Big Dog Decisions Read online

  For Ginger, the greatest dog in the world.

  —M.J.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1: I Want a Crazy Dog

  CHAPTER 2: Puppy in a Purse

  CHAPTER 3: Parents, Allergies, and Neat Freaks

  CHAPTER 4: Pooper Scoopers

  CHAPTER 5: Trouble Already?

  CHAPTER 6: No Dogs Means No Business

  CHAPTER 7: A Very Pampered Princess

  CHAPTER 8: Rain or Shine – UGH!

  CHAPTER 9: How to Impress Older Kids

  CHAPTER 10: The Drool Disaster

  CHAPTER 11: One Day is Better Than Never

  CHAPTER 12: The Perfect Plan

  CHAPTER 13: The Plan in Action

  CHAPTER 14: Ready for a Doggie Break

  Name: Sydney Shelby Baxter Greene

  Age: 8

  Birthdate: August 3

  Parents: Bob and Jane Greene

  Siblings: Owen (my baby brother)

  Hobbies: fashion, playing Galaxy Conquest, reading

  Sydney Greene is a sassy third grader. Not only does she love fashion, but she loves a good game of Galaxy Conquest as well. She might be the smallest kid in the class, but she’s also the spunkiest! Her best friend is Harley Livingston, a third-grade soccer star. They have been best friends since preschool, when Harley kicked a soccer ball into Sydney’s face.

  Name: Sidney Patrick Fletcher

  Age: 8

  Birthdate: May 11

  Parents: Paula Fletcher

  Siblings: None

  Hobbies: sports, playing Galaxy Conquest, telling jokes

  Sidney Fletcher is a quiet kid who loves sports. He is also the newest third grader in Oak Grove. However, it didn’t take him long to make friends. Gomez (whose real name is Marco Xavier Gomez) is Sidney’s first and best friend in Oak Grove. With one joke at the bus stop, Sidney and Gomez became inseparable.

  I’ve never had a pet. We used to live in an apartment in Chicago. It was too small for a pet. Or at least that’s what my mom told me. I didn’t think it was too small for a fish, but my mom said the no pet rule covered every kind of pet — even fish.

  We moved from Chicago to Oak Grove after my dad died. Even though we live in a house with a big yard, we still don’t have any pets. It doesn’t seem fair.

  My friend Nathan has a new puppy. I’m pretty sure everyone in the world has a puppy but me. Well, me and my best friend, Gomez. Me and Gomez were going to Nathan’s house to see his new puppy. I already felt jealous, and we hadn’t even seen the dog yet.

  Before we even made it into the yard, a small puppy jumped on Gomez. Gomez was not a big kid, and the puppy knocked him right over.

  “Get him off me!” Gomez shouted.

  “Calm down, Gomez,” Nathan said as he pulled the puppy off of him. I couldn’t help laughing at Gomez. Who else gets knocked over by a tiny puppy?

  “His name is Calvin. I got to name him,” Nathan said with a big smile.

  “I wanted to name him Hershey,” Nathan’s little sister Natalie said.

  “You got to name him by yourself?” I asked. That was so cool! Besides my stuffed bear Ted, I’d never named anything.

  “He’s a Labrador retriever,” Nathan told us. “Since he’s brown, he’s actually called a chocolate lab. He’s only six weeks old. When he grows up he’ll be over sixty pounds.”

  Instead of thinking about sixty pounds of chocolate like I normally would, I thought about how much I wanted a dog. Nathan’s dog was crazy! He had been running and jumping since we’d gotten to Nathan’s house. I wanted a crazy dog, too!

  “He sleeps on the floor in my room. I get to walk him every day and get his food and water. I even get to give him his bath!” Nathan said.

  “You are so lucky,” I told Nathan.

  “You sure are,” Gomez agreed. “I wish we could stay and play with Calvin, but we have to get home for dinner.”

  * * *

  The whole way home from Nathan’s house I thought about getting a dog. It would be so much fun.

