“Dog bed!” Zak squawked, pushing past Hannah and flinging himself on to the cushion with Oscar.
Oscar cowered back, horrified by this noisy thing that had nearly landed on him. Whimpering, he wriggled off the cushion, and slunk over to Hannah.
“I want do-og!” wailed Zak, and Mum picked him up.
Hannah gently scooped the puppy into her arms. “He really frightened Oscar!” she whispered crossly to Mum. She was trying hard not to sound angry, after what Lisa had told them about Dalmatians being nervous.
“Zak doesn’t really understand about being gentle,” Dad explained. “He’ll get there.”
Hannah sniffed. Mum and Dad never told Zak off – whenever he was naughty, they always said he was just little. Well, Oscar was littler! Hannah just hoped that Mum wouldn’t let Zak upset Oscar while she was at school.
The first day with Oscar was so special. Hannah hardly left the kitchen. Oscar was going to stay in there for the first few days – with trips out into the garden for wees, of course. She had bought him a special squeaky bone with her own money, and he loved it. He kept jumping on it and shaking it in his teeth, and then the bone would squeak, and he would look really surprised and drop it on the floor. Then he’d start all over again, until he wore himself out. Hannah spent ages curled up next to his cushion just watching him sleep. He was the most gorgeous thing she had ever seen.
Oscar didn’t spend that much of his sleep time actually on his cushion. As soon as he’d finished exploring, he would wander back to wherever Hannah was and collapse on her – he particularly liked her feet, draping himself over them like a spotty, saggy little beanbag and falling fast asleep.
Hannah was worried that the first night was going to be really difficult. How could they leave Oscar all on his own downstairs? But Mum had been really firm from the beginning that Oscar was not allowed in her room. Mum said he would soon be far too big to sleep on her bed, even though he was tiny now. And there were lots of things upstairs that she didn’t want chewed.
Lisa had told them about a special technique to get Oscar used to being left alone in the kitchen, and Hannah practised it with him that afternoon. Mum took Zak out for a walk to get him out of the way, and Dad and Hannah pottered about in the kitchen, with Oscar watching them. Then they went out, shutting the door.
“Can we go back in yet?” Hannah asked. “Dad, come on, Lisa said to go back before he gets upset! Remember, you’re going to read the paper and pretend you aren’t watching him.”
Dad nodded and opened the kitchen door. Hannah glanced over at Oscar. He was looking puzzled and a little worried. She looked away again and went to tidy up some cups from the draining board. Then she nudged Dad. “Time to go again!”
They kept popping in and out, making sure that they always got back before Oscar cried. Eventually, he got bored watching and went to sleep.
“Lisa was right,” Hannah whispered. “I hope it works tonight.”
At bedtime, she took Oscar out for one last wee in the garden, and made sure there was some newspaper down in the corner of the kitchen for the night. Then she closed the door behind her, and looked hopefully at Mum and Dad.
“Lisa said he’d be sure that we’re just on the other side of the door,” Hannah said. “And he must be worn out from all the playing we’ve done.” But as she pressed her ear to the door, she couldn’t help feeling a little doubtful. There was no whining. Just a little tappity-tap of claws on tiles and a snuffling noise. Hannah held her breath.
On the other side of the door, Oscar sniffed thoughtfully, wondering if Hannah would come back in soon. Maybe with some more of those good meaty biscuits? He yawned and padded back to his cushion. He clambered up and flumped on top of his toy bone. It squeaked, and he gave it a half-hearted chew. Perhaps if he went to sleep, it would be food time when he woke up…
Oscar curled up and closed his eyes – and out in the hall, Hannah grinned at her mum and dad. There was a little growly snore coming from behind the kitchen door. It had worked!
Chapter Four
Oscar soon settled into Hannah’s house. He loved Hannah and they spent ages playing, Oscar frisking about as she rolled his ball or threw his squeaky bone. After the first couple of days, once Oscar was allowed out of the kitchen, Hannah discovered that he loved to curl up on the sofa with her while she read or watched TV.
Mum wasn’t sure about this at first. “When he gets to his full size, he’ll take up half the sofa just by himself,” she complained. But she gave in eventually, when Oscar sat on her feet while she was watching her favourite TV programme after she’d put Zak to bed. He sat there staring up at her lovingly, and Mum couldn’t resist. She sighed and patted the sofa, and Oscar scrambled and wriggled his way up. Then he lay there next to Mum with his head in her lap, slowly thumping his tail on the cushions.
Oscar’s only problem was Zak. It wasn’t that Zak didn’t like him – the little boy adored him and wanted to be with him all the time. He just wouldn’t leave the puppy alone. Zak wanted to cuddle Oscar on his cushion. He wanted to snuggle up with him on the sofa. He even wanted to eat his food out of a bowl like Oscar’s.
A week after Oscar came home with them, Hannah was up in her room learning her lines for the play when she heard a strange noise on the stairs. A whimpering noise, mixed with bumps, and panting. That was Oscar whimpering – and it sounded like Zak was with him! She flung down her script and dashed out of her bedroom. As she’d suspected, Zak was halfway up the stairs, with Oscar dangling from his arms, looking panicked.
“Want Ossa in my bed!” Zak wailed, when he saw Hannah coming down the stairs looking cross.
“You know we aren’t allowed!” Hannah told him furiously. Why did Zak always think he could get away with everything? It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t like Oscar in her bed! Oscar wriggled and whimpered again, and Hannah stretched out her arms to him.
But Zak wouldn’t let go. “My dog!” he whined.
“Zak! You’re making him sad, stop it. Give him to me!” Hannah was trying not to shout and upset Oscar, but it was hard when she really wanted to yell at Zak.
“Don’t want to!”
“Now!” Hannah hissed.
“No!” Zak burst into tears as Oscar finally wriggled out of his grip and scrambled into Hannah’s arms.
“Hannah! What are you doing with Oscar – you know he’s not allowed upstairs!” Mum had come out into the hallway, and she was glaring at Hannah.
“But I wasn’t…!” Hannah gasped.
“And what did you do to upset Zak?” Mum gave her an accusing look as she picked Zak up. He was really howling.
Hannah shook her head in amazement. It was so unfair. Sometimes she just didn’t know how Zak managed it. He never got into trouble.
After she’d caught Zak taking Oscar upstairs, Hannah made a real effort to keep an eye on her little brother and make sure he wasn’t bothering Oscar too much. She was glad when he had had all his vaccinations, and she and Dad could take him out for long walks. Oscar loved it, especially when they took him to the woods. He even loved splashing in the stream, despite the December cold.