Dusty by Jane B. Mason

Author:Jane B. Mason
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Pedro sat in his office in the handlers’ lodge tapping his fingers on his desk. He’d been working on a new PowerPoint presentation for several hours and was feeling a little twitchy—class prep wasn’t a particular strength even though it was an important part of his job. And while his command of English was strong—he was fluent—every once in a while he came across something that he could only explain accurately in Spanish. He rubbed his temples, then sat back and focused his eyes on the photos of SAR handler-and-dog teams who had trained on the ranch … a welcome relief. His eyes strayed to the clock on the wall. It was 4:34 p.m., almost quitting time. He needed to wrap things up! If only he weren’t so distracted about how his favorite Chihuahua was faring with Roxanne. He gave himself a little pep talk and was returning his attention back to his presentation when three of the Sterling kids burst into his office still wearing their backpacks.

“He’s a scenter!” Shelby shouted gleefully.

“An air scenter,” Morgan corrected. “All SAR dogs are scenters, Shelby.” Shelby was so excited for Dusty and in such a great mood that she didn’t even respond to being corrected by her little sister. Who cared? In addition to Dusty passing his assessment with flying colors (they had raced straight to Roxanne for the report), she’d sat by Ryan in history and lunch today, and he didn’t sneeze once!

Pedro sat back in his chair and absorbed their excitement … another welcome relief from his PowerPoint. Their jubilation filled the room and mixed with his own. He couldn’t help it; he was proud of his former roommate. By the time Roxanne appeared in the doorframe with Dusty on a lead, the small office was positively buzzing.

Pedro raised his chin slightly at Roxanne, smiling broadly. “Tell me everything,” he said.

Roxanne smiled back, sheepishly. “You were right, and I should have listened,” she replied with a tiny bow.

Pedro threw his head back in laughter. “I didn’t mean for you to say I was right,” he told her, his dark eyes sparkling. “I just want to hear what happened today!”

Roxanne shook her head, bemused. “Oh, that!” She reached into the bowl of candy on Pedro’s desk and chose a strawberry Laffy Taffy. Unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth, she let the anticipation build while she chewed and swallowed.

“Yip!” Dusty let out a bark, as if to say, “Tell them already!”

“I have to admit I was skeptical when we started, and even more skeptical when he completely ignored the scent pad. He didn’t lower his nose to it for a single second!”

“Because he didn’t need to!” Shelby interrupted.

The corner of Roxanne’s lips curved upward. “Apparently not. The moment I gave the command, he ran straight for the rubble pile. I’d told Eloise to hide behind the pile, not even considering that he would choose to go over it. But that’s exactly what he did, and found Eloise immediately.”

Pedro raised an eyebrow.

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