  “I’d name him Sidney, Jr.,” I told Gomez.

  “Oh no!” Gomez said. “There are already enough people with that name in Oak Grove!”

  Gomez and I are friends with a girl named Sydney. When I moved to Oak Grove there was a lot of confusion because we both have the same name. Our names aren’t spelled the same, but it’s still a little confusing. Now we laugh about the situation. She’s pretty cool for a girl. So is her best friend, Harley.

  “That’s true,” I said. “Maybe I’d name my dog Payton after Walter Payton. He was an amazing Chicago Bears football player and my dad’s all-time favorite. My dog Payton would be fast like a football player, and I’d teach him how to play catch.” The more I thought about it, the more I wanted a dog. In fact, I needed a dog!

  “I’d get one of those long dogs that looks like a hot dog. I’d name him Oscar,” Gomez said. “Get it?”

  “That is funny! Payton and Oscar would be best friends — just like us!” I said, getting excited.

  The more we talked about it, the more I realized how much I needed a dog. My life depended on it! (I guess that’s a little dramatic, but I needed to get my point across.) Now I just needed to figure out how to convince my mom.

  “Got you!” I shouted as I blasted Sidney with a turbo double-strike laser. We were playing Galaxy Conquest 2, and I had beaten him two games in a row. This was unusual, because Sidney likes to win as much as I do, and he is a very good Galaxy Conquest 2 player.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I’d also teach Payton how to fetch my shoes in the morning. Then I’d never have to look for them. Payton would do all the work for me. Wouldn’t that be so great?”

  At first I only hung out with Sidney out of convenience because our moms are best friends and hang out all the time. But now I actually consider him one of my good friends. I usually like playing video games with him. However, today he was being really annoying. He wouldn’t stop talking about getting a stupid dog!

  “Why don’t you just put your shoes by the door? Then you’d never lose them. Then you don’t need a dog,” I suggested. I love fashion and wouldn’t dream of losing a pair of my cute shoes.

  “What?” Sidney looked confused. “It’s not about losing my shoes. I just really want a dog!”

  “I know! You’ve been talking about it nonstop since you got here.” I set the controller down. What was the point of beating him in a game when he wasn’t really trying?

  “I thought you wanted one of those little dogs,” Sidney said.

  “I used to, but I haven’t thought about it in a long time,” I said.

  “How come?” he asked.

  “I almost got one, but then my mom found out she was going to have a baby. Once Owen was born, she said she couldn’t take care of a new baby and a puppy,” I told him.

  “That’s too bad,” Sidney said.

  Thinking about carrying around a little puppy in a purse made me remember how much I’d wanted one. Owen was cute, but he was not the same thing as a puppy.

  Sidney had a little smile on his face. “How old is Owen now?”

  “He’ll be two on his next birthday,” I said.

  “And when was the last time you asked your parents about getting a dog?” he asked.

  At first I couldn’t remember. It had been a long time. “I guess it was before Owen was born.”

  Sidney smiled even bigger. “Maybe it’s been long enough. Owen is getting older and a little easier to deal with. Maybe they’ll say yes now. We should both ask our parents at dinner tonight.”


  “That’s a great idea! They have a hard time saying no when we both ask!”

  “Yeah, the two of us can talk them in to anything,” Sidney said. “Let’s do it!”

  “I can’t believe they said no,” Sydney said sadly.

  It was the day after we had the big dog discussion. Sydney and I were sitting out in front of my house with Gomez and Harley. We had both been in bad moods all day. We both really wanted a dog.

  At first it had looked like our parents might say yes. We had planned it perfectly. We waited until everyone had finished eating. The adults were sitting around the table talking and laughing. Sydney’s dad had just told a story about some funny thing that happened at work. Both of our moms were cracking up.

  I looked at Sydney and nodded my head. It was go time. I told them about Nathan’s new puppy. Then we both asked nicely if we could get dogs. We even remembered to say please.

