Storm Rescue Read Free

Lucy, who is standing up and looking out the car window with her paws pressed against the glass.
    Bill Jermaine walks over to me with a friendly smile on his face. “Hi there, Sunita,” he says.
    â€œHi,” I reply, tipping my head back to look up at him. He’s a big man, tall and wide with a loud, booming voice. He makes David, who is right behind him, look even shorter and skinnier than he really is.
    Bill Jermaine’s wife, Jacqueline, climbs out of the van. She’s just the opposite of her husband. She’s petite, with dainty features and a soft, soothing voice. She’s the weather reporter on one of the local TV stations. Bill Jermaine is a meteorologist, too—that’s a scientist who studies the weather—but he teaches at the university.
    â€œHello, dear,” Jacqueline says as I greet her politely. She calls everyone at the clinic “dear” except Dr. Mac. I don’t think she remembers our names. She even calls Dr. Gabe “dear.”
    â€œAre you here for the picnic?” I ask as the sky releases a low rumble of thunder.
    â€œPicnic?” Jacqueline says blankly. “No, we’re just on our way home. We were supposed to go camping in the Poconos this weekend, but we both got called back to our offices. It seems that Felix is changing direction again.” She sounds just like she does during her nightly weather reports on TV. “It looks like it’s going to be moving farther up the coast instead of making landfall in the Carolinas.”
    â€œFarther up the coast?” I repeat. The idea of a hurricane coming our way is kind of scary.
    â€œWhoa!” David says. “You mean, the hurricane is coming toward us?”
    â€œRight,” Bill says. “They’re tracking it carefully, and it seems it won’t make landfall until somewhere near Virginia or maybe farther north. That means our weather here in Pennsylvania will get a lot worse before it gets better. We’re expecting bands of heavy rain for the next two to three days. And that’s the forecast, whether you like it or not.” He grins. His wife ends all of her reports on the news by saying that.
    â€œSo why are you here?” David asks.
    â€œIt’s Stormy,” Jacqueline says, opening the van door. “He’s been acting weird the whole way home. I was hoping Dr. Mac could take a look at him.”
    I gulp as a huge black-and-white dog carefully climbs down from the van. Every time I see Stormy, I’m surprised all over again at how enormous he is. He’s a Great Dane—that’s one of the largest breeds of dog there is. Stormy is Dr. Mac’s Place’s largest patient with paws.
    I smile nervously at Stormy, but he doesn’t seem to notice me. He sits down, tucks his tail between his legs, leans against the side of the van, and whines. He looks terrified.
    â€œHey! Stormy, old buddy!” David squats down beside the big dog, rubbing his chest. David’s crazy about Stormy. I think it’s because Stormy is almost as big as a horse!
    The Great Dane wags his tail weakly when David pats him, then whines again and cringes against him. Jacqueline kneels beside her dog, looking worried. Before I can ask what’s wrong with him, Dr. Mac appears at the clinic door. “Oh, hi, Jacqui and Bill,” she greets the Jermaines with a smile. “Can’t you do something about this weather? It’s ruining my picnic,” she jokes.
    The Jermaines chuckle, then tell Dr. Mac about Stormy’s behavior. He’s still cringing against the van, looking miserable, even though David is petting and scratching him in all his favorite spots.
    â€œStormy’s always a little nervous before a storm,” Bill explains. “But not this bad. We want to make sure that’s all there is to it.”
    â€œPoor guy. He looks like a dog, but he’s really just a big scaredy-cat.” David grins up at me. I feel