Max the Missing Puppy

  For Rosie

  For more information about Holly Webb visit: www.holly-webb.com

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  About the Author

  Other titles by Holly Webb:

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Molly opened the gate, and stood holding it, waiting impatiently for her parents to catch up. “This is it!” she called. “Number forty-two!” She was sure she could hear squeaking and yapping from inside the house, and she couldn’t wait to get inside.

  At last her parents caught up. “Go and ring the bell, then!” said Molly’s dad.

  Molly heard the bell chime inside the house, and it was followed by an explosion of deep woofs. Then she heard paws thudding, and claws clicking, and something thumped into the door. Molly jumped back in surprise.

  “Jackson, get away! How can I open the door with you in front of it?” The voice didn’t sound cross, more as though the dog’s owner was trying not to laugh. “And the rest of you aren’t helping!”

  The deep barking had now been joined by a lot of squeaky little noises, all sounding very excited. The door opened, and a friendly-looking woman attempted to hold back a tide of black and white puppies as they surged around her feet. An enormous grey, shaggy dog was sitting beside her.

  “Oh, good, you shut the gate. The puppies are a bit excited, I’m afraid, and they’re desperate to get out and explore. I’m Sally Hughes, we spoke on the phone. Come on in!”

  “I’m James Martin,” Molly’s dad said, picking up a puppy who’d managed to scramble over Mrs Hughes’s foot. “You spoke to my wife Clare on the phone, and this is our daughter Molly. The dog-mad one!”

  They followed the excited puppies into the house. Molly looked at them in amazement. Mrs Hughes had told her mum that there were six puppies, but surely there were more than six here? They seemed to be everywhere!

  Mrs Hughes led them into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Another massive dog was stretched out dozing on a comfy-looking cushion in the corner. Molly was sure she heard her groan as the puppies flooded back in and threw themselves all over her.

  Mrs Hughes smiled. “Poor Silkie! I think she’s actually looking forward to the puppies going. She’s a great mum, but they’re wearing her out!” She put cups of coffee down in front of Molly’s mum and dad, and poured Molly a glass of juice.

  Molly sipped from her glass, perched on the edge of her chair, wishing she could go and play with the puppies who were still bouncing all over their mum.

  Mrs Hughes noticed her hopeful eyes and beamed at her. “Go on, get down and play with them! Just watch out for Jackson, the puppies’ dad, he’s completely friendly, but he’s huge, and if he wants to join in he can knock you over without meaning to!”

  Molly knelt down on the floor, and the puppies looked at her with interest. The bravest of them started to creep slowly over to her, tail wagging gently. Molly stretched out a hand hopefully, and he butted it with his soft little head, then darted back. Molly thought he looked almost as though he was giggling!

  “Mrs Hughes?” she asked, looking round. “Why don’t the puppies look like Jackson and Silkie? They’ve got short fur, and they’re black and white, but their parents are grey.”

  “That’s the way it is with Old English sheepdogs,” Mrs Hughes explained. “They’re born with that short, springy black and white fur, and when it grows longer, it gets much lighter.”

  Dad was looking thoughtfully at Silkie, her long fur glossy and smooth as it trailed over her cushion. “It’s going to be a lot of work, grooming.”

  Mrs Hughes nodded seriously. “Yes, it really is. You have to make sure their coats are clean, and that they haven’t got any sore patches under all that fur. And they need a lot of exercise. Old English sheepdogs are a big commitment. I mean, no dogs are easy to look after, but one of these can be hard work.”

  Molly looked up at her parents. It sounded a bit scary, but she still wanted to take one of the puppies home!

  Her mum was looking doubtful. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, we’ve never had a dog before. Perhaps something smaller would be better…”

  The bravest puppy, who had a mostly white face, with cute black ears, and a pirate-style eyepatch, was creeping up to Molly again. This time he jumped up so his paws were on her lap, and gave her a quick little lick.

