Scout by Ellen Miles Page A

after a long play session. He would lick her face, snuggle into her lap, and fall asleep. His soft, warm puppy fur smelled so good. Lizzie felt like she could kiss his silky ears and pat his round pink belly all day long. She loved that little puppy so much.
    Sometimes, Lizzie still could not believe that her parents had agreed to adopt Buddy. She and Charles had wanted a dog of their own for so long! Every time they had fostered a puppy, they had hoped to keep it. But it was never quite the righttime for the Petersons to adopt a dog. Instead, they found each puppy the perfect home. Then Buddy came along, and everybody in the family fell in love with him. Now he was theirs forever.
    Lizzie felt so lucky to have a dog to love. And she knew Buddy was lucky, too, to have found a loving family like hers. She wanted every puppy to find the right home.
    “How will you decide which family gets to adopt Scout?” Lizzie asked Meg as they turned into the airport parking lot.
    “Well, the Goodmans have been waiting the longest,” Meg said. “So I’ll probably call them first. I’ll do that as soon as we make sure that Scout is healthy and that all her papers are in order.” She pulled the van into a parking spot. “Ready?” she asked Lizzie. “Let’s go meet Scout. I think that plane that’s just about to land is probably hers.” Meg pointed to a small white plane with red markings that was circling the airport.
    Lizzie watched as the plane swooped down andbumped onto the runway. It rolled along until it stopped near the airport terminal.
    The plane’s pilot belonged to a group called Wings of Love, whose members were dedicated to helping animals. Lizzie had heard about them before, but this was the first time she had seen them in action. She watched with excitement as the plane’s door opened.
    A tall man jumped out and waved to Meg. “Got your dog!” he called. “She’s a sweetheart, too.” He ducked back into the plane and came out a moment later, holding a little brown-and-black puppy in his arms.
    The puppy looked up at the sky and blinked. Then she yawned, stretching out one small paw.
    “Aw, what a cutie!” said Meg.
    “Ohh!” Lizzie loved the puppy right away.
    Scout had arrived.

CHAPTER TWO
    “Lizzie, do you want to hold Scout while we go over her paperwork?” Meg asked.
    Lizzie’s eyes were shining. Did she want to hold Scout? Oh, yes, she did. She could hardly wait. In a moment, the puppy was in her arms. Lizzie buried her nose in Scout’s soft fur. “Welcome to Littleton, Scout!” she murmured.
    Scout felt warm and safe in the girl’s arms. The airplane ride had been fun but a little bit loud and scary. Scout loved adventure, but she also loved hugs.
    “Here’s her rabies certificate and the rest of her medical history,” the pilot was saying. He handedsome papers to Meg. “She’s a very healthy little girl, and she’s up to date on all her shots.”
    Meg was nodding, but Lizzie wasn’t really listening. She was looking down at the puppy in her arms.
    Scout was absolutely adorable. Her coat was fluffy and soft, and her eyes were the deepest, darkest brown. Her ears, which looked almost too big for her body, were flopped over in the cutest way. Lizzie knew that German shepherd puppies started out with floppy ears. As Scout got older, her ears would stand up straight, and she would look more like the German shepherds in books and movies.
    Lizzie knew some people were afraid of German shepherds. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because some of them were trained to be guard dogs, so they were supposed to look and act scary.
    Meg’s dog, Casey, was the sweetest, gentlest dog in the world. Even Lizzie’s mom, who could sometimes be nervous around big dogs, loved Casey and trusted her around the Bean.
    Lizzie knew that not all dogs were good with toddlers, but Casey was always very patient, even if the Bean put his fingers in her ears. Casey got along well with Buddy, too. The two dogs