Cuddles Page 3

  Cuddles cocked her head, looking from Daphne to Lizzie.

  What’s the problem here? I thought we were having fun!

  Lizzie frowned. Why was Daphne being such a pain? “I’m walking Cuddles for free. And Poppy and I will keep doing it — you don’t have to worry.”

  Daphne tossed her head. “Fine,” she said. “Maybe you can teach her not to bark, too — since you’re both such know-it-alls about dogs.”

  Poppy and Lizzie looked at each other and shrugged. “Maybe we can,” said Poppy.

  “So, Poppy knew about this method I never even heard of,” Lizzie told her friends the next day. “It’s called the whisper trick, and it’s for teaching dogs not to bark.”

  Brianna and Maria looked interested, but Daphne rolled her eyes. The four of them were having their monthly business meeting, at Maria’s house. They were in her room, sprawled on the thick rag rug next to her bed.

  “What is your problem, Daphne?” Lizzie asked. “I think it’s pretty impressive how much Poppy knows about dogs. You should see this whole report she did on teddy bear dogs, with pictures she downloaded and everything.” Lizzie had totally given in to the idea that there was someone out there who knew more about dogs than she did. Poppy was amazing! She was like a walking, talking dog encyclopedia.

  “I don’t know, it’s just annoying,” said Daphne. “Plus, she’s just dying to take over my route.”

  “Oh, come on,” said Lizzie. “She’s just a kid. I mean, maybe someday she could join our business, like as a junior member, but — ”

  Daphne looked like she was about to blow up, so Lizzie changed the subject. “Anyway, I think Poppy’s cool. She wants to be an astronaut and go to Mars someday!”

  “Yeah, well, there aren’t any dogs in space,” said Daphne.

  “But there were!” Lizzie had to laugh, remembering how Poppy had told her all about a Russian program back in the 1950s and ’60s in which dogs — and also mice and rats and rabbits — were rocketed into orbit around the earth. Lizzie told her friends about it. “She even knew the dogs’ names! I’m not kidding, this girl knows more about dogs than anybody I’ve ever met.”

  “Really.” Daphne raised an eyebrow.

  “Really!” said Lizzie. “Her mom even had to make a rule that Poppy had to stop telling her dog facts. She said Poppy was driving her batty.”

  “See?” said Daphne. “She drives me batty, too. That’s why I only let her come with me on my route a couple of times. She does nothing but talk about dogs, dogs, dogs.”

  Maria passed around the plate of oatmeal-raisin cookies her mom had made for their meeting. Lizzie could tell she was trying to make peace. “So what is this whisper trick, anyway?” Maria asked. “It’s a new training thing? Maybe we should put it into our book.” The girls always talked about writing the AAA Dynamic Dog Walkers dog-training book. They knew it would be a bestseller, but somehow they’d never really gotten much past talking about it.

  “I think I’ve heard of it,” said Brianna. “Isn’t it when you teach a dog how to ‘whisper,’ like bark without sound, or at least really quietly? Then, when the dog is barking loudly, you tell them, ‘whisper!’ It helps them learn to tone it down.”

  “That’s the one,” said Lizzie. “Poppy and I are going to start trying it with Cuddles. I have a feeling she can learn it, too. That little dog is a big smartie.”

  The whole time Lizzie was talking, Daphne was staring at Brianna. “So now you’re a big expert on dogs, too?” she asked.

  Brianna shrugged. “I like learning about dogs,” she said.

  “And why do you have to teach Cuddles not to bark, anyway?” Daphne turned to Lizzie. “I thought you said she wouldn’t bark anymore if she got more attention.”

  “Well, I guess she got in the habit of barking,” said Lizzie. “Now she does it sometimes even when we’re out walking.”

  Daphne smirked. “I guess you don’t know everything about dogs after all,” she said.

  Lizzie shrugged. “I never said I did,” she said. Why did Daphne have to act this way?

  “Hey,” said Maria, “I have an idea.” She put down her cookie. “Why don’t we have a contest, like a dog trivia contest? That way we can settle once and for all who knows the most about dogs.”

