From the moment she's born, the adorable beagle puppy named Bella has a lot of energy. She runs, she chases, she somersaults, she chews, and she sniffs . . . and sniffs and sniffs and sniffs. Her new owners love her, but they soon realize that Bella is bored while they're out of the house all day, and that their small apartment might not be the best home for an energetic puppy.
Luckily, Mona at the Rainbow Street Shelter can help! She keeps an eye out for the perfect place for Bella, and soon she finds her not just a home but a job—the best job in the world for a dog who loves to sniff.
From the moment she's born, the adorable beagle puppy named Bella has a lot of energy. She runs, she chases, she somersaults, she chews, and she sniffs . . . and sniffs and sniffs and sniffs. Her new owners love her, but they soon realize that Bella is bored while they're out of the house all day, and that their small apartment might not be the best home for an energetic puppy.
Luckily, Mona at the Rainbow Street Shelter can help! She keeps an eye out for the perfect place for Bella, and soon she finds her not just a home but a job—the best job in the world for a dog who loves to sniff.
Discovered! A Beagle Called Bella (Rainbow Street Shelter Series #6)
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Discovered! A Beagle Called Bella (Rainbow Street Shelter Series #6)
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Overview
From the moment she's born, the adorable beagle puppy named Bella has a lot of energy. She runs, she chases, she somersaults, she chews, and she sniffs . . . and sniffs and sniffs and sniffs. Her new owners love her, but they soon realize that Bella is bored while they're out of the house all day, and that their small apartment might not be the best home for an energetic puppy.
Luckily, Mona at the Rainbow Street Shelter can help! She keeps an eye out for the perfect place for Bella, and soon she finds her not just a home but a job—the best job in the world for a dog who loves to sniff.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780805098563 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) |
| Publication date: | 03/19/2013 |
| Series: | Rainbow Street Shelter Series , #6 |
| Sold by: | Macmillan |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 3 MB |
| Age Range: | 7 - 10 Years |
About the Author
Wendy Orr has written more than two dozen children's books, including the first four books in the Rainbow Street Shelter series; Mokie and Bik; Ark in the Park; and Nim's Island. She lives with her family in Australia, near the sea.
Patricia Castelao was born in the rainy Santiago de Compostela, so she spent a lot of time drawing at home as a child. All that drawing led to her work on the Rainbow Street Shelter series and many other wonderful illustration projects.
Wendy Orr has written more than twenty children’s books, including Nim’s Island. She lives on a dairy farm in Australia with her family.
Patricia Castelao was born in the rainy Santiago de Compostela, so she spent lots of time drawing at home as a child. All that drawing led to her work on the Rainbow Street Shelter series and many other wonderful illustration projects.
Read an Excerpt
Discovered!
A Beagle Called Bella
By Wendy Orr
Henry Holt and Company
Copyright © 2013 Wendy OrrAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9856-3
CHAPTER 1
One spring night when all the humans were asleep, a floppy-eared brown and white beagle started having puppies. Her owner got up to sit beside her box, stroking her when she got tired and telling her what a good mother she'd be.
Five hours later, six puppies were nestled in the box beside her. The mother dog had licked them clean till they squirmed and mewled newborn puppy squeaks. She'd snuggled around them so they could wiggle up to her and drink her milk. Now they were resting after the adventure of being born, and the tired mother was going to sleep.
When the puppies grew up, they'd be brown and white with bits of black, like their mother, but right now they were black and white, except for their round pink noses. Every one of them was as cute as a calendar picture. The owner would have loved to pick them up and cuddle them, but she knew the mother dog wouldn't want anyone else to touch them yet.
"Six adorable beagle puppies!" she said. "I wish I could keep you all. But you'll make whoever buys you very happy."
She hoped that selling them would make her some money too, but right now she didn't care about that. She just cared that they were all healthy and perfect.
The prettiest of all was the one who'd been born first. She was the first one to drink, and so she was the strongest. As the puppies grew over the next weeks, she would always knock the others out of the way if they were drinking where she wanted to. Her brothers and sisters rolled and tumbled and found another place to nurse; it was easier to let her do what she liked.
"You're a strong little girl!" the owner told her. "Whoever chooses you will have to make sure you don't boss them around."
