Too Big to Run (5 page)

“I hope Adam gets here soon,” she said. “We need the whole Pet Rescue Club to
come up with the perfect idea.”

“In the meantime, why don't you help me walk some dogs?” Kitty suggested. “I was going to take Patch to the park. If you guys come along, we could take a second dog with him.”

That made Janey forget about her problems, at least for a moment. “How about Ace?” she said eagerly. “I bet he'd like some exercise.”

Kitty chuckled. “I know he would. But he's not quite ready to walk in public yet,” she said. “We're still working on his leash manners. Besides, one of the other workers took him out for some exercise earlier. Apparently, he tossed a ball for Ace for almost an hour and Ace never got tired.”

Zach laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like Ace.” He glanced at Janey. “That reminds me. My mom got those pictures you guys sent her yesterday.”

“Great!” Janey said. “Did she forward them to Mrs. Reed?”

“I think so.” Zach shrugged. “Mom wasn't sure Ace would be a good therapy dog, though. He's too hyper.”

Janey frowned. “He's not that hyper. Anyway, I'm sure Mrs. Reed can handle him.”

“Do you know someone who might want to adopt Ace?” Kitty asked. “That would be great. He's not a dog who would work for just anyone. He'll definitely need a special home.”

“Mrs. Reed is definitely special,” Janey
said. “I sent some pictures to her. I'm sure she'll love Ace.”

“Great.” Kitty checked her watch, sounding distracted. “Come on, we'd better get moving.”

A few minutes later the four of them left the shelter. Kitty was holding a leash attached to Patch, a scruffy looking terrier cross. Janey was walking an apricot-colored miniature poodle named Peaches.

“Follow me,” Kitty said, setting off along the sidewalk. “What a nice day!”

Janey nodded. It was warm and sunny. Lots of people were out enjoying the pleasant weather.

“Look, Mommy!” a little boy cried from across the street. “Doggies!”

The boy and his mother looked both ways, then hurried across. “Excuse me,” the woman said. “My son loves animals. Can he pet your dogs?”

“Yes, and thanks for asking first,” Kitty replied with a smile. “Not every dog is friendly, but these two definitely are. Go ahead, young man.”

Mother and son cooed over the dogs for a few minutes. After they moved on, an elderly man stopped to admire Patch, telling a long story about how he had a dog just like him as a child.

By the time the man said good-bye, Janey felt a little impatient. Were they ever going to make it to the park?

Finally they arrived. There were even more people there enjoying the nice day. And most of them seemed eager to come over and pat the dogs. Patch and Peaches both seemed to like the attention.

Not Janey, though. She wished everyone would leave them alone. Maybe then they'd be able to talk about their fundraising ideas.

She sighed as a young woman came over
leading a little girl who looked about four. “Hello,” the young woman said. “This is Saffron, and I'm Rachel.”

“She's my nanny,” Saffron informed Janey and the others. “My mommy and daddy both have very important jobs.”

“That's nice,” Kitty said with a smile. “Would you like to pet the doggies?”

“Thanks.” The nanny smiled back. “She's crazy about animals.”

“Good doggie!” Saffron said loudly, lunging toward Patch.

The dog backed off a few steps, looking worried. “Carefully, Saffie,” Rachel said. “Don't scare him.”

“Boo!” the little girl yelled, grabbing for Patch again.

This time the terrier cross dashed behind Kitty to get away. Janey rolled her eyes. Little Saffron might be crazy about animals, but she wasn't very good at petting them!

Meanwhile Saffron grabbed for Peaches. The tiny poodle stood her ground, wagging her tail uncertainly.

“Nice doggie!” Saffron cried, smacking Peaches on the head.

“Oh, dear,” the nanny said, yanking the
little girl away. “I'm so sorry!”

“Good girl, Peaches,” Kitty said, picking up the poodle and cuddling her. Once the nanny had dragged her charge away, apologizing all the while, Kitty glanced at Janey and the others. “Wow, Peaches really handled that well. Maybe she should be your friend's new therapy dog.”

“No,” Janey said. “Peaches is too small. Mrs. Reed wants a medium-sized dog. Like Ace.”

