Patches by Ellen Miles Page B

bicycle, a lawn mower, and a snowblower. The puppy could barely move! There was a bowl of water by the door, but the puppy couldn’t get to it.
    Before Charles untangled the rope, he reached out a hand for the puppy to smell. “You can trust me, little pup,” he said softly. “Okay?”
    Lizzie, Charles’s older sister, knew
everything
about dogs. She had taught Charles that it was always smart to be careful around a dog you didn’t know. Especially when the owner wasn’t around to tell you whether it was okay to pat the dog. Most dogs are friendly, but some aren’t. And sometimes even a really nice dog will bite just because it is scared. Charles really wanted to help this dog, but first he had to make sure that it wouldn’t hurt him.
    The puppy raised his head to sniff Charles’s hand. His long, floppy ears hung down, giving him a sad, hangdog look. He had a shiny little black nose and a sweet brown-and-white face with black markings. His legs and his round puppy belly were white, and his back was brown and black. He was almost as cute as Buddy had been at that age.
    I think I like this boy. Maybe he’ll pat me, if I let him know it’s all right. I sure could use apat or two. I could use a hug. I could use a friend.
    The puppy licked Charles’s hand, and when Charles gave his head a pat in return, his little white-and-brown tail wagged so that it thumped against the garage wall.
    “Aww, look! It’s a beagle puppy!” By now, Sammy had joined Charles in the garage. He patted the puppy, too. “My uncle Jim has beagles. They are super smart. Now that I think of it, they howl like that sometimes just for fun.”
    “Something tells me this guy is not howling just for fun.” Charles was busy untangling the rope. “Can you imagine being tied up out here all by yourself?” He pulled the rope free and gave the puppy a pat. “There you go, pal!”
    Oh, yaaaaaay! Oh, hoooooray! It feels so good to move around again! I’m going to jump right up onthis boy and lick his face. I’m sure he’ll know that means “thank you!”
    The boys laughed when the puppy pranced around howling, then put his paws on Charles’s shoulders and licked his face all over. Then Charles and Sammy watched the puppy run over to his water bowl. After he lapped up every last drop, he sat down and looked at them, tilting his head expectantly as if he wanted more. Water dripped off his droopy ears, which had dangled into the bowl while he was drinking.
    Charles picked up the bowl and took it over to a faucet he’d noticed on the outside of the garage. After he filled it with water, he brought the bowl back to its place near a pile of dirty blankets. He guessed that was probably the puppy’s bed. “Hey, look, there’s a little sign here by his bowls. It says, ‘Patches.’ I guess that’s his name.” The sign was scrawled in red crayon.
    “Patches!” Sammy tried calling. “Come here, boy!”
    The puppy turned and galloped over to Sammy with his mouth wide open, his pink tongue lolling out, and his floppy ears flying. Now that the rope was untangled, he could run all over the garage and even out into the driveway.
    Another new friend! Yaaayyy!
    Patches howled with joy as he plowed right into Sammy’s arms.
    Sammy rolled over, laughing hysterically.
    “Here, Patches!” Charles called. The puppy galloped back over and started licking his face. Charles cracked up. That made the puppy lick him even more. “Ha-ha! Stop!” yelled Charles. “You’re tickling me!”
    “Shh!”
Sammy looked over at the house. “What if somebody’s home?”
    “Nobody’s home,” Charles said. “If they were, they would have heard him crying and let himin.” He played some more with Patches, scratching him between the ears. Buddy always liked being scratched there. Patches seemed to like it, too.
    “I would never tie Buddy up outside like this.” Charles felt so sorry for the lonely little pup. “I think it’s mean. Dogs like to be with people,