Lucky Dog Days Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 1988 by Judy Delton. Illustrations copyright © 1988 by Alan Tiegreen. Cover illustration copyright © 2007 by David Harrington

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Originally published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., in 1988.

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

  Delton, Judy.

  Lucky dog days / by Judy Delton ; illustrated by Alan Tiegreen.

  p. cm. — (Pee Wee Scouts) (Stepping stone book)

  SUMMARY: The Pee Wee Scouts celebrate Help-a-Pet Month by visiting an animal shelter and organizing a rummage sale to raise money for homeless cats and dogs.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-77890-1

  [1. Scouts and scouting—Fiction. 2. Animal shelters—Fiction. 3. Pets—Fiction.

  4. Moneymaking projects—Fiction.]

  I. Tiegreen, Alan, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.P388Luc 2007 [Fic]—dc22 2007007577

  v3.1

  For Julie: Though you are far across the sea

  You’re still the whole wide world to me.

  —J.D.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1 Not Christmas

  2 Trouble with Snooks

  3 Soaked!

  4 Diamond Rummage

  5 The Red Wagon

  6 How Much Is That Doggy?

  7 A Thousand Dollars for the Dogs

  8 Leftover Puppy

  9 Mrs. Peters’s Surprise

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Not Christmas

  The Pee Wee Scouts scrambled out of cars. They ran into Mrs. Peters’s house.

  It was Tuesday. Time for a Pee Wee Scout meeting.

  Mrs. Peters was smiling. She was their troop leader.

  When everyone sat down, she said, “This is a special month. Does anyone know why it is special?”

  “Christmas?” said Roger White.

  All the Scouts laughed.

  Roger’s face turned red.

  “Christmas is in winter,” said Molly Duff.

  “It’s hot outside now and there are flowers,” said Rachel Myers. She laughed at Roger.

  “Some places have flowers at Christmas,” said Mrs. Peters. “Like California and Hawaii.”

  “Ha,” said Roger. He stuck his tongue out at Rachel.

  Rachel raised her hand to tell Mrs. Peters.

  “Tattletale,” said Roger.

  Mrs. Peters frowned. “The special thing about this month is not Christmas,” she said.

  “Is it March of Dimes Month?” asked Rachel. “My dad says that’s a good cause.”

  “No, but you’re getting closer,” said Mrs. Peters.

  “I know!” said Sonny Betz. “I’ll bet it is National Secretaries’ Month.” Sonny’s mother was a secretary.

  Mrs. Peters shook her head.

  “Is it Eat More Pork Month?” asked Mary Beth Kelly. She remembered seeing some pigs on TV. And pork chops and sausages.

  “Oink, oink,” said Molly.

  The rest of the Scouts began to snort.

  “Well, I’ll tell you,” said Mrs. Peters. “It is Help-a-Pet Month.”

  “I’ve got a pet!” called out Tracy Barnes. “I’ve got a gerbil.”

  Tracy’s nose was running.

  It was always running, thought Molly.

  “That’s a dumb pet,” said Roger. “A dog is the best kind of pet.”

  Tracy looked like she was going to cry.

  “Snuffy isn’t dumb,” she said. “He can roll over and play dead.”

  “A gerbil?” said Molly. “A gerbil can’t play dead!”

  The Scouts who had cats for pets were chasing Roger around the room. “Dogs are not the best!” they shouted. “Cats are.”

  “I’ve got a horse,” said Rachel.

  Rat’s knees! thought Molly. Rachel would have to have something bigger than anyone else.

  Mrs. Peters held up her hand.

  The Pee Wees knew that meant quiet.

  “Dogs are good for some people,” she said. “And cats and horses are good for others. And gerbils are good pets too.”

  She smiled at Tracy.

  “My mom says house pets are dirty,” said Rachel. She tossed her head. “Cats lick butter and shed on your clothes.”

  “My cat doesn’t lick the butter,” said Lisa Ronning.

  “As I said,” Mrs. Peters went on, “this is Help-a-Pet Month. I wondered how many of you would like to help a pet?”

  All the Pee Wees raised their hands.

  “What pets?” asked Roger. “My dog doesn’t need help.”

  Rachel snickered.

  “I was thinking of homeless pets,” said Mrs. Peters. “Pets who have no one to love them. There are lots of pets at the animal shelter that have no homes. Maybe Troop 23 could take them for walks. Or raise money for more kennels. They are very short of space.”

  “Maybe we can adopt them,” said Sonny Betz.

  “Ho, ho,” said Mary Beth. “How can we adopt a hundred dogs?”

  The Scouts broke out into laughter again.

  Mrs. Peters’s dog Tiny ran into the room. He barked and barked.

  “He likes the idea of adopting all the dogs,” said Mrs. Peters. She laughed. “But we can’t adopt them. We can only help them.”

  The Scouts cheered. It would be fun to help a pet.

  For the rest of the meeting they all played Scout games.

  Then they had milk and chocolate chip cookies.

  They reported some good deeds they had done for others during the week.

  Then everyone stood up to say the Pee Wee Scout pledge. And sing the Pee Wee Scout song.

  After that it was time to go.

