Paws, page 11
I wonder how he knows that but nod and give Kevin’s leash a slight tug. “Come on, boy,” I say to him. “Let’s go see your giant brothers.” His ears go back and he wags his tail and we set off again, heading left towards Attractions.
We pass the rainbow poodles, where big versions of Kevin sit on platforms, but they all have longer and much curlier fur, which is cut in strange shapes and coloured so they look like rainbows. I’m not sure I like that people do this to their dogs. I glance down at Kevin, who has his mouth closed and his ears forwards, which I think means he’s not very happy about it either.
“Don’t worry, I won’t do that to your fur,” I tell Kevin, but I don’t think he hears me.
Next is a marquee with a POLICE DOGS sign over the top. Inside are beautiful German Shepherds with black and brown fur and pointy up ears. Some are lying down sleeping, while others chew bones, and others sit perfectly at the feet of police officers.
“Looks like they’re chilling out before their display,” Mum says, and I think she’s right, because that doesn’t start until later on this afternoon.
A bit further on is a tent. Inside are some labradors and golden retrievers, and I don’t need to see the sign to know they’re guide dogs. They each wear a blue jacket and have special harnesses held by adults and children who also wear matching blue jackets. I love guide dogs and think they do the most amazing job.
And then I remember Alex, the diabetes dog that belongs to Matilda’s grandparents. I don’t know what diabetes is, and I wonder if I could ask Matilda some questions one day.
“Alex!”
I look away from the guide dogs and see Derek waving and Mindy and Wilma standing either side of him. They’re all beside a sign that says GIANT DOGS. A yap yap yap makes me look down and then Kevin pulls on his leash and I know it’s because he wants to go and see Vinnie, so I run with him until the two dogs are leaping and circling each other.
“Hey,” Derek says and I say “hey” back.
“Well hello there, Alex and his wonderful family,” Wilma says, and she and Mum hug and kiss each other’s cheeks and I wonder if maybe they’re friends now.
“Hi Alex,” Mindy says in her gentle voice, and then she stands beside Ned, who flicks his hair. I notice his cheeks are a bit red again.
“I’m pleased you could come and find us, Alex. Derek has been looking for you the whole time since we arrived,” Wilma says, her arm linked with Mum’s. “You must surely go and see the big doggies in this tent. They are ginormous.”
“They are massive,” Derek says, and spreads his arms wide like Wilma is doing.
I look at Mum and she nods, so me and Derek lead the way into the GIANT DOGS tent.
Wilma and Ned are both right. There are Saint Bernards and Irish wolfhounds and other dogs like mastiffs and Great Danes. Vinnie yanks Derek this way and that as he tries to greet every dog with a yap and a lick, and I laugh at Derek as he stumbles and trips and tries to pull Vinnie back. Kevin walks like a good boy and stands in front of me the whole time we’re looking at the dogs, and I wonder if he’s protecting me in case they might attack. I pat his head often and tell him how good he’s being and he wags his tail each time.
We wander out of the GIANT DOGS tent, with Vinnie out in front, then Kevin just in front of me and Derek. Wilma and Mum are behind us, and Mindy and Ned at the back. Apart from Mindy being a girl, our families are exactly the same and I smile because I like that.
“Did you enter Kevin into the Obedience contest?” Derek asks.
I screw up my face and shake my head. “No, we were too late.”
“Oh. What about the Tricks one?”
“No, we were too late for that one too.”
“So are you entering any contests at all?” Derek asks.
“The only contest left that Kevin could enter was the Happiest contest, so we entered that one.”
“No way!” Derek says, putting one hand on his head, though I don’t know why. “I’ve entered Vinnie into that one too! We can go together!”
I smile and nod lots of times, because knowing Derek and Vinnie will be in the contest with me makes me feel less worried and even more excited.
“This is so cool.”
“Yeah, it’s cool,” I say and Derek laughs and I smile even bigger because I like Derek’s laugh.
After some more time wandering through the attractions, we come to an archway with ARENAS written above it, and my stomach twirls and spins.
“Can we go and watch some of the contests?” Derek asks his mum.