“Oh, okay, too bad.” Kitty gave Peaches a kiss on the head and set her down. “Anyway, Peaches shouldn't be too difficult to adopt out. Small dogs are usually easier, especially sweet ones like her.”

Zach pointed. “Here come some more fans.”

Janey saw a couple of teenage girls coming toward them. “Ugh,” she muttered. “Why can't people leave us alone for two seconds?”

Kitty laughed. “Don't be a grump, Janey,” she said. “Everyone loves seeing dogs at the park. And we love it, too. The more people who see these dogs, the better their chances of getting adopted.”

“Oh, yeah, that's true,” Janey said. Suddenly she was glad that Ace wasn't with them. Otherwise he might get adopted before Mrs. Reed ever met him!

Just then Lolli poked Janey on the shoulder. “Look, there's Adam,” she said.

Janey looked where her friend was pointing. Adam was coming toward them, walking a sweet-faced collie.

“I know that dog,” Zach said. “Adam walks her all the time. Her owner has a really busy job.”

“Like Saffron's parents?” Janey said with a giggle.

She expected Lolli to laugh. But Lolli didn't even seem to be paying attention to Janey's joke.

“That's it!” Lolli cried. “I just had the perfect fundraising idea!”

“What is it?” Janey demanded. “What's your idea, Lolli?”

“Yeah, spill it,” Zach added.

“Wait.” Lolli led them toward Adam. “I want the whole Pet Rescue Club to hear this.”

Soon Patch and Peaches were sniffing noses with the friendly collie.

“Hey, guys,” Adam greeted his friends. “I just need to take this girl home and then I'll be ready for our meeting.”

“Forget it,” Janey said. “We're having our meeting right here and now. Lolli just had an idea.”

She crossed her fingers, hoping her friend's idea was a good one. The sooner the Pet Rescue Club settled on a plan, the sooner they could help Maxi!

“Actually, you sort of gave me the idea,” Lolli told Adam. Then she smiled at Kitty.
“And you did, too.”

“What do you mean?” Kitty asked.

“I was thinking about what you said about how everyone likes seeing dogs in the park,” Lolli explained. “And then I saw Adam and thought about how people pay him to walk their dogs. That reminded me of the walk-a-thon I did with my parents once.”

“A walk-a-thon?” Adam looked interested. “I get it. You want to do a dog walk-a-thon.”

“What's a walk-a-thon?” Janey asked. “And how does walking dogs raise any money?”

Lolli patted the collie. “When we did it, we were raising money for an environmental group. My parents and I asked people to sponsor us—that means they promised to pay a certain amount for every mile we walked.”

“I get it.” Zach nodded. “We could walk
dogs right here in the park, and ask people to sponsor us for every mile we go.”

“And you could invite everyone in town to walk with their dogs to help raise more money,” Kitty suggested. “People love an excuse to get out and do something with their pets.”

“So you really think this will work?” Zach asked Kitty.

She smiled and nodded. “It's a fantastic idea,” she said. “In fact, if your walk-a-thon is a success, maybe the shelter will do the same thing next year. We're always looking for fun ways to raise money—and raise awareness of pets in need at the same time.”

“Great.” Now Janey was excited. “So how do we get started?”

It turned out there was a lot to do to get ready for the walk-a-thon. On the walk back to the shelter, Kitty gave them some advice. As soon as Adam arrived after dropping off the collie, the Pet Rescue Club got to work. Janey took notes on her tablet computer while the whole group figured out what to do first.

Soon they had a plan to get started. Lolli was going to ask her parents to get permission from the town to hold the dog walk-a-thon in the park. Janey decided to start by designing a poster to hang up at local businesses. And Adam offered to send an e-mail to all the dog owners he knew asking them to take part.

“What should I do?” Zach asked.

Janey thought for a second. “We need to tell Matthew that we have a plan,” she said. “Your mom knows how to reach him, right? Why don't you track him down and talk to him.”

“Sure, I can do that.” Zach borrowed Kitty's phone and called his mother. She was busy with a patient, but soon Russ arrived to pick him up.

“Where to, Zachie?” Russ asked.

“I need to find Matthew and Maxi,” Zach said. “Do you know their phone number? Or where they live?”