* * *
Kate and Julian had just gotten married. They moved into a beautiful apartment with a view of the ocean. They both worked long days in busy jobs, but they liked their work, and they loved their life together. On the weekends, they always had breakfast at their favorite coffee shop near the beach.
One chilly Saturday morning, it was so bright and beautiful that after breakfast they walked down to the beach and along the boardwalk. Lots of other people were out too, riding bikes, skating, or walking their dogs.
"You know what would be perfect?" said Kate.
"A dog," said Julian.
"We could go to the animal shelter on Rainbow Street," said Kate. "They must have lots of dogs."
"It'd be more fun to have a puppy that we could train the way we want," said Julian.
They pulled out their phones and searched online as they walked.
CUTE BEAGLE PUPPIES!
Three males and three females. All tricolor (black, brown, and white).Ready to leave their mama in 3 weeks. Come and see them now — be ready to fall in love!
The picture showed the prettiest puppies Kate and Julian had ever seen.
"Aww ...," said Kate.
Julian was already dialing. "Can we see them today?" he asked.
* * *
The puppies were even cuter in real life than they'd been in the picture. The black on their faces was fading to brown, and their pink noses had turned black. Their fur was soft as velvet.
Staggering around the kitchen floor on their short bowed legs, yipping with shrill puppy squeals, they tried to chase a soft blue ball with their mother. Sometimes they bumped into each other and stopped to wrestle, nuzzle, and lick as if they'd forgotten what they were doing.
"They're gorgeous!" Kate exclaimed.
"But she's the cutest," Julian said, pointing to the bossy puppy who'd been born first.
They watched as she shouldered through the pack to get the blue ball. She hit it with her nose, jumping back in surprise when it rolled away. One of her brothers bumped into her, and they both tumbled over. The brother wandered away, but the little girl puppy rolled back to her feet and started after the ball again.
"She's smart," said Julian.
"And beautiful," Kate murmured, as the owner picked up the puppy and put her into Kate's waiting arms. "You're the most beautiful little girl ever, aren't you?"
Smiling at each other over the puppy's head, Julian and Kate stroked the floppy velvet ears and the round bulgy belly. The baby beagle chewed on their fingers, wriggled against them, and licked their faces. Even her sour-milk puppy smell seemed sweet as roses.
The owner was smiling too. It made her happy to see people falling in love with a puppy.
"Her name is Bella," said Kate.
"Because she's so beautiful," Julian agreed. They had been studying Italian, and one of the first things they'd learned was that bella meant "beautiful."
"How are we going to wait three whole weeks before we take her home?" Kate asked. She could hardly bear to put the puppy down again, even though the mother dog was looking anxious and Bella was squirming.
"You can visit again next weekend," said the breeder. She knew this dog was going to a good home.
CHAPTER 2Earth to Timothy!" the teacher called. "Can you hear me?"
Tim jumped. "Yes," he muttered.
"Would you like to share what you're thinking, since it's so much more important than anything I have to say?"
"Sorry," said Tim. "My dad's dog is turning nine. Dad's picking me up after school to go to the retirement party."
A girl at the front of the room giggled.
"Sherlock's a sniffer dog," explained Tim. "After the party, he's going to come home to live with us."
His friend Josh clapped, as if Tim had made a speech. So did Hannah, the girl who loved pets so much that she volunteered at the Rainbow Street Shelter every week.
"That is exciting," the teacher agreed. "I think it would be very interesting to hear more about Sherlock's work sometime. But right now the rest of the class is getting ready for a spelling test, and I'd really like you to join in."
Tim blushed and picked up his pencil.
* * *
Sherlock was a beagle, and he'd been a sniffer dog most of his life. He worked with Tim's dad, Matt, at the airport, checking that people weren't bringing in any food or plants or animals that they weren't supposed to. It was very important work, because if bugs or diseases came in too, they could spread around the country.
Sherlock was good at his job. He'd walk along beside people's bags, sniffing as he went — and if he smelled the tiniest hint of plants, animals, or food, he sat down and didn't move till Matt told him to.
"Show me," Tim's dad would say, and Sherlock would sniff at the pocket on the backpack or the corner of the suitcase where the smell was coming from.
He could smell so well that sometimes he sat down in front of a bag that someone had used for a picnic the week before, even though there was no food in it now. He'd smelled dog treats that people had forgotten were in their pockets and chocolate bars they'd forgotten in their purses.
