The Mystery of the Hapless Hound of Curly Bay by Donna Doyle

Author:Donna Doyle [Doyle, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PureRead
Published: 2022-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

“I’m sorry,” Courtney said when Ruthie gave her a baleful look the next morning. The bloodhound didn’t seem to understand why she was confined to a leash in the backyard while Peppa ran around freely. “You know exactly why I have to do this. You’ve already managed to escape two separate fences on me, and I’m not going to be foolish enough to let you do it again.”

Ruthie let out a sigh that make her cheeks flap, but she did her business and came back inside.

Courtney got ready for work, feeling a little less hopeful about the dog’s future. If Ruthie couldn’t be trusted to stay in someone’s yard, how was she ever going to be adopted out? Sure, she came back easily enough, but only after she’d run halfway across town and completely worn herself out. It didn’t bode well for the dog’s future.

“I just might be fostering you from here on out,” Courtney said to Ruthie as she clipped the dogs to their leashed and grabbed her purse. “That’s not really so bad, though. Peppa likes you, and at least I’ll know where you are.”

Ruthie walked slowly out to the car, not nearly as eager as Peppa was. She put her nose down to the ground and let her ears hang in front of her face, which was actually pretty comical. Courtney giggled as she opened the back door of the car. “Come on, Ruthie.”

Ruthie’s giant paws stayed firmly planted on the ground.

Peppa was already in the backseat. She knew the routine. She looked from one to the other in confusion.

“Come on.” Courtney patted the upholstery. “It’s the one car you haven’t muddied up yet. Let’s go.”

Ruthie’s sat down right where she was.

“We’ve got to go to work.” Courtney knew that tone of voice was often more meaningful to dogs than the words themselves, so she tried to sound excited. “Come on! Let’s go to work! We’re going to have a good time! You know you want to go!”

But the dog apparently did not want to go. She started backing away from the car.

This was going to put Courtney in dire straits if she didn’t get it fixed quickly. “No, Ruthie. Let’s get in the car!”

Ruthie continued to back away, and she started twisting her head first one way and then the other. Courtney tried to get around behind her to stop what was happening, but it was too late. The loose skin around Ruthie’s neck made it easy for her to slip free of her collar. Courtney lurched forward to grab her, but she only caught air as Ruthie took off down the road.

This time, Courtney didn’t feel panicked at all. Upset and a bit irritated, sure, but she no longer needed to wonder where Ruthie had gone. She closed the back door to the car, glad that her own dog had stayed inside, and got in. “Come on, Peppa. It looks like you get to go for a walk in the park today.”

The morning sun filtered down through the tree branches.

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