Too Big to Run (6 page)

“The young man with the mastiff?” the vet tech said. “Actually, I just passed them on my way here.”

“You did?” Zach was surprised.

Russ nodded. “Sit tight—let's see if they're still there.”

Soon he pulled to the curb beside the local high school's playing fields. Zach spotted Matthew and Maxi right away. Matthew was dressed in his running shorts and jogging in place on the school's track. Maxi was standing near him, wagging her tail.

“This will only take a second,” Zach told Russ. “Can you wait for me?”

“Sure, take your time.”

Zach hurried toward Matthew. Halfway there, he could hear him talking to Maxi.

“No, no, girl,” the young man said. “Stay! You don't have to run with me.”

“Hey, Matthew!” Zach called. “Hi!”

Both Matthew and Maxi turned. Maxi wagged her tail and hobbled toward Zach.

“It's okay, Maxi,” Zach said. “I'll come to you.”

He ran faster and soon reached the big dog. As he was patting her hello, Matthew came over, looking worried.

“I thought this would be a good way to spend time with Maxi,” he said with a sigh.
“If I run on the track, she can hang out in the middle and watch. But she doesn't get it. She keeps trying to run with me, like always.”

“She shouldn't do that,” Zach said.

“I know, I know.” Matthew shrugged. “I just don't know what else to do.”

Once again, Zach was worried. Even if they got her the surgery she needed, would Maxi go back to running and hurt her knees again?

Zach pushed that thought aside. “Listen, I have great news,” he said. “We came up with the perfect fundraiser to pay for Maxi's surgery!” He quickly told Matthew about the walk-a-thon.

“That is perfect!” the young man exclaimed. “I did a jog-a-thon once, and it was a blast. Doing it with dogs would be
even more fun!”

“Yeah.” Zach glanced at the big dog. “But do you think Maxi should walk that far?”

“Probably not,” Matthew said with a sigh. “But maybe I can borrow a dog from a friend. I definitely want to help.”

“Great.” That made Zach feel better. “Tell everyone you can think of, okay? We want lots of people to join in and help us raise money.”

“Will do,” Matthew promised. He bent down and ruffled Maxi's ears. “Did you hear that, big girl? You're going to get your surgery!”

“We need a cute name for our fundraiser.” Janey clicked to save the flyer she was designing on her tablet. “Writing ‘dog walk-a-thon' on every poster is too long.”

Lolli nodded. The two girls were sitting at the big wooden table in Lolli's cozy, messy dining room working on the advertising for the fundraiser. Lolli's mom was on the phone in the next room talking to someone official about reserving space in the park.

“How about calling it, um…” Lolli
thought for a second. “The Doggie Dash?”

Janey wrinkled her nose. “That makes it sound like everyone has to run,” she said. “I'm not sure it's clear enough, either. We want people to be excited, not confused.”

Lolli nodded. “You're right. We should probably have the word ‘walk' in the name.”

“Walk for Cash?” Janey said. “Or the Dollar Walk?”

“But that's not clear enough either,” Lolli said. “There should be something about dogs, or people might think it's a regular walk-a-thon.”

“Well, we could put a dog on the poster,” Janey said. But she knew her friend was right. “Okay, how about Walk Your Dog Day?”

“I guess that's okay,” Lolli said uncertainly.

Janey could tell her friend didn't like her idea—she was just too nice to say so. “We don't want something okay,” she said. “We want something great!” She tapped her fingers on the table. “And we need it pronto.”

Just then Roscoe wandered over to see what they were doing. He rested his head on the edge of the table, staring at Janey with his big brown eyes.

“What do you think, Roscoe?” she asked, rubbing his head. “You're going to be walking in this thing—what should we call it?”

Roscoe's tongue lolled out, and he wagged his tail so hard it smacked into Lolli's leg. Lolli giggled. “Roscoe wants to call it the Walk and Slobber,” she joked.

“No.” Janey's eyes widened as the dog's tail smacked her again. “Roscoe's a genius! We should call it the Walk and Wag!”

Just then Lolli's mother walked into the room. “The Walk and Wag?” she said. “Is that what you're calling this thing? I like it!”

“Me, too,” Lolli said. And this time Janey could tell she meant it.

“Great!” Janey patted Roscoe. “Thanks for the idea, Roscoe.” Then she looked at Lolli's
mom. “Did you talk to the park people?”

She smiled. “Yes, and you're on. The Walk and Wag is two weeks from Saturday.”

“Two weeks?” Janey pulled her tablet closer. “Okay, let's get back to work!”

“Great poster, kids!” Ms. Tanaka, Janey's homeroom teacher, was holding one of the posters Janey and Lolli had printed out the day before. “I'll hang it right here where everyone can see it.”

The entire Pet Rescue Club watched as the teacher hung the poster in the middle of the classroom's bulletin board. “Will you be in the Walk and Wag?” Zach asked. “You could bring Truman.”

Truman was the first dog the Pet Rescue Club had helped. Ms. Tanaka had adopted him from the shelter.

“Truman and I will be there,” Ms. Tanaka promised with a smile. “We love to go for walks. A walk for a good cause sounds even better!”

Lolli giggled. “Remember how you wanted a big dog at first?” she said. “Well, wait until you see Maxi. She's probably the
biggest dog in town!”

“Really?” Ms. Tanaka chuckled. “I can't wait to meet her. Now take your seats—it's almost time for the bell.”

As the kids hurried to their desks, Janey was still thinking about Truman. Ms. Tanaka had wanted a large dog at first. But it turned out that Truman was the perfect match for her even though he wasn't very big.

I know Mrs. Reed will be the same way, Janey thought. Everyone thinks Ace is too hyper to be a therapy dog. But I bet he'll be a perfect match, too!

“Hi, kids,” Kitty said as Janey and Lolli hurried into the shelter lobby the following Friday afternoon. “People have been asking
about the Walk and Wag all week!”

“I can't believe it's only a little over a week away.” Janey shivered with excitement. “Anyway, I just realized something. Lolli will be walking Roscoe. But I don't have a dog to walk. Can I walk one of the shelter dogs? Maybe Ace?”

Kitty looked thoughtful. “I think we'll have to walk him together, because he's a little too big and strong for you. Okay?”

“Okay!” said Janey. “I bet Adam and Zach will want to borrow shelter dogs, too.”

By Sunday afternoon, it was settled. Janey, Adam, and Zach were given permission to walk shelter dogs in the fundraiser. The entire Pet Rescue Club visited the dog room
to choose which dogs to take.

“What if the dog we pick gets adopted before next Saturday?” Zach wondered, tickling a friendly hound through the kennel door.