they had helped a puppy find the perfect forever home.

Some dogs are more than just loving pets. Dogs that can find lost people or help the police are true heroes. Is there a dog on the police force where you live?

Police dogs and search-and-rescue dogs need a lot of training. Their owners work hard with them — but the dogs make it all worthwhile. And when the dogs retire, they usually live the rest of their lives with their owners, enjoying a relaxing old age!

Dear Reader,

One of the most fun things I ever did was to help rescue some puppies who needed homes. My friend is part of a border collie rescue group. She and I drove to pick up three little border collie puppies who had already traveled across four states! We got to spend the afternoon playing with them and watching them chase one another around. I will never forget how cute they were.

My friend kept one of the puppies and named her Bodi. Now Bodi is a beautiful grown-up dog who is a good friend to my dog, Django.

Yours from the Puppy Place,

Ellen Miles

Ellen Miles is crazy about dogs, and loves to write about their different personalities. She is the author of more than 28 books, including The Puppy Place and Taylor-Made Tales series as well as
The Pied Piper
and other Scholastic Classics. Ellen loves to be outdoors every day, walking, biking, skiing, or swimming, depending on the season. She also loves to read, cook, explore her beautiful state, and hang out with friends and family. She lives in Vermont.

If you love animals, be sure to read all the adorable stories in The Puppy Place series!