Rocky Read Free Page A

down, guys,” she told her brothers. “Give him a chance to get to know you.” She tightened her arms around Rocky. He was awfully heavy to hold. In fact, he was sort of sliding down her legs. Charles zipped over to give him a boost.
    “He’s cute,” said Charles. “What a funny face.”
    The Bean reached up to pet Rocky. “Hi, uppy,” he said. “Nice uppy.”
    “Easy,” Lizzie said. “Remember, he’s a new dog. We don’t really know him yet.” But she was just about positive that Rocky would never nip or growl at anybody. She’d only known him for a few minutes, but she could already tell he was a total pussycat. No wonder he had not worked out as a guard dog.
    Buddy circled around Lizzie’s knees, panting with excitement. Rocky did not seem afraid, so with a sigh of relief, Lizzie let him back down. He and Buddy sniffed each other, tails wagging. Then Buddy put his front paws down and his rear end up and gave Rocky a big doggy grin.
    Wanna play?
    Rocky lay down and rolled over onto his back, paddling his paws in the air. His jowls fell back so that it looked as if he wore a huge smile. Lizzie and the rest of her family cracked up. “That is hilarious,” said Charles.
    Then Rocky rolled back over and ambled his bowlegged way on up the walk, continuing his sniffing and snuffling.
    Dad grinned. “What a little tank,” he said. “He doesn’t look like the world’s most active dog.”
    “No,” said Lizzie. “He’s sweet, though.”
    Inside, everybody helped get Rocky settled. Charles set up the dog bed that they used for foster puppies, and Mom put out the extra food and water dishes. Lizzie and the Bean showed Rocky where the dog toys were kept in the basket in the living room. Rocky did not seem too interested in any of the stuffed toys, but he did sniff at a squeaky plastic hot dog. Then he turned and put one paw on the couch, ready to try to climb up.
    “I don’t think so, champ,” said Dad, gently pushing him back down. “In this house, couches are for people.”
    Rocky wrinkled his nose and looked up at Dad.
    You’re kidding, right?
    Lizzie laughed and called Rocky into the kitchen. “Come sit here with me, you silly,” she said, hauling him onto her lap. She needed to finish up her pen-pal letter and get it into the mail. She pulled her letter out of her notebook and began to copy it over. She used her best stationery, the notepaper Aunt Amanda had given her, with pictures of puppies around the borders. When she was done, she would address the envelope and put on a bunch of dog stickers.
    Before she had even finished the first paragraph, Rocky was asleep on her lap.

“I wonder when we’ll get letters back from our pen pals,” said Lizzie on Monday afternoon.
    “Daphne Drake already heard from hers,” Maria said. “She sent her pen pal her e-mail address, and they’ve been writing back and forth a bunch already.”
    Lizzie wished she had thought of that. She was impatient for her first letter from Allyson.
    School was over, and Lizzie and Maria were finishing up their dog-walking for the day. They were partners in a business called AAA Dynamic Dog Walkers, and it sure did keep them busy. Every day after school they headed out together to walk dogs. It took a while since they had a lot of clients. They could each handle two dogs at a time, though it wasn’t always easy. Every dog got at least a twenty-minute walk, and Lizzie also usually threw in some free training. She had taught three of the dogs to shake hands, and one of them was even learning how to roll over.
    They had already walked Tank, Pickle, Atlas, and Molly, their most active and energetic charges. Then they’d taken Dottie the Dalmatian out; she didn’t get along as well with the other dogs. Plus, she was deaf and only responded to hand signals, so it was easier to walk her on her own.
    Now they were walking Ginger, who Lizzie liked to call The World’s Pokiest Dog. Or rather, Maria was walking Ginger. Lizzie held