Goldie (3 page)

“So, when we went back upstairs after setting the table, there was Goldie, sitting in the middle of a huge pile of shredded paper!” Charles laughed, remembering the “what did I do?” look on Goldie’s face when he and Lizzie came into the room. Goldie had destroyed every single one of the signs they had made! But it didn’t feel right to yell at her, and Lizzie said there was no point in punishing her after the fact.

Charles was telling the story during Sharing Circle time at school the next morning. Usually he told riddles or knock-knock jokes, but this story was too good to keep to himself. Everybody was laughing. Mr. Mason laughed the loudest.

“That’s why my mom borrowed a crate from her friend,” Charles went on.

“You mean, like a cage?” asked Merry. “That’s horrible. She’s a puppy, not an animal in the zoo.”

Charles shook his head. “A crate is different from a cage. It’s a place where Goldie can feel safe, like a little cave. And it’s more fair to her this way. She won’t have the chance to destroy things when we’re not there to watch her, and we won’t have to get mad or punish her.” Charles was trying to remember all the things Lizzie had told him about using a crate to train a puppy. He didn’t tell Merry that he’d thought the same thing — that it looked like a cage — when he first saw it. But when he saw Goldie walk in on her own and snuggle into the blankets they’d put inside, he understood. Plus, it would help with housebreaking, since puppies don’t like to make a mess in the same place where they sleep.

But Charles didn’t really want to bring that part up at Sharing Circle. Ben would just make a
joke about puppy poo, and everybody would start giggling.

“Goldie is really smart,” Charles went on. He knew he was using up more than his fair share of time, but he couldn’t help it. “She knows her name, and she knows to come when you call her.”

“What if her new family gives her a new name?” Brianna asked.

Charles frowned. He did not want to think about Goldie going to a new family. Lizzie had printed up another batch of signs, and he and his dad had gone out after supper to put some up around town. But Charles hoped that nobody would notice them.

“I have a feeling that Goldie’s name suits her perfectly,” said Mr. Mason. “I think she’ll keep it.”

Charles smiled again. “It
is
the perfect name,” he said. “Once we got her cleaned up from the fire, her coat really was golden.”

Charles looked up at the clock. It was only nine-thirty. How was he going to stand waiting until
two-thirty to see Goldie again? He wished he could be hugging her right that minute.

“Goldie sounds like a terrific pup, Charles,” said Mr. Mason. “Thanks for telling us about her. Does anybody else have something to share? Sammy, what about you?”

Sammy was looking down at his hands. “Nope,” he said.

That was strange. Sammy
always
had something to share. Even if it was totally made up, like the time he told about purple space aliens landing in his backyard.

“How’s your dog — his name is Rufus, right?” Mr. Mason asked.

Sammy nodded. And suddenly, Charles knew why Sammy was sad. Hearing about Goldie probably made Sammy feel even worse about Rufus getting so old and slow and boring.

“Has Rufus met Goldie yet?” Mr. Mason asked.

Sammy shook his head.

And then Charles had a great idea. “Hey!” he said, even though it wasn’t his turn to talk. “Goldie needs to meet other dogs. It’s called sho — shoshal —”

“Socialization?” guessed Mr. Mason.

“That’s it!” Charles was excited. “It means that it’s good for her to make friends.”

At recess, Charles and Sammy made plans for Goldie and Rufus to play after school.

By the end of the day, Sammy seemed excited, too. As soon as they got home from school, Charles and Lizzie brought Goldie to the little fenced-in park on the corner. Sammy met them there with Rufus.

“We have to let them start slowly,” Lizzie said. She had been reading all about socializing dogs. They were meeting at the park instead of in one of their yards. Lizzie’s book said it was important for the first meeting to happen in a place where neither dog was in charge.

“Hey, Rufus,” Charles said. “How’s the big guy?” Rufus wagged his tail when he saw Charles. He didn’t seem to notice the new puppy.

Charles was holding Goldie in his arms. She struggled to get down. “Do you think Rufus is ready?” he asked Sammy.

Sammy had Rufus on a leash, and Rufus sat down next to him. “Sure,” said Sammy. “Let’s see what happens when you put her down.”

“Keep them both on their leashes,” Lizzie said as Charles put Goldie on the ground. “Now let Rufus come over and sniff Goldie.”

“He probably won’t even get up,” Sammy started to say. Just then, Rufus jumped to his feet and pulled Sammy off balance. “Hey!”

Rufus was heading straight toward Goldie. But the little pup didn’t seem at all scared. She pulled Charles off balance, too.

The two dogs charged for each other.

“Uh-oh,” said Sammy. “Dog fight!”

But the dogs did not fight.

They played.

Goldie bowed down with her front paws stretched out. She looked up at Rufus with an expression that said, “Chase me!” And Rufus did. When Goldie dashed off toward the swings, Rufus dashed after her, dragging the leash that Sammy had dropped behind him. When he caught her, they tussled for a few moments. Goldie bit at the big dog’s legs while Rufus batted at the puppy’s head with a soft paw. Then Goldie took off running, and Rufus chased her around the seesaws.

Goldie loved playing with Rufus. She ran and rolled and tumbled. What a happy day! What a great new friend!

“Look at Rufus go!” shouted Sammy with a laugh. “That’s the most running he’s done in a month.”

“He sure looks happy,” Charles agreed. Charles looked at Sammy and thought that he looked happy, too.

“It’s all about the socialization,” Lizzie said smugly.

They all laughed as Rufus rolled over and let Goldie pounce on his belly.

Just then, Dad came jogging down the street. “Charles! Lizzie!” he called. “You need to bring Goldie home. Some people saw our sign. They might want to adopt her, and they’re coming over right now!”

