The Bow-wow Bus Read online

  For Annie W.

  PROLOGUE

  Beep-beep!

  Beep-beep!

  Yippee! The school bus is here.

  Beep-beep!

  Welcome to Animal Inn. My name is Coco. I’m a chocolate Labrador retriever.

  No, I’m not made of chocolate, silly. I don’t even like the stuff. We dogs aren’t supposed to eat chocolate. But I do like to eat. Especially cheese.

  I like cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese and American cheese.

  I like cheese sticks and cheese balls and cheese puffs.

  I like mac-and-cheese and grilled cheese and cheese pizza.

  Luckily, my human sister, Cassie, likes cheese as much as I do. Cassie and I belong to the Tyler family. Our family includes five humans—Mom, Dad, Jake, Ethan, and Cassie—and seven pets:

  • Me

  • Dash—a Tibetan terrier

  • Leopold—a scarlet macaw

  • Shadow and Whiskers—sister and brother cats

  • and Fuzzy and Furry—a pair of very adventurous gerbils

  The Tylers used to live in an apartment in the city. Back then, Mom and Dad had two children, Jake and Ethan, and two pets, Dash and Leopold. But when Cassie and I came along, Mom and Dad bought this old house in the country.

  Animal Inn is one part hotel, one part school, and one part spa. As our brochure says, We promise to love your pet as much as you do.

  Beep-beep!

  Where are Jake, Ethan, and Cassie? It’s time for them to go to school.

  Before long, customers will start to arrive. On some days, there is so much coming and going, Animal Inn could use a revolving door. We might have a Pekinese here for a pedicure. A Siamese for a short stay. Or a llama for a long stay.

  On the first floor, we have the Welcome Area, the office, the classroom, the grooming room, and my favorite—the party and play room.

  Our family lives on the second floor. This includes Fuzzy and Furry snug in their gerbiltorium in Jake and Ethan’s room.

  The third floor is for smaller guests. We have a Reptile Room, a Rodent Room, and a Small Mammal Room. Larger guests stay out in the barn and kennels.

  Beep-beep!

  Where are those kids?

  What if they miss the bus? What if they miss school?

  School is so awesome. There’s story time and lunchtime and playtime. In fact, just last week I got to spend an entire day with Cassie’s first-grade class. Let me tell you what happened. . . .

  CHAPTER

  1

  It began like any other Monday.

  When Cassie and I came downstairs that morning, Leopold was already on his perch. Dash sat nearby. Whiskers was curled up on the sofa, while Shadow hid behind it. (She likes to sneak outside whenever she gets the chance.)

  Cassie was chattering to me as usual. “My school job this week is snack helper,” she said. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out her lunch box. “Sit please, Princess Coco.”

  I sat. Cassie opened her lunch box and took out a little snack-pack filled with cubes of cheese. She gave one to me.

  Yum. Cheddar.

  “Now, if you have a question,” Cassie said to me, “you need to raise your paw.” She held up another piece of cheese. “Show me your paw, please.”

  I raised my paw.

  “Very good, Princess Coco. But I won’t be able to call you ‘Princess,’ ” she said sadly. “In first grade, make-believe is only for recess and choice time. So in class, I will just call you Coco.”

  Cassie backed up a few steps and patted her thighs. “Come, Coco,” she called.

  I trotted over and nudged her hand with my nose. She gave me another piece of cheese.

  “Now for the fun part,” Cassie said. She went to the supply closet and found her old backpack from preschool—the one that looks like a ladybug. I’d worn Cassie’s ladybug backpack before, like the time we ran away to the barn.

  Dash looked at Leopold. Leopold looked at Dash. Whiskers looked a little nervous. But I was curious. What was Cassie up to now?

  “Sit please, Princess Coco. I mean, just Coco.”

  I sat.

  “Show me your paw, Coco.”

  I raised a paw. Cassie held it in her hand. She gently guided my paw through the shoulder strap of the backpack. Then she guided my other paw through the other strap. The backpack was a little wobbly, so Cassie tightened it up.

