The Hero Pup Page 7

  Joe secretly thought it might make the lessons more interesting, though.

  All of the other puppies in training were a lot older than Patch – most of them seemed to be five or six months old. And most of them were Labs and golden retrievers, but there was also one spaniel called Hamish.

  Ann’s black Labrador, Dora, was the oldest one there at seven months. ‘She’s leaving to go for her final assessment next week,’ Ann told Joe’s mum as they said hello. ‘It’s going to break my heart to see her go, but I know she’ll be going to someone who needs her far more than I do.’

  Joe didn’t want to think about Patch leaving one day, so he took him to say hello to Hamish instead. The two dogs sniffed each other and wagged their tails. But when Patch tried to take Hamish’s duck toy, Hamish reminded him with a soft growl that it wasn’t his. Patch dropped the toy and Hamish wagged his tail to show there were no hard feelings.

  Once the dogs were all settled and the handlers had got a drink and a biscuit, they pulled some chairs round in a rough circle and Lenny formally introduced Joe and his mum to them.

  ‘This is Joe and Mary, and more importantly this is little Patch. Pass Patch to Olivia, Joe.’

  Patch had been sitting on Joe’s lap, but now he handed the puppy to Olivia, Hamish’s handler, who was sitting on the other side of him, and she made a big fuss of Patch. A minute later she passed him on to the person sitting next to her.

  ‘It’s good for Patch to get used to being handled by different people besides you and your mum,’ Lenny told Joe.

  Patch seemed to think being stroked by different people was fine, but he was over the moon when he was finally returned to Joe.

  ‘He’s definitely Joe’s dog,’ Mum smiled.

  ‘Be prepared for when he has to leave,’ Ann warned Joe, but Joe was only half listening because Patch was licking at his ear. He couldn’t imagine not having Patch with him. He wasn’t even going to think about it.

  Lenny put a small rug close to the wall next to Hamish for Joe to tether Patch to along with a toy and a puppy chew. But Patch didn’t want to be tethered and he whined and tried to pull away from his lead to get back to Joe. Then he tried yapping to let Joe know he wanted to be back on his lap.

  ‘Just ignore him when he’s barking, and praise him and maybe give him the odd treat when he’s quiet,’ Lenny said.

  ‘I always bring a chew and Dora’s squeaky mouse toy when she has to be tethered,’ Ann said. ‘I hope wherever she goes next gives her chews and toys.’

  ‘Olivia, how’s your week with Hamish been?’ Lenny asked her. ‘Hamish is one of our more lively dogs,’ Lenny said, winking at Joe and his mum.

  Joe looked over at Hamish, who was gnawing on his chew. Patch saw him looking and yapped to make it clear that he didn’t like being tethered. Joe looked away and Lenny nodded.

  Each of the volunteers reported back to Lenny on what had happened with their puppy that week and what they had done together. The volunteers offered each other advice, but Joe and his mum just listened.

  Patch whined again and stood up, looking thoroughly miserable. Joe started to feel miserable too. Poor little Patch stuck halfway across the room. He hadn’t even touched the chew. Joe wanted to go to Patch and comfort him, but someone else went first.

  Ollie trotted over to Patch and lay down on his mat. Patch lay down beside him and was soon fast asleep, cuddled up to the older dog.

  Chapter 14

  Joe and Patch’s second Helper Dogs class was also the last before the school term started. Joe’s mum was supposed to take him and Patch in the car, but at the last minute she had to take a work call.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Joe. We’ll have to miss the class this week. I just don’t have a choice.’

  But Joe didn’t want to miss it.

  ‘I’ll take Patch on the bus,’ he said.

  Mum looked doubtful. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes,’ Joe said. ‘It’s only a few stops.’ In the Helper Dogs manual he’d read that: Everything a puppy tries when he’s young, he’ll be happier to do when he’s older. As long as you make it a good experience for him. And that means being relaxed and happy yourself.

  Patch was sniffing the interesting new smells at the bus stop when Mr Humphreys came along. Patch immediately started wagging his tail and tried to jump up at their neighbour because he was so excited to see him. Joe wondered if Patch remembered him as the man with the water snake.

  ‘What on earth are you two doing here? Car broken down?’ he asked them.

