Take a Bow-Wow Read online

  To Maggie, Kali, and Blue.

  Thanks for the memories.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Copyright

  “I can’t believe you went through with it,” Henry said, shaking his head.

  “I know,” Sadie agreed, her eyes wide. “I can’t believe I did either.” She put a wad of newspaper in Henry’s hands. It had his name on it. Next, she pulled another clump of newspaper off the same shelf. This one was marked Sadie Reynolds.

  “Well, I totally believe it,” said their friend Lexi. She cradled her clump of newspaper in her arms. The three friends headed to a table at the far end of the art room. “I’m proud of you, Sadie.”

  “I just hope it will be worth it,” Sadie admitted. She placed her damp newspaper bundle in front of her. Then, in one easy motion, she pulled her long, black curly hair into a ponytail and snapped a rubber band around it. Next, she tugged the wet paper away from her clay sculpture, piece by piece. It didn’t look at all like a dog. It looked like a wet rock. She had a lot of work to do.

  “It’ll totally be worth it,” Lexi said. She gave Sadie a reassuring smile.

  Sadie was glad that they could talk in art class. She had been looking forward to telling her friends about her plan all morning, but there hadn’t been time before school.

  “I just wish you had told us you were in a piano recital. We would have come to cheer you on,” Lexi added.

  “Um, Sadie doesn’t like to perform in front of people,” Henry reminded Lexi. “That’s the whole point.”

  Henry was right. Sadie hated getting up in front of people. Lexi didn’t really get that. Lexi liked the attention. Sadie was glad that Henry understood.

  “I only did it because of my parents’ promise. They better not change their minds.” Sadie crossed her fingers and then gave them a kiss for extra luck. She needed it.

  “You performed in a piano recital. In front of real people,” Lexi said. “They’ll keep their promise.”

  Sadie was pretty sure she could count on her parents. They were good like that. Still, everything had to work exactly as she had planned or it could be months before she’d get another chance.

  “Mr. Power got the poodles in at the beginning of the week,” she explained. “He says he doesn’t get poodles that often. I really love one of them, and I just hope he’s still there when my parents come by tomorrow. They have to leave work early and everything.”

  Lexi and Henry nodded. They both knew Mr. Power. He was the owner of Castleton’s very own pet center, Power’s Pets. Lexi, Henry, and Sadie all helped Mr. Power in the store. Their friend Max, who was in another class, volunteered with them, too. Sometimes they had to clean out the guinea pig cages (yuck), but usually they got to play with the kittens or feed the turtles. Just last week, Henry had spent his whole volunteer time teaching the store parrot, Mango, fun new phrases.

  “Why do you want to get a poodle?” Henry asked. “Is it because you like their poofy, frilly haircuts?”

  Sadie sighed. Why did people always think that poodles were fancy-pants dogs? It wasn’t true at all. Sadie knew that poodles were actually great athletes. “For your information,” Sadie began, “the classic poodle haircut dates back to when poodles were famous water dogs. Owners cut their poodles’ hair so that it wasn’t too heavy for swimming. Poodles were great retrievers for hunting ducks and stuff,” Sadie explained. She had read a lot about dogs. Recently, she’d started reading anything she could find about poodles.

  “I never knew that,” Henry admitted. “It’s interesting, but it doesn’t explain why you want a poodle.”

  “It isn’t that I want a poodle,” she replied. “It’s that I need a poodle. My dad has bad allergies. If he’s around dogs, his eyes get all red and his nose gets all stuffy.” Sadie had seen it happen a bunch of times. It wasn’t pretty. “But the good news is that poodles don’t bug him at all. Poodles are practically hypoallergenic. That means they don’t make people sneeze as much. Mr. Power told me.”

  He had mentioned it to her parents, too. Because of her dad’s allergies, Sadie had thought a dog was out of the question. Poodles gave her hope! But even after talking to the kind, old owner of the pet store, her parents still weren’t convinced. That’s when Sadie had come up with her plan.

  Her parents had really wanted her to play in the piano recital. Sadie had been taking lessons for three years, but she had always refused to be part of her teacher’s recitals. This year, Sadie agreed to perform — if she could get a dog.