Charles and Lizzie stared at their father. “What?” Charles asked.

“Somebody already called?” Lizzie said at the same time.

“Dad!” Charles wailed. Just then, Rufus chased Goldie right into Charles. “Oof,” he said, bending down to pick Goldie up. He held her tight. “Nobody’s taking you,” he whispered into her ear. “It’s too soon.”

“Charles, I know your mom talked to you about this. We agreed that we’d keep Goldie — but only until we found her a good home.” His dad reached out to pat Goldie’s head. “Who’s a good girl?” he said softly.

Charles could tell his dad didn’t want Goldie to go, either.

“But how do we
know
if it’s a good home?” Charles asked.

“We interview them, that’s how,” said Lizzie. “I already did some research on this. I downloaded a questionnaire we can use.”

Dad looked a little surprised. “Well — that’s interesting, Lizzie, but really, I’m not sure it’s necessary. These people sound very nice, and —”

“Do they have a fenced-in yard?” Lizzie demanded. “Do they understand the nutritional needs of a puppy? Is someone going to be home most of the day?”

Now Dad
really
looked surprised. “You know,” he said, “those are actually very good questions. I suppose it couldn’t hurt to ask some of them.”

Charles still couldn’t believe they were going to have to give up Goldie. “But, Dad,” he said. “Can’t we keep her? Please?”

Dad shook his head. “A full-time dog is a lot of
responsibility,” he said. “Now, if we were talking about a
cat
,” he said, “your mom might feel differently.”

Charles knew Dad was trying to make him smile, but he just couldn’t.

“Okay,” said Dad. “Look, we have to get home. They’ll be here any minute.” He glanced over at Rufus, who stood panting next to Sammy. Rufus’s eyes were bright as he stared up at Goldie. His tongue was hanging out as he panted happily. He obviously wanted to play some more. “Is that the dog you were telling us about yesterday?” Dad asked Sammy. “He sure doesn’t
look
bored and lazy. Exhausted, maybe, but not bored.”

As he picked up the leash, Sammy smiled at Rufus. “I know,” he said. “He’s like a whole other dog. He liked playing with Goldie.” Rufus licked Sammy’s hand.

“I bet your dad will be happy. I know he misses his old sidekick. I used to see them out running together early in the morning.” Dad started
walking back toward home. “Come on, guys,” he said. “We need to get Goldie home, so she can meet these folks who want to adopt her.”

Mom was mopping the kitchen floor when they walked in. “Hey!” she said. “Watch the footprints. I don’t want these people to think we’re slobs.”

“Mom,” Lizzie said, “it doesn’t matter what
they
think of
us.”

“I know,” her mom said. “But they sound like a sweet older couple. They want to take Goldie with them in their RV when they head down to Florida this winter.”

“Older couple?” Lizzie asked doubtfully.

“RV?” Charles asked. He knew what that was. A tiny little house on wheels. Not a place for a young golden retriever.

“Goldie needs a home where she can run around,” Lizzie said. “She’s going to need a lot of exercise. Look at her! She’s been playing around for an hour, and she’s not even tired.”

It was true. At that moment, Goldie was
bounding after the Bean. He had her Duckie and he was toddling away as fast as he could. Goldie grabbed hold of one of the wings and the Bean sat down with a
bump.

Everybody waited for a second. Was he going to start crying?

But the Bean just laughed his googly laugh.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Nobody ever used the front door, much less the doorbell.

“That must be them!” said Mom, wiping her hands on a towel.

“I’ll get the interview forms,” Lizzie said. She dashed upstairs.

Charles followed his parents to the door. The Bean and Goldie followed Charles.

There was a long, boring round of introductions as the people — a tiny gray-haired lady and a tall, stoop-shouldered bald man — came in and sat down in the living room.

“We are so excited about having a little puppy to keep us company,” the woman said.

“Well, here she is,” said Mom. “This is Goldie.” She picked up Goldie and brought her over to put her in the lady’s lap.

“Why, isn’t she adorable?” said the lady. But Charles noticed that she set Goldie back down on the floor without even kissing her once.

“Hey there, little champ,” said the man, bending down to give Goldie a hearty pat on the ribs. “Aren’t you a sturdy little thing?”

Goldie wondered who these people were. Why were they here? Her people were being nice to these new folks, so Goldie tried to be nice, too. She put her paws up on the man’s knees and barked happily.

“Goldie!” said Mom. “She doesn’t usually do that,” she told the people. “She’s really very well behaved.”

Charles stared at his mother. Was she really thinking of giving Goldie to these people?

Lizzie pounded down the stairs with some papers in her hand. “Got it!” she said. She plopped down
in a chair. “Do you have a bed prepared for Goldie?” she asked, without waiting for an introduction.

“Lizzie,” Dad began, “this is Mr. —”

But she rushed right along. “Is your house puppy-proofed? Which of you will be the primary caretaker? Have you looked into a puppy kindergarten class? Which vet will you take Goldie to?”

Lizzie wasn’t even waiting for answers.

Not that it mattered. Charles could see that the man and the lady were obviously not about to answer. The lady looked from Lizzie to her husband. “Well, I never!” she grumbled, and the man just sat there with his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised.

“I’m sorry,” said Mom. “Please don’t mind my daughter. You seem like very nice people, and I’m sure —”

Just then, Goldie took the cuff of the man’s pants in her teeth and started to pull, growling a little as she shook it back and forth. Suddenly, there was a loud ripping noise. A surprised Goldie
sat back hard, holding a shred of material in her mouth.

The man’s eyes grew wide.

His wife stopped grumbling.

And Charles burst out laughing.