  ‘No – Mum’s got a meeting so Patch and I are going to the Helper Dogs class on the bus,’ Joe told him.

  ‘Are you indeed? You can tell me more about Helper Dogs on the way,’ Mr Humphreys remarked as the bus drew up.

  Patch wasn’t too sure about the noisy bus monster and he tried to run away as it shuddered to a halt. Joe didn’t make a big thing of it and tried to keep calm.

  ‘That’s it, Patch, come on. What’s this?’ Joe said as he held out a treat for Patch’s nose to aim for. The steps were wide for a little puppy, but Patch managed to jump up them, then take his treat and crunch it up as the other passengers watched him.

  ‘How much is it for my puppy?’ Joe asked.

  ‘He’s a Helper Dog in training,’ Mr Humphreys said loudly from behind him.

  ‘No charge for assistance dogs,’ the driver said.

  Mr Humphreys held out his bus pass and the driver waved him on. ‘No charge for me, either.’

  Fortunately the bus wasn’t very busy. Patch lay down at Joe’s feet and investigated the laces of Mr Humphreys’ shoes. Joe wouldn’t have said Patch was exactly happy to be on the juddery bus, but he put up with it for the few stops that they went.

  ‘So what’s this Helper Dogs thing all about then?’ Mr Humphreys asked.

  ‘It’s a charity that provides highly trained dogs for disabled people,’ Joe recited straight from the Helper Dogs manual. ‘Lots of them go to soldiers like my dad … like my dad was. Once Patch is old enough and has finished his initial training, he’ll go to a soldier called Sam. He was badly hurt trying to help some other soldiers.’

  ‘I see,’ Mr Humphreys nodded. ‘A very important job for your little imp then.’

  ‘Yes,’ Joe agreed. It was a very important job indeed. ‘My dad wanted us to train a dog like Patch and help a soldier who’s been … been injured and needs him,’ Joe said. But even as he said the words, he still couldn’t quite believe that Patch might one day not be with him.

  ‘Your dad would be pleased.’

  ‘Yes. Yes, he would.’

  ‘I used to have a dog, you know,’ Mr Humphreys said.

  ‘Did you?’ said Joe. He’d thought Mr Humphreys hated dogs.

  ‘Billy, his name was, lived for twenty years before I lost him. Smartest dog I’ve ever known,’ Mr Humphreys said, and his eyes turned misty as he remembered. ‘Well behaved too.’

  ‘What sort of dog was he?’ Joe asked.

  ‘A bitzer,’ Mr Humphreys said.

  ‘I haven’t heard of those,’ Joe said. ‘What do they look like?’

  ‘Billy looked a bit like a Jack Russell and a bit like a Border collie with bits of goodness knows what else too. He was a bits of this and bits of that dog,’ Mr Humphreys said, his false teeth grinning at his own joke. ‘What you’d call one of those designer doodle dogs these days.’

  The bus pulled in and it was time for Joe and Patch to get off. Mr Humphreys stayed on board as he was going into the town centre.

  ‘See you soon,’ he called after them.

  Patch’s tail wagged happily once they were safely on the ground and the noisy, smelly bus had driven away.

  Mr Humphreys waved out of the window.

  ‘No need to tether your dogs, it’s a supermarket trip today,’ Lenny said when they arrived.

  ‘Supermarket?’ Joe asked. He hadn’t even had a chance to tell Lenny about going on the bus yet.

  ‘Here, Joe, you’ll need this
for Patch.’ Lenny threw Joe a tiny Helper Dogs-in-training jacket.

  ‘Hold still,’ Joe laughed as Patch put his head down instead of through the jacket neck. Then Patch saw Ollie, and Joe was only just in time to catch him and secure the Velcro jacket straps before Patch could run over to his friend.

  Patch had barely had a chance to sniff Ollie before they were off again.

  ‘Helper Pups need to go to all sorts of places,’ Lenny explained. ‘Definitely the supermarket, but also on buses …’

  ‘We came on a bus,’ Joe began to say, but Lenny was too busy talking to hear him.

  ‘… and trains. Ollie and I will come on that trip with you and Patch, Joe. Ollie loves trains. Then there are schools, churches, hospitals, dentists, hairdressers and of course all sorts of shops.’

