Monty the Sad Puppy Page 3

  “Look what you’ve done! Monty, you bad dog!” Amelie yelled.

  Monty wriggled backwards across the kitchen, crouching low and watching Amelie out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t understand what he had done but he could tell that she was angry.

  There was a thumping of footsteps on the stairs and Dad hurried in. “What’s the matter?”

  “Look!” Amelie sniffed, wiping her hand across her eyes.

  “Oh dear…” Dad picked up the mosaic, trying to brush off the worst of the water. “How did that happen?”

  “Monty bumped the table,” Amelie said crossly. “It’s ruined. The card’s going all wrinkly.”

  “I reckon we can rescue it.” Dad looked at the mosaic thoughtfully. “I’ll get your mum to pick up some more card on her way home. We can cut out the bits you’ve already stuck down and put them on that.” He swept the stray pieces of foam into his hand. “I’ll help but first I’ve got to finish packing for this trip tomorrow. Why don’t you help me squash everything into my bag and we’ll work on it later, OK?”

  Amelie nodded and followed him upstairs, leaving Monty in the kitchen, gazing sadly after them. He didn’t remember Amelie ever shouting at him like that before. He ducked his head as Daisy got out of her basket and came to sniff at a couple of craft-foam pieces that Dad had missed. Then she pattered over to him, her tail gently wagging. Monty licked at his muzzle nervously but Daisy didn’t snap at him this time. Instead she gave his nose a friendly lick. Monty leaned down, nudging at her gratefully with his muzzle. Finally, somebody who wasn’t cross with him!

  Daisy trotted back to her basket and lay down but she kept glancing over at Monty. He stared back at her uncertainly. He wanted to lie down in his basket, where he felt safe, but he wanted to stay close to Daisy, too. It was the friendliest she’d ever been and she was making him feel better.

  Monty crouched down at the side of his basket and pushed it with his nose across the kitchen tiles until it was next to Daisy’s. Then he scrambled in and buried his head down the side of the cushion. He could hear her breathing peacefully next to him as he fell asleep.

  “Morning, Amelie! Time to wake up.”

  Amelie peered up at her mum. “Has Dad gone?” she asked, through a yawn.

  “Yes, he had to get up at four to get to the airport.” Mum sighed. “I’m just going to make your packed lunches, OK?” She hurried out of the room and Amelie heard her trotting down the stairs. Usually Dad did all the school things, like their packed lunches and making sure Amelie remembered her football kit on the right days.

  Amelie climbed out of bed, and then jumped as she heard a cry and a loud yelp from downstairs. “What is it?” she called anxiously, running out to lean over the banisters.

  “It’s that silly puppy! He’s moved his basket across the kitchen and I tripped over it. Don’t worry. Monty’s fine – he’s just surprised.”

  Amelie dashed downstairs to check on the puppy. Monty had sounded really panicked. He was sitting in his basket, watching Mum nervously.

  “He was a bit scared by me yelling,” Mum admitted. “But I didn’t expect his basket to be there! I was rushing about trying to find the juice cartons for your lunch and I tripped. Oh dear… He doesn’t look happy.”

  “Poor Monty.” Amelie went over and crouched next to his basket, stroking the puppy’s head. Monty licked her arm lovingly and Amelie smiled. But then she looked up and saw her mosaic, still drying on the counter. In the end Dad had said it would be best to wait before cutting it up and trying to rescue it.

  Amelie sighed. It hadn’t really been Monty’s fault but her mosaic was never going to be as good second time round. She couldn’t help feeling cross with him. She stood up sharply, pulling her hand away from him. Monty stared after her in surprise.

  “I’ll help you stick it back together,” Josh said, coming into the kitchen and seeing her scowling at the ruined mosaic.

  “Thanks.” Amelie gave him a quick hug. “Mum, did you feed Monty and Daisy?”

  Monty stood up in his basket, his tail wagging hopefully. He’d heard his name.

  Mum shook her head. “Not yet. Sorry, dogs.”

