The Puppy Who Couldn't Sleep Read online

  For George

  www.hollywebbanimalstories.com

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Extract

  Collect them all

  Biography

  Copyright

  “So you’ve definitely done all your homework for tomorrow?” Lara’s dad glanced down at her as they turned the corner into their road. “I need to remember to fill in that form about your trip to the museum.”

  Lara sighed. “Yes, Dad. I even looked at the spelling words. But did you have to mention homework? Now I’ve got that Sunday afternoon feeling…”

  “Sorry.” Dad put his arm round Lara’s shoulders. “I think Oliver’s got it too. He loves it when it’s the weekend and he gets proper long walks with both of us.”

  The big lurcher glanced up when he heard his name, clearly wondering why Lara and her dad were talking about him. He wafted his long sandy tail once, but that was all. He’d been racing about on the common with Lara and he was very tired. He was fixed on getting home to flop in his basket.

  “Can I make a smoothie later?” Lara asked her dad hopefully. She knew there were some bananas going squishy at the bottom of the fruit bowl, but the last time she’d made one it had somehow exploded out of the blender.

  “Ummm…” Dad began. “Hey, Oliver! This way.” He tugged gently on Oliver’s lead. The lurcher had stopped dead and was staring down a little alleyway, a few houses from where they lived. He looked at Dad when he felt the pull of the lead but he didn’t move.

  “Can you smell something good down there?” Lara asked, sniffing. Oliver was a really well-behaved dog most of the time, but he loved food and didn’t care if it had fallen out of a bin. Or even if it was still in a bin… “Did someone drop some chips again, Oliver? Is it chips?”

  “Don’t encourage him!” Dad said, rolling his eyes. Chips were one of Oliver’s favourite things and he knew the word. Usually saying “chips” would have him leaping about and wagging his tail so hard it looked as if it would fall off.

  But the lurcher didn’t seem to have noticed. He was still staring into the alleyway, and now he tugged harder on his lead.

  “Come on, Oliver,” Lara said in a coaxing voice. “Oliver! Time to go home.”

  “I wonder if there’s a fox or something by those bins,” Dad said thoughtfully. “He really wants to go down there. Though he’s never been that excited about foxes before.”

  Oliver was a big dog, big enough that he could stand upright with his paws on Dad’s shoulders, if he wanted to. If he didn’t want to walk, it was hard to make him.

  “Come on, boy,” Dad said. “I don’t want to pull you home. What is it?”

  Oliver tugged on the lead again, and this time Dad let him pace slowly down the alleyway, towards the broken-down fence at the end. The alley ran down the side of the newsagent’s and then along the back of a little row of shops. It was where the shop bins were and all the vans drove down it to unload boxes. It always looked a bit messy.

  Lara wrinkled her nose at the smell from the bins and hoped she wouldn’t see any rats. Her friend Amelia had pet rats called Timmy and Trouble and Lara loved to play with them, but rats that lived around bins weren’t the same thing at all. Maybe it was a rat that Oliver could smell?

  Something moved behind the bins and Lara swallowed a squeak of fright.

  “Lara, go back,” Dad said. “If it is a fox it might snap. I don’t want you anywhere near it.”

  “It isn’t a fox, Dad,” Lara said, pointing. “Look.”

  Peering round a big wheelie bin was a small black nose, followed by the rest of a skinny little black dog.

  “A dog!” Dad said, sounding surprised. “Hey, puppy. Where did you come from?”

  The dog darted back behind the bins as soon as he heard Dad’s voice, and Dad tutted to himself. “I scared him. Poor little thing.”

  “Did Oliver smell him all the way from the other end of the alley?” Lara whispered.

  “He must have done. You’re a clever old thing, Oliver, aren’t you?” Dad patted the lurcher’s head. “Did you see if he had a collar, Lara? He must be lost – unless he’s a stray, I suppose.”

