Rainbow Street Pets Read online

  CONTENTS

  Lost Dog Bear

  Nelly and the Dream Guinea Pig

  Mona and the Lion Cub

  Buster the Hero Cat

  Stolen! A Pony Called Pebbles

  Bella the Bored Beagle

  First published in 2012

  Copyright © Wendy Orr 2012

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

  Allen & Unwin

  83 Alexander Street, Crows Nest NSW 2065, Australia

  Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100, Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218

  Email: [email protected], Web: www.allenandunwin.com

  A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from

  the National Library of Australia — www.trove.nla.gov.au

  ISBN 978 174237 908 1

  Cover and text design by Bruno Herfst

  Cover photos by iStockphoto and Can Stock Photo

  Set in 12 pt Sabon by Toolbox

  This book was printed in March 2012 at McPherson’s Printing

  Group, 76 Nelson St, Maryborough, Victoria 3465, Australia.

  www.mcphersonsprinting.com.au

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  For all the animals, from Frieda to Harry,

  who have enriched my life.

  WENDY ORR

  CHAPTER 1

  hat Bear liked best, almost more than anything in the world, was riding in the back of the ute. He liked racing from side to side to see everything whooshing past, sniffing the wind as it ruffled his fur, and barking at dogs on the ground.

  The other thing Bear liked best, almost more than anything in the world, was bossing sheep and making them go where he wanted.

  What he liked best of all, more than anything else in the world, was Lachlan – because Lachlan was his boy.

  What Lachlan liked best, almost more than anything in the world, was riding around the farm in the back of the ute. He liked bouncing over the bumps, singing into the wind as it ruffled his hair, and watching Bear race from side to side. He liked the way his friends from town thought riding in the back with him was as cool as all the things they did in town.

  The other thing Lachlan liked best, almost more than anything in the world, was walking around the farm with his dad and watching Bear herd the sheep wherever his dad wanted them to go.

  What he liked best of all, more than anything else in the world, was Bear – because Bear was his dog.

  But now Lachlan’s mother and father had sold the farm. His dad and Bear were going to work on a big sheep farm, and Lachlan and his mum were moving to the city. Lachlan felt as if he was being pulled in two.

  ‘Your dad and I are still friends,’ said his mum. ‘We just can’t live together anymore.’

  ‘It doesn’t change how I feel about you,’ said his dad. ‘I still love you as much as ever.’

  ‘But what about Bear?’ asked Lachlan. ‘How’s he supposed to understand?’

  ‘He’ll like it there,’ said his dad. ‘They have a couple of working dogs already – Bear will get along fine with them.’

  ‘He’ll hate it!’ shouted Lachlan. ‘He’ll miss me!’

  His dad pulled Lachlan close and hugged him. ‘Not as much as I’ll miss you,’ he said. ‘But maybe you’re right. Maybe Bear should go with you.’

  ‘The yard in our new house is very small,’ said Lachlan’s mum.

  ‘I’ll walk him every day,’ said Lachlan. ‘Bear won’t care where he lives, as long as he’s with me.’

  What Hannah liked best, almost more than anything in the world, was going to the beach. She liked diving through the waves with her friends, and racing along the sand with her ponytail flying in the wind.

  But what Hannah liked more than anything was dogs. And what she wanted, more than absolutely anything else in the world, was a dog of her own.

  ‘Our garden’s not big enough,’ said her dad.

  ‘I’d walk it every day,’ said Hannah.

  ‘Dogs get smelly!’ said her mum.

  ‘I’d give it a bath,’ said Hannah.

  ‘You’d forget to feed it,’ said her dad.

  ‘I’d never forget,’ said Hannah.

  Every time The Coopers went to Hannah’s friend Ellie’s house, they passed a narrow street with a sign shaped like an arrow, saying RAINBOW STREET SHELTER. And every time Hannah asked, ‘Could we go there?’

