For the rest of the day, we let Squirt play with our toys and drink our water. We even play tug-of-war with him. He can’t run with us because of his leg. At night, we give Squirt the prime cuddle spot with Lucy on the couch. I want Squirt to have a good day with us.

  The next day Squirt leaves. I overhear Nate and Hannah tell Ben and Lucy they found a family that will take good care of him. I am glad Squirt found a home.

  9

  The Baby Duck Chase

  The soft grass and gentle breeze of spring feels great after the cold winter. I am not the only one who is excited about spring. Peach bounds around the backyard with me. We love the backyard, but we can’t wait for a long walk. We haven’t walked to the pond since the duck walking-on-water incident.

  Today is our lucky day. I hear the word walk. Peach does too. She glances in my direction with a gleam in her eye.

  A few minutes later, the whole family walks on the sidewalk, except for Lucy. She is on her wheels. Peach and I stop at our favorite spots on the street. Peach likes houses with birds in the trees, and I like the houses with dogs outside or in the house. When we reach the intersection at the end of the street, I sneeze and then I look at Peach. She nods. It’s time to explore the pond.

  We both lunge forward, pulling our family down the street. The pond is a bit farther, and I want to see the ducks. After we stop a few more times for sneezes and to sniff the trees, a strong scent fills my nose. We are close to the pond. Peach hurries forward. I follow her.

  I stop when the glistening water of the pond stretches out before us. Crowds of geese fill the water and the grass next to the pond. Not geese! Geese are not the friendliest of the flying creatures. I take a few steps closer and scan the pond. Scattered between the geese are ducks. We love ducks, Peach especially, and after our last duck encounter, I am positive they love us, too.

  The path winds around the pond. We walk onward, but the ducks and geese don’t acknowledge our presence. Baby ducks and baby geese swim in a line through the water between the big ducks and geese. Peach sees the baby ducks and pulls Nate to the water’s edge. For a split second, I think she will jump in the water. Instead, she slinks to the ground and spies on them.

  “C’mon, Peach. Let’s go,” Nate says. He pulls on the leash, and Peach stands. They follow us on the path around the pond. I march ahead with my nose guiding me. A massive tree catches my attention. Squirrel scent covers the tree. I investigate the tree, searching for a familiar scent. Maybe Squeaks has been here?

  “HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK!”

  Uh oh. The geese are angry.

  I turn to face the pond. The geese are standing on the water’s edge, flapping their wings. That means trouble. I forget the tree and press forward. I want to get far away from the geese.

  “What has them all worked up?” Hannah asks. Ben shrugs his shoulders.

  “ARFFF!”

  Peach!

  I turn around, expecting to see the geese chasing Peach and Nate. What I see is very different. Nate is dragging Peach forward. There are no geese in sight, but one baby duck is chasing after Peach.

  “ARFFF!” Peach says again. The duck waddles to Peach, but Nate manages to pull Peach the other direction so she can’t reach the baby duck. The duck keeps running, so Peach plops on the grass, waiting for the duck to come.

  Oh no.

  I bark, telling Peach not to do it, but Nate has the same idea. He scoops Peach into his arms moments before the duck reaches pouncing range. Nate hurries to us with Peach in his arms. The duck scurries behind him. He picks up his pace, and the duck runs faster. The duck is cute. I bet he would be a good friend. I walk in their direction.

  “I don’t think so,” Hannah says. She holds my leash tight.

  “Let’s keep walking. Dad and Peach will catch up,” she says.

  “What about the duck?” Ben says.

  “Can we keep the duck?” Lucy asks.

  “No, the duck needs to stay here. He needs to find his family,” Hannah says. She leads us on the path back to our home. I trot slowly, with my head on a swivel to check on Peach and the duck.

  When Nate and Peach catch up to us, Nate sets Peach down. The duck is still running behind them.

  “Nate, you need to do something about the duck.”

  Peach looks at me with her big, brown eyes.

  We can do something about the duck!

  “I don’t know what to do,” he says.