  On her way home, Molly thought, Next week we’re going to help a pet!

  Trouble with

  Snooks

  Next Tuesday took forever to come.

  The Pee Wees rode their skateboards to make the time go faster.

  It was a hot, hot August.

  They went swimming at the pool.

  They climbed trees in the park.

  Still it took a long time for Tuesday to come.

  Finally it was time for the Pee Wees to meet again. They were going to the animal shelter for their meeting.

  As they tumbled out of the cars at the shelter they could hear barks. And meows. They heard whines and whimpering.

  “Someone is crying,” said Mary Beth.

  A lady came out to meet them. “I will take you on a tour,” she said.

  The Scouts followed the lady. Her name was Miss Penn.

  “This is our cat room,” she said.

  Cages, cages, cages.

  All around the room were cages.

  In every cage was a cat.

  Striped cats. White cats. Brown cats. Cats with long hair. Cats with short hair. Big cats. Little cats. Medium cats.

  Every cat was crying. They wanted the Scouts to take them out. They put their paws through the bar
s. “Me-ow,” they called. Take me home.

  Miss Penn opened a cage door. She took out a tiger cat. She put him in Molly’s arms.

  “Oooh!” squealed Molly. “He is so soft. I wish I could take him home.”

  Miss Penn handed each Scout a cat to hold.

  When she gave Tracy a cat, she began to sneeze. Then her eyes started to tear. Tracy’s nose started to run too. More than usual, thought Molly. Yuck.

  “You must be allergic,” said Mrs. Peters.

  She took the cat and put it back in the cage.

  The longer they were in the shelter, the more Tracy sneezed.

  When they got to the dog room, the dogs barked at them. Tracy’s eyes were nearly swollen shut.

  “Dear me,” said Mrs. Peters to Tracy. “You will have to wait in the car.”

  “My cousin is allergic too,” said Rachel. “He has to get shots.”

  “Sonny is allergic,” said Roger. “That’s why he couldn’t come today.”

  “That’s not why he stayed home,” said Tim Noon. “He didn’t come because he’s scared of dogs!”

  “Baby,” said Rachel. “Only babies are afraid of dogs.”

  More dogs began to bark. “Arf! Arf!”

  “Now!” said Mrs. Peters loudly. “Miss Penn said these dogs would love to have a walk. You may each choose a dog and take it for a short walk around the shelter yard.”

  Molly wanted the cocker spaniel.

  So did Roger.

  “There are plenty of dogs to go around,” Mrs. Peters said.

  “Selfish,” said Molly to Roger as she chose a beagle in the next cage.

  Mary Beth chose a poodle.

  Tim chose a dog that looked like a spaniel in front and a Labrador in back.

  “He is a Heinz dog,” said Mrs. Peters. “Fifty-seven varieties!”

  Lisa chose a terrier.

  And Rachel chose a St. Bernard called Snooks.

  “That is a pretty big dog,” said Miss Penn.

  “Do you think you can handle him?” asked Mrs. Peters.

  Rachel nodded. “My uncle has a Great Dane,” she said. “I always take him for a walk.”

  “Liar!” said Molly.

  Rachel made a face at Molly.

  When they got outside, Molly’s beagle walked at her heels.

  So did Mary Beth’s poodle.

  Lisa’s terrier ran and tugged at his leash. Lisa pulled him toward her.

  But when Snooks got to the door, he took off like a bullet. He ran toward a little pond and he pulled Rachel with him.

  “Help!” shouted Rachel as she flew past the girls.

  The other dogs saw Snooks and they began to run too.

  They each pulled a Scout along behind them.

  Tim’s Heinz dog got so excited that he ran around Tim in circles. He wrapped the leash around Tim’s legs.

  “Hey,” called Tim. “I’m all tied up!”

  Soon all the dogs were racing toward the pond behind Snooks. They pulled the Pee Wees behind them, all except Tim. He was on the ground. He tried to get unwound.

  The dogs ran amuck.

  The Scouts were yelling and shouting.

  “Let go of the leash!” called Roger. Everyone did. Everyone but Rachel.

  Soaked!

  “Splash!” went Snooks into the pond. “Splash!” went Rachel right after him.

  Tim finally got his legs free.

  Roger and Tim ran to the pond. They grabbed Rachel’s arms and pulled her out. She was dripping wet and she had a water lily on top of her head.

  Molly and Lisa and Mary Beth got there next. Then Mrs. Peters and Miss Penn.

  “I thought you said you walked a Great Dane!” said Roger.

  Miss Penn went back to the shelter and got a towel. She wrapped the towel around Rachel.

  “My new shorts!” moaned Rachel. “They’re ruined.”

  All of a sudden Molly began to laugh.

  Rachel looked so funny dripping wet.

  With a water lily on her head.

  And her clothes soaked.

  Roger and Tim and Lisa and Mary Beth began to laugh too. The other Scouts joined in.

  When Miss Penn and Mrs. Peters saw that Rachel was all right, they laughed too.

  Roger ran off to catch Snooks.

  Snooks thought he was playing. When Roger got close to him, Snooks ran. He looked like he was smiling. At last Roger caught him.

