Brady ran all the way to Reptile Rage.
Only Dextra was there, cleaning out a litter box in the front window. She was wearing a Save the Rhinos T-shirt. She smiled at Brady. “Can I help you with anything?”
Brady took a deep breath. “Uh…you know your dog show? On Friday? I thought it would be a good idea to postpone it for a while. So more kids can hear about it.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” said Dextra. “I think the whole town knows. We’ve got tons of entries!”
Brady sighed. “I might be on Jupiter.”
The bell over the front door jingled. A woman dragged a little boy with a melting purple Popsicle into the store. Dextra looked at Brady. “Is there anything else?”
“Uh, yeah,” said Brady quickly. “Do you have anything that’s guaranteed to drive a dog crazy? Special treats or something.” He made his voice sound like a TV commercial. “Feed your dog this, and you’ll have a friend for life.”
Dextra frowned. “We discourage spoiling dogs with lots of treats. Treats are no substitute for consistent, firm, fair training.”
“I agree,” said Brady. “Absolutely. Think of this as a…reward. For excellent behavior.”
“In that case, you might try Doggie Delights. We sell them in bulk in that barrel over there. Dogs do love them.”
The Doggie Delights looked like round brown cookies. Brady sniffed one. Not bad.
Brady waited while the boy with the Popsicle chose between a catnip mouse and a ball that squeaked when you squished it. Finally the mother gave in and bought both. Brady paid for a whole bag of Doggie Delights. He raced back to Gramp’s house.
Abra and Julia were sitting on the porch stairs. Abra was reading Good Dog! Bad Dog!
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? Where’d you get that?”
Abra dropped the book. “You left it out here. Can we come in and see your grandfather?”
“No. Look, why can’t you just leave us alone?”
Julia made her eyes like slits. “Where’s your dog?”
“He’s in the house. He’s having a rest in between training sessions.” Brady reached into his bag. “Look, I’ll give you some cookies if you don’t bug me.”
“Oh yuck, boy cookies,” said Julia.
“Gingersnaps,” said Brady. He waved one in the air.
“Okay,” said Abra. “I’m hungry.”
Brady handed Abra two Doggie Delights. “Now leave me alone.”
Gramp was asleep in the armchair in the living room. Grit sprawled across his feet. His eyebrows wrinkled when he saw Brady.
“Keep your shirt on,” muttered Brady. He waved his bag of treats. “You are about to enter Dog Heaven.”
He took a cookie out of the bag. He dangled it in front of Grit’s nose.
Whump! Grit grabbed it and swallowed it in one gulp. Brady peered at Gramp’s face. His mouth hung open. He was snoring softly.
“Good going, Grit,” whispered Brady. His heart thumped. He gave Grit two more cookies. The dog wiggled his rear end. His tongue lolled.
Dog talk! Grit was smiling. He loved this. He loved Brady.
Brady took a deep breath. “Okay, buddy, there’s lots more where those came from. But you gotta do something for me. A walk. One measly little walk. Deal?”
Grit whined.
“Come on, that’s fair.”
Brady slipped his hands under the red bandana. He pulled.
Grit whined harder.
Brady pulled harder. “Walkie, walkie,” he said.
He felt Grit’s cold teeth on his hand.
“YEOW!” Brady leaped up. He danced around in a circle. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” he shouted.
Grit dove under Gramp’s chair. Hoooo.
Gramp sat bolt upright. “It’s a stampede!” he hollered.
“Your dog is a killer!” Brady shouted back.
Brady showed Gramp his wound. If you looked really hard, you could almost see blood.
Gramp hummed cheerfully. He took Brady into the bathroom and poured something from a dusty brown bottle over his hand. “Horse liniment,” he said gleefully. “It’ll cure you or kill you.”
Brady stuck five Band-Aids on his hand and wandered outside. He slumped on the step and closed his eyes. He had run out of ideas.
The gate squeaked. “Hey!” said Abra’s voice. Brady opened his eyes.
Abra stared at his bandages. “What did you do to your hand?”
Brady frowned. “I stuck it in the garburator.”
“Actually, old houses don’t have garburators.” Abra stood on one foot. “Do you have any more of those cookies?”
“What?” Brady blinked at her.
Abra shrugged. “They weren’t bad.”
“Wait a sec,” said Brady. He went inside and got the bag of Doggie Delights. He watched while Abra bit into one.
He took one out of the bag and studied it for a minute. Doggie Delights. What a flop. He took a tiny nibble on the edge.
It was crunchy. And it tasted a bit like cinnamon. With a sigh he finished it and reached for another one.
Dog training had made him hungry.