  “It’s OK, I’ll do it.” Amelie picked up both the bowls and put them on the counter, ready to pour out the dry food. Now that Monty and Daisy were more used to each other, they didn’t have to eat at opposite ends of the kitchen.

  Monty scampered over, eager for his breakfast. Daisy heard the dry biscuits rattling into her bowl and erupted out of her basket, ears flapping. Amelie giggled – Daisy was so funny. She was just about to put the bowls down when Monty reached over her arm and tried to gobble a mouthful. He was so hungry he stuck his nose in the wrong bowl and Amelie pulled it away.

  “No—” she started to say but Daisy got there first. She snapped angrily at Monty and he darted back in fright, his ears flattening and his tail tucking between his legs.

  “Daisy!” Mum cried. She took the food bowls out of Amelie’s hands and put them down on the floor. “Are you all right, Amelie?”

  “Yes… She wasn’t anywhere near me – she was cross with Monty because he was trying to nick her food. She didn’t actually bite me. Or Monty.” Amelie’s voice shook a little. Monty had chewed at her fingers sometimes when he was little but he’d never come close to biting. She could see why Daisy had been upset but it was still scary.

  “Well, at least Monty’s not hurt,” Mum said. “And Daisy’s forgotten about it already, look. She’s eating her breakfast.”

  Amelie nodded. Daisy was wolfing down her food – so different to that first day when they’d brought her back from Grandad’s. “I suppose she’s never had to share…”

  Monty had retreated to his basket again. He was hungry but he didn’t want to eat next to Daisy, not after she’d snapped at him like that. Everything seemed to be going wrong. Amelie was angry with him, Mum had shouted and now Daisy had gone back to being unfriendly. He watched Amelie and Josh eating breakfast, hoping that someone would come and make a fuss of him but they were rushing to get off to school.

  Quietly, he crept out of his basket and over to the kitchen door. He didn’t feel like being inside any more, where everyone was cross. He slipped through the dog flap and padded down to the end of the garden to look out through the wire fence.

  The field was empty, apart from a flock of starlings. Monty stood there, wagging his tail uncertainly as they hopped across the long grass. But he didn’t feel like barking at them and they didn’t pay any attention to the small black dog on the other side of the fence.

  Monty lay curled up next to the fence, watching the comings and goings on the field. It was much busier now, with dogs going for walks. There were a few young children running about as well. Monty watched the other dogs enviously as they raced around. If only he could go for a good run like that. That little boy might even let him chase his ball.

  Monty pressed his nose closer to the fence and whined, wishing the little boy would kick his ball closer. He scrabbled at the wire with one paw and then jumped back as the fence moved. It was loose at the bottom. There’d been no rain for a while and the dry, dusty earth had worn away. There was almost a hole.

  Monty sniffed at it curiously and then scratched at the earth, sending dust flying. He whisked back, sneezing and shaking his head. The hole was bigger, definitely. This time he put his nose down and tried to squeeze it under the fence. It was tight but the wire was curling up at the bottom, and if he wriggled and pushed and scrabbled some more with his paws…

  Suddenly, to his surprise, Monty shot out on the other side. He was in the field!

  There was a scurry of paws behind him and a sharp warning bark. Monty looked back at the fence and saw that Daisy was there. She didn’t sound angry – more confused. Maybe even a little bit frightened.

  He wagged his tail at her, trying to show that everything was all right. Now that he was out in the field, with the sun warming his fur and all the delicious smells to explore, he didn’t mind that she’d snapped at him.

  With a friendly bark, Monty crouched down, stretching out his front paws, inviting Daisy to come and play. Perhaps she could wriggle under the fence, too? Then they could chase each other through the long grass. But Daisy only stood there and barked again. Monty looked back and forth a few times, between Daisy and that exciting stretch of grass. Then he turned his back on her and darted off into the field.

  Monty pottered about, catching the scents of other dogs. Then a flash of movement caught his eye – the little boy with the ball. He was kicking it about, giggling and stumbling over the long grass.