  “Cassie!” Mom called from upstairs. “Did you remember to brush your teeth?”

  “Oops,” Cassie said. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered to me. “You stay here.” She tossed me another cube of cheese. She put the snack-pack back into her lunch box and set it next to the sofa. Then she ran up the stairs.

  I plopped down on the floor. Whew! That was a lot of activity for so early in the morning.

  Shadow came out from her hiding spot behind the sofa. “What’s with the ladybug?” she asked me. “Are you and Cassie running away again?”

  “Don’t be silly,” I said. “It’s a school day.”

  “Then why are you wearing a backpack?” asked Whiskers.

  “Cassie put it there,” I said.

  “We know that,” said Shadow. “But why?”

  “It appears Cassie is bringing Coco to school today,” said Dash.

  “I agree,” said Leopold. “Weekly job assignment. Question protocol. Make-believe-play rules.”

  “Well, I’m glad I’m not the one going to school,” said Whiskers.

  “I am not going to school,” I said. I stretched out in my sunny spot. “I am going to take a nap.”

  CHAPTER

  2

  Jake, Ethan, and Cassie ran downstairs.

  “Cassie, why is Coco wearing your ladybug backpack?” Jake asked.

  “Are you running away to the barn again?” said Ethan.

  “No, silly,” answered Cassie. “It’s a school day.”

  “Boys!” Dad called from upstairs. “Did you remember to feed Fuzzy and Furry?”

  “Ethan fed them,” Jake answered.

  “I didn’t feed them,” said Ethan. “I thought you fed them.”

  “It’s your turn,” said Jake.

  “I thought it was your turn,” said Ethan.

  The boys dropped their backpacks and ran upstairs, almost bumping into Mom and Dad, who were on their way down.

  “Cassie,” said Mom, “are you all set for show-and-tell today?”

  Cassie nodded. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a dog show ribbon. “I’m going to show this,” she said.

  The ribbon was purple and shiny. In fancy gold letters, it said 1st Place.

  Cassie came over to me and held the ribbon to my collar.

  “Coco is going to be my show dog,” she said. “I am going to show her for show-and-tell.”

  “But, sweetheart,” said Dad, “you can’t bring Coco to school.”

  “I’m afraid Dad is right,” said Mom. “Coco has to stay home today.”

  “But I told everyone they would get to meet Coco,” said Cassie. “I told Helena and Mattias and Lucy and Seiji and Arlen and Laura.” She reluctantly took off my ladybug backpack.

  I didn’t like to see Cassie sad. I nuzzled her with my nose. I wanted her to know that I was just fine staying home.

  “I have an idea,” said Dad. He leaned down and whispered something into Cassie’s ear. Cassie’s sad face suddenly turned into a happy face.

  “I can’t believe it!” Cassie squealed excitedly. “Do you really think so?”

  “It can’t hurt to ask,” said Dad. “I’ll call the school this morning.”

  Beep-beep!

  Beep-beep!

  “Jake! Ethan!” Mom called upstairs. “The bus is here
.”

  The boys hurried down, picked up their backpacks, and rushed out the front door. Cassie gave me a big hug and stuffed the ribbon into her backpack. Then she skipped out the door after the boys. Mom and Dad followed.

  “I can’t believe it!” I heard Cassie squeal again. “Now my whole class will get to meet all my pets!”

  CHAPTER

  3

  “What did Cassie just say?” Whiskers asked with concern.

  “I believe she said, Now my whole class will get to meet all my pets,” said Leopold. He even sounded like Cassie. Leopold is very good at repeating things.

  “We’re all going to school?” said Whiskers. “I just want to stay on my sofa.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Dash. “We can’t believe everything we hear from Cassie. Remember what happened with Miss KD?”

  Miss KD was a Komodo dragon who bunked in our basement. There were a lot of misunderstandings before she arrived. We overheard Cassie say a wizard was coming to Animal Inn. But the “wizard” turned out to be a lizard.

  “And let’s not forget the incident with the pirate,” said Leopold.