  I hear the sound of flapping wings. I turn my head in time to see a giant goose swoop down behind us. The goose picks up the baby duck with its beak and flies away. The goose flies to a flock of ducks in the water. The baby duck lands in the water, and the ducks surrounding him begin to quack. I wonder what the ducks are saying.

  “Whoa,” Hannah says.

  The family starts on the path for home. We trot forward a few steps when the rush of wings returns. This time the sound is loud, echoing through the sky in our direction. When I turn my head, I lose my breath for a second. The geese are coming in a swarm toward us.

  “Um, Mom, Dad,” Ben says.

  “We better go,” Nate says.

  “Yes!” Hannah shouts. Peach and I lead the charge away from the pond. When we turn on our street, we slow down. I look in the sky to see the geese turning back to the pond. They let us go.

  “What happened back there?” Ben asks.

  “I don’t know,” Hannah says.

  “Maybe they thought we took one of their young,” Nate says.

  “But we didn’t,” Lucy says.

  “It’s okay, Lucy. It’s over. We won’t go back to the pond for a while,” Nate says.

  Peach and I look at each other again. No pond? No way! The geese don’t scare us. Actually, they do, but we can’t stay away from the pond. What about the ducks?

  10

  Bark in the Park

  “Do you want to go for a ride?” Nate asks. Peach and I sprint for the door. We are always ready for a ride! Nate puts Peach in her harness first. I keep circling him doing my “Let’s go for a ride” dance. When he finishes with Peach, he glares at me.

  “Zelda, sit,” he says. I continue to hop around him, playing hard to get. “Fine, have it your way,” he says. His arm darts forward and corrals me. I am forced into the harness.

  “We are ready,” Nate shouts.

  “Coming,” Hannah replies. I hear the crash of footsteps on the stairs. Ben, Lucy, and Hannah join us at the door. When the door opens, Peach and I dart for the car. During the car ride, I gaze out the window at the street and cars. I don’t know where we are going.

  We slow down on a street with tall buildings on either side. Nate takes the car inside one of the buildings. When the car stops, I leap to the door, ready to go. Nate takes my leash and Hannah grabs Peach’s leash. We step into a room filled with more cars. Where is the grass?

  Our family leads us through rows of cars to a stairwell. We walk up the stairs into bright light. Streets and sidewalk cover everything around us. The only grass visible is across the street. I pull Nate in that direction.

  “No, Zelda, we are going this way,” he says. I sneeze twice and then follow him. My nose fills with a variety of smells and scents. All of the smells combine and blend with one another. I can’t tell what is what.

  “ARFFF! ARFFF!”

  I look at Peach. She stares ahead at a big white, fluffy dog who is ten pug lengths away. How did I miss that dog during my scent investigation? I lunge, only to get yanked back again.

  “Wait,” Nate says. We sit for a minute or two before moving forward across the street to a huge building. We approach a gate.

  “Hello! Welcome to the ballpark! Tickets, please,” a man asks. Hannah hands him something. “Enjoy the game,” the man says. Nate leads us down a path and up some steps. The variety of smells overwhelms me. I smell dogs. Tons of them! And food. Delicious food. Maybe bacon? Or cheese? I start panting in excitement.

  When we reach the top of the steps, I spot a patch of grass. Peach beats me to it, pulling Hannah behind her. We both sniff the grass until a small, dark dog joins us. The family pulls us away again. We walk into a big open area filled with dogs of all sizes and shapes. I can’t believe it. I don’t know what to do or where to go first. I want to meet all the dogs!

  “Let’s go check out our seats,” Nate says. He leads the family forward. We walk down a few more steps.

  “Here they are,” Ben says. “When do we get to walk on the field with Zelda and Peach?” he asks. Field?

  “We walk on the warning track around the field, not the actual field. We line up in ten minutes for it,” Hannah says. Nate lifts me up, and we sit in a chair. More chairs rest in front of us, but below the chairs is grass with a few dirt paths. Do I get to run on that? My heart skips a beat with excitement.

