The Friskative Dog by Susan Straight

Author:Susan Straight [Straight, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-48514-4
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2007-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

In the morning, it was foggy. She thought about the border collie moving the sheep through the fields, where the fog would cover the grass.

The fog hung over the pool, making diamonds on the black iron railings, swirling around the carports. The empty carports looked like horse stables. The border collie would run away from here, from apartments, because he wouldn't have anyone to herd, any room to run.

Like her father.

A magazine was on the kitchen table, she saw, and her mother came out of the bathroom with her uniform on and new earrings in her ears. Silver hoops with tiny dangling hearts. “I got us each something yesterday,” her mother said, smiling. “Since your dog got a new tag. I got you this to help with your project, and I got myself earrings to help me feel better.”

She hugged Sharron hard and said, “You can cut out pictures after school.” The magazine was called BARK. On the cover was a dalmatian with a Santa hat. Every page inside had pictures of dogs: golden retrievers, boxers, pugs, greyhounds and dalmatians and Labrador retrievers, yellow and black.

“Thanks, Mom,” Sharron said. She saw the price on the magazine. $4.95. Between that and her early allowance, her mother had already spent ten dollars on her this week. “I love it. I'll put it in my room.”

But in her bedroom, she put BARK and The Friskative Dog inside her backpack, next to her homework.

He waited just as the day before, under her desk, and everything was fine until lunch. She took her backpack to the picnic tables, but Piper and Paige were already sitting next to Eboni and Brittany, and when Sharron sat down, Piper said, “You must have a big lunch in there.”

Sharron opened her backpack on her lap, sliding out just her lunch bag so they wouldn't see her dog. Piper has to be leader of the pack, she thought. Every day. She can't just let us sit here and laugh. She has to show off for Paige now, too.

She pulled out her magazine and said to Eboni and Brittany, “My mom got me this. For my project on training dogs.”

They turned the pages of BARK, while Paige and Piper whispered and ate their Lunchables and waited for Sharron to notice that they weren't looking. She noticed.

She said, “Look at this! A leash with an umbrella! That's so cute if you were walking your dog in the rain.”

“What's this?” Eboni said, pointing to an advertisement with a small dog standing next to a long wooden box planted with grass. He was a beagle who looked as if he were smiling.

“Hey!” Brittany laughed. “Look!” She read the words. “Real grass balcony bathroom for apartment dogs.”

Sharron laughed, too. “That's for people who live in a big city in a tall building and they don't want to go down the elevator to take their dogs outside!”

Piper was listening now, because she said loudly, “Like your dog? Your apartment dog that isn't even real?”

Sharron pulled open the zipper and brought out The Friskative Dog onto her lap.

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