A Forever Home for Tilly Page 2

  Grace and Jack exchanged a grin. Chloe was certainly going to liven things up in class!

  At the end of the lesson Ms Drew clapped her hands together. “Listen now, Class 5. I thought it would be fun if we held an art exhibition in the school hall. You can draw or paint whatever you like. You’ve got two weeks to complete your pictures. The other teachers and I will choose a winning painting and there will be certificates for the runners-up.”

  “I’m going to do some pictures,” said Chloe as she packed her things away. “I’ll paint a still life and a dog. I love dogs.”

  Grace liked all animals but if she had to choose a favourite it was definitely dogs. “Me too. I’m going to draw Tiny, our German Shepherd cross!”

  Chloe chuckled. “That’s a great name. I guess he must be really big.”

  “Yep, Tiny is massive,” Grace agreed. “But he’s very gentle.” She smiled at Chloe. “If you like dogs, you’ll have to come round – our mum has a doggy day care business and Jack and I rehome unwanted dogs and cats. There are always loads of dogs at our house.”

  Chloe sighed. “I was going to get a dog but then we had to move. And now Mum says it’s too hard to get one and I’m not allowed.” She swallowed and suddenly looked as if she was about to cry.

  Grace put her arm around Chloe’s shoulders. “You can play with our dogs any time,” she said.

  Chloe gave a wobbly smile. “Thank you. It’s not the same as having a dog of my own, though. That would make everything perfect.”

  At lunchtime, Mrs Pie, the lunchtime supervisor, brought out a box of new play equipment. She organised a game of dodgeball with the little ones. Chloe, Grace and Jack started their own game, dribbling a football around a line of cones. After a while, Chloe suggested making it more fun by adding in bouncing a basketball once round the playground and then getting it through the net on the school wall.

  “This is brilliant!” she said as she raced around the cones.

  Eventually, Mrs Pie blew her whistle. “Time to pack up,” she called.

  As everyone drifted away, Jack and Grace stayed back to help Mrs Pie put the equipment away.

  “You know,” said Grace to Jack, as Mrs Pie jogged past with a ball under each arm. “Mrs Pie might be a good owner for Tilly. She’s so energetic and she told me once that she would like to get a dog.”

  “Hmmm,” said Jack, thoughtfully. “Isn’t she a bit too tidy though? She always hates it when the shed gets messy.”

  Grace grinned. “Let’s try her out!” She picked up the balls and instead of putting them away by size in their containers, she mixed them all up. Jack joined in. Before long, Mrs Pie jogged towards them.

  “Thanks, twins. That’s great. I’ll take over now.” As Grace and Jack stepped back, Mrs Pie started resorting the balls, putting them into containers by size.

  “Neat freak!” said Grace under her breath.

  “I don’t think she’s right for Tilly,” Jack whispered sadly.

  “Definitely not!” Grace agreed as they left Mrs Pie carefully stacking cones into identical-sized towers.

  After school, Grace and Jack continued with Tilly’s training. Tilly remembered everything from the day before and was soon sitting and lying down whenever they asked. Each time she obeyed them, they rewarded her by letting her play with a squeaky yellow toy.

  “Let’s start on ‘leave’ now,” said Grace, but just then their mum came in.

  “I’m back from the pet shop and I need help unloading the dogmobile. Can you give me a hand? It won’t take long.”

  Grace and Jack helped to carry the bags of dog food and treats into Top Dog until everything was neatly stacked in the feed room.

  As they went back to the Forever Homes shed, Grace said, “My posters are ready. If we put them up in town, we might find someone who wants a puppy like Tilly.”

  “Good idea.” Jack opened the shed door and gasped. It looked like there’d been a snowstorm! The floor and toys were covered with scraps of paper. Tilly bounded over to Grace.

  “Oh Tilly! What have you done?” cried Grace, her heart sinking. Tilly must have pulled the posters off the desk and chewed them up. She felt a rush of anger. “Tilly, you’ve been really naughty!” she said sharply. “Bad dog!”

  Tilly stared up at Grace with confused eyes.

