Buttons the Runaway Puppy

Chapter Two

“If you’re going along the canal path, you have to be really careful,” Mum warned them. “Especially you, Sophie. No going close to the edge, promise?”

“I’m not a baby, Mum! I’m sensible!” Sophie complained. “OK, I promise to be careful.”

“All right then. Tom and Michael, you’ll keep an eye on her, won’t you? Don’t leave her behind.”

Sophie’s older brothers nodded, eager to get out on their ride, even if it did mean taking Sophie, too.

It was a gorgeous, sunny Saturday afternoon, and Mum and Dad were repainting the kitchen, so it was definitely a good time to be out of the house. The canal path was the Martin family’s other favourite place to go on walks and bike rides. They were lucky that it wasn’t far from where they lived.

Despite what they’d said to Mum, Michael and Tom couldn’t resist speeding off ahead. Every so often one of them would double back to check Sophie was OK, and she was – she quite liked riding along on her own anyway. It meant she could stop and talk to the ginger cat sitting on the fence – he let her stroke him today – and admire the butterflies on a lilac tree that grew on the corner just as she came out on to the canal bank. She could do all these things without the boys telling her to hurry up all the time.

Sophie pedalled along, keeping away from the edge like Mum had told her to. The canal was beautiful, especially with the sun sparkling on it like it was today, but beneath the glitter the water was deep and dark. She rounded the bend, expecting to see Tom and Michael coming back to check on her, but instead she saw a familiar-looking dog.

Buttons!

The pretty little Labrador was sniffing about at the water’s edge. Sophie cycled closer, smiling at Buttons’s big chocolate paws, and her floppy puppy ears.

Sophie looked around for Mr Jenkins, but she couldn’t see him anywhere, and she had a horrible feeling that Buttons had run off. She wasn’t old enough or sensible enough to be off the lead – and she wasn’t, it was trailing in the mud. Buttons must’ve pulled it out of Mr Jenkins’s hand.

Buttons hadn’t noticed Sophie. She was watching a stick that was floating down the canal, and wondering whether she could reach it, if she just leaned over a little. It looked like such a good one – big and long and really muddy – and it was ever so close. She leaned out over the water. If she could just get the end of it in her teeth… But it was still a bit too far away. She tried again, reaching a little further out.

“Buttons! Don’t!” Sophie called. “You’ll fall!”

Surprised by Sophie’s shout, Buttons stepped back quickly. But the edge of the canal bank was muddy and slippery, and her paws skidded. Panicking, she tried to scramble back up the bank, but she was sliding further in, and she couldn’t stop herself.

Sophie flung down her bike, and raced to grab Buttons’s lead. She caught it just as both of the puppy’s front paws slid into the water. Sophie pulled hard on the lead, leaning right back – Buttons might only be little, but she was heavy. Just for a moment, Sophie wondered if Buttons might accidentally pull her into the water, too, but she finally hauled Buttons back on to the bank.

She hugged the shivering puppy tightly. “It’s all right, Buttons. Oh dear, your paws are all wet. It’s OK, don’t worry,” Sophie murmured soothingly, trying to calm her down. Buttons buried her nose in Sophie’s T-shirt, breathing in her comforting smell. Sophie had saved her!

“Buttons! Buttons!” Mr Jenkins was hurrying up, walking as fast as he could with his stick. “What happened, did she fall in?” he asked worriedly. “I saw you pulling her lead, are you all right? Is she all right?”

He leaned down slowly to stroke Buttons, and she pressed herself against his legs, making frightened little whimpering noises. “Oh, Buttons, you silly girl, what have you been doing?” He looked up and smiled apologetically at Sophie. “She pulled her lead out of my hand and raced off. It’s the first time we’ve been for a walk in a while. Buttons is a bit overexcited to be out again.”

Sophie smiled back at him, though her heart was still thumping. It had been a scary moment. “She didn’t go right in. She was just starting to slip, but I grabbed her lead before she did more than get her paws wet.”

“Sophie! Are you OK?” Tom and Michael had come riding up, and they looked worried. The little sister they were supposed to be looking after was sitting on the canal bank with a wet dog, her bike flung down on the grass.

“Were you messing about by the water? Mum told you to stay away from the edge!” Tom shouted.

“Of course I wasn’t!” Sophie said indignantly.

Mr Jenkins looked up at the boys. “Your sister stopped Buttons falling in. She’s a star. Ooof.” He slowly straightened up. “I think we were a bit ambitious with this walk, Buttons. Best leave it a couple of days more.”

“Would you like me to walk Buttons home for you?” Sophie asked.

Mr Jenkins smiled at her. “It’s very kind of you to offer, but you weren’t going home yet, were you? I don’t want to take you out of your way.”

“That’s all right. Isn’t it?” Sophie asked Tom and Michael. “Mum wouldn’t mind if I went back, would she?”

The boys exchanged glances. “We’ll come too,” said Tom. “That way we can wheel your bike while you’re walking Buttons.”

“Oh! I’d forgotten my bike,” Sophie admitted. “I was too excited about getting to walk such a gorgeous puppy.”

“She is lovely, isn’t she?” Mr Jenkins agreed, as they all started to walk home slowly. “Bit of a handful at the moment though. She’s got so much energy.”

Buttons was darting here and there, sniffing excitedly at the scents of other dogs and people. Sophie laughed as she followed her, but she could see that such a bouncy little dog would be hard work for Mr Jenkins.

“I really need to take her to some dog-training classes, but we just haven’t been able to get out much recently. Soon though,” Mr Jenkins added, as he watched Buttons racing about.

“Where did you get her from?” Sophie asked, wishing she could have a beautiful chocolate-coloured dog like Buttons.

“She came from a breeder who lives over on the other side of town. I got my last two dogs from him as well, but they were golden Labradors. Buttons is the first chocolate one I’ve had.”

“Buttons is such a brilliant name for a chocolate Labrador,” Sophie told him, giggling.

“Ah, that wasn’t me. It was my granddaughter Phoebe’s idea. She thought it was really funny.”

“Does she live round here?” Sophie asked. “I don’t know anyone called Phoebe at school.”

“No.” Mr Jenkins shook his head, sadly. “My son had to move with work earlier in the year. They live in Scotland now. I try and get up to see them, but I do miss her.”

Sophie nodded. “That’s sad. My grandad lives in France; we don’t see him much either. And my nan and my other grandad live in London, ages away. We phone them lots, but it isn’t the same as seeing them, is it?”

Mr Jenkins sighed. “Not at all. Phoebe hasn’t even seen Buttons yet; I got her six weeks ago. I’ve sent some photos.”

Buttons was enjoying following all the delicious smells, and with Sophie holding her lead, she could go as fast as she liked. She was sure that there had been a mouse along here recently. It had gone this way, stopped here, then doubled back over here – oh! She was almost at the water’s edge. She stepped back, whining. She loved to look at the water, but she didn’t want to be in it.

Buttons looked up gratefully at Sophie, who was gripping her lead tightly. She was very glad that Sophie had been there to pull her out before. She knew she shouldn’t have run off from Mr Jenkins like that, but they’d been going so slowly. Still she wouldn’t do it again, it was far too dangerous. She wouldn’t run away ever again…