All Paws on Deck, page 11
We just had one more stop to go before we’d be on our way.
“I hope Kim did well on that math test,” Taylor said. The beads in her braids swung around her face as she spoke. The day before she’d gotten new ones, a mix of lavender and turquoise that looked great with her dark brown skin and big brown eyes.
“Yeah, me too,” I said. Our friend Kim was a genius when it came to dogs—the Dog Club was her idea and everyone called her the dog whisperer because of the way she understood and trained pups of all shapes and sizes. But math and English tripped her up, and we’d had a scare when it looked like her parents wanted her to change schools to improve her grades. However, with the help of Taylor and Sasha, Kim had set up tutoring sessions with Taylor’s sister Anna, and all of us quizzed her before exams. So far it was working great and when we rounded the corner, I could see her grinning as she chatted with Sasha in front of her locker.
“Kim aced the test,” Sasha told us gleefully as we came up to them.
“Awesome,” Taylor said, raising her hand to high-five Kim.
“Yeah, that’s great,” I echoed, not sure if I should high-five too. I knew that Kim and Sasha accepted me as part of their group; after all, they asked me to join the Dog Club and that showed how much they trusted me, which was great. But I had to admit there were still moments when I felt a little like a fourth wheel when the four of us were together. You’d think a fourth wheel would even everything out, but the three of them had inside jokes and memories all their own. And there was an easiness between them that sometimes felt like an invisible barrier, with them on the inside and me on the outside. Still, I was thrilled to be part of the gang and excited for our afternoon at the club. And I hoped that at some point that barrier would come down and I’d be fully on the inside too.
“Thanks, guys,” Kim said, her brown eyes bright as she smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without your help. And of course Anna’s.”
Anna was one of Taylor’s three older sisters and a math genius. She and Taylor hadn’t always gotten along, but lately they were close as could be and Anna had really come through to help Kim.
“Anna’s the best,” Taylor said proudly. “Are you guys ready to go? The dogs are waiting.”
“Then let’s get moving,” Sasha said cheerfully. Her brown curls were pulled back in a braid and she moved gracefully, probably because she was a star dancer at the school where she studied ballet, tap, and jazz. “Bri, is it your day to get Mr. S? Because I need to give you the key to our house. I had to use the spare yesterday and I forgot to put it back in the hiding place under the plant box.”
Sasha was kind of scatterbrained, but she was so good natured about it that it didn’t matter. And her cheeks glowed a healthy pink every time she talked about her dog, Mr. S. Not so long ago he’d lived at the Roxbury Park Dog Shelter, where Kim, Sasha, and Taylor had started the Dog Club, both to help owners who worked all day get exercise and attention for their pets, and to raise money for the shelter. But Sasha had fallen in love with him and managed to talk her neat-freak mom into adopting him. Now he had a home with Sasha and came with us to the club to see all his old pals a few times a week.
“Yes, I’m getting Mr. S, Humphrey, and Popsicle,” I confirmed. One of the perks we offered Dog Club customers was pickup service. For owners with full-time jobs, the club was the perfect way for their dogs to get a good workout and lots of love and doggy company while they were at work. And for a small additional fee we’d get their dogs on our way to the shelter.
Sasha handed me her key and I put it in my pocket. We wove through the crowd and finally made it out into the brisk fall afternoon. There was a chilly wind, but the sun was warm on my face as we headed into town, our feet crunching on recently fallen leaves. Autumn had definitely come to Roxbury Park.
“I’m getting Coco and Waffles,” Taylor said, “since I got Gus and Hattie the last time.” Waffles was a shelter dog recently adopted by the Datta family, who had immediately signed him up for the club. Waffles clearly loved his new home but was always happy to see his old friends at the shelter.
“Sounds good,” Sasha agreed. We tried to rotate pickups with the exception of one dog.
“How’s Missy doing with the walk to the shelter?” I asked Kim. Missy was a new club dog and she actually belonged to our English teacher, Mrs. Benson, who was the strictest teacher any of us had ever had. We were shocked when she showed up at the shelter in jeans and a T-shirt like a regular person, needing help with her new dog. Missy had been rescued from a puppy mill where she had been badly mistreated. She had been like a shadow, scared of everything and cringing whenever anyone got too close. But Kim the dog whisperer had worked her magic, while Mrs. Benson had patiently showered Missy with love, and the little Yorkie was finally coming out of her shell.
“She’s doing great,” Kim said with a grin. “She loves all the smells on Main Street.”
“Like Sugar and Spice?” Taylor asked. Sugar and Spice was the candy store in town and it smelled like chocolate, cinnamon, and strawberries every time we passed. It made my mouth water just to think about it.
“Actually Missy really likes the garbage can on the corner in front of the bank,” Kim said, laughing. “She’s into two-day-old sandwiches and crusty bits of doughnut.”