  “There’s no point telling her off now,” said Jack quickly. “I know it was naughty of her but she won’t understand that you’re cross with her for chewing them up. She’ll think you’re telling her off for greeting you.”

  Grace felt her temper fade. “You’re right, Jack. Puppies don’t think like humans,” she said. “You really have to catch them in the act of doing something naughty or they don’t understand what they are being told off for!”

  “I suppose it’s our fault for leaving her on her own,” Jack sighed. “Let’s clear up then and next time we leave her, we’ll make sure she’s in her crate.”

  Grace gathered up the bits of paper while Jack picked up a ball and dropped it into the toy box. Tilly took it out.

  “No, Tilly! I want to put the toys away!” said Jack. Tilly placed the ball beside a felt mouse on the floor, and then fetched a rag rope and added that to her collection. She put it to the left, and then changed her mind and moved it to the right.

  “It’s like she’s putting them in an order she likes,” said Grace, giggling. “Are you an artist, Tilly?”

  Tilly wagged her tail and woofed.

  When they sat down for supper that night, the twins remembered to put Tilly in her crate with some toys. She spent five minutes arranging her toys into a careful line and then fell asleep and snoozed while the family ate. But as soon as everyone got up from the large kitchen table to start clearing away, she jumped up eagerly and started to whine.

  Ollie, the twins’ older brother, crouched down and tickled her through the bars of the crate. “I think she wants to come out.”

  “I’ll take her outside and play with her,” offered Amelia, the twins’ thirteen-year-old sister. “She’s super-cute.” Amelia and Ollie both liked dogs and cats, even if they weren’t quite as animal-mad as the twins.

  Dad’s eyes twinkled. “Anything to avoid washing up as usual, Amelia!”

  “No,” Amelia protested. “I’m just being helpful and it’s good for puppies to be handled by lots of different people.”

  Grace nodded. “Puppies need to be socialised as much as possible.”

  “OK then,” said Mum. “But leave your phone here, Amelia.”

  Tilly bounded out happily with Amelia.

  “She is such a gorgeous puppy,” said Mum, watching them go. “But she really hates being left on her own. She was fine in the office with me while you were at school but whenever I went out of the room she started to bark and whine. I hope you can find the right home for her.”

  “We’ll only rehome her when we do!” declared Grace.

  The next morning, Grace and Jack spent so much time with Tilly that they were almost late for school.

  “We’re not the only ones,” said Grace, as they ran into the playground. Chloe was ahead of them, her bag bouncing on her back as she ran. A folder was sticking out and a piece of paper fell on to the ground.

  “Chloe wait, you dropped something,” Jack called.

  He picked a painting of a dog that looked like Tilly. “Oh, wow, this is really good!” he said, impressed.

  Chloe came running back. “That’s the dog I’d have if I could. I’d love it so much!” She had such a sad, fierce look on her face that Grace got a lump in her throat. She thought of little Tilly and how perfect she and Chloe would be for each other.

  “Maybe your mum will change her mind?” she said.

  “She might, but even if she did, my grandma’s allergic to dog hair!”

  And with that, Grace felt a little tingle of hope. Cockapoos with curly coats like Tilly didn’t shed any hair so they would be much better dogs for someone with allergies than dogs with longer coats. Maybe
there was a chance? They just needed to persuade her mum. Grace opened her mouth to tell Chloe all about Tilly but Jack shook his head at her.

  Grace frowned. Why didn’t he want her to say anything?

  “Hurry up,” he said, taking her by the sleeve and pulling her towards the school buildings. “We’re going to be late!”

  “Jack!” whispered Grace as Chloe hurried into the classroom ahead of them. “Chloe could be the perfect owner! She’s got loads of energy and she wants a dog who doesn’t shed hair. Let’s tell her about Tilly. Please!” she begged.

  “No, not yet,” Jack whispered back. “I know Chloe really wants a dog but what about her mum? What if her family or her house isn’t suitable? Their garden needs to be safe and they’ll have to train her and put up with some mess. Imagine if Chloe gets all excited about Tilly and then we find out that her family are not the right owners.”