“Is that okay with you, Kim?” Wilma asks Mum. Mum looks at me, chewing on her thumbnail.
“I don’t know,” she says, and I know it’s because she worries about me, especially somewhere like this with so many people and so much noise.
“It’s okay,” Mindy says. “Me and Ned can stay with them if you two want to go and have a coffee.”
Wilma and Mindy touch foreheads, looking into each other’s blue eyes, and then Wilma kisses Mindy on the forehead and strokes her long, white hair and tells her she’s a “perfect princess”. I see Mum’s fingers dancing by her side, like she has pianos on her thighs, and I remember from the Be Aware classes that this sometimes means someone is nervous.
“I’ll be fine, Mum,” I say.
“Yeah, I won’t leave him,” Ned says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
Kevin barks up at Mum and Mum laughs. “Okay, you go, but stick together, got it?”
“Yep,” I say.
Wilma hooks her arm back through Mum’s again and pulls her away, and they both wave. “We’ll come and find you right here, at the entrance to the arenas, in one hour for the Happiest contest,” Wilma calls back over her shoulder.
“Right,” Derek says, his right arm stretched out as Vinnie yaps and tries to run under the archway and into the arenas. “I think Vinnie knows where to go.”
I glance back at Mum as the six of us, four kids and two dogs, move forwards. As the back of her blue shirt is swallowed up by the crowds, I notice the woman with the clipboard who was looking at me earlier now standing a short distance away – and she’s watching me again.
I quickly turn away, with Kevin by my side, wondering what she’s writing on that clipboard.
We find some empty green seats in one of the rows at Arena 2 and we all sit in a line, me sandwiched between Derek and Ned, Mindy on Ned’s other side. Kevin sits at my feet and yawns. The seats are hard and uncomfortable and a bit slippery, but I don’t mind because it means I can rest my leg, even though it feels better today. Also in two minutes it’s the start of the Obedience contest and I want to watch and see how good the dogs are.
I wonder if the bald man is here with his Dalmatian.
Arena 2 is a big grassy square area with a thick black line all the way around the outside. We had to climb some stairs to reach the seating area on one side. There are tables covered in black tablecloths all around the outside of the square, and adults in smart white shirts sitting at them. I wonder if they’re the judges. My tummy somersaults as I think about how soon it will be me and Kevin being judged, but then it relaxes when I remember that Derek and Vinnie will be there too.
Derek’s purple rectangle has number 22 on it, but I hope we are able to be near each other.
I remove my backpack and take out a water bottle and Kevin’s bowl and pour him a few glugs. Kevin and Vinnie immediately start drinking, lap lap lap, from the bowl, splashes of cold water dotting my shins, and I like that Kevin is sharing his water with Vinnie. Kevin has a friend, a dog friend, and I wonder if that makes him happy.
A man’s voice booms through the speaker, announcing that the contest is about to begin, and then music pumps out and the crowd starts cheering and clapping as owners and their dogs file into the arena. Ned looks at me and I nod, because I think he’s worried about me and the noise, but I’m not scared.
I think there are about thirty owners and dogs. As they walk, each owner holds up a yellow rectangle with a number on it, like my purple one, which they show to the judges’ tables, and then they all find a space inside the grassy square in the middle.
And then it begins.
They have ten minutes to show the judges exactly how obedient their dogs are. As the massive clock on the screen in the corner counts down, Ned and Mindy talk quietly on my right, laughing and smiling, and Derek points and says “Wow, look at that dog” more than once on my left.
As owners stride back and forth and turn their backs on their pets and call out instructions, the dogs lie down, sit and come the second the command is given. Then they walk perfectly pressed into their owner’s legs, looking up at them expectantly.
I swish my lips left and right and look down at Kevin, who’s sleeping at my feet, and I feel glad that we didn’t enter the Obedience contest because, although Kevin can do most of those things, he isn’t as quick, and sometimes I have to give the command more than once.
With only ten seconds to go, the owners finish up with one last command before a buzzer sounds the end of the contest and all the dogs get put back on their leashes.