  Monty trotted up to him, and crouched down hopefully, asking the little boy to play. But the boy didn’t understand. He just stared at the puppy, his eyes wide. Monty barked encouragingly, hoping that the boy would throw the ball but he didn’t. He backed away a couple of steps, looking nervous. In the distance, the boy’s mother heard the barking. She put his baby sister down in the pushchair and began to run towards them.

  Monty barked again but the boy still didn’t throw the ball to him. Instead he turned and tried to run away but in his fright he tripped up and fell sprawling in the grass. He let out a wail and Monty eyed him worriedly. That wasn’t a good noise. Cautiously he padded closer and by the time the boy’s mother came running up, Monty was standing over him.

  “Leave him alone! Go away!”

  Monty stepped back, tucking his tail between his legs. Why was she shouting? He’d only wanted to play. He licked his muzzle anxiously and then flinched as the mum swiped at him with the baby’s teddy.

  She didn’t actually hit Monty but he yelped in surprise. What was going on? Now somebody else was shouting at him. He backed away, whimpering, but the frightened mum kept shouting, “Lea
ve him! Bad dog!” and the little boy was still crying and then the baby joined in, too…

  Monty turned and ran. He hadn’t meant to hurt anyone and he didn’t understand what he’d done wrong. All he knew was that he had to get away.

  “Can we take the dogs out when we get back?” Amelie asked Josh on her way home from school. Because Dad was away and Mum was still at work, her brother had picked her up.

  Josh nodded. “Yeah. Good idea. I bet Monty’d love a proper run.”

  Amelie was expecting Monty to come rushing up when they opened the front door – and maybe Daisy, too. But there was no patter of paws. The house was silent.

  “Where are they?” she asked. Monty always came to see her as soon as she got back from school. Why wasn’t he waiting for her by the door?

  Amelie sighed, feeling guilty.

  Maybe what Ella had hinted at was true – Monty was upset that they had a new dog. She hadn’t been paying him as much attention as she usually did because she’d been worrying about Daisy. I need to show Monty I still love him… she thought to herself.

  She hurried through the kitchen to the back door, her fingers slipping and fumbling as she tried to turn the key. As she stepped outside, she expected Monty to come running up to her – but the garden seemed to be completely empty. She ran down the path, calling, “Monty! Where are you? Daisy? Come on! Here!” She could hear Josh hurrying after her and calling, too.

  Then at last Amelie saw a flash of colour down at the end of the garden – Daisy’s reddish-brown fur. The little dog came trotting up to them, wagging her tail.

  Amelie patted Daisy’s head but she only had half an eye on the dachshund. She still couldn’t see Monty anywhere. He wasn’t the sort of dog you didn’t notice. She couldn’t just have missed him. He wasn’t there…

  “Josh, I’ve found Daisy – look! But where’s Monty?”

  “He has to be here somewhere,” Josh said, staring around the garden. “Maybe he’s asleep under a bush…”

  “But he always wakes up and comes to see us when we get home!” Amelie pointed out, her voice squeaky with panic.

  “Don’t stress, Amelie. I’ll go and check inside. Maybe he got shut in one of the bedrooms or something.” Josh ran back up the garden, and Amelie began to search up and down the lawn.

  “Perhaps he went into one of the gardens next door,” Amelie suggested, as Josh came back out, shaking his head. “What if there’s a gap in the fence?” She stepped into the flower bed, peering between the plants. “I can’t see any holes,” she told Josh doubtfully.

  “None on this side, either,” he agreed. “I think we’d better call Mum – maybe she left the front door open for a minute when she went to work?”

  “She won’t be able to answer, though,” Amelie pointed out. “She can’t have her phone on her when she’s out in the shop, can she?”

  “No, you’re right. I’ll just have to leave a message. Then I’ll go up and down the street, and ask if anyone’s seen him.”

  “Josh, what if Monty’s been wandering the streets for hours?” Amelie whispered. “We don’t know when he got out, do we? If Mum let him out by accident, he could be miles away by now.”

