The Penny Pony by Patricia Gilkerson Page A

their
animals and feed them better. We both think people should have to
pass a test to own animals.”
    “So, is it a pony or a horse?” Addie
asked.
    “Well, it goes by the breeds. You can have a
large pony and a small horse that are about the same size. And cow
ponies are really horses: they’re only called ponies. Dotty was a
POA pony, a Pony of the Americas, but she was pretty
good-sized.”
    My dad was a veterinarian, and sometimes when
there was no school, I got to go on farm calls with him. I helped
out by holding things and handing stuff to him when he needed it.
He explained to me as he worked, so I knew a lot about horses and
medicine. I had made it my business to learn as much as I can for
when I have my own horse. I’d been saving my baby sitting money,
but now I had to use the little I’d saved to buy a new cell
phone.
    “Oh, you poor thing,” I said as I ran my hand
down the pony’s bony shoulder and shooed away some flies that her
tail couldn’t reach. I bent over and checked under her belly. I
knew how to tell a mare from a gelding, and this was a mare. She
had patches of brown on her creamy body, just like Dotty, and even
had the same white tips on her ears, making them look like
feathers. My eyes prickled with tears when I saw the raw sores on
her legs, probably from being hobbled with ropes.
    “She looks terrible,” said Addie. In answer,
the pony yawned and licked her lips as though asking for water. She
looked at me with huge, sad eyes, whuffed at me, then closed her
eyes again.
    “You girls want a ride? You got two bucks,
you can ride her,” a loud, rough voice said. A fat, oily man walked
toward us. He smelled sweaty and wore a lime-green Hawaiian
shirt.
    “She needs some water, mister,” I stated,
staring up at him. “It’s hot today and she’s thirsty.” Even if I
had any money in my shorts pocket, I wouldn’t give it to him .
    “And she’s hungry, too,” added Addie.
    The smelly man lost his grin for a moment,
and I saw something mean in his beady blue eyes. Then he put his
fake smile back on for us. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about
Rosie. She’s fine. Just came back to feed and water her, in fact.
Why don’t you girlies run home and get some money and tell your
friends about the pony ride? We’ll be here till five o’clock.”
    “Okay, mister,” I said, needing to get away
and think about this.
    “Name’s Jake,” he said, mopping sweat from
his face. “See you later.”
    “Piper,” said Addie, as we walked away. “What
are we going to do?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. “But we have to help
her. We can’t wait. We have to do something!” I glanced back over
my shoulder and saw Jake’s enormous bulk settling itself in a
folding chair in the shade. He was talking on his cell phone and
ignoring the pony. As we watched from behind a car, some creep in a
dirty tank top crouched down by Jake’s chair and started talking to
him quietly. Jake got up and went into the small beat-up trailer.
The skinny, creepy guy followed him.
    “Look,” I said. “He lied about feeding and
watering her. He’s another grown-up that can’t be trusted. What a
jerk!”
    “Can we take her some food and water later
when he’s gone?”
    “Yes, I think we should, but we should also
turn Jake in for animal neglect. We have to protect that pony from
him.”
    “Who do we tell about him?” Addie asked. “How
about your dad? He’s the only vet in town.”
    “I don’t think he can help. He’s pretty busy,
but let’s go try,” I said. Maybe Dad was at the clinic and not out
on a farm call. We could only hope. We headed down Main Street,
wondering aloud to each other how long a horse could live without
food and water.
     

Chapter Two
    ~ Asking for Help ~
     
    My dad’s clinic was
on the edge of town, but since Serendipity Springs was small, we
were there in five minutes, walking quickly. We came up to the
small, green, cement block building from the side, so I could