One Sunday, Hannah finally persuaded Mum and Dad to let her and Lucy take Oscar for a walk on their own, now that Oscar was used to being on the lead. They agreed the girls could go as long as they borrowed Hannah’s mum’s mobile, and promised to be back in half an hour.
“We haven’t really got time to go all the way to the woods. Shall we go to the park?” Lucy suggested.
Hannah looked thoughtful. “Oh, I know, let’s go and show Oscar the horses in the field down past school! Dalmatians used to be carriage dogs, who ran alongside coaches hundreds of years ago. They’re supposed to love horses, and I don’t think Oscar’s ever seen any. Shall I nip back and tell Mum that’s where we’re going?”
Lucy nodded eagerly, and smiled with pride when Hannah passed her Oscar’s lead.
Oscar gazed up at the new girl with interest. She wasn’t like Hannah, but she was nice. He then looked hopefully towards the house, waiting for Hannah to come back. When she came running down the path, he yapped happily and danced round her feet.
“He really loves you,” Lucy sighed. “You’re so lucky!”
“I know.” Hannah nodded. “I love you, too, Oscar,” she told him, rubbing his ears.
Lucy looked back at the house. “Oh, Zak’s waving to us. He looks a bit sad; I bet he wishes he could come too.”
Hannah groaned. “He’s being such a nightmare at the moment! He won’t leave Oscar alone, and Mum keeps making excuses for him. Yesterday he decided he wanted to feed Oscar, and he poured a whole bag of the special dog treats into his bowl, so of course Oscar ate them!” She sighed. “And you know what Mum said? That I should have made sure I put the treats away in the cupboard.”
Lucy giggled. “Sometimes I’m glad I’m the youngest!”
The horses the girls were going to see belonged to a riding school, and there were usually a few of them out in one of the fields. At the moment they were wrapped up in rugs and not out for the whole day, but Hannah was pretty sure there would be something for Oscar to see.
Oscar trotted along happily, enjoying the interesting smells and listening to the girls chatting.
“Oh, look, they are out!” Hannah said, quickening her pace. “Come on, Oscar.” They hurried up to the field to look at the horses, and Hannah picked Oscar up, resting his front paws on the top of the fence. She could feel his tail wagging against her arms, and it made her giggle.
Oscar gazed across the field at the horses, enchanted by the huge creatures. He’d seen other dogs, but never anything as tall and graceful as these.
At last Hannah sighed. “We should get back, or Mum’ll be worried. I promise I’ll bring you to see them again, Oscar.”
Hannah wished she could take Oscar out for a long walk every day, but now that it was getting closer to Christmas, the school play was taking up lots more time. Mr Byford insisted that everyone had to be word-perfect, and he’d planned some extra rehearsals for the main parts after school. Hannah had to go to all of them, because her big part meant she was in every scene.
Hannah loved being in the play, and so far she was dealing with her nerves really well. But the extra rehearsals made it hard to fit in Oscar’s walks. By the time she got home from school it was totally dark – and there was no way Mum would let her out to walk Oscar in the woods. They had to make do with a quick jog round the park with Dad when he got home. Other than that, it was down to Mum to take Oscar for a walk in the morning. But that meant Mum had to have Oscar and Zak’s pushchair, which wasn’t very easy. Hannah had also been hoping they could start dog-training classes soon, too, but Mum said that with all the rehearsals, there was no way Hannah could fit in anything else. They would have to wait until after Christmas.
Oscar really missed his walks. It seemed ages since he’d had a proper one, and Hannah hardly seemed to be at home at all. He was sick of watching the door, waiting for Hannah to come home. Why wasn’t she back?
He thoughtfully sniffed the shoe rack in the hallway and tugged at a trailing pink shoelace. One of Mum’s trainers fell down, and he nudged it with his nose. This was fun! He growled at it, pretending it was something to chase, and then held it down with his front paws and started to gnaw at the laces.
Just then, Mum came down the stairs. “Oscar, no! No chewing! Bad dog!” She snatched the trainer back and shooed him into the kitchen.
Oscar slumped down on his cushion and licked his nose sadly. He didn’t really understand what he’d done wrong. He wanted to go out and have a lovely long run with Hannah. She was still Oscar’s favourite person, but she was never there. Why didn’t she want to spend time with him any more? He felt bored and grumpy, and that made him want to chew things. He didn’t know he wasn’t allowed to chew shoes…
He was still looking miserable when Hannah got home at last. She sat down by his cushion to stroke him. “Mum told me about her shoe. I’m sorry she was cross with you, Oscar. You were just bored, weren’t you, poor baby.” Hannah sighed. “It isn’t long till the play now. After that we’ll go on lots more walks, I promise.”
Chapter Five
Oscar sat on the back of the sofa and stared out of the window, watching for Hannah in the gathering dark. He missed her. It seemed so long since she’d left the house for school that morning. She had taken him out in the garden and they’d played with his jingly ball, which had been fun. But then Hannah’s mum had called her in. Since then he’d only had a quick walk round the park at lunchtime, with Zak trying to hold his lead, and pulling him backwards and forwards.
“Ossa!”
It was Zak again, running into the living room. Oscar whipped his head round and overbalanced. He slid down between the sofa and the window, yelping with fright, although he wasn’t really hurt, only surprised.
Zak clambered on to the sofa and hung perilously over the back, looking for Oscar.
Oscar whimpered miserably. He wanted to be left alone until Hannah came back. He started to creep along behind the sofa, meaning to nip out of the living-room door. Hannah’s mum was preparing dinner in the kitchen, so she could let him out into the garden, and then he’d be safely away from Zak fussing him and pulling at his ears.
But Zak could move surprisingly fast. He wriggled down from the back of the sofa, and trotted round to meet Oscar as he emerged from behind it.
“Ossa!” The little boy flung his arms around the puppy’s neck, squeezing him lovingly.
Oscar moaned. Zak was cuddling him far too tightly, and it hurt. He tried to pull back out of Zak’s arms, but that only made Zak hold him tighter. Oscar wriggled and struggled, and Zak giggled, thinking it was all just a funny game.
Oscar was starting to feel desperate. He wanted to snap, but he knew he shouldn’t. Instead, he growled. A low Rrrrrrrrrrrr! deep in his chest, his lips drawing back from his teeth in a snarl.
Zak let go of Oscar, stumbling away, his eyes wide with fright.
Oscar shot out into the hallway, looking for a place to hide in case Zak followed him. There was a little alcove under the stairs where everyone kept their coats and bags, and Oscar scurried into it, hiding behind Hannah’s ballet bag. His heart was racing and he felt grumpy and scared at the same time. He hadn’t wanted to upset the little boy, but why wouldn’t Zak just leave him alone?