Chapter One
The littlest puppy whimpered quietly. The cardboard box had stopped bouncing up and down, but no one had come to get her out, and it was still so dark. She didn’t like it. She didn’t know where her mother was, and she was hungry.
She squeaked in frightened surprise as a low rumbling noise shook thebox. It seemed to be moving again, swinging and then sliding across the floor. Her two brothers slammed into her, knocking her against the side of the box as the car went round a sharp corner.
The journey seemed to go on for a very long time, but she couldn’t even curl up for a sleep. Every time she managed to get comfortable, the box would slide around again, and they’d all be on top of each other. It was nothing like their rough-and-tumble puppy play in the big basket at home. This hurt, and they couldn’t go and snuggle up against their mother when they wanted the game to stop.
Pressed into the furthest corner, the puppy scrabbled anxiously against herbrothers. They were sitting on her again! Then she realized that they’d stopped – the box wasn’t sliding around any more. Her brothers stood up cautiously. They listened, flinching a little at the creaky wheeze of the car boot opening. Then the box swung up into the air, and was dropped down with a heavy thud.
They heard footsteps, hurrying away. And then they were left alone.
“Are you ready to go, Zoe?” Auntie Jo was standing at the front door to their terraced house, wearing her wellies and her Redlands Animal Shelter fleece.
“Yes!” Zoe dashed down the hallway, stuffing the packet of dried apricots that Mum had found in the back of the cupboard into her lunchbox. She and Mum had both forgotten she’d need packed lunches this week, so Zoe’s lunch was a bit random. Still, she really liked golden syrup sandwiches!
“Where’s your big sister?” Auntie Jo asked, peering down the hallway into the kitchen.
“She’s still asleep.” Zoe shook her head. “Kyra thinks I’m mad getting upearly to come with you when I don’t have to.”
“Well, if you stayed at home with your sister all day you’d just end up watching TV for the whole of the Easter holidays!” Mum called out. “You’ll have a much better time at the shelter!”
“I heard that!” Kyra’s voice floated down from upstairs. “I’m not asleep and I’m not watching TV. I’m revising! In bed! See you later, Auntie Jo. I’ll come and pick Zoe up.”
Kyra had her GCSEs coming up, so she was revising as hard as she could. Zoe was really glad that Auntie Jo had said she could help out at the shelter – she normally only got to help out after school. It would have been boring being stuck at home with Kyra, and Mumcouldn’t afford to take any time off work. Sometimes when they were off school she got to spend the day with her friend Becca, but Becca had gone to her gran’s in Scotland for the fortnight.
“Thanks for letting me come for the whole day,” Zoe said to Auntie Jo, as they walked to the shelter, which was about ten minutes from Zoe’s house.
“That’s all right!” Auntie Jo grinned at her. “I’m not going to be letting you off lightly, you know. I’ve got a long list of jobs for you to do, starting with cleaning out the dogs’ runs, then bathing the cats, and maybe even knitting some bodywarmers for the guinea pigs…” She looked down at Zoe’s worried face. “It’s all right, I’m teasing you, Zo! Therewill be loads of useful stuff you can do, I promise, but it’ll be mostly exercising the dogs, if it’s not too wet. They don’t get walked as much on the weekends, because that’s when we get most of our visitors. They’ll all be desperate for a good run around.”
Redlands was quite a small shelter, but it took in every kind of animal. The staff did their best to get them all rehomed but it wasn’t always easy. Auntie Jo had been working there for three years now, ever since she’d gone to the shelter to get a cat and come home
The littlest puppy whimpered quietly. The cardboard box had stopped bouncing up and down, but no one had come to get her out, and it was still so dark. She didn’t like it. She didn’t know where her mother was, and she was hungry.
She squeaked in frightened surprise as a low rumbling noise shook thebox. It seemed to be moving again, swinging and then sliding across the floor. Her two brothers slammed into her, knocking her against the side of the box as the car went round a sharp corner.
The journey seemed to go on for a very long time, but she couldn’t even curl up for a sleep. Every time she managed to get comfortable, the box would slide around again, and they’d all be on top of each other. It was nothing like their rough-and-tumble puppy play in the big basket at home. This hurt, and they couldn’t go and snuggle up against their mother when they wanted the game to stop.
Pressed into the furthest corner, the puppy scrabbled anxiously against herbrothers. They were sitting on her again! Then she realized that they’d stopped – the box wasn’t sliding around any more. Her brothers stood up cautiously. They listened, flinching a little at the creaky wheeze of the car boot opening. Then the box swung up into the air, and was dropped down with a heavy thud.
They heard footsteps, hurrying away. And then they were left alone.
“Are you ready to go, Zoe?” Auntie Jo was standing at the front door to their terraced house, wearing her wellies and her Redlands Animal Shelter fleece.
“Yes!” Zoe dashed down the hallway, stuffing the packet of dried apricots that Mum had found in the back of the cupboard into her lunchbox. She and Mum had both forgotten she’d need packed lunches this week, so Zoe’s lunch was a bit random. Still, she really liked golden syrup sandwiches!
“Where’s your big sister?” Auntie Jo asked, peering down the hallway into the kitchen.
“She’s still asleep.” Zoe shook her head. “Kyra thinks I’m mad getting upearly to come with you when I don’t have to.”
“Well, if you stayed at home with your sister all day you’d just end up watching TV for the whole of the Easter holidays!” Mum called out. “You’ll have a much better time at the shelter!”
“I heard that!” Kyra’s voice floated down from upstairs. “I’m not asleep and I’m not watching TV. I’m revising! In bed! See you later, Auntie Jo. I’ll come and pick Zoe up.”
Kyra had her GCSEs coming up, so she was revising as hard as she could. Zoe was really glad that Auntie Jo had said she could help out at the shelter – she normally only got to help out after school. It would have been boring being stuck at home with Kyra, and Mumcouldn’t afford to take any time off work. Sometimes when they were off school she got to spend the day with her friend Becca, but Becca had gone to her gran’s in Scotland for the fortnight.
“Thanks for letting me come for the whole day,” Zoe said to Auntie Jo, as they walked to the shelter, which was about ten minutes from Zoe’s house.
“That’s all right!” Auntie Jo grinned at her. “I’m not going to be letting you off lightly, you know. I’ve got a long list of jobs for you to do, starting with cleaning out the dogs’ runs, then bathing the cats, and maybe even knitting some bodywarmers for the guinea pigs…” She looked down at Zoe’s worried face. “It’s all right, I’m teasing you, Zo! Therewill be loads of useful stuff you can do, I promise, but it’ll be mostly exercising the dogs, if it’s not too wet. They don’t get walked as much on the weekends, because that’s when we get most of our visitors. They’ll all be desperate for a good run around.”
Redlands was quite a small shelter, but it took in every kind of animal. The staff did their best to get them all rehomed but it wasn’t always easy. Auntie Jo had been working there for three years now, ever since she’d gone to the shelter to get a cat and come home
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