  Molly gasped delightedly. She’d been listening to her mum and hadn’t noticed him. She tickled him under the chin. “I don’t mind it being hard work,” she said earnestly.

  Another puppy, who had just the same gorgeous pirate look, bounded over and jumped into Molly’s lap. Then he sat with his tongue hanging out, looking very pleased with himself.

  Mrs Hughes smiled. “It’s not all work. They’re incredibly affectionate dogs, and very playful and good with children. Your daughter will have a friend for life.” She crouched down next to Molly. “Those two are the boy puppies, they’re a real pair of rascals, into everything. The girls are a little bit more shy.”

  But now that their brothers had proved that this girl wasn’t scary, the other puppies came crowding round to be stroked and petted too. Soon Molly was covered in a heaving black and white puppy blanket. She caught sight of Silkie watching her, one big dark eye peering out from behind her gorgeous long fringe. The big dog sighed happily, and Molly was sure she was glad that someone else was being climbed on for once.

  Molly’s parents had been talking quietly. Molly tried to listen, but the puppies kept licking her ears, which made it a bit tricky. Oh, she did hope they hadn’t changed their minds! When they’d spotted the advert in the local paper saying Puppies for Sale, and seen that the house was only half an hour’s drive away, it had seemed so perfect. It had taken ages to persuade Mum and Dad that she was old enough to have a dog. They’d been saying, “When you’re older,” for years! Molly didn’t think she could bear it if she had to wait any longer. These puppies were so lovely, and Jackson and Silkie were gorgeous. Molly could just imagine running along the beach after school every day with a huge silvery-furred dog like Jackson galloping beside her.

  At last Dad came over and squatted down next to the puppies too. Molly and all the puppies stared seriously at him. Then one of the bouncy boy puppies leaned over and biffed him on the arm with his head, looking up at him with twinkly dark eyes.

  Dad gently picked up the puppy, and smiled over at Molly. “So, you think you can manage to keep one of these little rascals exercised?” he asked.

  Molly gasped in delight. “You mean yes? We can have one?” She wrapped her arms round the other boy puppy, who was trying to burrow under her jumper.

  “Yes. But you’ll have to look after the puppy, Molly. And it won’t be a puppy for that long, either – soon it will be a great big dog the size of Silkie and Jackson over there.” Dad tickled his puppy, who wriggled happily. Then he looked down at the puppies romping all round them. “Now we just have to choose one…”

  One!

  Molly knew she ought to be over the moon about having a puppy at all, but she hadn’t imagined quite how difficult it would be to pick just one. The puppies were all so sweet she wanted to take every one of them home! How could she choose one – when it meant leaving all the others behind?

  The two cheeky boy puppies were scrapping over a chew-toy now, pulling it to and fro with mock-fierce growls. The fight looked even funnier because they were so alike, the same size and with almost identical markings. The only noticeable difference was that their eyepatches were on the opposite eyes �
� sitting side by side they were like mirror images.

  “You like those two, don’t you, Molly?” Mum asked, watching them and laughing as one of the puppies let go, leaving his brother rolling on to his bottom, still clutching the toy. “Shall we have one of the boys?”

  “Oh yes, they’re really sweet. But they both are, Mum, how are we going to choose just one of them?” Molly stretched out her fingers to the puppies, who came over at once to sniff and lick them. She tickled them behind their ears, and hugged them as they climbed up into her lap. “Couldn’t we…?”

  “Only one, Molly!” Mum said firmly. “One dog is quite enough work.”

  Dad was nodding too, and Molly sighed and looked back at the puppies. Just then, the puppy with the right eyepatch struggled off her knee and went to join his sisters, who were taking turns hanging off their mum’s ears.

  The other puppy watched them for a minute, then turned and gazed up at Molly, his tongue hanging out a bit so he looked gorgeously goofy. Molly giggled. “OK,” she said, lifting him gently under his front legs, and snuggling him up against her shoulder. “Please can we have this one? He’s really friendly and cuddly.”