  Not long ago, we overheard Cassie say a harbor pirate was coming to Animal Inn. But the harbor “pirate” turned out to be a harbor pilot named Annie. It didn’t help that Annie’s dog was called Blackbeard, just like the famous buccaneer.

  “But you heard her,” said Whiskers. “Cassie said her whole class will get to meet all her pets. Right, Shadow?”

  Shadow didn’t answer. Where was she?

  “Excuse me,” said a tiny voice. “I used to be in a school.”

  It was Blub.

  Blub is a goldfish who was dropped off at Animal Inn a few weeks ago. Blub’s owner went on a short business trip that turned into a long business trip that turned into an even longer business trip. In the meantime, Blub stayed in a fishbowl in the Welcome Area. It was just temporary, until his owner came back for him.

  “I liked my school,” continued Blub. “Fresh Pond Elementary. I had lots of friends. There was Goldie and Bubbles and Finn. I was even on the swim team.” Blub swam a quick lap around his bowl.

  I was about to ask Blub more about his school, when Mom and Dad came back from walking the kids to the bus stop. They both seemed very excited.

  “I’ll call Cassie’s teacher, Mr. C., right now,” said Dad.

  “I think this is a great idea,” said Mom. She and Dad made their way to the office.

  Dash looked at Leopold. Leopold looked at Dash.

  Maybe we were going to school after all. But before I could give it another thought, I noticed the scent of cheese. I followed it to . . . Cassie’s lunch box?

  “Not again,” I said. I picked up the lunch box in my mouth. The handle didn’t taste very good.

  Ding-dong!

  Mom hurried out of the office. “What’ve you got there, Coco?” she asked. “Oh no. Did Cassie forget her lunch again?”

  Mom took the lunch box from me and patted my head. Then she opened the front door. It was Sierra, our college intern.

  “Good morning,” said Mom.

  “Good morning,” said Sierra. “Look who I found outside.” Sierra had her bike helmet under one arm and Shadow under the other.

  “Shadow, you little sneak,” said Mom.

  Shadow skittered back behind the sofa.

  I walked over to Sierra and sniffed her bag.

  “Coco,” Mom said with a laugh, “that’s not polite.”

  “It’s okay,” said Sierra. “She knows I have treats in here.” Sierra always brings us treats, like Doggie Donuts and Kitty Krisps.  Yum.

  I sat down at Sierra’s feet and wagged my tail. She reached into her bag and pulled out a Doggie Donut. She tossed it in the air.

  I caught it. It was cheese-and-bacon-flavored! Double yum.

  “How’s my favorite sofa-surfer?” Sierra asked Whiskers. She placed a Kitty Krisp next to him. Whiskers actually started purring.

  Sierra tossed another Kitty Krisp behind the sofa for Shadow. She gave a Doggie Donut to Dash and a seed pop to Leopold.

  “And . . . ,” Sierra said with a smile. She reached deeper into her bag. “I even remembered a treat for Blub today.” She walked over and sprinkled a handful of colorful flakes into Blub’s bowl.

  Sierra touched her fingertip to the surface of the water. Blub gently bumped it with his nose. “Goldfish high-five!” she cheered. “Any word from Blub’s owner?” she asked Mom.

  “Just got an e-mail,” said Mom. “It looks like Blub might be with us for a while yet.”

  “Well, what’s the plan for this morning?” asked Sierra.

  “The Rodent Room and Small Mammal Room need some attention,” said Mom.

  “Hi, Sierra,” said Dad, coming out of the office.

  “Did you reach Mr. C.?” Mom asked Dad.

  “Yes, great news. He loves the idea.”

  We animals perked up our ears.

  “What idea?” asked Sierra.

  “The pets are going to visit with Cassie’s class,” said Mom. “Do you think you might be able to help out?”

  “It shouldn’t be a problem,” said Sierra. “When’s the visit?”

  “That’s the best part,” Dad said excitedly. He started following Mom and Sierra up the stairs. “It’s tomorrow!”

  CHAPTER

  4

  “Tomorrow?” Whiskers said nervously.

  Shadow emerged from behind the sofa, still chomping on her treat. “What’s going on tomorrow?” she asked, her mouth full of crumbs.