“Gross,” Taylor said, making a sour face that cracked all of us up.
“You should see Mr. S dig into his Buddy’s Beef Stew,” Sasha said, wrinkling her nose. “Just opening the can kills my appetite for hours, but he acts like it’s the tastiest meal ever.”
“What does your mom feed the dogs at the Pampered Puppy?” Taylor asked me. “Do they get gourmet dog food?”
Her tone was light, but I felt my stomach tighten at her words. “Um, yeah,” I said. “But it still smells pretty gross.” The organic fresh minced meat used at the Pampered Puppy actually smelled fine, but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. My mom ran a dog spa that was pretty much a fancy version of our Dog Club. But where our dogs just played and had fun, the dogs who came to the Pampered Puppy got training and each one had an individualized exercise program, as well as regular grooming sessions and carefully planned diets. It was great for people who wanted their dogs obedient and spotless at the end of the day. But I was a lot more comfortable at our Dog Club, where owners just laughed if their dogs were revved up and a bit on the muddy side at pickup.
“Is the new dog coming to Dog Club today?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.
“Yes,” Sasha confirmed. She handled all the clients who came to the club, while Kim wrote entries in our blog, the Dog Club Diaries. Taylor took photos for the blog, and recently for a newspaper story that had gotten us more clients than we could handle. We now had a waiting list and one lucky dog had just gotten off it. “Her name is Jinx and she’s coming in for her visit today. Her owners say she’s mischievous—hopefully she’s not another Sierra.”
The three of them laughed and I tried to join in. Sierra was a dog who’d been too wild for the club and caused all kinds of problems. I wasn’t part of the club then, though, so it was one of those fourth-wheel moments. At least I knew about the visits. Now when a dog wanted to join the club they had an initial visit, to see how they got along with the other dogs and if they were a good fit for the loose, easygoing culture of our Dog Club.
We’d reached the corner where we separated to get our dogs.
“See you guys in a little bit,” Sasha called as she and Kim headed straight, while Taylor turned left and I turned right down Spring Street. Sasha and Kim lived a block and a half down, and the Cronins, who had been the first Dog Club members, were right next to Kim’s house. I headed to their house and as soon as I slipped the key into the lock of the front door and opened it, I heard a dog let out a happy bark.
“Hi, Popsicle,” I said warmly, bending down to pet the black and white puppy with floppy ears. The Cronins had adopted Popsicle from the shelter and like all the dogs she loved her time in Dog Club with her pals.
“And hello to you too, Humphrey,” I said to the basset hound making his way slowly into the front hall. Humphrey was a typical basset and didn’t rush for anything except food. When he reached us he fell over onto one side, breathing heavily, as though the walk from the living room had exhausted him.
“You are one lazy pup,” I told him affectionately, not meaning a word of it. I stroked his silky ears and he let out a contented sigh.
After a little more snuggling, I grabbed their leashes and buckled them on, and we headed over to get Mr. S. When I first met Mr. S I was confused by the way he sometimes ran into things. I was actually a little rude about it after he banged into my elbow, but Sasha, protective doggy mom, set me straight fast. Mr. S, a fluffy white Cavachon, was nearly blind. And considering that, it was amazing how well he got by. Now I loved him almost as much as Sasha did, and seeing him race about in happy circles when the dogs and I arrived to get him made me smile. I bent down and hugged him. Mr. S rewarded me with a kiss and then rushed to romp with his friends.
“Okay, guys, let’s get this show on the road,” I told my pack of three. Sasha was supposed to leave Mr. S’s leash on a hook by the door, but as usual it wasn’t there. It took me a minute, but I soon found it thrown over the hall chair, where Sasha had probably tossed it after walking Mr. S this morning. Mr. S stood still while I snapped the leash onto his collar and a minute later we were on our way.
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About the Author
DAPHNE MAPLE grew up in a small town in upstate New York in a big house that was always full of dogs. She and her friends would spend long afternoons playing with their dogs in the backyard, and that, along with her work at an animal sanctuary, gave her the idea for Roxbury Park Dog Club. She lives and writes in Washington, DC, with her dogs Sweetie Pie and Trixie, and on sunny afternoons you can usually find them playing Frisbee at the local dog park.
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Books by Daphne Maple
Mission Impawsible
When the Going Gets Ruff
Top Dog
All Paws on Deck
Credits
Cover art © 2016 by Annabelle Metayer
Cover design by Jenna Stempel
Copyright
ROXBURY PARK DOG CLUB #4: ALL PAWS ON DECK. Text by Daphne Maple, copyright © 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers. Illustrations by Annabelle Metayer, copyright © 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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ISBN 978-0-06-232773-4 (pbk.)
EPub Edition © August 2016 ISBN 9780062327741
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Daphne Maple, All Paws on Deck
