Say Good-bye Read Free

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    A fter I clean up from breakfast, I look for Sneakers, but I can’t find him anywhere. Frustrated, I give up and hurry through the door that leads into Gran’s clinic.
    It’s almost hard to remember how strange this place seemed when I first came here. I’d never been around animals much, had never even been to a vet’s office before. Dr. Mac’s Place was noisier, rowdier, and, well, smellier than I’d ever imagined!
    But the biggest surprise was how quickly I fell in love with the animals. Mom’s not a petperson, so maybe this new feeling for animals is something I inherited from Gran and just didn’t know about till now.
    What I’ve learned about animals is this: They don’t care where you’re from or what kind of clothes you wear or what you mother does for a living. They love you for who you are.
    That’s one reason I’m starting to actually like being here. Not that I’d ever tell Maggie that.
    I mean, I still get nervous around some of the animals that show up in Gran’s clinic. Especially the weird ones like ferrets and Gila monsters. One guy even brought in a sick tarantula!
    I think Mom would be proud of me if she could see what I do here. I work as a vet volunteer along with several other kids: Brenna Lake, Sunita Patel, David Hutchinson, and Maggie, of course. They started working together when the clinic was full of sick puppies—including Sneakers—and Gran was desperate for help. The puppies had all been bought from a man at the farmer’s market who was running a puppy mill—an illegal business where dogs are bred in really rotten conditions, just so somebody can make a fast buck. I arrived in the middle of it alland had to jump right in. We all did such a good job, Gran said, that she decided to keep us on as volunteers.
    We get along pretty well, even though we’re all different. Now that it’s summer vacation, most of us help out every day.
    This morning the others are already here, ready to go to work.
    “Good morning!” Gran says with a big smile as she comes out of her office. “I’m so glad you’re here today.”
    “Do you have a lot of patients today, Dr. Mac?” Sunita asks. “Any cats?” Sunita loves cats.
    “I’ve got something better,” Gran says, grinning. She holds up a clipboard with a list. “A lot of chores.”
    Everyone groans.
    Gran reads down the list. “The supply closet needs to be replenished. Sunita, can you take care of that? And the kennels need some cleaning—we’re expecting a lot of boarders this weekend…”
    There’s a lot of good-natured complaining as she goes down her list, but nobody really means it. We all feel pretty lucky to get to volunteer at a cool place like the clinic.
    The bell over the door rings again. I look up and see my favorite client.
    “Yum-Yum!” I exclaim. I run over and scoop the cute black-and-white dog into my arms. “What are you doing here, you little sweetie pie?” I say, stroking his long, silky hair. “Are you sick?”
    “It’s an emergency!” jokes his owner, Jane Young. “He’s having a bad-hair day—and he’s got a big date!”
    I laugh, and Yum-Yum licks my face. Yum-Yum is a tiny dog called a shih tzu. He’s not a puppy—this is as big as he’ll ever get. He almost looks like an expensive stuffed animal. Jane is an old friend of Gran’s. She owns a beauty salon, so she would have a dog with long, brushable hair! Gran’s been letting me take care of Yum-Yum’s grooming this summer.
    “We just got a last-minute call to visit the kids’ cancer ward at the hospital,” Jane explains. “You know, just to cheer them up a little. The dog that usually goes in on Monday can’t make it today, so I agreed to fill in. Can you do him right now?”
    “Sure, we’ve got time,” says Gran.
    I take Yum-Yum and Jane back into thegrooming area and slip on an apron. Washing a dog can get really messy—especially if the dog isn’t too happy about having a bath! Yum-Yum doesn’t fuss at