  Lizzie turned to stare at her friend. “That’s the best idea ever,” she said. Immediately, her brain started working overtime. “We could have it at Lucky Dog Books. I know Jerry Small would love it.” Lizzie knew the owner of her favorite bookstore because he had adopted the rest of Buddy’s family. Jerry Small was into anything that had to do with dogs.

  “Awesome idea,” said Brianna. “Maybe it could be, like, a fund-raiser. We could raise money for Caring Paws.”

  “We can enter the contest, right?” Daphne asked. “Even if we’re the ones planning it?”

  “Of course,” Lizzie said. “Anyone can. And a fund-raiser is a great idea. We could charge admission, plus an entry fee for everybody who wants to be in the contest.” She loved this whole idea. But she already knew she wasn’t going to be just one of the contestants. She had a better idea.

  “I want to be the one asking the questions!” she said. “I can do the research and come up with tons of dog trivia.” She could hardly wait to get home to her room, with its bookshelves stuffed with every kind of dog book. She had breed books and training books and dog encyclopedias, not to mention a shelf full of picture books and novels about dogs. She could also go online to look for dog trivia questions.

  This was going to be so much fun — especially when Poppy won the contest, which Lizzie knew she would. For one thing, Lizzie couldn’t wait to see Daphne’s face. Also, if Poppy won, maybe it would help convince her mom to foster — or even adopt — Cuddles. That was Lizzie’s great idea — but she wasn’t ready to share it with anyone yet. First of all, she had to talk to Mrs. Bennett. Lizzie knew that Cuddles would be happier with Poppy and Allie, but Mrs. Bennett had to believe that, too.

  Meeting Poppy had gotten Lizzie thinking about the time before Buddy, when she and her brothers wanted a dog so badly. She used to beg for a puppy all the time, but her parents had always said no. Then she’d had the brilliant idea of convincing them to at least foster puppies — and look what had happened since then! Not only had her family helped dozens of puppies, they had ended up with one of their own — once Lizzie and Charles had proven how responsible they could be. Why couldn’t it work out the same way for Poppy?

  The next day, Lizzie went straight to Allie and Poppy’s house instead of stopping to pick up Misha. The big husky was Daphne’s responsibility again.

  “Ready to go get Cuddles?” she asked when Poppy answered the door.

  Poppy nodded eagerly. “I finished all my schoolwork early today so we could take her for a nice long walk.”

  “Have fun,” called Allie from the kitchen, where she was tapping away on her laptop. Lizzie had learned that Allie had an online business, helping to build websites. She was always busy on her computer.

  “We will,” Lizzie told Poppy’s mom. “And I know Cuddles will be really happy to see Poppy.”

  They set off for Mrs. Bennett’s house. Lizzie told Poppy about the trivia contest. “It’s going to be such a blast,” she said.

  “It sounds like fun,” said Poppy. “Maybe I’ll enter the contest.”

  “You have to!” said Lizzie. “You know more about dogs than anyone! You’re practically guaranteed — ” she stopped herself. She didn’t want to get Poppy’s hopes up, even though she was sure Poppy would win. “You’re guaranteed to have a good time,” she finished.

  She was dying to tell Poppy some of the fun facts she had already learned about dogs. She was really enjoying the job of coming up with questions for the trivia contest. The night before she’d spent hours in her room, surrounded by her dog books.

  She’d learned all kinds of new facts, about the tallest dog in the world (the Great Dane), the smallest (Chihuahua), and the fluffiest (proba
bly a keeshond). Poppy was right: there really was always something new to learn about dogs.

  But she couldn’t tell Poppy — of course she couldn’t. If Poppy knew the answers to the trivia questions — or even what the questions were going to be — that would be cheating. Lizzie knew that Poppy would win even without that kind of help. She probably already knew all those facts, anyway!

  Lizzie also wanted to tell Poppy about her idea for Cuddles’s new home — but she kept quiet about that, too.

  Instead, she let Poppy chatter as they walked, mostly about what she planned to name all the dogs she dreamed of having. “The Dalmatian will be Spot, of course,” she said, “and the husky will be Belka, after one of those Russian dogs who went into space. I think I’ll name my Great Dane something like Jefferson, or Napoleon. Like a really serious name for a big dog.” She looked off into the distance, dreamy-eyed. Lizzie could tell that she was picturing each dog in her mind.