  “Let’s get in line,” Nate says. He places me on the ground again. Peach walks ahead with Hannah and heads up the stairs. There are dogs everywhere. Peach is wide-eyed with her tongue hanging out. She tries to greet everyone. I stay back, unsure why all these dogs are here. Most are much bigger than me, and I haven’t seen any flat-faced dogs like us yet.

  We walk into a bigger crowd of people and dogs. Slowly, we move forward around a winding path. As we move, I can smell the grass getting closer. I forget about all the dogs. I want to run in the grass!

  We turn the corner and walk onto a dirt path. The grass is in front of us. I burst forward, but Nate won’t let me on the grass. Instead, we parade on the dirt with the other dogs and people. I walk on the edge closest to the grass to get a sniff of the good stuff. Peach is weaving in and out of dogs and people. Finally, she stops weaving and walks beside a dog that looks like a mix of her and me. His face is half-smashed with pointy ears like Peach, but he is shorter and rounder like me. They prance together on the path. Peach is always making friends.

  Since they won’t let me on the grass, I step in the line beside Peach. We prance together on the dirt path together, united with the other smashed-face dog, looking for others like us.

  When we make it around the path, the crowd disappears. We return to our seats. Nate gives us some water and treats. Peach sits on Ben’s lap. I take Lucy’s lap for now. Peach and I are panting like crazy. It was hot in the crowd of dogs and people. I start to drift off when I smell a dog approaching.

  I turn my head to see a giant pug-colored dog. His head is the size of my body. His tongue hangs out of his mouth with drops of slobber falling from it. He walks in the row in front of us with a man and a woman.

  “Hello,” Nate says. “That’s a big dog.”

  “Yes, this is Bear,” the man says. “Don’t worry, he’s harmless.”

  “He looks like a giant pug,” Nate says. The man laughs. There’s no way I look like that! He doesn’t have a curly tail. Bear lies on the ground under the chairs.

  Should I say hello to him?

  I think of jumping to the ground, but Peach beats me to it. She wanders under the chair, right up to the giant Bear dog. They sniff each other. Peach’s eyes grow wide, and I’m scared she senses a bad reaction from Bear. I bark to warn Nate. Nate turns to Ben.

  “Ben!” he says. But it’s too late. I see Bear’s mouth open wide. Oh no. Peach! I dash in her direction, not sure what I can do, but Lucy has a surprisingly strong hold on me. I can’t get away. I watch it happen in slow motion. Bear’s giant tongue comes out and licks Peach’s face from bottom to top in one huge swoop. Peach backs away, but the slobber drips off Peach’s face. She jumps back to our row. Ben and Nate chuckle.

  “I told you Bear was friendly,” the man says.

  Peach jumps into Ben’s lap and buries her head into Ben’s shirt.

  “Eww,” Ben says. Hannah and Lucy join in the laughter. I jump back into Lucy’s lap, away from Bear. He may be friendly, but I’d rather not get my face washed by his slobber. Peach is the only dog I allow to lick my face.

  Peach and I settle into our spots. Our family watches the small people below us on the field. I can’t tell what they are doing. It doesn’t look very interesting.

  After a short nap, I wake to the family telling us its time to go. We rise and walk back up the stairs to the main area. We walk through the crowd of people and dogs. I smell something familiar across the way. I lead Ben that way. The smell is stronger. I look up, and I see her. She is tiny, smaller than me. Her curly tail wraps in a double circle, and her smashed face is full of little wrinkles. Ben and I walk to meet the baby pug.

  She is so cute. Her little tail wags in greeting. We sniff each other, and then she bats her tiny paw at me. We try to play, but it’s hard on our leashes. We put our noses to each other until our families break us apart. I walk away slowly, sad to leave the little pug.

  The family leads us out of the building and back into the rows of cars. We are going home for the night. The day’s adventures are over, but it was a good day. I saw Peach get licked in the face, and I met a baby pug!

  Summer

  11

  The Fountains

  Several dark sleeps later, Peach and I ride in the car again with our family. When we stop, I jump out of the car into a familiar scene—rows of cars, sidewalk, and no grass. I think I know where we are going. My tail bounces from one side of my back to the other. I high-step in the front of our family, leading our way up the stairs to the street.