  At first our parents didn’t say anything. I thought that was a good sign. Then they all started talking at once about how much work a dog was and what a big responsibility it was. They said it costs a lot of money to take care of a dog.

  Sydney and I looked at each other across the table. We knew the answer was no. Sydney’s parents and my mom agreed that neither of us was ready to have a dog. I was sad and mad and annoyed.

  I had to complain to my friends. “I am so ready to have a dog! I’m very responsible. I remember to brush my teeth every night without my mom having to tell me. Well, at least most nights.”

  “I’m responsible, too, and I’ll never get a dog,” Gomez said. “My sister Sophia is so allergic that she sneezes when she even thinks about a dog.”

  “I’ll never get a dog either.” Harley frowned. “My mom is such a neat freak. She would go nuts if a single piece of fur landed on her floor.”

  “When I grow up, I’m going to have a whole bunch of dogs,” I said.

  “Me too!” said Gomez. “Too bad that’s not for a long time.”

  Sydney had been very quiet. She had a look on her face that told me she was thinking hard. She makes the same face when our teacher Mr. Luther gives us a tough math problem. It’s usually a good thing, as Sydney’s pretty good in math.

  “There’s got to be some way we can prove to our parents that we’re ready for a dog,” she said.

  Just then, Nathan and Natalie walked by with Calvin.

  “Hey guys!” Nathan called. “Want to play with Calvin?”

  As much as I wanted to play with the dog, I knew it would make me feel worse. I didn’t have to worry about hurting Nathan’s feelings, though. Before we could say anything, the dog pulled Nathan down the sidewalk.

  “Looks like he wants to keep walking,” Nathan called. “Maybe next time!”

  “Walking a dog looks like so much fun,” Gomez said.

  Sydney jumped up with a big smile on her face.

  “That’s it!” she said.

  “What’s it?” I asked.

  “I know how we can convince our parents to let us get dogs!”

  Sydney was so proud of her idea. She stood up and threw her arms out wide.

  “We’ll start a dog walking business!”

  I expected everyone to cheer and tell me what a great idea it was. Instead, Harley, Sidney, and Gomez just stared at me. After a few seconds, I put my arms back down.

  “How will walking other people’s dogs change our parents’ minds? Won’t it make us want dogs even more?” Sidney asked.

  “You aren’t getting it. It’s the perfect plan!” I told them. “It will show our parents that we are ready. I once helped water Mr. Thom’s flowers while he was out of town. My mom said she was proud of how responsible I was. Helping take care of other people’s dogs will show that we’re responsible.”

  Sidney nodded his head. I could tell he was beginning to think it was a great idea. He said, “And we can use the money we make to help pay for all the things that dogs need, like food and vet visits.”

  “Exactly!” I said. I was happy that he was beginning to understand. Harley and Gomez still didn’t look very excited, which seemed weird.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked them. “Don’t you think it’s a good idea?”

  Harley frowned. “I think it’s a great idea. I bet it will totally work.”

  “But it’s not going to change our parents’ minds,” Gomez said.

  I hadn’t thought about that. Gomez’s sister would still be allergic, and Harley’s mom would still be a neat freak. So much for the perfect plan.

  Harley shrugged her shoulders and said, “But it still sounds kind of fun. At least I could be around dogs.”

  Gomez nodded, “Good point. But I don’t want to walk the big dogs!”

  “No problem,” Sidney said. “I’ll walk all the big dogs! And when Sydney and I get our own dogs, you two can play with them whenever you want.”

  “Absolutely!” I agreed. “Since it was my idea, I’ll be in charge. First thing we should do is figure out what we should call our business.”

  “How about Sidney’s Dog Walking Company?” Sidney suggested.

  “Oh! I like that!” I said.

  “I meant Sidney with an ‘i,’” he said to clarify.

  I didn’t like that as much.

  “What about Goofy Gomez’s Dog Walking Business?” Sidney asked, making a face at Gomez.

