Ellie's Story by W. Bruce Cameron

Work. There were other dogs around, too, and people standing and watching. That wasn’t what it was usually like, but I didn’t mind. They couldn’t distract me. I had a job to do.
    When Maya told me to, I climbed up a tippy board, balanced while it moved, and carefully climbed down. She ordered me up on another board that was perched between two sawhorses, and I sat patiently until she said I could get down again.
    Then Maya moved to one end of a long tube and called to me.
    I remembered how I’d done this first for Jakob. I hadn’t liked it then; the tube had seemed dark and frightening. Now it was easy, just part of Work. I plunged in, forcing my way through, to see Maya’s face break into a wide smile when I wiggled out.
    â€œGood girl, Ellie!”
    Then she told me to Find.
    This was my favorite part. The other commands were important to Maya, as they had been to Jakob. I understood that, and I didn’t really mind climbing up unsteady boards or crawling into tubes. But Find was the most important. Find was what Work really meant.
    I had my nose in the grass, sniffing eagerly. I caught a scent quickly, a man who smelled of peppermint gum, spicy cologne, coffee, and a leather coat. Maya was nervous and excited; I could tell from her voice and the tension in her body. So I raced after the trail as quickly as I could, leaving her to follow behind.
    In a patch of weeds I made my first Find: a pair of the man’s socks. Humans were so odd about dropping their clothing. I wondered why they didn’t just have fur; it would be much easier. I dashed back to Maya. She was breathing hard, but not gasping, when I found her. “Show me!” she said quickly, after one look at my face.
    She kept up with me, too, although she was starting to pant by the time we reached the socks. “Good, Ellie. Good girl! Find!” she said again.
    I dashed off, running through trees and bushes, jumping over a muddy puddle, following the trail. This was easy. It was fun!
    Then the scent seemed to lift off the ground. I paused with my nose up. The wind moved the man’s smell toward me. It was stronger in the air now than it was on the ground, and I knew what that meant. Wally had pulled this trick on me more than once.
    I looked up. There the man was, on a branch of a tree. He stayed very still, probably hoping I didn’t know he was there. But he couldn’t fool me!
    I spun in my tracks and headed back to Maya. She was not far behind me. “Show me!” she wheezed.
    I did. She followed me, pushing through the bushes, ducking under branches. She grunted when a branch smacked her in the face, and I looked back. “Show me!” she called again.
    I sat down at the base of the tree, staring up. Maya jogged up next to me and paused, looking around in confusion.
    â€œEllie? He’s not here. Why’d you stop, girl?”
    I didn’t move. My eyes were on the man. He was so still, he might have been just an extra branch in the tree.
    â€œEllie? Show me.”
    I was showing her. I twitched in frustration, but I kept my gaze on the man. Jakob would have figured it out by now.
    â€œEllie? Ellie? Oh, good girl, Ellie!”
    Maya looked up, and she grinned. The man swung down out of the tree. He was grinning, too.
    Maya quickly pulled the rubber bone out of her pocket to play with me, and I felt her pride and happiness as we wrestled and tugged.
    â€œYou’re quite a team,” said the man we’d found.
    â€œYes,” said Maya, and she let me have the bone, then went down on her knees to hug me around the neck. “Yes, we are!”
    That night Maya took me to Mama’s house. It was packed with people. All the children were there, from the tall, lanky teenager Maya called Joe to the little ones who were still more like puppies than people. Lots of adults, too. Everyone hugged Maya, and everyone kept petting me and saying my name.
    â€œNow that you are