Too Big to Run (8 page)

“Look! There's Matthew,” Adam said.

Zach saw him, too. “Hey, he brought Maxi,” he said. “I hope he's not making her run. Or even walk.”

“Doesn't look like it,” Adam said. “They're just hanging out in the shade talking to people.”

The two boys hurried over. “Hi,” Zach said. “I thought you weren't going to bring Maxi.”

“I couldn't stand to leave her home,” Matthew said. “After all, this is all for her! Besides, we haven't been spending enough time together since she had to stop running. I don't want her to be lonely.” He gave her a pat. “Anyway, my sister offered to walk with her dog in our place so we could just hang out.”

“That's good,” Zach said. “Look, I think Maxi likes Misha and Duke!”

The three dogs were circling one another, wagging their tails.

“Oh, Maxi gets along with everybody,”
Matthew said with a chuckle. “Even tiny dogs can boss her around and she doesn't mind a bit.”

Zach nodded, remembering how calm Maxi had been with Toby the cat in the clinic waiting room. “She's pretty chill,” he agreed.

“Look,” Adam said. “There are Janey and Lolli.”

“And Mrs. Reed,” Zach added. He waved. “Guys! Over here!”

The girls and Mrs. Reed came toward them. Mrs. Reed was holding Pepper in her arms, while Ace frisked around and barked at Roscoe. Zach noticed that Janey looked kind of grumpy. But she looked that way a lot, so he didn't worry about it.

“This is Maxi,” he told Mrs. Reed. “She's the one who's getting the surgery.”

“Lovely to meet you, Maxi,” Mrs. Reed said. As she leaned down to give the big dog a pat, Pepper wriggled in her arms, sniffing curiously at Maxi.

“You can put Pepper down,” Zach said. “Maxi won't hurt him.”

“Don't worry,” Janey added. “I'll keep Ace away.”

“Thank you, dear.” Mrs. Reed set the Chihuahua on the ground. Pepper trotted over and sniffed noses with Maxi. Both dogs wagged their tails.

“Oh, and this is Matthew,” Lolli added.

“I know.” Mrs. Reed smiled. “Good to see you again, Matthew.”

“You too, Prof,” Matthew said. Glancing at the kids, he grinned. “Dr. Reed was my professor in college.”

“Really?” Zach was surprised. “You're a doctor?”

“A doctor of history,” Mrs. Reed said with a chuckle. “Matthew was one of my best students.”

As Matthew and Mrs. Reed chatted, Zach wandered over to Janey, who had taken Ace a short distance away. Adam and Lolli came, too. Kitty was sitting on a bench near them, talking to the shelter to see how things were going there.

“What's with you?” Zach asked Janey.
“Aren't you having fun?”

Janey shrugged, staring at Ace as he jumped around playfully with Duke. “I thought Mrs. Reed and Ace were a perfect match,” she said. “But Pepper doesn't seem to like him much. And Mrs. Reed thinks he's too energetic to be a good therapy dog.”

“Bummer,” Zach said. “But don't worry, there are lots of other medium-sized dogs at the shelter. Maybe she'll like one of them better.”

He glanced over at Adam to see what he thought. But Adam was staring back toward Mrs. Reed and Matthew. “Do you see that?” he said.

“See what?” Zach looked where Adam was looking. Pepper was sitting between Maxi's front legs. Maxi was peering down at the little dog, staying very still. Her tail thumped against the ground as she wagged it. Mrs. Reed's hand was resting on the big dog's head, her fingers idly scratching at Maxi's ears as she talked to Matthew.

Zach looked at Adam, who was smiling. “I just had an idea,” Adam whispered to him. “Let's go find your mom!”

By the time she finished the course, Janey was feeling happier. “Are you okay?” Lolli asked. “Even though Ace and Pepper didn't get along?”

“I'm fine,” Janey said. “Anyway, it's not hopeless, right? Maybe we should try again on a less busy day. The two of them might get along better then.”

Lolli looked uncertain. “Maybe,” she said. “But I'm still not sure Mrs. Reed will—”

“Hey!” Adam interrupted breathlessly, jogging up to them with Duke at his heel.
Zach and Misha were right behind them. “We need to talk to you about something.”