But he'd also found lots of things that people knew they weren't allowed to bring and were trying to sneak in. He'd discovered papayas, grapes, lemons, mangoes, and nearly every other kind of fruit there was. Sometimes the fruit he found had fruit flies or other bugs, which was exactly why it wasn't allowed in. He'd sniffed out sausages and salamis hidden in socks, seeds tucked into shoes, wooden carvings full of woodworms, and even a giant python coiled in a suitcase.
He was still a very good detective, but he'd been a sniffer dog for many years. Now it was time for him to relax and enjoy being a stay-at-home dog.
* * *
Bella grew and got stronger day by day. Julian and Kate went to see her the next weekend, and the one after that, and they could hardly believe how much she changed each time.
The puppies still bumped into each other, but hardly ever fell over when they did. They could run and were learning to climb and jump up on things, even though they didn't understand which things they were supposed to climb on and which they weren't.
What hadn't changed was that Bella was still the most beautiful, the strongest, and the smartest of them all. Tomorrow she would be eight weeks old, and Kate and Julian were going to bring her home.
That night after work they went to a huge pet store to buy her a soft, comfy dog basket. It was pink with a pattern of white bones, and as they walked around the store, they filled it up with toys. They chose a soft ball for Bella to roll, a teddy bear to comfort her when she was alone, and a squeaky rubber bone to chew.
They bought a water bowl, a food dish, a red collar and soft leash, special puppy kibble and canned dog food, puppy biscuits for treats, and a package of pee pads to put in the bathroom, for when they were at work and couldn't take her outside.
They woke up early on Saturday morning and were too excited about getting their new puppy to go out for breakfast. They had toast and coffee at home, tidied the kitchen, and they were ready to go.
Kate sighed with happiness. The sun was coming in the windows; the apartment was sparkly clean. Their beautiful puppy would soon be in her little pink bed in the corner, and everything would be even more perfect than it was now.
* * *
Another car was already at the beagle breeder's house when Kate and Julian got there.
"We're lucky we chose Bella first!" Kate whispered as they walked to the door. Luckily, the other family seemed very happy too. They had a son and a daughter, and they'd chosen a boy and a girl puppy. "The pups will be company for each other during the day," they told Kate and Julian, "and the kids will give them lots of exercise."
"Beagles do need lots of exercise!" the breeder agreed. "And you'll need to be firm with them. Start some training right away."
She kissed all three puppies on the top of their smooth little heads as she handed them to their new owners. "They've already had their first round of shots," she explained. "You'll have to take them to your own vets for the next ones in a couple of weeks. But love's the most important thing — lots of play and lots of love should give you long and happy lives together."
Kate and Julian smiled. They were ready to give their puppy all the love she needed.
* * *
Bella sat on Kate's lap on the way home. For the first ten minutes, she snuggled and squirmed, trying to climb up to lick Kate's face. For the middle ten minutes, she squirmed and tried to wiggle across to Julian. For the last five minutes, she just squirmed as if she couldn't get comfortable. Finally, as they pulled into the parking lot, she threw up.
"I should have brought a towel," said Kate, wiping the mess off her new jeans with a tissue.
Julian took the puppy, snapped the little collar in place, and clipped on the leash. "We'd better keep her outside till she's finished." Bella had never worn a collar and leash before, but she didn't seem to mind. She didn't even mind that she'd just been sick. She waddled around the sidewalk, sniffing and squeaking.
"I wonder if she has to pee?" Julian asked.
"Let's wait a bit longer," said Kate.
Bella was too busy to pee; there were new smells to sniff and new things to see. She yipped shrilly at a boy on a skateboard, cowered at the hiss of a bus opening its doors, and bounded over to people walking past. Nearly everyone stopped to smile and say, "She's so cute!"
Julian and Kate felt very proud as they carried their new puppy up to their apartment.
* * *
An hour later, Kate had changed her jeans, Bella had peed on the floor, Julian had wiped it up and shown her the pee pad in the bathroom, Bella had had a drink of water, climbed into her water dish and tipped it over when she tried to get out, Kate had mopped it up and refilled the water dish with not quite so much water, Bella had chewed the ends off the laces of Julian's sneakers, and finally collapsed, asleep, in the middle of the floor.