  When I arrive on the street, I realize the smell is different. I look around me. Big cars and trucks speed by, and across the street is grass—tons of it! This isn’t the same place as last time, and I wonder if a new adventure awaits us here.

  I glance at Peach. She trembles from the loud noise of the street. I stand beside her to calm her nerves. We wait for a few minutes, and then Nate guides us across the street. Peach and I pull our way to the grassy area. Once we reach the grass, Peach’s shaking stop. Together, we investigate the grass to learn if any dogs are nearby. Hannah and Nate move us to a path after a few minutes. I trot on the grass beside the path. This grass is cool and squishy. It feels good on my paws on this warm evening. As we walk, the dark starts to invade the air around us, but a few lights help us see the way.

  When I hear the sound of running water, I stop in my pug tracks. The water reminds me of bath time. I turn to Peach. She is plowing forward without a worry. Sometimes I wonder about her.

  “Let’s go, Zelda,” Hannah says. We move forward, and I see bright lights ahead. Some flash on and off. Some even change colors. Curious, I take a few steps closer, against my better judgment.

  “Mom, can I play in the fountain?” Lucy asks.

  “I don’t know, Lucy. You will be wet for the car ride home,” she replies.

  “Please, Mom!”

  Hannah turns to Nate. He is grinning.

  “She’ll be fine. It’s a warm evening,” he says.

  “Okay,” Hannah says.

  “Yay!” Lucy sprints into the lights.

  What is she doing?

  I dash after her, pulling Ben behind me. My paws hit water. I am standing in a puddle.

  Where did that come from? It isn’t raining.

  I am thirsty. I take a few licks and then survey my surroundings. The water is spraying in every direction through the lights. Lucy is running through all the lights and water with a big smile on her face. Meanwhile, Peach stands behind me away from the water.

  What is this place?

  I stand waiting and watching for a few minutes.

  Should I run with Lucy?

  I take a step closer to the first light. I feel a small splash on my front legs. It feels good after all this walking tonight. Lucy stops running in front of me.

  “Zelda, run with me!” she says. “Ben, give me her leash.”

  “I don’t think Zelda wants to run in the fountains,” he says. I look at Hannah and Nate. Peach is by their side. They are talking with each other. They won’t save me.

  “Please,” she says. Ben sighs and hands her the leash.

  “Okay, let’s go Zelda!” She pulls me toward the middle of the lights and water. I lock my paws in place.

  “See, I told you,” Ben says. Lucy makes a face at Ben and bends over. She pets my head and smiles.

  “It will be fun. I promise,” she says. I sigh, snorting into her face.

  “Eww.” Lucy stands. “C’mon Zelda.” I give in. I can’t resist Lucy. We walk to the middle of the water and lights.

  “Okay. Are you ready, Zelda?” No. This seems like a bad idea. “Okay, let’s run!”

  She starts running, yanking me with her. She leads me through a bright light of water. The water hits my belly and my back, soaking me for the few seconds we run through it. The water is cool, and it feels good.

  Lucy drags me through another burst of water. I look ahead and see three more lights. We make it to the third water light. This time Lucy stops under the streams of water. I stand beside her. She is giggling. Her laughter excites me. I bark and run in circles around her.

  “Okay! Let’s go!” We sprint through the rest of the lights. I let the water splash all over me as I chase Lucy. She is laughing, so I don’t mind the extra water weight I’m carrying. Finally, we make our way back to the front. I’m exhausted. I plop next to Peach on the sidewalk.

  “Zelda loved the fountains!” Lucy says. “You were wrong, Ben.” He shrugs his shoulders.

  “We better get home,” Hannah says. “It’s cooling off fast.”

  I rise from the ground. The water is dripping off me, so I shake my body with all my strength to rid my fur of the excess water.

  “Zelda, no!” Ben says. Peach leaps away from me, but Ben’s reflexes are too slow. All the water from my fur flies in the air at Ben. Hannah, Nate, and Lucy start laughing.

 

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