  “You stay here and check the fence again, just in case. I’ll go and ask the neighbours.” Josh sped back into the house and Amelie squeezed behind the plants to look at the fence properly. She got herself tangled in a rose bush and scratched her arm but she was too worried to notice it hurting.

  “Where is he, Daisy?” Amelie said, as the dachshund came to stand next to her, peering at the fence, too. “Did you see him?” Then she blinked and looked down at Daisy, thinking hard. “Maybe you did see where he went? Daisy, where’s Monty?”

  Daisy gazed up at her with dark, serious eyes.

  Amelie sighed. “I’m being stupid, aren’t I? You’re not a police dog or anything… You were probably asleep in your basket, anyway.”

  But then the little dachshund turned round and marched out of the flower bed, as though she actually was going to find him. Amelie gazed after her for a moment – and then she scrambled out between the bushes and raced down the garden.

  Daisy was in the corner right at the end, between the sweet peas Mum was growing up the fence. Her nose was practically touching the wire.

  Amelie looked at Daisy doubtfully. Perhaps she’d just got bored and wandered off – but it really had looked like she understood when Amelie said Monty’s name. “He’s not here, Daisy,” she said.

  Daisy glanced up at her and then scrabbled at the fence with her neat little paws, so that the dusty earth went flying.

  Amelie crouched down, pulling at the fence and then caught her breath in excitement. The wire mesh was loose! It was coming away from the post at the bottom and there was definitely a bit of a hole there, too. A hole that might have been dug out…

  “Is that where he went?” Amelie asked Daisy. She was so desperate to know what had happened, she almost felt like the little dog might answer her.

  But Daisy only sniffed at the hole again and then stared out at the field.

  Monty shot through the gate into the main park, panting hard. His claws pattered on the tarmac path that led around the lake and he began to feel calmer. He knew this place. This was where he walked with Amelie. He liked to go sniffing along the little iron fence around the water. Amelie didn’t mind – she’d stand for ages and let him catch all the smells. Monty stood resting his chin on the fence, looking across the lake. He wanted Amelie.

  Monty huffed out a deep sigh and then blinked as he heard a duck quack. His tail twitched just a little from side to side and he pushed his muzzle through the fence for a closer look. There was a whole line of them coming his way, marching flatfooted around the bank.

  Monty felt his tail twitch with excitement. He could scramble over the fence – or maybe even through the bars. Something deep down inside him wanted to jump the fence and run barking at the ducks so that they fluttered and flapped and quacked. But he knew he mustn’t. Dad had shouted at him when he’d tried to catch that pigeon the day before.

  He turned away from the fence, his head drooping. They were all cross with him. Everyone was. Even that woman had shouted at him – and he’d only been trying to play with the little boy with the ball. He trailed along the path, not sure where he was going. If he went back across the field to the garden fence, she might still be there. He didn’t want to go past her again. And besides, everyone at home was angry with him, too. Maybe he shouldn’t be going back there at all? But he wanted to see Amelie and Josh so much. He was hungry, too, he realized. His stomach was growling – it felt like a long time since he’d eaten. Perhaps he should go home…

  Monty stopped and sniffed. He could smell food! He followed his nose until he came to a scattering of stale bread, piled up at the edge of the path. He started to gobble it down eagerly, even though it was old and dry.

  Then, suddenly, a huge creature was there, too, snapping and hissing and flapping its wings. Monty jumped back with a growl of fright. It was a goose. He’d seen geese round the lake before. Amelie always pulled him away when they came stomping past.

  Monty hated to be chased away from the food. He had found it first, after all! But the goose was enormous. And now there was another one coming and another.

  They hissed and darted their beaks at him until he backed away further. He crouched under a bench, watching as they ate up all of the bread. They weren’t going to leave any of it for him and his stomach was still so empty. Monty sagged down, resting his chin on his paws and gazed at them sadly.

  “Josh, look! There is a hole! Daisy showed me.”

  Josh looked at the fence. “Monty couldn’t get out through that. It’s not big enough.”

  “But look, I think he dug underneath. See where the soil’s all scratched away? And if he pushed this loose bit of fence, too…”