  “I don’t think so.” Lara watched as the small black head appeared round the side of the bin again. “What are we going to do?” The dog was obviously scared – he was hunched over with his ears laid flat against the back of his head, and he was shivering. Lara couldn’t tell if it was Oliver he was scared of, or her and Dad. Oliver wasn’t showing his teeth or anything like that, he just looked interested.

  “I suppose we ought to take him to a dog shelter,” Dad said, but he didn’t sound very sure. “Or maybe the vet, to see if he’s microchipped? I don’t know if any of them will be open on a Sunday afternoon, though.”

  “So … we need to catch him?” Lara asked, keeping her voice low.

  “Yeah…” Dad rubbed his chin. “But I’m not sure how we’re going to do that. I mean we’re what, five metres away? And he’s already so nervous. I’m starting to think he must be a stray, he doesn’t seem very used to people.”

  The black puppy was cringing against the side of the bin, as though he was too frightened to move, and Lara felt guilty. It was horrible that they were upsetting the little dog. But it would be even worse to leave him there, all on his own.

  Dad edged a little closer and Oliver went with him, crouching down with his front paws out in a bow and putting his head on one side to show he was friendly. But the puppy didn’t seem to understand. He pressed himself back against the bin, whining, and then suddenly he whisked away. He dashed along the fence and through a tiny gap where the wooden slats had rotted.

  “Oh no.” Dad sighed. “I don’t think we’ve got a hope of finding him now.”

  Lara frowned, standing on tiptoe to try and peer over the fence. “What’s behind it? I can’t work it out.”

  “It’s the industrial estate – you know, those buildings we go past on the way to school, where the gym is? There’s a whole load of brambles and bushes just beyond the fence. I bet that’s where he’s hiding.”

  Lara knew Dad was right. They’d never be able to find the little dog now – not unless he wanted to be found.

  “Come on, Oliver.” Dad turned to head for home and the big lurcher followed him reluctantly, still watching the fence as if he hoped the other dog would come back.

  “What are we going to do, Dad?” Lara asked anxiously. “We can’t just leave him there.”

  “I know. It’s tricky,” Dad admitted. “But we’ll think of something. Don’t worry.” He put his arm round Lara’s shoulders and they walked slowly along the alley to the road.

  The black puppy crept back to the fence and watched them go, his tail beating uncertainly from side to side. The big dog was looking behind him and the puppy took a step towards the hole, wondering if he should follow. But then they vanished around the corner. The puppy stood watching the far end of the alley for a moment, his tail still flickering. Then he crept through the hole and slunk back to the pile of old cardboard boxes that someone had dumped by the bins. He crawled inside a half-squashed box and curled himself up tight.

  Lara hung up Oliver’s lead on its hook by the front door. Then she pushed her glasses higher up her nose and looked anxiously at Dad. “We have to do something about the puppy. He was so little and thin. And really scared.”

  “I know.” Dad nodded. “I’m going to put the kettle on and then I’ll ring
the animal shelter – maybe they can help. They might be able to send someone out to pick him up. The staff there will look after him, and if someone’s trying to find him they can collect him from the shelter. I’ll look up the number now.” Dad filled up the kettle, then got out his phone and started searching for the shelter’s website.

  Lara watched him hopefully as he called but then he made a face at her. “It’s just a recorded message – they’re closed. Oh, hang on! Pass me a pen.” Lara grabbed one off the table and Dad scribbled down a phone number on the edge of his newspaper.

  “Whose number is that?” Lara asked as he hung up.

  “The council’s dog warden. The recorded message said to call them if you found a lost dog. I don’t know if they’ll be answering the phone this late on a Sunday afternoon, though. Let’s see.” He tapped in the number.

  Lara watched him worriedly, biting her bottom lip.