  Cuddles started to bark and bounce and run up and down the porch as soon as Lizzie and Poppy got near the green house.

  Yay! I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for you! And now you’re here. Yay!

  Lizzie tried to calm the fluffy pup so she could clip on her leash. Cuddles was too excited. She dashed around Lizzie’s feet in a wild happy dance. “Hey, come here,” said Lizzie. “Sit!”

  Cuddles ignored her and kept jumping and twirling and barking. She sneezed three times, adorable tiny sneezes.

  Poppy knelt near the puppy and stroked her soft fur gently, whispering comforting words. Soon Cuddles was curled in Poppy’s lap, relaxed and happy.

  “Whew!” said Lizzie. “She sure is a bundle of energy.”

  “But she knows how to calm down, too,” said Poppy. “All she needs is a little love.” She held the tiny dog up and kissed the top of her head. “Okay, you can put the leash on now.”

  They began to walk around the block, Cuddles leading the way with her tail wagging like a miniature flag.

  Look at me, everyone! Enjoy the cuteness!

  A few minutes later, she stopped to bark at a cat in someone’s yard. Lizzie put her hands over her ears. She had learned to like small dogs, but she could never get used to their high-pitched yippy barking. “Weren’t we going to work on this?” she asked Poppy. “How do we teach her to whisper?”

  “From what I read, it could take some time,” said Poppy. “But I’m sure it will work. The first step is to teach her to bark on command. Like when she’s already barking anyway, we tell her, ‘Speak!’ and give her a treat. That helps her understand what ‘speak’ means.”

  Lizzie pulled a tiny treat out of her pocket. “Cuddles, speak!” she said while Cuddles barked. Cuddles stopped barking for a second and cocked her adorable head.

  Huh? I’m kinda busy here. What did you want?

  Lizzie waited until Cuddles started to bark again. “Good girl,” said Lizzie. “Speak!” She gave Cuddles the treat. Then they headed off down the block. The next time Cuddles began to bark — at a mailman walking down the sidewalk — Lizzie tried it again. “Speak, Cuddles!” she said, over Cuddles’s barking. She tossed her a treat. “Good girl,” she said.

  Cuddles sat down to chew the treat daintily. When she finished, she gazed up at Lizzie and barked again. “Good speak!” Lizzie laughed as she gave Cuddles another treat. This dog caught on quickly!

  Cuddles barked again and again, wagging her tail happily.

  Wow! I’m getting rewarded for barking, instead of getting yelled at! I love this game.

  “Okay, that’s fun — what next?” Lizzie asked when they had walked all the way around the block. Now they were standing in front of Poppy’s house.

  “Well, you would do that for a few days,” said Poppy. “Then you start teaching her to ‘whisper’ instead of ‘speak.’ You say it in a tiny voice so she gets the idea. You can hold your finger to your lips as a signal, too. You wait until she barks a little more softly, then tell her, ‘Good whisper!’ and give her the treat.” She shrugged. “It won’t happen overnight, but I guess most dogs can learn to bark really, really quietly.”

  Lizzie nodded. “Sounds great,” she said. More than ever, she wished Poppy could foster or even adopt Cuddles. Think of all the things this smart pup could learn from such a good trainer!

  “Hey! Catch him!” Lizzie turned to see who was shouting. It was Daphne, racing down the sidewalk after Misha. The big furry husky was tearing along with his leash dragging behind him. “He spotted a squirrel and he took off!” Daphne said, panting, as she ran up to Lizzie and Poppy. Misha had veered off into someone’s yard and was staring up at a tree. “When he gets free, he’s impossible to catch — he just dances away from anyone who gets near. What if he runs into the street?”

  Daphne looked so upset that Lizzie’s heart went out to her. Sometimes it was really scary to be responsible for someone else’s dog.

  Poppy handed Cuddles’s leash to Lizzie. “I think I know how to get him,” she said.

  Poppy took off running — into her own backyard. “Misha!” she kept calling. “This way!” She stuck two fingers into her mouth and whistled a loud piercing whistle.

  “Wow,” said Lizzie as she and Daphne ran that way, too. “I always wanted to be able to whistle like that. And look! He heard her and he’s interested.”

  Misha stood like a statue, his head cocked and his ears pricked high. He looked around, sniffing at the air, as if trying to figure out where the noises came from.