  Patch trotted along beside Joe, looking over at his friend Ollie, who was with Lenny, every now and again.

  ‘I phoned ahead and told them we were coming as there are quite a lot of us today,’ Lenny said as they trooped towards the supermarket entrance.

  Patch didn’t like the automatic door, but Ollie went through, so the puppy followed the older dog in.

  The customers and staff were very pleased to see them – especially Patch.

  ‘Oh, isn’t he lovely.’

  ‘Is he new?’

  ‘Is it all right if I say hello?’

  All the pups had their Helper Dog-in-training jackets on and some of the more experienced volunteers pointed out that the coat also said PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB ME, I’M BEING TRAINED.

  Joe didn’t think he’d ever be able to stop anyone from saying hello to Patch because he knew how much he’d have wanted to say hello if he’d seen him. Patch wagged his tail happily whenever anyone came up to them. He was such a friendly little dog.

  But all the new sights and smells, as well as all the attention on top of the bus trip, were exhausting for a young puppy. As the manager of the store came over to stroke him, Patch lay down in the middle of the aisle and fell fast asleep.

  Joe wasn’t sure what to do. None of the other Helper Dog volunteers were nearby and the manager had moved on.

  ‘Wake up, Patch,’ he said, gently tugging at his lead, but all Patch did was roll over.

  ‘Oh, look at him. Isn’t he sweet,’ customers said as they wheeled their trolleys round him.

  Patch didn’t stir.

  Joe was afraid someone might accidentally step on the puppy – and also that he might have an accident when he woke up. Patch still needed to ‘go’ almost as soon as he opened his eyes!

  Joe couldn’t see Lenny anywhere. If there’d been a trolley nearby he’d have put Patch in it, but there wasn’t, so Joe lifted Patch up and carried him outside. He waited on the bench by the door with Patch asleep on his lap until Lenny found him.

  ‘I wondered where you’d got to. Been looking all over the shop for you,’ he said.

  ‘Patch got tired and went to sleep on the floor.’

  ‘I can see that.’ Lenny laughed. ‘A sleepy pup is perfect for taking on a train.’

  ‘He’s already been on a bus today,’ Joe said.

  ‘Excellent! It’d be good to take him on a train too before you go back to school,’ Lenny said. ‘You wouldn’t want to miss his first train trip would you?’

  Joe shook his head. He wanted to share every experience that he could with Patch.

  ‘Let’s do it this afternoon then,’ Lenny said.

  Back at the centre Patch and Ollie had a long drink of water followed by a chew stick. Joe had a Coke and a packet of crisps, and Lenny had a mug of tea and a biscuit.

  ‘Ready, then?’ Lenny asked, and Joe nodded.

  Patch was much happier being in the back of Lenny’s Helper Dogs van with Ollie there too. He gave his friend’s ear a lick.

  ‘We’ll just go one stop and then back again,’ Lenny said, pulling into the car park.

  Joe stood well back from the platform, but even so Patch flinched when a fast train went speeding past.

  ‘It’s OK, Patch,’ Joe said as he crouched down to stroke the trembling puppy. ‘Nothing to be scared of.’

  Patch still flinched a little as the next train sped past, but not as much as before, and he looked up at Joe as if to say, That wasn’t so bad, was it? Ollie wasn’t bothered about trains at all. He even wagged his tail as they zoomed along the rails.

  ‘Before he retired Ollie was always going out and about on trains with his disabled partner,’ Lenny said. ‘Ollie’s probably been on more train trips than you or I have combined.’

  The next train was the right one, and Joe and Patch followed Lenny and Ollie on board. It wasn’t busy as it was late morning and they sat at a table for the short journey. Patch copied Ollie and lay down next to him under the table.

  ‘What lovely dogs,’ one of the few other passengers commented. ‘Are they father and son?’

  ‘No,’ Lenny told the passenger. ‘Just friends.’

  Joe suddenly found himself wishing more than anything that he could be on a train with his dad.

  There was another chew and a game of ball for Patch and a snooze for Ollie in a nearby park before they headed back on the train. Then Lenny gave Joe and Patch a lift home in the van.

  ‘Patch did really well today,’ he told Joe as he dropped them off. ‘He’s going to make someone a fine Helper Dog one day.’

