Janey was still thinking about Maxi as the kids all piled into Dr. Goldman’s car a little while later. “You said surgery will fix Maxi’s knees, right?” she asked as the vet started the engine. “Then she’ll be as good as new?”
“Well, she should be much more comfortable, yes,” the vet said. “But if Matthew keeps asking her to run with him, it won’t be long until she’s right back where she started.”
“You mean she’ll probably hurt her knees again?” Adam sounded worried.
Dr. Goldman shrugged. “As I said, mastiffs aren’t built for lots of running.”
Janey traded a look with her friends. “We should still try to raise money for the surgery,” she said.
“Definitely,” Lolli agreed. “Matthew will probably stop taking Maxi jogging if he understands it’s hurting her.”
Dr. Goldman looked at the kids in the rearview mirror. “Raise money for surgery?” she said. “Is this a new Pet Rescue Club project?”
“Yes,” Janey said. With her friends’ help, she told the vet about their idea.
By the time they finished, Dr. Goldman was nodding. “I think that’s a super plan,” she said. “I’ll be happy to donate my time free of charge. So you’ll just need to raise enough to cover the cost of the surgical supplies and medications.”
“Hooray!” Lolli cheered. “Thanks, Dr. Goldman!”
The vet smiled. “You’re welcome. So what kind of fundraiser are you planning?”
“We’re not sure yet,” Janey said. Pepper’s appointment hadn’t taken very long, so the kids hadn’t had much time to talk about ideas. “But I’m sure we can come up with something pronto.”
“I hope you have an extra-large operating table, Mom,” Zach said with a laugh.
“Yeah.” Lolli nodded. “I thought Roscoe was pretty big until I saw Maxi!”
Adam grinned. “She’s almost as big as Lola the pony!”
Dr. Goldman chuckled. “Believe it or not, Maxi isn’t the largest mastiff I’ve ever seen. The females are usually a little bit smaller than the males.”
They arrived at the shelter. “Call me when you’re ready to leave,” said Dr. Goldman. “I’ll be at the clinic taking care of some paperwork, so I can pick you up whenever you like.”
When the kids entered, there were several people in the lobby. Kitty, a worker at the shelter, was handing a piece of paper to an older couple. The husband was holding a crate. A cute dog with a pointy nose was peering out through the mesh door.
“Oh, did Peanut get adopted?” Janey exclaimed, rushing over to peer in at the dog. “That’s great! He’s an awesome dog.”
When Peanut, a dachshund mix with short legs and silky fur, had first arrived at the shelter a couple of weeks earlier, he’d been pretty shy. So Janey spent time with him to help socialize him to new people and situations. He got comfortable and relaxed pretty quickly and then became very friendly and playful.
“We know.” The wife smiled at all the kids. “He’s a sweetheart.”
“Congratulations on the new addition to your family,” Kitty said. “Just call us if you have any questions or problems, okay?”
“Thank you.” The husband leaned down to look at the dog. “Come on, Peanut. Let’s go home.”
The couple hurried out. Kitty was still smiling.
“I think Peanut is a perfect match for those two,” she said. “They both work from home, so he’ll get lots of attention.”
“That’s great,” Adam said. “Peanut is a great dog, but he needed just the right home.”
“Yeah.” Lolli giggled. “Peanut definitely wouldn’t want to live with Matthew, for instance. No way could he keep up with all that jogging on those short little legs!”
“Matthew is a dog owner we just met at the vet clinic,” Zach told Kitty. “He’s a serious jogger, and he has this huge mastiff named Maxi who runs with him.”
“Really?” Kitty looked surprised. “I didn’t think mastiffs made good running companions.”
“That’s exactly what my mom said,” Zach told her. “She says all that running wrecked Maxi’s knees.”
The other kids joined in to tell Kitty all about Maxi and Matthew and their idea to have a fundraiser for them.
“Wow,” Kitty said when they finished. “What a great idea! Why don’t you guys brainstorm while you clean some kennels?”
Adam laughed. “Is that your way of telling us to clean some kennels?”
Kitty laughed, too. “Yes, it is. Now get to work, kids!”
“Pronto!” Janey added, which made everyone laugh again.
Soon the four members of the Pet Rescue Club were hard at work cleaning kennels in the shelter’s dog room. It wasn’t Janey’s favorite job at the shelter, but she didn’t mind it too much, because she knew it helped the animals that lived there.
Besides, working in the kennel room gave her a chance to check out the dogs there. “Mrs. Reed wants a medium-sized dog,” she reminded Lolli, who was working beside her. “That gives us plenty of choices. There are lots of medium-sized dogs here.”
Lolli nodded. “How about Daisy the corgi? She’s pretty friendly.”
“Maybe,” Janey agreed. “Or there’s that terrier mix, or maybe…”
She cut herself off as the door opened and Kitty hurried in. “Did you guys finish cleaning out Peanut’s kennel?” the shelter worker called. “Because we already have a new resident for it.”
“Really?” Janey stepped into the aisle and saw that Kitty was leading a wiggly black dog with perky ears and a long snout.
“Doesn’t he have to go in the quarantine room first?” Adam asked.
“The quarantine room is full right now,” Kitty replied. “Besides, this dog’s former owners brought his vet records. He’s up-to-date on everything.” She sighed. “They can’t keep him because they’re moving.”
Janey traded a sad look with her friends. She couldn’t believe so many people gave up their pets when they moved, or for other reasons that didn’t seem very important to Janey.
The dog sniffed at Zach, his tail wagging nonstop. Then he barked and leaped against his legs, as if trying to climb right up into Zach’s arms.
Zach laughed and hoisted him up for a hug. “Aw, he’s really friendly!” he exclaimed as the dog eagerly licked his face from chin to forehead. “What’s his name?”
“Ace,” Kitty said. “He’s a Lab mix.”
“He’s small for a Lab mix,” Adam commented.
“Yes,” Janey said with a thoughtful smile. “I’d definitely call him medium-sized, wouldn’t you?”
“I suppose so.” Kitty took Ace back from Zach and led him to the empty kennel. “Here you go, boy. I hope you like your new home.”
“Don’t worry,” Janey said, still smiling. “I doubt he’ll be there for long.”
“Hope not.” Kitty headed for the door. “Well, I’d better go finish his paperwork.”
She hurried out. Zach kneeled and poked his fingers in through the bars so Ace could lick them. Meanwhile, Lolli stared at Janey.
“Let me guess,” she said. “You think Ace should be Mrs. Reed’s new therapy dog?”
“He’s perfect!” Janey stuck her fingers in beside Zach’s and giggled as Ace licked them, then leaped away to sniff at his new water dish. “He’s definitely friendly, right? And he’s medium-sized.”
Adam looked dubious as he watched Ace race over to stare at the dog in the next kennel. “He seems pretty hyper,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s going to work for a therapy dog.”
Janey shrugged. “He’s just excited to meet us. I’m sure he’ll be fine once he has a new owner and a new job as a therapy dog to keep him busy.” She straightened up and looked at her friends. “Okay, that’s one animal helped!” she declared. “Now let’s talk about Maxi’s fundraiser.”