Free Buddy by Ellen Miles Page A

Charles, and the Bean had loved every one of those puppies. They had hoped and wished that they would be able to keep each one themselves. But they knew that the puppies had found just the right homes, and that was the most important thing.
    It had been quite a while since the Petersons had fostered a puppy. That was why Lizzie had started volunteering at Caring Paws in the first place. She missed being around dogs!
    Now, at the shelter, Lizzie could hardly wait tomeet the newest dog, Skipper. “Is Skipper a boy or a girl?” she asked Ms. Dobbins.
    Ms. Dobbins paused. “She’s a girl,” she answered after a moment. “And here’s the thing. We are so full right now that I just don’t know where I’m going to put her! I’ve already got two dogs doubled up in kennel five. We have more than a dozen dogs looking for homes! There is just no room here — and Skipper really, really needs more space to be comfortable. We need a foster family for her.”
    “Maybe my family can take her,” Lizzie suggested. “Is Skipper a puppy?”
    “Well . . . no,” said Ms. Dobbins. “But —”
    “It doesn’t matter,” Lizzie interrupted. “If she needs a home, and there’s no room here, I’m sure we can take care of her for a while. I’ll just have to convince my mom. She’s used to fostering puppies, so talking her into a dog should be a breeze.”
    As they were talking, Ms. Dobbins was leading the way down the hall to the dog room. She and Lizzie walked past the exam room, where a visiting vet checked out every animal that came into the shelter. They passed the tub room, the scene of many soapy, hairy messes. And then there were the two cat rooms. Lizzie peeked in. She could see all kinds of cats and kittens. They were napping and climbing and cleaning themselves.
    As they approached the dog room, Lizzie could hear dogs barking. It was funny. Sometimes only one dog was barking in the dog room. But other times, all the dogs started barking at once, as if they were kids in a classroom yelling, “Call on me! Call on me!”
    Ms. Dobbins pushed open the door to the dog room. Inside, there were ten kennels made of metal fencing that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Each kennel had a comfy bed, a sign onthe outside with the dog’s name, and directions about feeding and walking. Each kennel also had a doggie door that could open to a fenced area outdoors, so the dogs could get outside on their own when there wasn’t a volunteer to walk them. The room was warm and bright, and there were hand-painted number signs for each kennel. Lizzie knew that animal shelters could be sad places, and she was glad that Caring Paws always seemed cheerful and homey.
    Ms. Dobbins pointed at kennel number one, the cage nearest the door. “That’s Skipper,” she said. “And now you know what ‘and company’ means.”
    There, in the kennel, was a brown-and-tan dog with a silky-soft coat. Her big cocoa-brown eyes were shiny, and she had ears that stood straight up. Right now they were pointed toward the door, as if Skipper had radar. But Skipper didn’t jump to her feet, the way most dogs did when you came into the kennels. She just stayed where she was, looking up at Ms. Dobbins.
    Skipper wondered who the new person was. Could she trust her? Should she stand up and show off her treasure? She decided it was safe.
    When Skipper moved, Lizzie gasped. “Oh, my!” she said when she saw what was curled up in the curve of Skipper’s belly.
    Three puppies.
    Three tiny, adorable, brown-and-tan puppies, and they were just beginning to squirm themselves awake.

CHAPTER TWO
    For a minute, Lizzie couldn’t say anything. She just stared. “Ohh,” she finally sighed. “They are so, so cute!”
    The puppies had fluffy, soft-looking coats. Two of them were mostly brown with tan markings. One of those puppies was a darker brown, and one was lighter. They were both larger than the third puppy, who was mostly tan with brown markings. All three