  Mum leaned over to pet him. “He definitely is adorable. What are we going to call him?”

  Molly gave the puppy a thoughtful look as he slobbered into her shoulder. “I think we should call him Max!”

  Chapter Two

  A week later, Molly and her parents were able to take Max home. He was eight weeks old now, and ready to leave his mother. Two of his sisters were about to go to new homes too, and Mrs Hughes said she was sure the others would find owners soon.

  Molly still wished they could have Max’s brother as well, they were such a double act that Molly hated to split them up. Then Max spotted Molly, flung himself at her, and nearly knocked her over, and Molly thought that maybe two dogs doing that all the time might be a bit much. But she was so happy that he remembered her!

  “Hmmm. We’re going to have to take him to a good puppy-training class,” Molly’s mum said. “It won’t be long before he’s big enough to hurt someone by accident. We need to be able to get him to calm down.”

  Mrs Hughes was nodding. “I can recommend a trainer local to you. Max’s just had his first shots, so you can take him to classes in a couple of weeks when he’s had the second set. It’s really good to start young.”

  It was very exciting taking Max home, there was so much to show him. Mum and Dad had already spent ages fitting a dog-guard in the boot of the car so that Max had his own special place to ride. Mum had to keep telling Molly to sit still, as she just couldn’t help twisting round in her seat to check that Max was OK, all on his own back there.

  At the house there was his new basket, his food bowl, and his lead for walks. Mrs Hughes had said to introduce him to outdoor walks gently, as he was only used to quick runs in her garden at the moment. Molly was really looking forward to taking him for walks on the beach, but they needed to wait until after Max’s booster vaccinations.

  Meanwhile Max was loving settling in to his new home. He did miss his brother and sisters, but Molly was a new and interesting person to play with, and he had her all to himself. He didn’t have to share his toys either, and there were loads! Molly had spent all her pocket money on tennis balls, and a hard nylon bone that would be good for Max’s new teeth. They had a brilliant afternoon, playing new and exciting games. Max ran about so much he fell asleep in the middle of a game of Boo that they’d invented with the blanket from his basket. He suddenly stopped bouncing, and when Molly peered worriedly under the blanket to check he was all right, she found him flaked out with his nose between his paws, fast asleep.

  Molly had begged for Max to be allowed to sleep in her room, but Mum and Dad said no. They knew it would end up with Max on Molly’s bed and not in his basket, even though Molly promised it wouldn’t. “It’s all very well having a puppy on your bed, Molly,” Mum explained, “but once Max is his full size, there’d be no room in your bed for you! You can’t let him on to your bed now and then change your mind when he’s bigger, he wouldn’t understand.”

  So Max had to stay downstairs. Molly had given him her old teddy bear to snuggle up to, and a hot-water bottle, so he’d feel like he was curled up next to his mum, but it wasn’t the same. After all the cuddles and fussing, Max didn’t understand why he was suddenly all on his own. He yapped hopefully, expecting someone to come back and play with him, but no one came. He got up, and pattered round the kitchen sniffing, trying to work out where they all were. Earlier on Molly had played a game where she popped out from behind chairs at him – maybe this was the same? But she wasn’t behind any of the chairs.

  Max trailed back to his basket with his tail hanging sadly. Where had they all gone? Were they going to come back? He snuffled and whimpered to himself for a little while, then the exhausting day caught up with him again, and he fell asleep, burrowed into his blanket.

  Upstairs Molly listened worriedly. It was so horrible hearing him cry, but Mum and Dad had explained that it would only upset Max more if she went down and then left him again. Her bedroom door was open, and she could hear the noises from the kitchen. She crept out very quietly, and leaned over the banisters. He sounded so sad! But he was definitely getting quieter, so perhaps he was going to sleep. Molly was tired herself from all the chasing around they’d been doing, so she sat down on the top step, leaning against the wall, and tried not to let her eyes close.