“Wow!” Derek says as the dogs trot out of the arena, the owners once again flashing their yellow cards at the judges. “There were some seriously cool dogs out there.”
At the same moment, me and Derek look down at Vinnie, but he’s not there. Derek holds the end of his leash, which trails down beneath his seat, so we both lean forwards and look under. Vinnie is lying down and chewing loudly, making a smack smack smack with his mouth, and between his paws is a brown paper bag with HENRY’S HOTD written across it in red letters. I think it should say HENRY’S HOTDOGS, but Vinnie has already eaten the OGS part.
“Oh Vinnie,” Derek says, taking the paper bag and screwing it up. “You’re so disgusting.”
Vinnie crawls out and immediately starts pawing at Kevin, and Kevin rolls onto his back, kicking his legs out at Vinnie.
I giggle and look at Derek’s screwed-up face. “Vinnie’s so funny,” I say to him and he nods.
“You want to stay here and watch?” Ned asks me, pointing at the screen above the arena. I follow his finger and read NEXT UP: TRICKS!
“Yep,” I answer. I turn to Derek. “Want to watch the tricks contest next?”
“Ooo, defo. Cool,” Derek says, and so we stay where we are on the uncomfortable green seats, as other spectators leave and new ones arrive around us, rustling food packets and chatting about the dog show. Kevin goes back to sleep, his head on my feet, as Vinnie heads back under the seats, probably looking for more wrappers to eat, and Ned and Mindy talk and look at their phones again. Derek starts telling me about Skyscraper Escapades on OrbsWorld and how in each level you have to make it to the top of the skyscraper before an earthquake makes it fall down. It sounds awesome.
We keep talking about OrbsWorld as the man’s voice returns over the speaker to announce the start of the Tricks contest, me asking Derek questions and him answering them, until the dogs and owners march out, flashing their red cards at the judges.
And then I see the bald man with his Dalmatian.
“Hey look!” Ned says, pointing. “I told you he’d be here.”
I nod, because he did, and as the clock starts its countdown again, I realise that Ned was right about how good the Dalmatian is at tricks, and how much better all the dogs are than Kevin.
There’s a Pomeranian that walks on its front paws, and a Staffordshire bull terrier that balances a ball on its nose as it rises up onto its back paws, and a border collie that jumps through super small hoops, and a small white dog that clambers up its owner’s body to stand on their shoulders and then on their head.
Kevin can’t do any of those things, and I start to think that entering the Happiest contest was the best idea because I would never have won the Obedience or Tricks trophies.
Derek goes back to pointing and saying “Wow”, but my eyes stay mostly on the Dalmatian, amazed at how many tricks he can do. I think he will win, even though all the dogs are fantastic.
As the buzzer sounds, the contest ends and everyone claps. Mindy checks the time on her phone and tells me and Derek that we have to get moving to meet our mums and then go to Arena 4 to prepare for our contest. Kevin climbs to his feet and stretches out, sticking his butt in the air and making a groaning sound. Ned presses a hand to my shoulder and asks me if I’m okay and ready, and I nod. Derek drags Vinnie out from under the seat again, prying another wrapper from his mouth, and leads the way along the row of seats and down the steps.
My heart is back to thumping hard and my ears are once again picking up on all the sounds of people talking and laughing and dogs barking and growling and announcements and music and clapping and cheering, but I focus on Derek in front and the smell of Ned behind and the feeling of Kevin’s fur on my leg, and I feel ready.
Ready to win my trophy.
Derek and Vinnie are eight people in front of me as we stand and wait outside Arena 4 with contestants 23 to 29 between us. I see Vinnie jumping up and spinning and weaving around Derek’s legs and then Derek having to untangle Vinnie’s legs from his leash.
And then the lady at the front in a yellow jacket waves her arms and says, “Off you go and good luck!”
I stare hard at Kevin, who trots along beside me, my blue trainers striding in time with his four scampering paws as we step onto the green grass of the arena. I’m trying to remember the instructions the lady in the yellow jacket told us at the start, squeezing Ned’s pink ball in my free hand, but I can’t remember any of them and now I’m scared I’ll mess up and everyone will stare at me.
