“‘Keep your beloved pet happy! More than just a daily walk, we offer training, exercise, and stimulation for your dog.’” Back at home, Lizzie hollered into the phone as she read the flyer she’d found to Maria. “Can you believe this?”

On the other end, Maria spoke in soothing tones. “Come on, Lizzie, what’s so terrible?” she asked. “So there’s another dog-walking business in town.”

“And they’re advertising in our territory, trying to steal our customers.” Lizzie paced around her mom’s office, with Oscar watching from where he lay, curled up under the desk. His eyebrows twitched as he stared at her.

Should I be concerned? There seems to be some trouble.

Lizzie bent down to pet him. She could tell he was upset. So was she.

“Steal our customers?” Maria asked. “Come on, Lizzie.”

“Think about it. If they weren’t trying to steal our customers, why would they make their price per walk four dollars and fifty cents — fifty cents less than ours — and offer exactly the same thing?” Lizzie smacked her palm on the desk, and Oscar jumped. “Who would do this? And how did they know so much about our business, down to the price? We haven’t advertised in a long time now.”

Maria was silent for a moment. Then she cleared her throat.

“Maria?” Lizzie asked. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Well.” Maria cleared her throat again. “Remember when you asked me to get some extra help while you were busy training that yappy Pomeranian puppy, Teddy?”

Lizzie rolled her eyes. Why was Maria bringing that up again? “Yeah, yeah,” she said. “I know. I’ve been unfair to you. I get it. I’m sorry, and I said so. But what does that —”

“I hired Daphne.”

Maria spoke so quickly Lizzie could hardly make out what she said. “What?”

“When I needed extra help, I hired Daphne.”

“Daphne Drake?” Lizzie yelled. “Are you kidding?” She smacked her palm on the desk again, and Oscar scrambled out from under it. She sat down on the floor and pulled him onto her lap to pet him. Of course Maria wasn’t kidding. Of course she was talking about Daphne Drake. What other Daphne did they know? But Daphne? Really? When Maria knew how Lizzie felt about Daphne Drake?

Daphne Drake was the biggest, bossiest know-it-all in fourth grade. For a little while, when they were in a club together, Lizzie had almost started to like Daphne and her friend Brianna. Daphne cared about helping animals, at least. That’s what the club had been about, the Caring Club. But the club had fallen apart. Charles said it was because Lizzie had refused to let anybody else be president, but that was ridiculous. Of course she had to be president. For one thing, the club had been her idea. For another, she knew way more about dogs than anyone else in the club — especially Daphne.

Daphne. Lizzie smacked her forehead. This wasn’t about the Caring Club. This was about AAA Dynamic Dog Walkers! They had worked hard to build their business, and Lizzie was not about to roll over and play dead. Okay, so Maria had given away all their business secrets to a competitor. So what? They were still the best dog walkers and always would be.

“Lizzie?” Maria asked. “Are you still there?”

“What does Daphne know about training dogs?” Lizzie asked. “How can she even offer that as part of her service?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure we should be offering it anymore,” Maria said in a small voice. “It’s not like we’ve been doing too much of it lately.”

Lizzie gritted her teeth. Why did Maria always have to be right about things? Okay, so maybe they hadn’t been teaching too many new tricks or working on obedience lessons, like walking nicely on a leash. “We’ve been pretty busy,” was all Lizzie said.

“And Ms. Federico complained the other day that we only took Maxx out for ten minutes. The walks are supposed to be at least twenty minutes long.” Maria’s voice wasn’t so small anymore. “I think we have to shape up, get our act together, or maybe Daphne and Brianna deserve to take over our clients.”

“Oh, so Brianna’s involved, too?” Lizzie asked. “Wait a minute, how did you know that?” She was beginning to feel suspicious. Was Maria in on this whole thing?

“Just a guess,” said Maria. “Brianna does everything Daphne does, remember?”

“Arrgh.” Lizzie lay down on the rug and let Oscar lick her face. Maria was right again. About Brianna, and about shaping up. If they weren’t careful, they were going to lose all their customers.

Lizzie and Maria talked for a long time, and by the end of their phone call, Lizzie had convinced Maria that they should create a new flyer for AAA Dynamic Dog Walkers and hand it out the next day.

“But you’ll have to make it,” Maria said before they hung up. “I have homework.”

When she put the phone down, Lizzie hugged Oscar and gave him a kiss on the nose. “We’ve got a job to do tonight, pal,” she told him. She had homework, too, but it would have to wait. First she had to save her business. She sat down at the computer and found the file for AAA’s first flyer. Then she got busy.

AAA DYNAMIC DOG WALKERS

Always the Best, But Now, Better Than Ever!

Extra-Special Walks. Expert Training.

Excellent Care.

Love Your Dog?

Stick with the Experienced Dog Walkers.

New low rates: $4.00 per 20-minute walk