“What?” Janey asked.

Adam glanced over his shoulder. “Did you notice how well Maxi gets along with little Pepper?”

Janey frowned. Was he trying to rub it in? “Yeah, we know,” she grumbled. “Maxi gets along with everyone.”

“Exactly.” Zach grinned. “And we just checked with my mom—she says mastiffs often make good therapy dogs.”

“So what?” Janey said. “Matthew doesn't have enough time to spend with Maxi as it is. How's he supposed to turn her into a therapy dog, too?”

“He's not,” Zach said. “Mrs. Reed can do that!”

“Huh?” Lolli blinked.

“It was Adam's idea,” Zach said. “He was thinking about how Matthew and Maxi are mismatched.”

Adam nodded. “It's like Kitty was saying that time. Some dogs need certain kinds of homes.”

“And Matthew's home is the wrong one for Maxi,” Zach went on. “Matthew loves to run, and he doesn't have much spare time.”

“But running is bad for Maxi.” Janey was starting to get it. “So what are you saying? That he should take Maxi to the shelter?”

“No way! He'd never do that,” Zach said. “But he might give her to a home that's a better match—especially if he already knows her new owner.”

Lolli gasped. “Mrs. Reed!”

“But she wants a medium-sized dog,” Janey said. “Maxi is definitely not medium-sized.”

Zach shrugged. “She wants a dog that's sturdy enough to visit kids. Maxi definitely is that. And she seemed to like her.”

“But what about Ace?” Janey glanced at the black dog, who was trying to convince Misha to play with him.

The two boys traded a grin. “She's a little slow today, isn't she?” Zach commented.

Adam laughed. “Don't you get it?” he told Janey. “We found Ace's perfect match, too—Matthew! He needs a dog that can keep up with lots of running.”

Now it was Janey's turn to gasp. “And that's Ace!” She tugged on the leash. “Come on, let's go tell them!”

“It's amazing how things worked out, isn't it?” Janey asked Mrs. Reed.

It was a little over a week later and the two of them were in the waiting room of the Critter Clinic, along with the rest of the Pet Rescue Club. Matthew was there, too. So was Ace. The cute black dog was lying on the floor under his new owner's chair, taking a nap.

Janey smiled when she saw that. “I never thought I'd see Ace being so still,” she said.

Matthew chuckled. “We went on a nice long run this morning,” he said. “He's all tuckered out.”

“As they say, a tired dog is a good dog.” Mrs. Reed chuckled and patted Pepper, who was sitting on her lap. Then she glanced toward the door leading to the back room, looking anxious. “I wonder how Maxi is doing.”

“Don't worry,” Lolli told her. “Zach's mom is the best. She'll fix her.”

Janey nodded. But she also crossed her fingers. She hoped Maxi's surgery went well so she could begin her new career as a therapy dog.

At first, both Mrs. Reed and Matthew weren't sure about Adam's plan. But the more they discussed it, the more they realized how perfect it was. Maxi would get a
good home where Matthew could visit her. He was sad at the thought of giving her up, but happy at the idea that she'd have a job she was good at—being a therapy dog—and would be getting lots more attention, too.

Mrs. Reed hadn't planned on getting such a large dog. But then she decided that size didn't matter. The important thing was Maxi's personality, and that was perfect for therapy work. She was even going to pay for Maxi's surgery herself, so the money from the Walk and Wag could go to the shelter!

As for Matthew, one test run was all it had taken to convince him that Ace would be able to keep up with him.

“It's the perfect happily ever after,” Janey murmured as she thought about how well everything had worked out.

Adam heard her and looked over. “Don't jinx it,” he said. “It's not happy ever after until Maxi is safely out of surgery.”

Janey nodded and stared at the door leading to the clinic's back room. All of them were waiting for the surgery to be over. “Why's it taking so long?” she wondered.

“You don't want Mom to rush it,” Zach reminded her.

“I know,” Janey said. “But—”

She cut herself off as the door opened and Dr. Goldman stepped out. She was smiling as she peeled off her surgical gloves.

“I won't keep you in suspense,” she said. “The surgery went very well. Maxi should recover fully.”

“Hooray!” Janey cried, leaping to her feet and doing a happy dance.