I’m still watching Kevin when I catch the movement of another hand waving on my right and a voice saying “Hold up your number” to me, and I glance up at the Happiest contest entrants ahead of me and see them raising their purple cards. I copy them, locking my eyes on the back of my purple card so I don’t have to see any of the judges looking back at me.
The lady and her Corgi in front of me stop, and so do me and Kevin, then the booming voice over the loudspeaker tells us to take our positions, and all the other entrants scatter to different parts of the square. I tug Kevin and copy them, leading him to a space. My head is still down because I think that if I look up and see all the people watching or the judges’ faces or any of the other dogs I will start to cry and my beaker will overflow. Not because I’m sad, but because I don’t know how to feel and I wish I had my emoji chart here.
And then I hear the buzzer and I know this means the clock on the big screen has started counting down.
It’s time.
I crouch down and unclip the leash from Kevin’s collar and kiss him on the head. “Okay, boy, it’s time to be happy.” His ears prick forwards and he tilts his head, and then his tail wags slowly, like he knows. Maybe he does.
“We’ve practised tricks and obedience,” I say, “and you always look happy, so let’s just do those. Can you do that?”
Kevin barks once, and I ruffle the curls on his head and stand up straight. I peer around at the other entrants and see dogs leaping and running and rolling around, the owners tickling their tummies and rolling balls and playing tug of war with rope and bones.
The dogs look happy, but I know Kevin can be happier.
“Jump,” I say to Kevin and, because my right thigh still hurts, I hop on one leg to show him what to do, flicking my hand into the air. Kevin jumps and barks and then I make a circle with my hand and he spins around on his back paws. “Yes!” I say. I hop again and he copies, letting out another bark. I then throw his ball in the air, just a small throw like I practised this morning, and he leaps up and catches it and runs to me and drops it into my hand. “Yes!” I say again, smiling wide and patting his back.
We carry on, running through all the moves we’ve practised, and Kevin is so good and happy and I think I’m having the best time I’ve ever had before because the smile on my face is big and is starting to hurt my cheeks.
And then I spot Vinnie.
He’s running around the other entrants and their dogs, yapping over and over, yap yap yap, trying to catch all the balls and steal all the toys, and he’s bouncing up at the other owners on his back paws. Derek is chasing after him, Vinnie’s leash dangling from his shorts pocket and dragging on the ground behind him. He’s calling for Vinnie to come back but Vinnie isn’t listening because he’s having way too much fun.
Vinnie then spots Kevin and dashes over to us, and I start to hear laughter coming from all directions, from the seating area where Mum and Wilma and Ned and Mindy are sitting, and also from the judges and the adults in yellow jackets.
Kevin looks up at me and I shrug because I’m not sure if we can help, and then Vinnie is here, circling with Kevin. They start pawing at each other and growling as they play, and Derek jogs over. I look at his red face but his expression is happy, not sad or mad like I thought it would be.
“Hey,” he says. “Vinnie is so naughty,” he adds. “I didn’t think I’d be able to stop him from running away. Thank goodness you and Kevin were here.”
“Aren’t you angry with him?” I ask, because I don’t think Vinnie is allowed to be naughty with all the judges watching.
Derek shakes his head. “Nah. Vinnie’s having fun, which is cool.”
I look back at our dogs, who are still playing, wrestling each other on the ground and then bounding up and circling again. The man’s voice announces that there are ten seconds to go.
“Right, I’m going to catch him while he’s in one place,” Derek says. He hunches over, preparing the leash, and creeps towards our playing dogs, and then he rushes and hooks his hand into Vinnie’s collar. Vinnie wiggles and wriggles and Derek stumbles and falls onto his knees, but he doesn’t let go as he tries again and again to clip on Vinnie’s leash.
I hear the crowd laughing louder as the buzzer sounds to announce the end of the contest, and I start to laugh too, slapping my thighs, because now Derek is lying on his back with Vinnie on his chest licking his cheek, and Kevin is licking the other cheek.
