Brave by Jennifer Li Shotz

Author:Jennifer Li Shotz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HMH Books

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The pet store was cavernous and bright, and dogs casually strolled the aisles alongside their people. Brave, on the other hand, was practically beside himself with excitement. His tongue hung out of his mouth, and his entire back half swung left to right as his tail wagged as steadily as a windshield wiper. He hopped up on every shelf, sniffing to take in the thousands of new smells, then exhaling sharply to clear his nostrils so he could sniff again.

“Easy, Brave,” Dylan said, shortening the slack on the leash so Brave couldn’t jump up as easily. Brave looked over his shoulder at Dylan, as if to say Seriously? This is the coolest place I’ve ever seen and you want me to take it easy? But the dog seemed to settle down.

“He listens to you,” Dylan’s mom said.

Dylan took that as a good sign. Keep it up, Brave, he thought, sending the dog a silent message.

They filled their cart with a big bag of kibble, two stainless steel bowls for water and food, and some high-value training treats. To replace the things Grace had loaned them, Dylan picked out a red collar that would look great on Brave’s dark fur, and a new leash that felt like a horse’s reins in his hand. Brave watched everything go into the basket, his eyes alight with anticipation. Finally they came to the toy aisle.

“All right, pal, this’ll be fun,” Dylan said. “Sit.” Brave hesitated, distracted by the rows of brightly colored balls and ropes and flying discs and stuffed animals in the shape of squirrels, raccoons, and even a teddy bear. It was overwhelming.

Dylan waited a moment to give Brave a chance to respond, then repeated the command and held out an upside-down closed fist over his head. Brave sat. Dylan’s mom nodded, impressed.

“Stay,” Dylan said, holding out a palm to Brave. “I’ll show you a few things, and you pick, okay?” Brave’s ears flicked. “Good.”

Dylan grabbed a tough leather hedgehog, a spiky rubber ball, and a long braided rope in a rainbow of colors. He held each one in front of Brave’s nose while the dog sniffed and snorted, eyeballed, and even—when no other customers were looking, thankfully—tasted them.

Brave seemed equally thrilled by all of them, so Dylan tried again with a double-handled tug-of-war toy and a squeaky rabbit. When Brave still couldn’t decide, Dylan held them all up again, one after the other. When he got to the hedgehog, Brave hopped up on his back legs and put his paws on Dylan’s arm. He let out a high-pitched yip.

“Hedgehog for the win!” Dylan’s mom laughed.

“Good call, Brave.” Dylan hung all the other toys back on their pegs. He held the hedgehog in his hand as they made their way to the register, but Brave kept jumping up on him impatiently. Finally, Dylan pulled off the tag and gave it to him to carry.

Dylan used his cash to pay for everything, and the three of them headed for the parking lot.

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