  ‘It would just make you sad,’ said her mum. ‘You’d want to bring home a dog.’

  ‘I already want to bring home a dog,’ Hannah pointed out. ‘And I wouldn’t be sad if I could.’

  But her mother always sighed, ‘Oh, Hannah!’ and drove on.

  CHAPTER 2

  he moving van came early in the morning. The moving men packed up all the boxes and furniture that Lachlan and his mum were taking to their new house. They left the boxes and furniture that Lachlan’s dad was taking to his new home.

  Lachlan tried to hug his dad so tight that he’d have to get in the car with them, and his dad hugged him back so tight that Lachlan felt like a quivery jelly – but his dad still said goodbye.

  Then Lachlan and Bear got into the car, and his mum drove away. Bear stuck his head out the window and barked. Lachlan stuck his head out the other window and waved till he couldn’t see his house or his father anymore.

  It was a hot, dry day, and the dust from the long farm driveway drifted in the car windows.

  His mum sneezed. ‘Roll up your window,’ she said.

  ‘I like the dust!’ said Lachlan.

  He rolled the window up, but he left a good wide crack at the top to let a little more of the farm’s earth blow in and go with them to the city.

  Lachlan had been to the city before, but it had never seemed as far as it did today. The car had never been so hot, and Bear had never raced so excitedly back and forth across the seat. He stood on Lachlan’s bare legs with his sharp nails.

  ‘Ouch, Bear!’

  Bear leaned against him and drooled down Lachlan’s neck.

  ‘Yuck, Bear!’

  Bear licked Lachlan’s legs.

  ‘Don’t lick, Bear!’ shouted Lachlan, and shoved him away.

  Bear twisted around and licked Lachlan’s hands instead. Lachlan’s dad always joked that Bear thought ‘Don’t lick, Bear!’ was his full name.

  ‘Maybe you should have gone with Dad, Bear,’ said Lachlan.

  At lunchtime, Lachlan and his mum stopped at Terri’s Takeaway. It was across the road from a wide sandy beach with crashing, blue surf – but dogs weren’t allowed on the beach. So they parked in the shade, and Lachlan walked Bear around the edge of the car park. It was the first time Bear had ever been on a leash, but he walked beside Lachlan as if he were a guide dog, watching all the people and cars and sniffing the strange new smells.

  Even when they got back to the car and Bear was drinking his bowl of water, he kept stopping every few seconds to stare around.

  ‘Now he’ll be fresh to start licking again,’ Lachlan’s mum teased as she opened the door to the back seat.

  Bear hopped in and Lachlan rolled the window down so Bear could sniff the fresh air. Then Lachlan and his mum went into the cafe. Lachlan looked out at the ocean, and for the first time since he’d found out they were moving, h
e felt a sparkle of happiness.

  ‘Are we going to live near a beach?’ he asked as they walked back to the car after lunch.

  ‘Pretty close,’ said his mum. ‘Too far to walk, but a short drive.’

  ‘Could I ride my bike?’

  ‘When you’re older,’ said his mum.

  The sparkle fizzed and died. Lachlan didn’t want to be older in their new house. He didn’t want to have a birthday without his dad. He wanted to pretend they were just going to the beach for this last weekend of summer holidays, and would be back in their old home when school started again.

  His eyes blurred as he got into the car, and he squeezed them tight so that no tears could sneak through. His mum pulled out onto the highway, and they started down the coast towards their new home.

  ‘How long till we get there?’ he asked.

  ‘About an hour,’ said his mum.

  Lachlan opened his eyes and wiggled back in his seat. He reached over for Bear – and suddenly the hot day turned cold.

  ‘Mum,’ he said, ‘where’s Bear?’

  CHAPTER 3

  ear was not in the car park. Lachlan and his mum raced around, shouting Bear’s name and looking everywhere a dog could possibly hide. They asked everyone in the cafe and the playground and the petrol station next door.

  No one had seen a lost dog.

