by Katharine Foley
"Here it is, the new house," said
Kate and Erica's father. "Yep," said Kate. "Do you want to go
check out the back yard?" asked Erica. "Yep, let's go outside. Race
ya," said Kate. "Kay, but I'm gonna win!" The two ran into the
backyard. "What's that hole?" asked Kate. "Dare you to go
in," said Erica. "Kay, I'll do it," said Kate. She stepped in.
She heard a screech. "Erica, is that you?" "No, what do ya
mean?" All of a sudden she saw a flicker of movement. "Are you sure
that's not you?" "Yea, I'm sure." Kate found a furry bundle and
picked it up. She walked out of the darkness. "It's a puppy!" She
brought it into the house.
"What
are you doing with that dog?" asked their father. "We found it,"
replied the girls. "And do you think it was a good idea to bring it in the
house?" "No, sir" they answered. "So why did you do
it?" "We don't know, sir" the girls answered. "Let me have
a look at that puppy," said their father. "That's one of them shiba
inus" he said, staring down at the sandy orange blue-eyed pup. "A
whata what?" asked Kate. "A shiba inu. It's like a husky, but
smaller." "Ya know, girls." "Yes, sir?" "When
your Mama was livin' she loved dogs. She had her own shiba inu. She named it
Brewster after the town in Cape Cod, a beachy area we used to go to in Massachusetts before we moved to Florida
The two
girls ran to the basement and dug through some stuff. “What are we doin’?”
asked Erica. “Well, Papa said it’s our responsibility, so we have to make a dog
bed,” replied Kate. “Ah-hah, we could use these old pillows, blankets, and
wooden crate!” said Erica. The two went to work. They stitched up holes in the
blankets and pillows, and put them in the crate. “Wait!” cried Erica. “We need
to get dog food and supplies before it’s too late to walk to the pet store” and
off they went. They had to carry the puppy since they didn’t have a leash.
Luckily he was really tiny. When the girls got there they realized the three
dollars they brought wouldn’t be nearly enough money. “Hello, we’re Kate and
Erica,” said the girls to the tall man wearing a Pets Plus shirt. “We’re
looking for dog food, a leash and collar, and toys,” said Kate. “Okay, follow
me,” said the salesman with a friendly voice. While they walked over to the pet
food area, two boys came up to them. “Look, it’s the poor girls that live in
the old shack on Winn Dixie Drive
“Hey,
Erica, what are we going to name the puppy?” “I don’t know,” said Erica. “What
about Scout, or Buddy, or,” Kate
interrupted “WHAT about Brewster?!” “Good thinkin’, Kate,” said Erica. “Brewster
is a way better name than my idea, Buddy.” They chatted about the puppy all the
way home.
“Papa,
we’re home!” the girls shouted. They put the collar on the puppy and found a
place to put the leash and food. They got two bowls from the kitchen and put
them next to the bed they built. “This bag of dog food is heavy!” said Kate. They
filled up the bowls, one with water and the other with dog food. The next day
they played with the puppy. They ran around for hours.
As the
days went on they noticed strange things about Brewster. For example, he wasn’t
eating much of his dog food. He was more active at night than in the day. He
didn’t bark. When they would try to have fun with Brewster he would beg for
food and nip at them. As he got older his coat turned a brighter orange and his
eyes turned an amber color. He loved to pounce on bugs, but he didn’t really
like to play with a ball. They loved him no matter how different he was from
other dogs.
After a
couple of weeks Brewster started to get sick. He didn’t have a lot of energy,
he wouldn’t pounce on bugs, and he wasn’t eating good. “I’m getting worried
about Brewster,” said Kate. “You’re right, he usually has a bigger appetite
than this,” said Erica. “You girls should bring him to the vet” said Papa. “Can
you drive us?” Kate asked. “Sure,” said Papa. They all got in Papa’s truck and headed
to the vet.
After examining Brewster the vet said he got
sick from the dog food they had been feeding him. “Was it bad or somethin’?”
asked Erica. “No, but that’s not a dog,” said the vet. “Well, if he ain’t a
dog, what is he?” asked Kate. “Well,” said the vet “by all of the research we
did, he’s a fox.” “A fox?!” they all said at the same time. “I should have
known when he didn’t bark” said Papa. “What does a fox say?” asked Kate. “They
make a screeching sound,” said the vet “but they don’t make much sound at all.”
“Hmm, well he was very quiet” said Erica. The girls noticed their father looked
upset. “Papa, can we still keep ‘em?” asked Kate. “For goodness sake, what do
you think? He’s a fox!” said Papa. “But he’s still really nice,” said Erica. “We’re
not keeping him, and that’s that!” said Papa. “We’ll release him in the woods.”
The girls cried and cried, the whole way
home. When they finally got home they went with Papa on a long walk into the
woods and released Brewster. The girls cried so hard they couldn’t see an inch
in front of them. “Goodbye, Brewster. I love you,” said Kate. “Me, too,” said
Erica. “Come on already, girls. We gotta get goin’.” They had a really long
walk home. The girls kept tripping they were crying so hard. Neither of the girls
could eat their dinner they were so sad. They both tossed and turned at bed
time, and it took them a few hours to finally fall asleep.
Both girls were sound asleep when suddenly
they heard a big BANG. “Oh, no” they thought. The girls knew that sound really
good. It was Papa’s gun. They jumped out of bed and rushed outside. They saw
Brewster lying on the ground and Papa holding his gun. “How could you?” asked
Erica. Kate sat down next to Brewster and started crying. “I did it to protect
you two,” said Papa. “It was from the wild and it could hurt you.” “I suppose
you’re right,” sobbed Kate. “But we loved him so much.” “I did, too, and I
didn’t want to shoot him, but I had to,” said Papa. “He doesn’t know the
wilderness now, and he’ll keep coming back. Sooner or later he could give you a
disease. I’m really surprised that you didn’t get one already because he was
always nipping at you,” said Papa. “Taking care of Brewster proved you are
responsible pet owners,” he said. “A dog might be too much money, but a kitten
would be a perfect pet for you. Would you like to get a kitten tomorrow?” he
asked. “Yes, Papa,” said both girls.
The girls buried Brewster in a little hole
they dug. They laid his collar and leash on top of the hole. They held hands
and walked into the house together. “Let’s have some lemonade,” said Erica. “It
will cheer us up.” “That sounds nice,” said Kate.
THE
END
Copyright © 2014 Katharine Foley. All rights reserved.