  Patch slept all afternoon while Joe got ready for going back to school the next day. But he was wide awake and full of energy by the evening. So Joe took him for a walk round the block. It was later than they usually went and already dark.

  As he walked, Joe thought about the return to school. He couldn’t bear the thought of the other kids asking him questions about his dad. What would he say? He didn’t want to talk about it to anyone. For once he wasn’t paying much attention to Patch, who trotted along on a loose lead a little ahead of him, and Joe didn’t notice when the puppy stepped off the kerb.

  Suddenly a car came down the street, its headlights bright. Realizing just in time, Joe pulled Patch back and the puppy skittered behind Joe’s legs.

  ‘It’s OK, you don’t need to be scared,’ Joe said, crouching down to stroke the little dog. He should have been paying more attention. It was just like Lenny had taught them with the gate exercise. I should have been in front, Joe told himself. I should have been watching.

  Patch looked up at him, but he didn’t wag his tail. He trembled with fear. The day had been a very long one with lots of new sights and sounds and smells. Almost too much for a young puppy to take in, and the car lights had really frightened him.

  ‘I won’t let anything hurt you,’ Joe said softly.

  And in his heart he knew he’d do anything to protect the little pup.

  Chapter 15

  Although he left for school in plenty of time to get there, Joe dawdled and went down one street twice so that when he arrived the bell had already rung. He ran in at the last minute, breathing a sigh of relief that no one had had a chance to speak to him.

  The classroom was very noisy with everyone talking about their holidays as he went in.

  ‘Hey, Joe,’ Charlie said. ‘Good to have you back.’

  Joe took his seat as their teacher, Miss Addams, came in.

  ‘What did you do during the holidays, miss?’ Charlie asked her.

  ‘Oh, just trekked through the Himalayas,’ Miss Addams told her with a smile.

  ‘Ooh, nice; we went to Benidorm. My dad got sunburnt and my brother pushed my wheelchair into the swimming pool,’ Charlie said.

  ‘We went on safari,’ boasted Thomas.

  ‘I went to my gran’s,’ said Ben.

  ‘I just stayed at home,’ said Sheila.

  Joe hoped Miss Addams wouldn’t ask him how he was. He didn’t want to tell everyone about the funeral. But then he remembered Patch.

  ‘I got a puppy,’ he chipped in, and everyone stopped talking over each other and listened to him instead. ‘His name’s Patch.’
<
br />   ‘Oh, cute,’ said Ben.

  ‘What sort is he?’ asked Sheila.

  ‘He’s not just a pet puppy,’ Joe said. ‘He’s training to be a Helper Dog when he grows up.’

  At that moment the bell rang and it was time for the first assembly of term. Joe and the rest of his class sped down the corridor to the hall. All the children had to sit on the floor, apart from Charlie.

  ‘We have a very special visitor with us today,’ Mr Potter the head teacher said once everyone was there. ‘I’ll give you a clue. He’s got four legs and he is very furry.’

  ‘Is it a lion?’ asked Charlie loudly and everyone laughed.

  ‘No, not a lion,’ Mr Potter replied, looking towards the side of the stage.

  Suddenly, Joe’s mum stepped out from behind the curtain, accompanied by Patch on his lead. His little tail wagged happily and there was a collective Awww from the assembled children. Joe could hardly believe it. Patch was really there, up on the stage in front of his whole school.

  ‘He’s so cute,’ cooed Charlie.

  ‘What’s his name?’ asked Thomas.

  ‘How come he’s at our school?’ Daniel wanted to know.

  ‘Why’s he got one black ear and one yellow one?’ asked Ben.

  ‘Joe, perhaps you can come out here and answer some of these questions?’ the head teacher said.

  Joe could feel all of his classmates’ eyes staring at him as he stood up and went to the front. Patch was so happy to see him that his little tail wagged a million times a minute, and he licked and licked Joe’s face when Mum gave him the puppy to hold.

  ‘Thank you,’ Joe whispered.

  ‘I thought he might be missing you,’ his mum said with a wink.

  ‘Now, little Patch is a very special puppy, isn’t he, Joe?’ the head teacher said.

  ‘Yes, he’s a Helper Pup,’ Joe explained, ‘and one day he’s going to make a big difference to a disabled soldier’s life.’