  Grace’s excitement faded as she listened to her brother’s sensible words. “I guess I would feel really mean if that happened. But we can at least ask her some questions about her family and her new house.”

  “OK,” said Jack. “But promise not to say too much to her yet?”

  “I promise.” Grace put one hand to her heart. She kept the other one behind her back with her fingers crossed in case she was unable to keep her promise!

  For the rest of the day, Grace tried to find out as much as she could about Chloe and where she lived. “So, what’s your garden like?” she asked at lunch.

  “Big,” said Chloe. “It’s got lots of grass and a fence all around it so it would be perfect for a dog. I asked Mum again last night and she said we might be able to have one now we’ve settled in a bit, if we can find one that Gran isn’t allergic to.”

  Grace mentally ticked off several important questions: big fenced-in garden, Mum wanting a dog. Perfect!

  “Did you know cockapoos don’t shed hair?” she said. “The hair sticks in their coat and you groom it out.”

  “Really?” said Chloe, her eyes lighting up. “I’ll tell Mum that!”

  “Does your mum work?” Grace went on, starting to feel really hopeful, “Because puppies can’t be left on their own for more than a few hours.”

  “Oh.” Chloe’s face fell. “Mum does work and she’s sometimes out for quite a lot of the day.”

  Grace’s hopes faded. Chloe’s family definitely wouldn’t be right for Tilly then.

  “I guess we’ll just have to get an older dog,” said Chloe, cheering up again. “One who doesn’t need someone at home with it all the time. I’d love a puppy but I don’t want it to be unhappy!”

  Grace nodded but sighed inwardly. It looked like she and Jack were just going to have to carry on looking for the perfect home for Tilly!

  When Grace and Jack got home from school, they found Tilly in the doggy playroom at Top Dog. She was delighted to see them and ran around them, her feathery tail wagging.

  “Good girl. You’re getting better at not jumping up,” said Grace, pleased that their training was paying off. She squatted down to pat Tilly, giggling as the puppy licked her nose.

  They dumped their schoolbags and took her into the garden for a training session.

  “I’m just heading out to take the other dogs home,” said Mum, a little while later.

  Hearing the jingle of the keys, Tilly bounded over. Mum smiled. “She really likes the dogmobile! When I took the dogs out for a walk this morning, she didn’t want to go in the back with them but she was very happy sitting in the front with me. She didn’t even mind wearing the doggy seat belt. Do you want to come with me then, Tilly-pup?” she asked Tilly. Tilly yapped and spun round.

  They helped their mum put the dogs into the dogmobile and waved her off with Tilly sitting proudly in the front seat wearing a special doggy seat belt.

  “What are we going to do about finding a home for her?” said Jack. Grace had told him about Chloe’s mum working.

  “I don’t know,” Grace sighed. “There’s got to be someone out there who’s going to be the perfect match. But who?”

  “Did you see Amelia’s face, after Tilly took all of her things out of her schoolbag this morning?” asked Grace the next day, as she walked to school with Jack.

  Tilly had laid everything out on the rug and had then started to chew the end of Amelia’s pencil case. Luckily, Grace had noticed and taken it off her just in time.

  “Amelia shouldn’t have left her bag on the floor,” said Jack. “Mum did tell her to keep it out of the Tilly’s reach. She’s a really mischievous puppy.”

  Grace giggled. “She is! You can’t take your eyes off her for a second!”

  As they reached the school, they saw Chloe getting out of a van.

  “Hi,” they called. The woman driving looked just like an older version of Chloe with the same curly hair and wide smile.

  “Mum, this is Grace and Jack,” Chloe said.

  “Hello!” said Chloe’s mum. “Chloe’s told me lots about you. You must come round for tea sometime.”

  “And help us choose a dog?” said Chloe, giving her mum a hopeful look.

  Her mum grinned. “You never give up, do you, Chloe? One day soon, we’ll get a dog, I promise.” Chloe gave a yelp and started to jump about in circles. She looked just like Tilly! Her mum laughed. And yes, maybe Grace and Jack can come and help us choose.” She started the engine. “Anyway, I’d better go.” She nodded to the back. “I’ve got parcels to deliver!”