  “It’ll be OK,” Dad whispered, as it started to ring. “Oh. Answering machine. Yes, hi. This is Dave Fisher. I’ve just found a dog in an alleyway behind the shops on Alliance Road. It looked like a puppy, very thin too, so I’m not sure if it’s been there a while. We couldn’t get anywhere near him. I’m not sure how this works, whether you come out to find him? Anyway, here’s my number if you want me to show you where he was.” Lara’s dad recited his mobile number and ended the call. Then he sighed. “Well, hopefully they’ll call us back.”

  “But no one’s going to do anything now,” Lara said, frowning.

  “No,” Dad admitted. “I expect it’ll be tomorrow morning.”

  “Do you think we ought to go out and look for him again?” Lara suggested.

  Dad was silent for a moment, then he slipped the phone into his pocket and gave her a hug. “I’m not sure it’s going to do any good, sweetheart. The little dog was really scared. I don’t think we’ll be able to get close enough to catch him. It’s probably best left to someone who knows what they’re doing – like the dog warden.” He crouched down to look at Lara properly. “I’m worried about the puppy as well,” he said gently. Then he laughed as Oliver came nosing in between them and licked Lara’s cheek. “And so is Oliver.”

  Lara smiled sadly, wiping the wet dog lick off her cheek and rubbing the lurcher’s ear. Oliver’s dark eyes really did look anxious.

  “I promise we won’t just forget about him,” Dad said. “I’ll call the dog warden again tomorrow and ask what they’re going to do.” He glanced down at his watch. “It’s nearly seven and we haven’t even had dinner! Come on – you can help me get it ready.”

  Lara nodded. She hadn’t realized she was hungry until her dad had mentioned dinner. But when the pasta was cooked and she’d grated some cheese to put on top, she ended up pushing most of it from one side of her plate to the other.

  “Lost your appetite?” Dad asked.

  Lara sighed. “No. It’s just … I keep thinking how skinny the puppy was.”

  Her dad put down his fork. “I know. Well, don’t eat it if you really don’t want to. But you’ll probably wake up in the middle of the night feeling hungry. At least have a banana?”

  Lara didn’t feel like eating but Dad was right, so she nibbled the banana in tiny bites while he finished his pasta. “Can I call Mum?” she asked.

  “Sure,” Dad said. “Ask her if she’s got any ideas about how we can catch the puppy – you know she’s really good with dogs.” Lara’s mum and dad had split up when she was little, and Lara’s mum lived a long way away with her new partner and Lara’s half-sister Poppy. Lara went to stay with them in the school holidays and she loved getting to play with Poppy and their two golden retrievers. “Not for too long though, love,” he added. “It’s definitely bedtime.”

  Lara nodded. She decided to get ready for bed first and then call her mum from her room.

  Oliver followed her upstairs and slumped down on the big cushion next to Lara’s bed, so she sat next to him on the floor and stroked his ears while she waited for her mum to answer.

  “Hello, Lara! Is everything all right?” Her mum sounded a bit worried – it was later than Lara would usually call.

  “Yeah. It’s just … we found a stray dog and it’s really sad.”

  “Oh no – is the dog OK?”

  “I don’t know. He ran off before we could look at him properly. Dad called the dog warden but it was just a recorded message. He says they’ll probably come and look for the dog tomorrow. He wonders if you can think of anything else we might do to catch him? He’s only a puppy, Mum, and I think he’s out there all on his own.” Lara sniffed. Telling her mum about the dog was making her feel worse, not better.

  “Oh wow, I don’t know.” Her mum was silent for a minute. “I suppose you could put some food down, but to be honest it’s probably better if you leave it to the dog warden, Lara. They’ll know how to do it without scaring him.”

  “But … what happens after that?” Lara whispered.

  “They’ll take him to the shelter. Probably that one near you? Valley Animal Care. He’ll be looked after really well. The people who work at animal shelters are amazing.”

  “I suppose…” Lara sighed. “Thanks, Mum, but I’d better go now. Dad said it was bedtime.”

  “OK, love. Tell me if you find out anything more about the dog, won’t you?”