  Molly’s parents had been watching TV in the living room. When they came upstairs a couple of hours later, Molly was fast asleep on the top step.

  “Max…” she muttered sleepily, as her dad lifted her.

  “He’s fast asleep in his basket, Molly, don’t worry. Go to sleep.”

  The weekend just flew by. Back at school on Monday everyone was really envious when Molly told them about Max. She had a couple of photos that Dad had run off on the printer for her, and she showed them off proudly.

  “Oh, he’s lovely, Molly! My brother has an Old English sheepdog, they make great pets.” Mrs Ford, Molly’s class teacher, looked at the photo admiringly as they stood in the playground before school. “You should show those to the class when we do weekend news.”

  Molly didn’t normally like the class news sessions that much, as she never felt like she had anything very exciting to say! But today she couldn’t wait to tell everyone about her puppy. It was nice to have them all admiring Max’s picture too, as she was really missing him. She couldn’t help wondering what he was doing, and if he was missing her too. Mum had promised to make lots of fuss of Max, but she’d be busy doing stuff on the computer too, as she worked from home. Molly hoped she wouldn’t get carried away and forget about him.

  Molly’s school was really close to her house, so she walked there with her mum, and they picked up her friend Amy, who lived three doors down, on the way. Then Amy’s mum brought them home. That Monday Molly hurried Amy all the way back to their road, and then she raced home and flung herself through the front door.

  Max jumped up and shot out of the kitchen to greet her. He’d been curled up in his basket, half-dozing, and wishing someone would play with him. He loved his new house, but it got very quiet without Molly there. Molly’s mum had tried her best, but she just wasn’t the same. With Molly he didn’t have to stand there holding his bone looking hopeful, she knew when he wanted to play. He danced round her, barking excitedly, and scrabbling at her knees. When she swept him up for a hug he did his best to lick her all over, wanting her to know how much he’d longed for her to come home.

  “Ooooh, get off, get off, Max, not my ears, you’re really tickling!” Molly held him out at arm’s length and laughed at him. “I don’t need washing, anyway. Did you have a nice day? Was he OK, Mum? Did he behave himself?”

  Her mum was leaning on the door frame and laughing. “Yes, but I think he really missed you. He looked all round the house several times, and he sat by the front door for ages. Why don’t you
take him in the garden for a run about? I took him out quickly at lunchtime, but I’m sure he’d like to go out again.”

  Max seemed to understand what “garden” meant. He dashed to the door, and jumped up and down, squeaking.

  Molly giggled. “No, I think I need a rest after school … it’s OK, Max, I’m teasing! Come on, silly.” She grabbed his squeaky ball and opened the door, letting Max streak out in a black-and-white blur.

  He loved to be outside!

  Max settled in very quickly, but he didn’t stop missing Molly while she was at school – and she seemed to have to go to school all the time! He spent lots of time sniffing about for her, and he worked out that he could sneakily climb on to the back of the sofa to look out of the window and see if she was coming. He got told off if Molly’s mum caught him doing that, though.

  Max was sure that if only he could get outside, he could go and find Molly, and be with her. He knew she missed him too, and he didn’t understand why she went out without him. It had only taken him a few days of being in the house without her to explore everywhere indoors. By the fifth day of Molly being at school, he was very bored.

  “We’ll do loads of playing in the garden this weekend, Max,” Molly promised as she got ready to leave for school on Friday morning. “I really wish we could go on the beach, and show you the sea, but Mrs Hughes said you’ll have to wait until about a week after your second vaccinations.”

  “He’d probably only try and eat the sand,” Mum said, looking at Max’s food bowl. It was empty, as usual, and polished sparkly-clean. “That dog is always hungry.” She scratched him under the chin to show she wasn’t really cross, and Max closed his eyes and snuffled happily. It was his absolute favourite place to be tickled, and Mum and Molly sounded happy and excited. Everything was good.