  ‘Maybe he went to the beach,’ said Lachlan.

  ‘He couldn’t have crossed the highway,’ said his mum. ‘It’s too busy. It’s more likely he tried to follow us when we left.’

  She drove slowly down the road to where Lachlan had realised Bear was gone. Cars honked behind them, but all Lachlan and his mother cared about was finding Bear.

  There was no lost dog running along the side of the highway.

  ‘He might have tried to head for home,’ said his mum, and turned around again. She drove back towards the farm until they knew they’d gone further than Bear could have possibly run.

  There was no lost dog heading towards his old home.

  ‘We should check the beach just in case,’ said Lachlan’s mum, and turned around again.

  They parked right across from Terri’s Takeaway and ran down a path to the beach.

  ‘Bear!’ shouted Lachlan.

  ‘Here, Bear!’ shouted his mum.

  Their voices were small against the noise of the waves and the people shouting and playing. There were surfers carrying surfboards to the water or peeling off their wetsuits; there were families setting up beach umbrellas or having picnics; there were little kids splashing in the shallows or building sandcastles, bigger kids on boogie boards or playing frisbee, grandparents taking pictures.

  ‘BEAR!’ roared Lachlan.

  The people nearby turned to stare.

  ‘Not a real bear,’ explained Lachlan’s mum. ‘A dog named Bear.’

  ‘Because he looked like a bear cub when he was a puppy,’ said Lachlan. ‘But now he’s lost! Here, Bear!’

  They ran from one group of people to the next, asking if anyone had seen a shaggy black border collie with a crooked white stripe down his face, a white neck and three white paws.

  No one had.

  ‘It’s no good, Lachlan,’ said his mum. ‘He couldn’t have crossed the highway.’

  Lachlan followed his mum along the beach. His stomach was swirling sickly, but he knew Bear would be feeling worse.

  Three boys jogged past.

  ‘Have you seen a lost dog?’ Lachlan called.

  ‘A big black dog?’

  Lachlan tried to say yes, but only a small choking sound came out. He nodded.

  ‘He was running that way!’

  ‘About twenty minutes ago!’

  Suddenly Lachlan could breathe again. ‘Thanks!’ he shouted.

  Lachlan and his mum raced back the way they’d come, kicking through the soft white sand till they couldn’t run anymore and had to stop, doubled over and gasping to catch their breath.

  They were at the path to the highway.

  There was no black dog.

  Lachlan and his mother swerved down to the hard wet sand where the tide had gone out and started to run again. We’ve got to see him soon! Lachlan thought, and shouted as he ran, ‘Here, Bear!’

  They passed a family wading in the shallows.

  ‘Have you seen a lost dog?’

  ‘Sorry,’ said the dad, ‘we’ve just got here.’

  Lachlan and his mum ran on. Their faces were red, their T-shirts were wet with sweat, and their chests were hurting.

  They asked two girls reading on their towels. The girls hadn’t seen a dog all morning.

  Neither had a boy splashing in from the surf with his board.

  But a mum tidying up a picnic said, ‘He was here about fifteen minutes ago.’

  ‘I gave him a sausage roll,’ said her little boy.

  ‘He went that way,’ said the mum. She pointed back the way Lachlan and his mum had just run.

  CHAPTER 4

  annah came up with such a wonderful idea that her ponytail quivered.

  If her parents didn’t have the time to take care of a dog, there might be other people who already had a dog and didn’t have time to take care of it either. They must need someone to take their dog for walks and play with it.

  She got out some paper and markers. She printed HANNAH THE DOG-WALKER on the top. She drew paw prints underneath and put her phone number at the bottom.

  ‘You can’t do that!’ her mum exclaimed. ‘It’s not safe to put your phone number up on posters everywhere.’

  ‘I could take it to the Rainbow Street Shelter,’ said Hannah. ‘They could give it to people who want a dog but can’t take it for walks.’

