Charles frowned. Not Buddy? What did Ms. Holly mean? Of course it was Buddy. The little brown pup loved to ride along when Mom or Dad was picking someone up or just out doing errands. Charles ran to the van and tugged at the sliding door.

“Hold on there, cowboy,” Mom called out the window. “The door is locked. I don’t want Miki to escape.”

“Miki?” Now Charles was really confused. Who was Miki? He stood on his tiptoes, cupped his hands around his face, and peered into the van’s rear window. There, sitting in Buddy’s usual spot in the backseat, was something small, white, and fluffy. It looked like a stuffie, the kind of stuffed animals (mostly dogs) that Lizzie collected. Then the fluffy thing twitched its ears, turned its head, and sniffed at the air for a moment, just long enough for Charles to become convinced. It wasn’t a stuffie. It was a real, live puppy.

Charles ran around to the driver’s side of the van and knocked on his mom’s window. “Who is Miki?” he demanded. “Where did she come from? Are we fostering her? Can I get in and hold her?”

Mom put her window down and reached out to pat Charles’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you all about it on the way home,” she said. “Let me grab Miki’s leash before you get in.”

“Maybe I could hold her, just for a minute?” asked Ms. Holly, who was still looking into the van. “I’m allergic to dogs. They make me sneeze, and my eyes itch like crazy. But she’s so cute! It’s worth it just this once.”

Mom laughed. “She is pretty adorable,” she admitted. “But I have a feeling she’s going to be a bit of a handful.”

“So we are fostering her!” yelled Charles. He started to jump up and down. Other kids who hadn’t gotten into their parents’ cars yet ran over and started to cluster around, trying to peek into the van’s windows.

“What is it?” asked Kendra. “Is it a toy?”

“Wait, it’s moving!” shouted Luis. “Maybe it’s a robot.”

“Everybody, please calm down,” Mom said, from inside the van. She climbed into the backseat and clipped a leash onto the puppy’s collar. Then she slid the back door open. “It’s a real, live puppy, and if you want to meet her, you’re going to have to use your indoor voices. And no sudden movements. We don’t really even know this puppy, so let’s be careful.” She climbed out of the van, holding the little white puppy in her arms.

“Awwwwwww!” Everyone sighed at once.

“Is she for real?” shouted a girl named Kaitlynn. “I mean, she looks just like a little—”

“Shhhhh!” Alivia shushed her, finger over her lips. “Indoor voices, remember?”

Charles saw Mom and Ms. Holly smile at each other. Then Ms. Holly reached out her arms. “Can I?” she whispered. “Just for a second?”

Mom handed over the puppy. Charles watched as the fluffy puppy nestled herself into Ms. Holly’s arms. Charles had been around a lot of puppies, but there was no question: This had to be the cutest puppy he had ever seen. She had floppy little ears and an adorable tiny black nose. Her eyes were black and shiny, and her tongue, when she stuck it out to lick Ms. Holly’s face, was as pink as an apple blossom in springtime. Her coat looked so soft and fluffy, like the part of a dandelion that you blow into the wind for good luck.

“Her name is Miki,” Mom said. “Her owners had to give her up because they’re moving across the country, to an apartment building that doesn’t allow dogs.” She put a hand on Charles’s shoulder. “I just picked Miki up from your aunt Amanda’s doggy day care. She’s a regular there. Amanda says the owners are completely heartbroken. She promised them that we would take good care of Miki and find her a very special home.”

“Such a cute name for such a cute dog,” said Ms. Holly. She buried her nose in the dog’s neck. Charles waited for her to start sneezing, but she just closed her eyes and took in a long, deep breath. “Ahhh, that puppy smell,” she said. “Even better than chocolate cupcakes.” Then she opened her eyes. “Okay, I better give her back before my allergies kick in.” She handed the little pup back to Mom.

“Her owners told Amanda that the name Miki means ‘beautiful’ in Japanese,” Mom said. She held Miki carefully as she looked around at the crowd that had gathered. “Okay, kiddos, you can each have a moment with her. Just give Miki a gentle pat. And remember to move slowly and carefully so you don’t scare her.”

One by one, each of the kids went up to Miki and touched her gently. Kendra almost looked like she was going to cry. “I just can’t believe how cute she is,” she said, after she’d had her turn. She squeezed her hands together and sighed. “I’ve never seen a real, live dog who looked like that.”

“I’m going to ask my mom if we can have another dog,” said Alivia. “We only have three. And this one is really small. The other dogs would all love her.”

“What kind of dog is she?” asked one of the moms, who had also gotten in line to take a turn petting Miki.

“She is a bichon frise, according to her owners,” said Charles’s mom. She pronounced it like “bishun freeze.” “Kind of a fancy breed. Very expensive to buy, from what I understand.”

Charles hated to think about people buying and selling dogs when there were so many dogs out there who needed homes.

“She’s quite calm,” said Ms. Holly. “Not like some little dogs, the kind that are always running around and yapping.”

“I think that’s because she was playing all day with all the other dogs at doggy day care,” Mom told her. “Amanda says she’s usually a real live wire. She loves attention and can’t get enough. I guess her owners taught her all kinds of tricks.”

“Like what?” Charles asked.

Mom shrugged. “I didn’t have a chance to ask,” she said. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”

Miki began to wriggle in Mom’s arms, struggling to get down. “Okay, okay,” said Mom. She bent over and set Miki on the pavement. The little dog shook herself all over so that her fluffy white fur stood out. She looked around at the crowd surrounding her, cocking her head.

You want to see a trick? I’ll show you a trick!

Then she stood up on her hind legs and began to prance around in a circle, holding her tiny paws in front of her. Everybody gasped and began to cheer. Miki’s black eyes sparkled with the fun of it all as she danced, spinning around and around.