Maria whirled around. “Lizzie!” she said. “You did it again.”

“Oops.” Lizzie put a hand over her mouth. “I mean, I’d love to help out with Zipper, if it’s okay with Mr. and Mrs. Santiago and the Muellers.” She reached down to pet Zipper, who lay quietly near her feet. She was already in love with this curious, active pup. Plus, maybe she would be so busy taking care of him that she wouldn’t have to snowboard after all.

Mr. Santiago frowned. “Are you sure, Lizzie? It’s a big responsibility, and as Maria said, you two are on vacation. You’re supposed to be enjoying yourselves.”

“I always enjoy myself when I’m around a dog,” said Lizzie.

“And really, it’s no problem to have him here,” Annie put in. “Josef and I will help when we can. We’ll manage, I’m sure.”

It was settled. Zipper would stay with Lizzie and the others, at the Timberline Lodge. Dillon gave Lizzie a long leash with a stretchy bungee section. “He’s pretty strong when he’s pulling, and he doesn’t really know how to walk nicely on a leash yet,” he said. “So be careful, and do your best to keep him under control. You can try walking him on his harness, if that seems easier. I’ll show you how to put it back on.”

Lizzie nodded. She had walked dogs who liked to pull before.

“I’ll bring by some of his food tomorrow,” Dillon said. “For tonight, maybe Sofie will share some of hers.” He stood up and yawned. “Thanks for dinner, Uncle Josef and Aunt Annie. Love that meat loaf. I hate to eat and run, but I’m in training and I need my sleep.”

“I just have to ask one thing before you go,” Lizzie said. She couldn’t wait a moment longer to find out the answer to the question that had been bothering her since this long-legged puppy had bounded through the snow. “What kind of dog is Zipper, anyway?”

Dillon laughed. “Everybody asks that. He and Digger are both a mix known as a Eurohound.”

“A what?” Lizzie asked. She’d never heard of such a dog before.

“The mix originated in Europe, but a lot of American mushers are using them now,” Dillon said, “especially for shorter, faster sprint races. He’s part Alaskan husky —”

“I know about them!” interrupted Lizzie. “I fostered one, named Bear. They’re not as fluffy as Siberian huskies. And they’re long-legged, like Zipper.”

“That’s right,” said Dillon. “Some Alaskans do have some Siberian in them, but it’s mixed with a lot of other breeds. Anyway, a Eurohound is also part German shorthaired pointer. Mushers have found that breeding in the pointers helps make the dogs a little easier to train, since pointers want to please their masters.”

“So basically, he’s a mutt,” said Mrs. Santiago, reaching down to run her hands over Zipper’s sleek coat.

“Exactly,” said Dillon. “The fastest, strongest mutt in the world.”

“Wow,” said Lizzie. It was not often that she learned something new about dogs, but she had never heard of Eurohounds before. She could hardly wait to call home and tell Charles all about Zipper.

After Dillon left, Lizzie and Maria took Zipper for a walk. The Little Bear ski area was quiet, dark, and empty. “Come on,” said Maria. “We can take a closer look at the trail we’re going on tomorrow.”

Lizzie thought of pretending that Zipper was dragging her the opposite way, but she could tell that her friend really wanted her to see the trail. “Okay,” she said. “Come on, Mr. Zippy.” Zipper happily turned around and pranced off in the new direction. He held his tail high and wagged it back and forth.

Wherever you go, I want to go.

“See?” Maria said in a few minutes.

“See what?” Lizzie asked.

“This is it. The trail. We’re on it.” Maria smiled. “You couldn’t even tell we were walking uphill, could you? It’s practically flat.” She led Lizzie to the bottom of the rope tow and explained how it worked, showing her how to grab on to the hook that the attendant would hand her. “It’s a breeze,” she said.

Lizzie felt the knot in her stomach loosen a little. “It looks pretty easy,” she admitted. But she thought, I’ll try it once, just to make Maria happy. Then I’ll say that I have to take care of Zipper.

Back in the lodge, the girls settled in for a long game of Dog-opoly. Lizzie and Maria lay stomach-down on the rug by the fireplace, with Zipper between them. He sighed once in a while in his sleep, and Lizzie’s heart melted. Zipper looked almost like a grown dog, but he was still just a baby. He lay curled in a tight ball with his long legs tucked up under his chin and his tail tickling his nose.

“Look, he has a white patch on his chest, just like Buddy does,” said Maria, reaching out to pet it. “Soft, too.”

Zipper’s white patch wasn’t in the shape of a heart, but it did have interesting black spots. His big paws were heavy and soft, and Lizzie loved the tiny golden hairs she saw glinting amid the brown. Zipper was not a pudgy, cuddly puppy like some Lizzie had known, but there was something so lovable about him. Maybe it was his goofy face and expressive ears, or the way he was always wagging his tail and looking hopeful. Whatever it was, Lizzie was under his spell.

Annie came into the room with a plate of warm chocolate-chip cookies and two glasses of milk. “Josef thought you girls might be ready for a snack,” she said, putting the plate down on a table out of Zipper’s reach. “We’re headed off to bed. Would you like Zipper to sleep with you in your room?”

Lizzie looked at Maria. Was her friend still mad about the way Zipper had crashed their vacation? Would she want him in their room?

“Of course,” said Maria. She smiled at Lizzie, and Lizzie knew: Maria was under Zipper’s spell, too.