The Abandoned Puppy

Chapter Four

To: Becca

From: Zoe

Subject: Puppies

Hi Becca!

Hope you’re having a good time at your gran’s. Sorry I’ve not mailed you for a couple of days. Been sooooo busy! I went to the shelter with Auntie Jo on Monday, and someone had abandoned three puppies in a box on the front steps!!! (Here’s a photo. Auntie Jo took it on her phone. Aren’t they gorgeous?) It was a box that was meant to be for chocolate biscuits, so we’ve called the two boys Choc and Biscuit, and the little girl puppy Cookie. She’s really lovely. When we first found them she was really weak and Auntie Jo told me afterwards she wasn’t sure she was going to make it. We’re giving her milk from a bottle because she won’t eat mashed-up Weetabix, even though her two brothers love it! (You should see them eating, it goes everywhere, we have to wash them afterwards!) But some of it must be going inside them - they’re getting fatter every day! Cookie is definitely getting bigger too, and she likes me to carry her round everywhere! I’ve got lots more photos that Mum’s printed out for me, I’ll show you when you get back.

Love Zoe xxxxxxxxxxxxx

To: Zoe

From: Becca

Subject: Re:Puppies

Hi Zoe!

I can’t believe you found puppies! You are so lucky. Gran’s is OK but it’s a bit cold as it’s by the sea. I went paddling and my toes almost fell off.

Will the puppies get new owners from the shelter? How old are they? I wish I could come and see them. Guess what? Mum and Dad say we can definitely have a dog (you know they wouldn’t make up their minds before). But now they say we have to go slow and make sure we find the right dog! Aaargh! I really want to have a dog NOW! When I get back please ask your auntie if I can come and see the puppies. Maybe one of them could be our dog!!!

From Becca xxxxxxxxxxx

Zoe read Becca’s reply to her email, smiling to herself. Becca wrote emails just like she talked. But her smile faded a little as she read on to the end. Becca was so lucky to be allowed a dog. Zoe had been talking to Auntie Jo about the puppies today at the shelter. They’d been weighing them to check that they were eating enough, which was quite difficult because Choc, Biscuit and Cookie saw no reason why they should stand still on top of the scales, and just kept bouncing around. In the end, Auntie Jo had made a guess at their weights, but she said they were definitely getting heavier, which was the main thing.

Then they’d taken five minutes just to play with the puppies – it seemed like fun, rather than work, but Zoe knew it was actually really important. If the puppies didn’t ever get played with, they wouldn’t know how to behave with their new owners.

“How could anyone have abandoned them?” Zoe said sadly, watching Biscuit and Choc bombing up and down the pen, chasing after a ball. Cookie was scampering after them, not quite brave enough or fast enough to take the ball off her brothers, but having just as much fun. “They’re so gorgeous, all of them. How could anyone be so mean?”

Auntie Jo sighed. “Well, at least they brought them here. It was a start.”

“But they left them out in the cold all night!”

“Mmm. Some people just don’t think. The puppies were probably an accident – they hadn’t had the mum spayed, and then maybe the owners felt they couldn’t afford to buy all the puppy food, and take the puppies to the vet for vaccinations. Dogs are expensive to look after.” She reached over to put her arm round Zoe’s shoulders. “Don’t think about it, Zo. The puppies were lucky they ended up here, so they’ve got all of us looking after them. We’re going to turn them into lovely, well-behaved dogs, and make sure they only go to fab owners. They won’t remember their horrible start.”

“I hope not,” Zoe whispered, with a tiny sigh. Auntie Jo’s words were meant to make her feel better. She knew the puppies would need to leave the shelter in a few weeks, but she’d been trying not to think about it too much. She’d only known them for a few days, but they were so sweet, Cookie especially. If they could stay at the shelter for a bit longer, she’d be able to keep on looking after them… But that wasn’t fair. They needed proper homes.

Reading the exciting news in Becca’s email had made her think about having to say goodbye to the puppies all over again…

To: Becca

From: Zoe

Subject: Puppies

Hi Becca

Auntie Jo thinks the puppies were about four weeks old when we found them, so now they’re five weeks. They can’t go to new homes until they’re about eight weeks old. I’m sure you can come and see them, I’ll ask Auntie Jo. You’re so lucky getting a dog! I hope your mum and dad decide on one soon. See you back at school in a week!

Love Zoe xx

It wasn’t as friendly as her emails to Becca usually were, but Zoe was feeling sad. She stared at her computer screen, not really seeing the cute photo of Cookie that she had set as her wallpaper.

“What’s up?”

Zoe jumped. She hadn’t heard Mum come in at all. “Nothing… I was just thinking about the puppies. I’m going to miss them so much when they get rehomed.” She gulped. “Especially Cookie.”

Mum nodded. “She is gorgeous.” Zoe had shown Mum the puppies one afternoon at the shelter, when Mum had come to pick her up. “I think it’s her eyes. She’s got such a little face, it makes her eyes look huge, and then she’s got those lovely whiskery eyebrows. Has Auntie Jo worked out what breed they are yet?”

Zoe giggled and shook her head. “Nope. Everyone at Redlands thinks they’re something different. Auntie Jo reckons maybe there’s some Jack Russell in them and maybe some Cockapoo too. But we might not be able to tell until they’re bigger. Almost grown-up. And we won’t have them then, will we? So we’ll never know.” She sniffed, and Mum hugged her.

“But you knew they’d have to go to new homes, Zo! All the animals at the shelter do. You’ve never got this upset before.”

“I know. Maybe it was because we found them – and feeding Cookie with the bottle has made her special to me, Mum.” Zoe smiled proudly. “I got her to take some puppy mix and milk in a bowl this morning. Auntie Jo was really pleased, she said that she’d thought Cookie was going to have to be on bottles for ever!”

“Your Auntie Jo ought to be paying you wages!” Mum sighed. “I know you love it at the shelter, but maybe you should have a couple of days off from helping out? Do something else? I bet Kyra could take enough time away from her revision to take you shopping. Or the cinema?”

Zoe looked horrified. “Oh no, Mum! I’ve got to keep going. I’ve got to help Cookie get on with the solid food. It’s really important.”

Her mum gave her a worried look. “Well, I suppose so…”