Sam the Stolen Puppy

Chapter Four

Shut away in the dark, Sam howled for Emily to come and find him. This was far worse than being left at home while they all went off to school, and playgroup, and shopping. He padded anxiously around the little wire pen, sniffing the strange smells. There were other dogs here. Sam could hear them, barking and whining, angry about being shut up in their pens. He was sure that there had been at least five different dogs living in this pen before him, too. He just didn’t understand why.

One thing Sam was certain of was that he should never have let that lady with the red gloves feed him dog treats. When she had opened the garden gate, he had thought she was meant to be there, especially when she had the same dog treats that Emily used for when he did well at dog-training. She’d called him, and known his name, and the dog treats smelled so good – but he should have known! She didn’t smell right, and then she’d grabbed his collar, and hauled him out of the garden and shoved him in the boot of that big car. Sam had barked, and tried to tell Jack to get help, but Jack had just watched, looking confused. The really scary thing was, he didn’t know how to get out of this pen, or the big wooden shed where he and all the other dogs were shut in. He didn’t know how he was supposed to get out and find Emily again. All he could do was call her – but how was she ever going to hear him?

Emily was finding it hard to believe that Sam had gone. She kept expecting to see him pop out from behind the sofa, with his tail whirling round and round, as if it was all just a silly game.

Every evening after school, she, Mum and Jack went out searching for Sam. Emily had used the computer to make some posters, with one of her favourite photos of Sam, and she’d put their phone number underneath.

They went into all the shops on the high street and asked if they could put them up in the window. Most of the shop people were happy to help, but no one phoned. Emily put one up at school too, and told everyone to look out for Sam. Some of her friends took posters to put in their windows as well.

Even with all this to do, the week seemed to drag on for ever. The policeman had promised he’d be in touch if there was any news, but it had been obvious that he didn’t think they’d be getting Sam back. Sam seemed to have vanished into thin air. Emily didn’t care. She was not going to give up – how could she, when everywhere she looked in the house reminded her of Sam? His food bowl, his red lead, his basket. The worst thing was the Sam-shaped emptiness at the end of her bed every night.

On Saturday, Dad took Emily to dog-training. He’d been a bit surprised when she asked if they could go, but she explained that she wanted to warn everyone in the class to watch out for the dog-nappers, and ask them to keep an eye out for Sam too.

It was horrible walking into the park without Sam. Dad squeezed Emily’s hand as they walked through the gate, and she blinked back her tears. She wouldn’t be able to talk if she started crying.

Lucy, the instructor, looked confused when she saw them. She was obviously wondering where Sam was, and that made Emily want to cry even more. But when Dad explained, she gathered the class together.

“I’m afraid Emily’s got some terrible news about her lovely puppy, Sam.”

Emily gulped. “Sam’s been stolen,” she gasped out. Her voice was wobbling, but everyone looked so sympathetic, she took a deep breath and went on. “The police say there’s a gang stealing puppies, so please, please don’t let them get any of yours. And please look out for Sam – just in case.” Then she really did start to cry.

Everyone gathered round, promising to search for Sam, and saying they were sure he’d be found. Lots of the dogs licked Emily lovingly. Eventually Dad said they should go, so Lucy could get on with the class.

Just as they were walking back to the gate, Emily stopped, her heart thudding. It was that couple again! They’d been watching the class.

“What’s the matter, Emily?” Dad asked gently.

“It’s those people! The ones who were asking all the questions about Sam!” Emily stared at them. They had the pointer with them again, and he was plodding along with his tail drooping. No one who really loved dogs could have a dog who was so unhappy, Emily thought. Wasn’t it suspicious that Sam had disappeared just a couple of days after those people had been so interested in him? So keen to find out if he was a valuable pedigree dog? She glared angrily at the woman, not caring if she was being rude. The woman caught her looking, and said something to the man. Emily was sure she looked guilty.

Suddenly Emily’s breath caught in her throat. She tugged Dad’s hand urgently. “Look! Look!” she managed to gasp.

“What is it?”

“She’s wearing red gloves!” Emily hissed. “Don’t you remember? Jack said the lady who took Sam had red gloves! It all fits, it was them, they’re the dog-nappers!”

“Emily, I know you’re upset, but you can’t accuse someone of stealing Sam just because of their gloves.” Dad sounded embarrassed. He was pretty sure the man and woman had heard what Emily said.

Emily watched furiously as the couple neared the gate. How could Dad not understand? It was so obvious!

The woman smiled sympathetically as they came past. “We heard some of the people from the dog-training class saying that your puppy had been stolen,” she said, looking straight at Emily. “I’m so sorry. He’s a darling. I really hope you get him back.”

The man shook his head. “I can’t imagine how we’d feel if someone took Bertie.”

They really sounded as though they meant it. Emily just stared at the ground. She felt so confused. She’d been sure that this was the lady Jack had described, but maybe Dad was right. Was it stupid to decide somebody was a dog-thief, just because they had red gloves?