Kate picked her up and laid her gently in the pink and white basket. The puppy didn't stir.
"She looks so sweet when she's asleep!" said Kate.
"She must be exhausted," said Julian. "The breeder said she'd need about twenty hours of sleep a day — she'll probably sleep for ages."
They tucked the teddy bear in beside the peaceful puppy, closed the door quietly behind them, and went out for lunch.
* * *
Bella slept for nearly an hour. Then a door slammed in the apartment upstairs. She woke up and found herself alone.
In all the eight weeks of her life, the beagle puppy had never been alone before. She'd never been more than a few feet from her mother and brothers and sisters. She was used to people being around as well, and the busy rush of family life.
With a quiet whimper, Bella started to cry. The whimper grew into a whine and finally a howl. It was the first time she'd howled. She liked the way it made her feel.
When she was bored with howling, she chewed gently on her teddy bear. The teddy bear fell over and made her jump, so she growled and wrestled it out of the basket. It was bigger than she was, but she dragged it around the floor until its ear came off. She left the teddy where it was, and after a while, dropped what was left of the chewed-up ear.
She began to explore the apartment. Julian and Kate had been so sure that she'd stay asleep that they hadn't closed the other doors. Kate's furry slippers were beside the bed. Bella crawled across them. They smelled of wool and Kate. She began to chew.
CHAPTER 3Matt and Tim had been worried that Sherlock would be bored, now that he wasn't working at the airport. But the very first evening that they brought him home, after the party with a dog food cake for Sherlock and a cake shaped like a dog bone for everyone else, the beagle had settled right in. He'd sniffed all over the house, checking every room and cupboard, and then settled down in his basket in the family room as if he'd lived there forever.
Now, every night after school, Tim took Sherlock for a walk. Sometimes when his dad got home, they all went for another long walk together, down to the beach or a fenced park where Sherlock could run free. But unless he had soccer practice or something else right after school, Tim always walked Sherlock first.
Two years ago, when Tim's mother had left home and gone to live halfway across the country, Tim had hated getting home from school. Sometimes he would go home with Josh and his dad would pick him up after work. Other times, Mrs. Gunther from next door would meet him at the school gate and take him back to her house till his dad got home.
Tim had known Mr. and Mrs. Gunther for as long as he could remember. They were like extra grandparents. Going home to Mrs. Gunther wasn't the same as going home to his mom, though.
Sherlock changed everything.
Tim walked home from school by himself now. He rang Mrs. Gunther's doorbell when he arrived, and she came over with him to prepare a snack and a drink.
And as soon as they opened the door, Sherlock was there waiting for them. He sniffed Tim up and down, as if he was finding out what the boy had been doing, whom he'd seen, and what he'd eaten, and then he did the same to Mrs. Gunther.
No matter what Tim was eating, Sherlock was sure he needed some too. His eyes were so round and pleading, and he stared so hard, that it was very difficult to say no.
"You know what your dad says," Mrs. Gunther always reminded Tim when he tried to sneak half a cracker or a bite of cheese to the begging dog. "Beagles love to eat, but it's very easy for them to get fat."
But sometimes she gave in to the pleading eyes too, and cut a slice of apple or carrot especially for Sherlock. "At least that's healthy," she always said when Tim saw her doing it.
The only bad part about Sherlock living at home was that Matt didn't have a beagle to work with anymore. All dogs can smell, but not every dog can learn to be a sniffer dog and work in a busy airport. They need to have lots of energy so they can work all day, be very, very smart about what they're sniffing for, and stay calm and friendly around the people they meet.
Right now, there wasn't another dog who could do all those things. So until a new beagle was trained, Matt had to do more paperwork and other jobs he didn't like as much.
Tim knew his dad wouldn't be happy again till he had a dog to work with.
* * *
By the time she was a year old, Bella had chewed up two left sneakers, one pair of sandals, one high-heeled boot, one pair of jeans, and more socks and underwear than Julian or Kate could remember. She'd also chewed sunglasses, remote controls, and the spines off a whole shelf of books.
She'd been to the vet's emergency room when she couldn't stop vomiting after she'd eaten the lilies in a vase on the coffee table. She'd had another trip after she found the bowl of Halloween candy.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Discovered! by Wendy Orr. Copyright © 2013 Wendy Orr. Excerpted by permission of Henry Holt and Company.
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