  It was a brilliant idea, and her parents had agreed. Sadie couldn’t believe it.

  Still, Sadie had to get through the recital. She hated feeling unprepared, so she practiced a lot. The only way she could get over her stage fright was to practice, practice, practice. She played her piece until she knew it by heart.

  The recital had been just last weekend. It had gone well. Sadie had survived! Her parents had been proud. Then, that very night, Mr. Power had called to say that he was expecting a small litter of poodle pups that week. It was almost like magic.

  Sadie had stopped by after school on Wednesday with her sitter. Sure enough, there were five poodles in the puppy pen: two silver puppies, two white puppies, and one cream pup. They were all adorable, but there was something about the little cream-colored puppy that had caught Sadie’s attention. She wasn’t sure what that something was, but she was sure that he was the only puppy for her.

  “I hope it works out,” Lexi said with a burst of excitement. “I’m so happy for you!” Her face was all smiles, and she clapped her hands at least ten times.

  “Why are you so happy, Lexi?” Isa Graham asked from the next table.

  “Well, it’s Sadie’s news,” Lexi began. She looked over to Sadie, but Sadie just looked down at her clay blob.

  Henry answered for her. “Sadie’s going to get a puppy. A poodle, because her dad’s allergic to other dogs.”

  “Oh, I love poodles,” Isa exclaimed, pushing a strand of chestnut-colored hair over her shoulder. “You’re so lucky, Sadie. My parents have been promising me a puppy for ages, but I got my ears pierced instead.”

  Sadie nodded, noticing a big blue earring sparkling through Isa’s long locks. It felt weird, hearing Isa say she was “lucky.” To Sadie, Isa Graham seemed like a girl who was swimming in luck and good fortune. Isa always seemed to have the coolest clothes and the most exciting stories. Sadie had kind of assumed that Isa already had a dog, or two or three.

  “Where are you getting your poodle, Sadie?” Isa asked.

  Sadie hesitated. She had really wanted the puppy to be more of a secret, especially since it wasn’t a sure thing. “From Power’s Pets,” she answered, twisting a strand of loose hair.

  “Oh, that’s the new pet store on the square,” responded Isa. “I’ll have to check it out. Maybe my dad can take me today or tomorrow!”

  Sadie just nodded. She had a feeling that when Isa Graham went to a pet store, she got to leave with a new pet. And Sadie had a bad feeling that she knew which pet Isa Graham would pick. That would be just Sadie’s luck.

  The next day, Sadie, Lexi, and Henry met their friend Max just outside Power’s Pets. They were all certain that Sadie was going to adopt her puppy that afternoon. That is, everyone was sure except Sadie.

  Power’s Pets had only been open a few months. In that short time, Lexi and Max had both adopted puppies of their own. Lexi had a frisky black-and-brown pup with floppy ears. Max’s puppy was a fluffy golden re
triever with a jolly grin.

  All day at school, Sadie had kept her fingers crossed for luck. She double-checked now to make sure they were still intertwined. She walked into the pet-center door behind her friends. “Hi, Mr. Power! We’re here!” the group called out.

  “Happy Friday,” a voice replied. “I’ll be right there!”

  Sadie had been waiting for this moment all day. But instead of going straight to the puppy pen, she stalled in the middle of the store. She didn’t want to know if the cream-colored puppy was gone.

  “Don’t worry,” Henry said. “He’s still here.”

  “He is?” Sadie asked, rushing over to the play area. “He is!” she exclaimed when she saw his sweet black eyes and coat of shaggy curls.

  “He’s supercute,” Max said.

  “I know,” Sadie agreed. She looked up at the clock. It wasn’t even 4:00 yet. She wondered when her parents would get there.

  “Hello, hello!” Mr. Power said, coming over. “We have a busy day today. I wrote out a list of things we need to do.”

  He handed the list to Henry, and the three others crowded around him. “I want to feed Mango!” Henry said.

  “I’ll help Mr. Power clip the kittens’ claws,” Max offered.

  “Good, that leaves feeding the lizards and the fish for us,” Lexi said to Sadie.