  “Yes.” Lara sniffed again. “Night.” She got up to put the phone back in Dad’s room and then went to sit next to Oliver again. He huffed sleepily at her and gave a comfortable sort of groan as she scratched the top of his head.

  “You’re such a lucky dog, do you know that?” Lara whispered to him. “You’ve got me and Dad, and we love you. We feed you loads, even if we don’t let you eat stuff that’s fallen out of bins when you want to. You’ve got this cushion and a basket downstairs… I think Dad was right, and that puppy hasn’t had a home for a while. He probably sleeps in those old cardboard boxes round the bins in the alley. And I bet he’s starving.”

  Oliver only snuffled at her in his sleep. Lara sighed, and then shivered a little. She pulled some of the duvet off her bed to wrap round her shoulders. Her window was open, and it was cold…

  Further down the street, the puppy gulped hungrily at a bit of old sandwich that had fallen out of the bin behind the newsagent’s. He was very hungry so to get most of a sandwich was a treat, even if it was soggy from sitting in a puddle. He gobbled it down and sniffed around hopefully for anything else. Then his ears pricked up a little – there was a noise, someone moving about. He held still, pressing himself against the bin, and then he backed slowly towards the fence. It might be that dog again, and the people with him. The dog had been very big but he hadn’t seemed fierce. The black puppy had been chased by other dogs before. He knew how to tell when they were friendly or not. Or he thought he did. He had been more scared of the people than the dog – the tall man towering over him like that. It had been better to run away. It always was.

  The girl who worked in the newsagent’s locked the back door and hurried off down the alley, and the puppy let his twitching ears sag back. He was all alone again and that was safe. But as he curled up inside his box he shivered and huddled against the cardboard, remembering warm fur and milk and wriggling little bodies next to his.

  Lara told her best friend Amelia about the puppy the next day at school.

  “I couldn’t get to sleep for ages,” she whispered, as Miss Adeyemo was taking the register.

  “Are you going to try finding him again?” Amelia whispered back.

  Lara shook her head. “I don’t know. Dad said the dog warden would probably pick him up today, but I had a quick look down the alley this morning and he wasn’t there. I suppose the dog warden will come while we’re at school. They might even be looking for him now, and he’ll be at the shelter by the time I get home.”

  “That’s good, isn’t it?” Amelia asked. “They’ll look after him there.”

  “I know. It’s just … I wish I could look after him.” Lara blinked, su
rprised at herself. She hadn’t realized that before. “I really wanted to help. He looked so scared. You’re right, though. The shelter is the best place for him.”

  But when Lara got home that afternoon, Dad told her that the puppy still hadn’t been caught.

  “The dog warden couldn’t find him,” he explained. “She said she’d keep coming back, but that was all she could do.”

  “Oh…”

  “She said the puppy has been spotted by the people who work in the shops. He’s been around there for a while and no one’s reported a small black puppy missing. So we’ll keep an eye out for him when we’re walking Oliver and on the way to school,” Dad went on. “Then we can let the dog warden know if we see him. Maybe he’s only there at certain times.”

  “Like in the evening?” Lara said thoughtfully, and she looked down the road towards the alley.

  “Maybe.” Dad nodded. “She said perhaps they could trap him, once they know he’s definitely there.”

  “Trap him?” Lara sounded worried. “That wouldn’t hurt, would it?”

  Her dad shook his head. “No, she said it’s like a cage with a door that shuts once the dog’s inside. It wouldn’t hurt. Though I suppose it would be a bit scary.”

  Lara shivered, imagining it. She knew the dog warden would only be trying to help, but the puppy had already looked so frightened. She hated the thought of him caught in a cage, not knowing what was going on.

  Dad walked Lara to school the next morning with Oliver, but there was no sign of the little black dog. Oliver stopped to sniff at the entrance to the alley, but that was all. And it could have been because he could smell something delicious (or delicious according to him at least).