  “Misha!” yelled Poppy again. She stood in her backyard, waving her arms to catch his attention. “This way!” And then, as Misha started to move toward her, she did something amazing. She ran away from him, dodging between the swing set and a flower garden.

  “What’s she doing?” Daphne asked. “I thought she was going to help catch him.”

  Lizzie laughed. “She’s doing exactly the right thing. She’s making herself more interesting than a squirrel. She has to grab Misha’s attention before we can grab him.”

  Lizzie knew the ‘running away’ trick. It worked just about every time. “Dogs are curious creatures,” her aunt Amanda had told her. “When they hear or see something interesting, they want to check it out.”

  Sure enough, Misha galloped into Poppy’s backyard. Lizzie and Daphne ran, too, with Cuddles twinkling along beside them. They arrived just in time to see Poppy petting Misha’s side. “Good boy,” she was saying as she moved slowly to take hold of the panting husky’s trailing leash. “What a good boy, Misha!”

  Misha wagged and wriggled and grinned up at her. He didn’t seem to mind being caught — not when the dogcatcher was so nice. Lizzie could see how happy Misha was that Poppy knew how to scratch him in the exact right spot between the ears.

  The back door of the Bauers’ house popped open and Allie stepped out. “What’s going on out here? Dogs and kids tearing all over the yard!”

  “Poppy caught Misha!” Daphne said. “That was awesome, Poppy.”

  Lizzie’s eyebrows shot up. That was the first nice thing Daphne had said to Poppy.

  Daphne noticed. “What?” she asked. “It was great. You really are terrific with dogs, Poppy. Thank you!”

  She walked over and took Misha’s leash from Poppy. “But don’t think it means I’m not going to beat you at that trivia contest!” she added with a smile as she headed off down the sidewalk.

  * * *

  “It looks great in here, don’t you think?” Lizzie asked Maria. She spun around to admire the dog-themed decorating they’d done, along with Daphne and Brianna and Jerry Small. Allie and Poppy had helped, too. They had all worked hard to put the trivia contest together, and now, a week later, it was almost time for it to begin.

  Cuddles was the guest of honor, and she had spent the afternoon racing up and down the aisles of Lucky Dog Books, accepting cookies whenever she did something cute (which happened, Lizzie thought, about every two seconds) and whisper-barking the way Poppy had taught her.

  It was the b
est trick ever! It was so cute. Cuddles would start barking because something exciting was happening, like when people were blowing up balloons. Poppy would put her finger to her mouth and say, “Whisper, Cuddles,” and the puppy’s shrill barks would fade to tiny whimpers you could barely hear. She looked proud of herself when Poppy told her what a good girl she was.

  I’m a quick study! Teach me some more tricks!

  Lizzie couldn’t wait to try teaching the whisper trick to a few other barking dogs she knew. Meanwhile, tonight was the big night, and she was ready. Or was she? The contestants and the audience would be arriving any minute, and suddenly, Lizzie was nervous.

  She taped up one last poster, of a litter of adorable pug puppies sitting in a blue wheelbarrow, then sat down to check her stack of questions one more time. She had written them all out on color-coded index cards: yellow for easy, blue for medium, and red for really hard questions. She planned to start with easy questions, like — she shuffled her cards and picked one out — “What is a dog’s most powerful sense?” Most people knew that dogs had an incredible sense of smell, so they would probably guess that — and they’d be right.

  The way the contest worked was Lizzie would ask each contestant a question in turn. If they answered correctly, they stayed in. If not, they were out. “That way,” Jerry Small had suggested, “Dog Trivia Night won’t go on all night long.”

  Lizzie glanced up to see that the room was filling with people. Her aunt Amanda was there, and so was Ms. Dobbins. They were going to be tough contestants, since both of them knew so much about dogs. Lizzie’s parents and brothers were there, and Poppy’s mom, and lots of other families.

  Besides Maria, Brianna, Daphne, and Poppy, there was a sprinkling of other kids lining up to enter the contest. And almost all the seats in the audience — the rows of chairs Lizzie had helped set up — were already filled. Maria had done a good job advertising the contest, putting up dozens of copies of the poster she and Brianna had designed.