  “Is that what your mum does?” Jack asked Chloe as they waved goodbye. “Deliver parcels?”

  Chloe nodded before she ran to the grass at the front of the school and turned a series of cartwheels. Grace didn’t think she’d ever met anyone with more energy!

  In school that morning, Chloe struggled to sit still. She fell off her chair and was more interested in chatting than doing her maths.

  “Mum said she might take me swimming this weekend,” she told Grace.

  “That sounds fun,” said Ms Drew, coming up behind Chloe and making her jump. “But you won’t be going anywhere, not even out at break, if you don’t finish those fractions, Chloe.”

  “Yes, Miss,” said Chloe quickly picking up her pencil. She waited for Ms Drew to leave before leaning over to Grace again. “It’s so hard to concentrate. At my old school we had this thing called breakfast club. It was brilliant! Every morning before school we played games and ran races. By the time the lessons started I didn’t mind sitting down and working.” She sighed as she settled down to work.

  As Grace headed outside with Jack at break time she said, “Chloe really would be perfect for Tilly. They’ve both got tons of energy and Chloe really doesn’t mind mess.” She nodded over to Chloe, who was finishing off her sums – she was surrounded by pens, pencils and pencil sharpenings.

  Jack nodded. “I know, but Tilly really can’t be left alone all day while her mum’s out in her van delivering parcels. It would make her miserable…”

  “Jack!” Grace suddenly interrupted him. “That’s it! I think Chloe could be Tilly’s perfect owner after all!”

  Jack looked at his sister, puzzled.

  “Don’t you remember?” Grace said, her eyes shining. “Yesterday, Mum said how much Tilly loves riding in the dogmobile. Well, what if Chloe’s mum took her with her when she makes her deliveries! That way, Tilly wouldn’t be left on her own!”

  “And if Chloe had to walk Tilly before school she might find it easier to concentrate on her schoolwork,” added Jack. “They’d both be so happy! Let’s talk to Chloe’s mum after school.”

  “OK, I’ll distract Chloe while you speak to her mum!” Grace agreed.

  They high-fived.

  “What’s going on?” said Chloe, appearing behind them.

  They hid their grins. “Nothing,” said Grace innocently. “Nothing at all.”

  After school, Grace dragged Chloe over to the climbing frame while Jack made a beeline to see Chloe’s mum. Grace watched from the corner of her eye. At first, C
hloe’s mum frowned as Jack talked, but then she started to nod and finally she smiled. Jack glanced round and gave Grace a thumbs up.

  “Chloe! Let’s go and see your mum and Jack,” said Grace.

  “But I want another go on the monkey bars,” Chloe protested.

  “Catch me if you can!” called Grace, haring off. Chloe laughed and raced after her. She caught up with Grace just as they reached her mum.

  “Hi, sweetie,” said Mrs Simms. “Jack’s been talking to me and he tells me that he and Grace are looking after a cockapoo puppy who needs a new home. They think that we might be possible owners – provided we pass their checks of course.”

  Chloe’s eyes grew rounder and rounder. “A cockapoo puppy! But it would need someone at home with it, wouldn’t it?” she said, looking uncertainly at Grace.

  Grace grinned. “We think there might be a way round that with this particular puppy.”

  “The twins say she loved to go out in their mum’s van, so she could come out with me while I’m delivering parcels and keep me company,” said Chloe’s mum. “So, what do you say?”

  “Oh yes!” squealed Chloe, hugging Grace. “I say yes, yes, yes!”

  Chloe and her mum came round that evening. “Oh wow, she’s so fluffy!” said Chloe. Her eyes filled with tears of joy as she looked at the little pup.

  The puppy bounded over to say hello, skidding to a stop at Chloe’s feet. She looked up at her, panting, and then sprang into her arms. Chloe gasped and then giggled as Tilly licked her face. The little dog looked at Chloe, and Chloe looked at the little dog, and Grace could tell that they’d fallen in love straightaway.