Lucky Dog Days

Not Christmas

T
he 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

N
ext 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 bars. “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.