  “Arf! Arf!” Snooks barked loudly.

  The rest of the dogs had jumped into the pond and were swimming around. Then they came out, dripping wet.

  Roger and Tim rounded up all the dogs.

  “They needed the exercise,” said Miss Penn, laughing.

  “Well, I didn’t,” said Rachel, pouting. “I don’t want to help a pet anymore.”

  “Instead of Rachel walking a dog,” said Lisa, “a dog walked Rachel!”

  Rachel was still wrapped in the towel. She went to sit in the car with Tracy.

  Soon everyone began to calm down. They gave the dogs a short walk.

  Molly tried to teach the beagle to sit up. Tim played fetch with his mutt.

  “I think we have had enough for one day,” said Mrs. Peters. “It’s time to leave.”

  When the Scouts got back to Mrs. Peters’s house, they drew pictures of the pets they had helped.

  Molly’s beagle had a red collar.

  Mary Beth’s dog looked like he had a plate on his head. “That’s his topknot!” said Mary Beth. “Poodles have topknots and pom-poms.”

  “Ho, ho,” Roger laughed. “It looks like a hat.”

  Roger held his picture up. It was a picture of a pond. In the pond was a girl with a lily on her head.

  The girl was Rachel.

  “It’s not funny!” shouted Rachel. “You tear that up, Roger White, or I’ll tell my mother.”

  She began to chase Roger.

  Roger held the paper over his head.

  Mrs. Peters had to clap her hands.

  The room grew quiet.

  “Scouts,” she said. “I have thought of a way to earn money to help a pet. We will have a rummage sale. Ask your mothers and fathers if they have anything to donate. Ask your neighbors too.”

  Troop 23 sang their Scout song. Then they said the Pee Wee Scout pledge.

  Time to go home, thought Molly. She was tired. Help-a-Pet Month was hard work.

  Diamond

  Rummage

  On Saturday morning, Tracy dialed Molly’s phone number. “Let’s go collect rummage today,” she said.

  Even over the phone Molly could tell that Tracy’s nose was running.

  “I’m going with Mary Beth,” said Molly.

  “I’ll come too,” said Tracy, hanging up.

  “Rat’s knees!” said Molly. She stamped her foot. She didn’t want to go with Tracy.

  Tracy was bossy. And she was always sniffling.

  It made Molly sick to her stomach.

  Molly and Mary Beth tried to sneak off without Tracy, but when they left they could see her down the street.

  She was coming toward them.

  She was pulling a big red wagon.

  On the side of it, it said HELP A PET.

  “We can put all the stuff in this,” she called.

  Molly and Mary Beth each had a big bag. They had not thought to bring a wagon.

  “You can’t get much in those bags,” said Tracy. “Let’s go down to Lake Street, where all the big houses are.”

  The girls followed Tracy.

  Rat’s knees! thought Molly. Tracy always gets her own way.

  At the first house, the lady had no rummage to donate.

  At the next house, no one was home.

  But at the big white house on the corner, the lady said, “I like pets. I’ll see what I can find.”

  The Scouts waited while the lady went into her closet.

  She came out with five belts. And a sparkling necklace. Plus a bracelet with a blue stone in it.

  “Thank you very much
,” said the Pee Wees.

  “Do you think those are real diamonds?” asked Mary Beth, pointing to the necklace.

  They watched the stones sparkle in the sun.

  “We’ll get a lot of money for the animal shelter if they are!” said Tracy. She wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve.

  The girls collected more belts and jewelry. They collected some dresses and shoes. They even got some baby clothes at one house. One man gave them two winter coats.

  People liked to help pets. The girls filled the whole wagon. The brown bags were filled up too. The bags were heavy.

  “Set them in the wagon on top of the coats,” said Tracy. “Then we can go to one more house.”

  “We’ve got enough,” said Molly. “I’m hot. Let’s go home.”

  Mary Beth wanted to go home too.

  “Just one more house,” said Tracy, sniffling. “This big one here with the rose garden.”

  The girls sighed. They followed Tracy up the walk to the door. On the door was a sign that said, DELIVERIES USE BACK DOOR.

  “Is that us?” whispered Mary Beth.

  “Not exactly,” said Tracy.

  But the girls trudged around to the back. They rang the doorbell again and again.

  Finally a man looked out the window.

  He looked mean.

  “We are collecting rummage,” shouted Tracy. “To help pets.”

  “I don’t like pets,” said the man. “Go away.”

  “What a crab,” muttered Molly. “A hex on that guy.”

  “We don’t care,” said Mary Beth. “We’ve got piles of stuff. We’ll have more than anybody else.”

  The girls walked past the rose garden.

  They walked down the sidewalk to where they had left the red wagon.

  Then they stopped.

  “Rat’s knees!” said Molly. “Our wagon is gone!”

  The Red Wagon

  Just then a big car drove by.

  A girl was leaning out the window. “Hey!” she called out, and waved.

  It was Rachel. Her mother was driving the car. It was filled with rummage for the sale.

  “Have you seen a red wagon filled with rummage?” asked Tracy.

  Rachel shook her head. Her mother drove off.

  “I’ll bet she took it,” said Tracy.