  A short time later, Lexi and Sadie were staring into the fish tanks. The electric-blue and cherry-red fish were swimming in figure eights.

  “I’m so relieved that Isa didn’t come in and take the cream-colored puppy yesterday,” Sadie said.

  “Why were you so worried?” Lexi asked.

  Sadie shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “You can’t let Isa get to you, Sadie,” Lexi said. “You need to stand up for yourself. When you talk to me, Henry, or Max, you say just what you’re thinking. But you’re different with other kids.”

  Sadie didn’t know what to say. She knew Lexi was right, but she couldn’t explain it. “I just feel good around you guys. It’s easy to be myself.”

  “You should be yourself around everyone,” Lexi said.

  Sadie sighed. “It’s not that easy.” She wasn’t sure she could make Lexi understand. Lexi never got tongue-tied or ended up saying way too much. Sometimes Sadie started talking and she couldn’t stop. The rest of the time, she couldn’t find the words at all, so she didn’t say anything, even when she wanted to. All or nothing: Sadie didn’t know which was worse.

  “Hey, Mr. Power and I are done with the kittens’ claws,” Max said. He had walked over to Lexi and Sadie. Henry had come over, too.

  Sadie half smiled. Now that they were there, it would be the end of her talk with Lexi. Sadie was relieved.

  She watched Mr. Power turn away from the kittens and head their way.

  “We’re expecting your parents soon. Aren’t we, Sadie?” He glanced at his old pocket watch. He raised his eyebrows, clicked the watch closed, and slipped it back in his vest. “Well, we don’t have too much time before they’ll be here. If you know the puppy that you’d like, we can get started.”

  Sadie bit her lip. She was too excited to speak!

  “Max mentioned that you have a favorite,” the store owner said in a helpful tone. “Who’s the lucky pup?”

  Sadie took a deep breath and exhaled. She could feel her smile pushing her cheeks up into her eyes. She could not remember ever feeling so happy. “The little cream-colored one,” she said finally.

  “That is a pup that knows what he wants,” Mr. Power said. “He’s got a mind of his own.”

  Sadie frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, just that he doesn’t follow the other puppies around. He does what he wants to do,” Mr. Power explained. He bent down and reached into the puppy pen. “Would you like to hold him?”

  “Yes, please,” replied Sadie as she took the poodle in her arms. Her fingers were immediately lost under the puppy’s lush curls. They felt so silky and smooth. The puppy was amazingly calm. He looked her right in the eye.

  Sadie stared back. She couldn’t look away. All at once, she felt something bump into her side. Then she felt it again.

  “Look at his tail!” Henry cried.

  “Wow. I’ve never seen a tail wag so hard,” Max added.

  “I think he likes you,” Lexi said.

  “Yes, I’m sure he does.” Mr. Power smiled. “I guess it’s time to tell you about his trick. Did Max and Lexi tell you about their puppies’ tricks?”

  Sadie shook her head.

  “Well, I’m sure they’ll agree that a puppy’s trick is very important.” Mr. Power took the poodle into his own arms as he spoke. “You have to ask them to do it in just the right way.” He set the puppy on the floor.

  Sadie wasn’t all that interested in tricks. She just wanted a new friend — a fuzzy, funny, frisky new friend — but she listened politely.

  “This puppy can chase his tail extra fast. It’s pretty cute,” Mr. Power explained with a laugh. “To ask him to perform the trick, you clap once and say, ‘Bet you can’t catch it.’ ”

  Sadie grinned. It seemed like such a funny thing to say!

  “How about you give it a try?” the store owner suggested. “When you want him to stop, just say, ‘Stop.’ ”

  Sadie nodded and knelt down without saying a word. The puppy gazed at her with his sweet, serious eyes. He seemed to be waiting.

  At that exact moment, the door opened and Isa Graham strode into the pet store with her father.

  Sadie felt her heart jump into her throat. Then it fell to the bottom of her belly, and it stayed right there.

  “Hi,” Isa said to the group. “This is my dad. Oh, Dad, look at that adorable puppy. Isn’t he the cutest?” Isa rushed over and knelt down to pet him.

