The Unwanted Puppy

Chapter Four

When Zoe came out of school, she spotted her mum waiting for her in the playground.

“See you tomorrow!” Zoe called, waving goodbye to Lucy.

“Did you have a good day?” her mum asked, giving her a hug.

“Um-hmm.” Zoe nodded. “Oh, Mum, look! Scout’s here!”

Her mum looked round. “What, in school? I thought dogs weren’t allowed in the playground.”

“No, over there by the gate.” Zoe pointed to the puppy, whose lead was tied on to the railings. He was watching the children streaming out of the gate and wagging his tail at them hopefully. “He doesn’t seem worried, does he?”

Her mum looked confused. “Why would he be worried?”

“I was talking to Jack at lunchtime and he said that Scout had chewed up the sofa yesterday when he was on his own. Jack said he really wrecked it. But he doesn’t look as though he minds being left alone right now.”

Her mum sighed. “Ugh, I remember Honey doing things like that. Once she scratched all round the carpet by the front door!”

“Did she?” Zoe blinked. She didn’t remember about that.

“Yes, but you were only little. It was before we worked out we needed to get Grandma or Anna next door to pop in and see her if we were out for a long time. And I got her one of those toys that you can put treats in, that helped a bit.”

Zoe nodded. “That’s clever – did it stop her worrying?”

“I think so. She was distracted by the toy, you see. We put peanut butter in it sometimes, she loved that.”

Lauren and Jack caught up with Zoe and her mum as they were threading their way down the path out of school, and Zoe’s mum smiled. “Hello! You’re out later than usual.”

Lauren nodded. “Jack couldn’t find his lunchbox. It took us a while to track it down.”

“Are you going to the park?” Zoe asked hopefully, as Lauren undid Scout’s lead. Scout nudged his nose affectionately into Zoe’s hand and she smiled to herself at the chilly feel of it.

Lauren laughed. “Yes. We need to work off some of Scout’s energy. He’s really not liking being at home without us now that I’m working.”

“Jack told me about the sofa,” Zoe said, making a face.

“Our old dog Honey used to chew things when she was on her own,” Zoe’s mum said with a sigh. “I remember feeling as though everything had to be up on a shelf!”

“The sofa’s got a big hole in it!” Jack told Zoe’s mum. “Scout was so naughty.”

Lauren looked suddenly tired, Zoe thought, and she felt guilty for reminding her about it. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do,” she said, sighing. “We love Scout, but he’s quite tricky to look after, and he’s growing so much! We knew how big he was going to get – we’d seen his mum. But I don’t think we really understood… He’s nearly the same size as Jack already.”

“But he’s friendly, isn’t he?” Zoe asked, looking at Scout ambling along beside Jack. He really did look like a teddy bear. She couldn’t imagine him being fierce.

“Absolutely! Bernese mountain dogs are really good with children, that’s why we wanted to get one. It’s just that Scout can easily knock Jack or Tilly over when he’s excited. I hadn’t realized how strong he was going to be. And he really does need a good long walk every day. It wasn’t so much of a problem before – Jack’s dad used to take him out. But since he’s changed jobs, and I’m back at work as well…” She sighed. “I think yesterday was just too much for him. He must have been really lonely. Luckily I didn’t have to do so many hours today.”

“Do you have any family locally who could pop in on him while you’re out?” Zoe’s mum asked.

“No. All our relatives live close to our old house. We weren’t planning to move, but then Ben’s new job came up. We love our new house, and the new school, it’s all worked out – except it hasn’t worked out that well for Scout.”

“Zoe, will you push me on the swings?” Jack asked hopefully, pulling her hand as they walked along the path to the little playground in the park.

“Course.” Zoe grinned at him. She wanted to make a fuss over Scout, and maybe be allowed to take him for a run again, but she liked playing with Jack, too. It was like having a little brother. She followed him towards the fenced-off playground, and Jack gave the gate a push and it swung open. Zoe wondered if she should close the bolt that was supposed to stop the little ones running out, but she could see two little girls and their dad coming, so she didn’t. People were always leaving the gate open.

