Free Snowball by Ellen Miles Page A

found for Goldie is with my best friend, Sammy. He lives right next door, so I get to see her all the time.
    Charles thought for a minute.
    I also like knock-knock jokes. I’ll tell you one when I meet you. Hint: It’s about a dog.
    My dislikes: not having a dog of my own. And mushrooms.
    My favorite food is: spaghetti, but I don’t like meatballs. If I had a dog I could give him my meatballs.
    Charles put down his pencil and shook out his hand. He had been writing a lot! The letter was almost done. Except, he had forgotten to ask Mrs. Peabody about herself. He picked up his pencil.
    What about you? Do you have a dog?
    Your Grandbuddy,
    Charles
    Charles looked down at his paper. He had written much more than he had planned to, and a lot of it seemed to be about dogs. Oh, well. The bellhad just rung. It was time to hand in his letter, tidy up his desk, and line up by the door.
    â€œWhen do you get to meet your Grandbuddies?” Lizzie asked Charles and Sammy on their way home from school. It was snowing, and Charles was trying to catch a snowflake on his tongue.
    â€œOn Monday,” Sammy said. “I’m going to bring Mr. Munsell a picture of Goldie and Rufus.”
    Rufus was Sammy’s other dog. Rufus was an older golden retriever, and he
loved
having Goldie around. They were always chasing each other and stealing each other’s toys. Hearing about the picture made Charles feel a little jealous. Why didn’t
he
have a dog he could bring a picture of?
    â€œCharles! Lizzie! Hop in!” It was their dad, pulling up next to them in the Petersons’ red pickup truck. He looked excited.
    â€œWhere are we going?” Charles asked.
    â€œDown to Olson’s gas station,” Dad answered. “There’s a puppy there. A puppy that needs a good foster home.”

“Another puppy?” Lizzie asked. “What kind?”
    â€œHow old is it? Is it a girl or a boy? Can we keep it this time?” Charles was so excited he could hardly think straight.
    Dad just laughed. “The sooner we get there the sooner we’ll know more about this pup,” he said. “Let’s go!”
    â€œYou guys are so lucky,” Sammy said. “I wish I could come, but I have to go home and take care of Goldie and Rufus. Call me as soon as you get home. I want to meet the new puppy!”
    Charles and Lizzie climbed into the truck and fastened their seat belts.
    â€œOkay, Dad, tell us everything you know,” Lizzie demanded as they headed downtown.
    â€œAlso, does Mom know about the puppy? Is it okay with her?”
    Charles was wondering the same thing. Mom was not exactly a dog person. She thought they were a lot of trouble and mess. She had promised Charles and Lizzie that they could get a dog someday — but that someday never seemed to come. Charles and Lizzie had felt really lucky that Mom had agreed to let them foster Goldie, the golden retriever puppy. Of course, they had hoped she would let them keep Goldie forever, but that had not happened. Maybe this time it would!
    Dad laughed again at Lizzie’s questions. “Yup, Mom knows. She’s excited. So is the Bean. He’s been running around yelling, ‘Uppy! Uppy!’ ever since he heard us talking about a puppy.” Then Dad got serious. “Mom did say to remind you that we’re just fostering this pup until we can find it a good home. So that answers
one
of your questions, buddy,” he said, looking at Charles in therearview mirror. “As for the others, all I know is that somebody left the pup in a box at Olson’s gas station. I guess they thought he’d know what to do with a dog, since everybody knows Gunnar.”
    Gunnar was a Dalmatian and the fire department’s mascot. He belonged to Bruce Olson, who was on the fire squad with Mr. Peterson. Gunnar was so smart and brave. Once he had saved a little boy by pulling him out of a burning house! Charles thought Gunnar was