  Sadie was stunned. She looked at Isa. She wanted the other girl to know that she could not have this puppy.

  Sadie imagined what would happen next. Isa would tell her dad that she wanted the cream-colored puppy. Then Isa would get to take the puppy home.

  Sadie wanted to say something, but she couldn’t seem to move her tongue.

  As Isa rubbed the puppy’s ears, she leaned forward and touched her nose to his. She didn’t seem to realize everyone was watching her.

  The puppy looked from Sadie to Isa, and back again. Gazing at Sadie, he barked and wagged his tail. He took a step toward her and barked two more times. Then, with an immediate burst of energy, the puppy started to scamper in circles, right at Sadie’s feet. He bolted around and around, growling playfully. He was chasing his tail, just like Mr. Power had said. The puppy was doing his special trick all by himself.

  As Sadie watched in awe, silver stars seemed to swirl around the puppy. Stars whirled around her, too. Suddenly, Sadie didn’t feel nervous.

  “Hi, Isa,” Sadie said. “This is my new puppy. As soon as my mom and dad come, I’m going to take him home.” She smiled and took another deep breath.

  “Stop,” she said to the puppy. The little dog skidded to a halt. His pink tongue drooped from his mouth. He lay down, panting. The silver sparkles had disappeared, but the puppy had not lost his adorable glow. He was just the cutest puppy Sadie could imagine.

  For a moment, it was like it was just Sadie and the puppy in the store. She wrapped her fingers behind his ears and gave him a super scratch. “You’re such a good boy, aren’t you? You almost caught your tail that time, didn’t you?” The puppy rubbed his chilly, wet nose all over her hands and wrists.

  “Well, I just wanted to come see all the animals,” said Isa. She reached out and grabbed her father’s hand. “Thanks for bringing me, Dad. I really like this place. Maybe someday I could get a puppy from here, too?”

  “Maybe,” her dad replied, smoothing the long hair on Isa’s back. He smiled at Mr. Power and the group of kids before heading out the door.

  Lexi quickly came over and sat down on the tile floor next to Sadie. With her heels tucked beneath her, she put her hands on her knees and leaned c
lose to Sadie’s ear. “That was awesome, Sadie,” she said.

  Sadie raked her bottom teeth over her upper lip and searched her friend’s face. She wondered what would have happened if she had not said anything. Would Isa have asked her dad for the puppy? Sadie didn’t know.

  “So, you got to see this pup’s trick,” Mr. Power said, walking over. “Pretty cute, huh?”

  “Definitely,” Sadie replied, stroking the puppy along the back. “I didn’t even have to ask him. He just did it on his own.”

  The old man rubbed his whiskers and seemed to investigate the puppy, looking at him front to back.

  It made Sadie nervous, seeing the store owner examine the puppy so closely. Worry started to well up inside her. She looped a loose curl around her finger until she couldn’t stand it any longer. “You know, you never told me what this puppy’s name is,” she blurted. “I mean, it doesn’t really matter because I would love him even if he’s named Cauliflower Surprise, but I kind of want to know so I know what I should call him. I can’t keep calling him ‘This Puppy.’ ” She swallowed quickly, before more words tumbled out.

  Mr. Power didn’t answer right away. He bent down and put a gentle hand under the puppy’s chin. He leaned close to the puppy, just as Lexi had to Sadie. He lifted the pup’s soft, floppy ear and whispered.

  When he was done, he looked at Sadie. He seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. “This puppy doesn’t have a name yet. I guess that will be up to you. Will you call him Cauliflower Surprise?”

  Sadie smiled and rolled her eyes, but not in a mean way. “No, I think I’ll call him Truffle,” she answered. “A long time ago, people used poodles to sniff out truffles in the ground. They were good working dogs. Today, people use pigs more than poodles. But I like the name Truffle anyway.”

  “What’s a truffle?” Max asked.

  “It’s a fungus that is a lot like a mushroom, but fancier,” Sadie explained.

  Henry made a face. “I think I’d call him Cauliflower Surprise instead.”