She pushed Jack on the swings for a while, and then he jumped off and ran over to the climbing frame, clambering up the sloping climbing wall to get to the slide. Zoe glanced over – her mum and Lauren were chatting by the playground gate and it didn’t look like Mum was in a hurry to go. She stood there half watching Jack and half admiring Scout. He was watching them, too, looking as though he wished he could be with them.

“I’m good at climbing, aren’t I?” Jack said to her hopefully, and Zoe turned back to smile at him.

“Really good! You got up there so fast.” Zoe glanced over as she heard the gate clang again and gasped. Scout was dashing towards them, his lead bouncing on the ground. He must have pulled it out of Lauren’s hand.

Zoe glanced at her mum and Lauren, and saw that they were still by the gate, looking horrified. Lauren was staring at her hand, as though she wasn’t quite sure what had happened. Then she hurried towards the playground, calling, “Scout! No! Come back!”

“What’s that dog doing in here?” one of the mums over by the roundabout said crossly. “Who does it belong to? No, Poppy, don’t go near it!”

“He’s not fierce—” Zoe started to say, as Scout came up to her, wagging his tail happily. Zoe picked up his lead and gently stroked his ears. Jack stood at the top of the climbing frame and glared at the dog. “You’re not meant to be in here, Scout! Bad dog!”

Scout looked up at Zoe worriedly, as though he thought she might tell him off as well. The mum who’d been standing by the roundabout was marching towards them and Zoe could see that Scout was scared of her. His ears flattened, and he started to lick at his nose anxiously. “It’s OK,” she whispered.

“That dog shouldn’t be in here!” the mum snapped at Zoe, but luckily Lauren came over just in time.

“I’m really sorry – his lead slipped out of my hand. Come on, Scout.” She took the lead from Zoe with a whispered, “Thank you!” and hurried out, ignoring the mum behind her muttering about people who didn’t train their dogs properly.

Jack slid down the slide and put his hand in Zoe’s. “Is she cross with us?” he asked, nodding at the other mum.

“Only a bit. Shall we go and find your mum?”

“I’m so sorry, Zoe. I hope that lady didn’t upset you,” Lauren said worriedly, winding Scout’s lead tightly round her hand. “Scout just pulled away from me – I think he wanted to play with you and Jack.”

“It was an accident.” Zoe’s mum patted Lauren on the arm. “Don’t worry about it.”

“He didn’t do anything really bad.” Zoe smiled at Lauren. “It’s fine.” She glanced between her mum and Lauren. “I could take him for another run, like I did the other day, if you want. If it’s OK with you, Mum?”

Her mum smiled at her. “I don’t mind. Actually, Lauren, I was going to say, if you’re ever stuck, I know Zoe would love to walk him. She hasn’t stopped talking about how gorgeous Scout is since she met him. We’d quite happily exercise him for you after school if it would help. We could do most days, I think. Zoe has football after school on a Wednesday, that’s all. We really miss having a dog around.”

“Yes!” Zoe nodded. “It would be like we were borrowing him.” She crouched down to run her hand along Scout’s back and he nudged her chin lovingly.

“You really wouldn’t mind?” Lauren asked. “It would be great for him to have a bit more exercise. I think it would help a lot with him being lonely at home if he was tired out!” She looked worriedly at Zoe’s mum. “I don’t want us to be a bother, though. It’s a lot to ask. I feel like we ought to be able to look after him by ourselves.”

“It would be great for us, honestly,” Zoe’s mum promised, and Zoe smiled at Scout, who was leaning against her heavily as she scratched his back.

“How could anyone ever think you were a bother?” she whispered in his ear.

Scout pulled a little against his lead, looking up at Zoe hopefully. He felt bouncy, full of energy, as if he could just run and run. Was Zoe going to let him race across the park with her, the way they had before? She had dashed back and forth, laughing and panting and chasing after him, and she’d never once had to stop and tie him up to a fence, or walk slowly to match the pushchair. It had just been fun.

“Shall we go for a run?” Zoe asked him, crouching down to give his ears a rub.

Scout barked. He knew that word. He skittered backwards, telling Zoe to come on, and Zoe laughed at him.