  Gomez stuck out his tongue and replied, “No, I like Snotty Sidney’s Dog Walkers.”

  “I’m serious you guys,” I said. I was beginning to get mad at the boys for not taking my idea seriously. “We have so much to do! First, we need a good name for our business. Then, Harley and I can make flyers, and you guys can hang them up around town. We’ll also have to figure out how much to charge and when we can walk the dogs.”

  “That sounds like a whole lot of work,” Sidney said.

  “It is, so you’d better stop fooling around and listen to me,” I told him.

  “Wait! I’ve got the perfect name,” Gomez said excitedly. “How about Pooper Scoopers?”

  Gomez and Sidney both burst out laughing. I was so frustrated.

  “Gross,” I said. Sometimes boys can be so annoying.

  “We could get T-shirts that say ‘Need a Pooper Scooper? Call us!’” Sidney said. He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.

  “Yeah!” Gomez replied. “And we could get matching hats with ‘PS’ on them for Pooper Scoopers!”

  Why did boys think that kind of stuff was so funny? I crossed my arms and gave them a mean look. They were too busy laughing to notice that I was mad. Even Harley was laughing a little bit.

  “If you can’t be serious about this, then I’ll think of a name on my own. It was my idea, anyway. Once Harley and I make the flyers, you two can hang them up.”

  Harley and I started to walk away. The boys were still laughing. I had had it! I turned around and snapped, “And I’m glad you think scooping poop is so funny since that will be your job!”

  At first I didn’t understand Sydney’s idea. When I thought about it some more, it began to make sense. My mom thought it was a great idea. She said something about it getting this whole dog thing out of my system. I’m not sure what that meant, but I’m glad she was happy about it.

  Sydney’s parents were happy about it, too. Her mom helped her on the computer. They made some great flyers to hang around the neighborhood. It had a bunch of pictures of dogs. In the middle it said, “Happy Tails — we walk all types of dogs.”

  Happy Tails wasn’t as funny as Pooper Scoopers, but I didn’t really care. Sydney had printed the flyers on bright paper. She said it would get people’s attention. I had to admit, they looked really professional.

  “I hope these flyers work,” I said to Gomez.

  “Me too,” he replied.

  Gomez and I had to cut little strip
s with Sydney’s phone number at the bottom of each flyer. It took forever! Sydney wanted us to hang up flyers all over town. We had already hung them up at ten different places and had been walking for over an hour. We were both getting tired, so we sat down on the curb.

  “I can’t wait to start walking dogs,” Gomez said.

  “I know,” I agreed. “Dogs are so much fun. We can play with them and take care of them.”

  It was then that I noticed Gomez had a weird look on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  Gomez frowned. “Sydney’s right. This dog walking business is a lot of work, and we haven’t even walked one dog! Do you think she meant it when she said we’d have to pick up all the poop? I don’t mind picking up some of it, but it should be fair. We can’t do it all.”

  I nodded my head. “She has been pretty bossy about this whole thing. I bet she and Harley are watching TV while we’re out here doing all the work. Maybe we should start our own dog walking business?”

  “Maybe.” Gomez didn’t look too sure. “It was Sydney’s idea, though.”

  “You’re right.” I sighed. “Plus, I don’t have the energy to start over.”

  Just then, Sydney and Harley walked up. Sydney did not look happy. In fact, she looked a little scary.

  “Do you guys need help hanging up flyers?” she snapped.

  “Uh, sure,” I replied and handed her some flyers. She snatched them out of my hand and walked toward the next store.

  “What’s with her?” I asked Harley.

  “Her mom found out that you and Gomez were doing all the work. She made her come out and help,” Harley said. “Sydney wasn’t too happy about it.”

  Sydney could be so dramatic! So far her idea had lead to arguing and a lot of work. But if I wanted to get my dog, we’d have to make this work. We’ve worked together before, and we’ve never had trouble.