  ‘Hannah!’ her mother sighed. ‘You are not going to the animal shelter. I don’t want to talk about it any more.’

  Lachlan and his mum ran up and down the beach for three hours. The only times they stopped were to gulp down water and ask if anyone had seen a lost black dog.

  ‘Ten minutes ago,’ said someone.

  ‘He was just here,’ said someone else.

  ‘Half an hour ago,’ said a third.

  They all pointed in different directions.

  A girl smearing on sunscreen pointed to the path above the beach.

  A mother pushing a toddler on a swing pointed back down.

  A man packing up his sailboat pointed to the place where they had starred.

  This way and that way and back again Lachlan and his mother ran, kicking through sand, pushing through people, calling and looking. Finally it was so late that the beach wasn’t crowded anymore, and they knew that if Bear was anywhere around they’d be able to see him, and he would see them. And when they couldn’t, they knew that Bear wasn’t anywhere they’d been looking.

  ‘I’m sorry, Lachlan,’ said his mum. ‘We have to go on to the house. I’ll figure out what to do when we get there.’

  ‘Maybe they all saw some other dog,’ said Lachlan. ‘A dog who liked the beach.’

  All the time they’d been running up and down the beach, Bear had been lost and frightened somewhere else – and now they might never find him.

  Lachlan couldn’t stop wishing he’d never pushed Bear away and told him he should have gone with Dad after all.

  Hannah had been in a grumpy mood ever since her mum had said she couldn’t go to the Rainbow Street Shelter. Her ponytail moped around the back of her neck. She couldn’t think of anything she wanted to do.

  Now the grumpiness dissolved like an icy pole on the pavement.

  Her dad was coming home from work: he was driving into the driveway and parking in the carport just like he always did. There was just one thing different.

  In the back of his ute was a dog.

  CHAPTER 5

  he dog was black and furry, with a crooked white stripe down his face, a white neck and three white paws.

  ‘What’s that dog doing there?’ Hannah’s mum demanded.

  ‘What? How did that dog get there
?’ her dad said.

  ‘Hannah!’ they shouted together. ‘Get down from there!’

  But Hannah was already in the back of the ute with her arms around the dog, and the dog was licking her face. His tongue was warm, wet and tickly, and he was panting fast as if he was excited.

  Hannah jumped down from the ute and threw her arms around her father. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’ she squealed.

  ‘But Hannah–’ her dad began.

  ‘We can’t keep it,’ said her mum.

  Hannah didn’t hear. She ran inside to get a bowl of water for the thirsty dog. The dog jumped down after her, waiting at the front door till she came out. Hannah patted him while he drank big splashing gulps with his long red tongue.

  ‘He’s so soft,’ she told her parents. ‘And so nice. I’m going to call him Surprise, because he was the biggest surprise I ever got.’

  ‘Me too,’ said her dad. ‘He must have jumped into the wrong ute when we went home.’

  ‘He’s got to go back to where he came from,’ said her mum.

  ‘As soon as we can figure out where that is!’ said her dad.

  ‘Were there many dogs where you were working today?’ asked her mum.

  ‘A few.’

  Hannah’s dad phoned everyone he worked with, but the answer was always the same: no one had lost their dog. No one had even seen a stray dog.

  Nobody wants him! thought Hannah. Nobody except me! She ran into the shed to find a piece of rope, and looped it through the ring on the dog’s collar. There was a metal tag on the ring.

  ‘D L BEAR,’ Hannah read in a small voice. ‘And there’s a phone number.’

  Her dad got out his phone again and tried the number.

  ‘It’s been disconnected – it’s lucky they put their name on the tag too, so we can try to find them.’

  ‘Imagine how worried they must be!’ said her mum.

  Hannah didn’t want to imagine, but she did. She imagined them like Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear, except instead of porridge they’d be saying, ‘Who’s been taking my dog?’

  She didn’t want to be Goldilocks.