Free Cody by Ellen Miles Page B

had a big, deep bark for such a young dog. He was wagging his little tail so hard that his whole body squirmed. The puppy was white with black spots all over. He had a shiny black nose and deep brown eyes, and he was wearing a bright red collar. “Oh! It’s a Dalmatian!” Lizzie dropped to her knees to say hello.
    Buddy grabbed his chance and dashed out the door. “Buddy!” Lizzie yelled. She dropped the puppy’s leash as she dove for Buddy — and missed.
    “Oh, no, you don’t!” Sammy grabbed Buddy before he could run off.
    “Whew, thanks!” Lizzie said. She whirled around to pick up the puppy’s leash, but the little white dog had already charged past her, right through the door and into the house, barking like crazy the whole time.
    Yee-haw! Here I am, everybody! Let’s play!
    “Lizzie?” Mom shouted from upstairs. “What’s going on?”
    “Tell your mom I said hi,” Sammy’s mom said quickly. “Gotta go!”
    Sammy handed Buddy back to Lizzie. “Good luck,” he said with a grin. He followed his mom down the front steps.
    Lizzie carried Buddy inside and closed the front door. Then she took Buddy into the den. “Looks like we have a new foster puppy!” she told him. “You’re going to stay in here for a minute until I can figure out if he’s friendly or not. Be good, okay?” Buddy looked at her quizzically. Lizziegave him a kiss, put him down, and closed the door behind her. “Maria?” she called over the sound of barking. “Charles?”
    “In here,” yelled Maria from the kitchen.
    “Help!” yelled Charles.
    Lizzie ran into the kitchen to find her best friend and her brother chasing the quick little puppy around the table. “We can’t catch him!” Charles said.
    The puppy was barking happily as he careened around the kitchen, slipping and sliding on the floor. His pink tongue was flapping and he was smiling a big goofy doggy smile. It was obvious that he was having the time of his life.
    Lizzie started to laugh.
    “It’s not funny!” said Maria. “Seriously, we can’t catch him!”
    Lizzie ran over to the counter and reached into the doghouse-shaped cookie jar where they kept Buddy’s treats. She pulled out a dog biscuit.“Here, pup!” she said, holding it out for the puppy to see and smell. “Want a cookie?”
    The puppy screeched to a halt under the kitchen table and cocked his head at Lizzie. One ear was black; the other was white. He had one big black spot over his right eye, which made him look absolutely adorable, like a little pirate. “Come on,” Lizzie said encouragingly. Slowly, the puppy moved toward her. Charles stepped forward. “Hold on,” Lizzie warned. “Don’t grab him. That might scare him.”
    The puppy stretched out his neck and sniffed at the biscuit. “That’s it,” Lizzie said gently. “Good boy.” Slowly, she reached out her other hand and hooked a finger under his collar. Then she let him have the biscuit. The puppy gobbled it down, crunching loudly as crumbs fell to the floor. He put his nose down and snuffled around until he had licked up every scrap with his big pink tongue. Then he looked up at Lizzie andstarted barking again. His tail was wagging harder than ever.
    That was awesome! How about another one — or two?
    Lizzie cracked up. This puppy was
trouble —
but he was also very, very cute. Before he could start running around again, she sat down on the floor and pulled him onto her lap for some hugs and kisses.
    “What is going
on
here?” Mom was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. The Bean stood next to her, holding on to her shirttail. He was still rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
    The Bean spotted the puppy. “Uppy!” he crowed. He started to run toward Lizzie and the puppy.
    “Hold on there, mister!” Mom grabbed the straps of his overalls and hauled him back. “Remember, no patting puppies we don’t know.”
    “But —” the Bean began.
    “No buts,” Mom said firmly. She lifted the Bean, then turned