  “It appears we are all going to school,” said Leopold.

  “Sounds cool,” said Shadow. “What are we doing there?”

  “Not sure,” said Dash. “But I know how we can find out. Follow me to the gerbiltorium.”

  We all hurried upstairs to Jake and Ethan’s room. Fuzzy and Furry were lounging in one of their play structures.

  “Greetings, friends,” said Fuzzy.

  “Care for a snack?” added Furry. He was nibbling on a cashew.

  “No thanks,” said Dash. “We’ve got a job for you and we need to hurry.”

  “Speed is our specialty,” said Fuzzy.

  “But it’s an additional charge,” added Furry.

  “I believe after what happened last time,” said Leopold, “this job should be for free.”

  For their last job, Fuzzy and Furry were supposed to print an e-mail from the computer in the office. Instead, they ordered a framed photo of themselves. Mom and Dad are still trying to figure out where it came from.

  “Point taken,” said Fuzzy.

  “Give us the lowdown,” added Furry.

  “Lucky for us, Cassie forgot her lunch box again,” said Dash. “Mom or Dad will have to bring it to school, and you two are going to hide inside it.”

  “When you get to Cassie’s classroom,” Leopold added, “sneak out and investigate.”

  “We need all the information you can find about pets going to school,” said Dash.

  “You got it,” said Fuzzy. “Except . . .”

  “Except what?” asked Shadow.

  “The plan will never work,” added Furry.

  “Why not?” asked Dash.

  “How do we get home?” asked Fuzzy.

  “We’re not exactly flying squirrels,” added Furry.

  “I hadn’t thought about that,” said Dash. He looked at Leopold. Leopold shrugged.

  “I have an idea,” I said.

  “I can’t wait to hear this,” said Shadow. “Does it involve cheese?”

  “No, silly,” I said. “What if Fuzzy and Furry stay at school for the whole day? Then they can sneak back into Cassie’s lunch box and take the school bus home with the kids.”

  “That’s quite brilliant,” said Leopold.

  “They’ll have plenty of time,” said Dash.

  “Are we sure these two rodents can handle school?” asked Shadow.

  “See this?” said Fuzzy, holding up a ca
shew.

  “Brain food,” added Furry.

  They giggled and picked the lock on the gerbiltorium. Then they scurried into the heating vent and disappeared.

  CHAPTER

  5

  By the time we got back to the Welcome Area, Fuzzy and Furry were already inside the lunch box. It wiggled ever so slightly.

  Dad came down from the third floor. “I’m taking Cassie’s lunch box to school,” he called upstairs. “Be right back.”

  Dad picked up the lunch box. “Sure feels like a big lunch,” he said on his way out the door. If he only knew.

  I stretched out in my sunny spot. There was nothing to do now but wait. “I hope Cassie didn’t miss lunchtime,” I said.

  “Lunchtime is usually at noon,” said Whiskers matter-of-factly. “Recess is generally right after lunch. Then dismissal is at about three o’clock.”

  “How do you know so much about school?” I asked.

  “Don’t you remember, Coco?” said Shadow. “Whiskers and I lived in a schoolyard when we were kittens.”

  “I didn’t like it,” said Whiskers. “One time, there was a fire drill.  The alarm was so loud.”

  “Come on, Little Brother,” said Shadow. “It wasn’t that bad. We had a place to sleep under the play structure and all the cafeteria leftovers we could eat.”

  “But it was cold in the winter,” said Whiskers. “And we didn’t have a family.”

  I still remember the day Shadow and Whiskers arrived at Animal Inn. I was just a pup then. We hadn’t been open very long when a nice man named Mr. Raymond showed up at the front door with a cardboard box. Shadow and Whiskers were inside. They were so cute.

  “Well, it all turned out for the best,” I said.

  “I still didn’t like it,” said Whiskers.

  “I liked my school,” said Blub, in his tiny voice. “We played lots of games, like Fishy, Fishy, Cross My Ocean and Go Fish!” Blub sighed. Small bubbles floated to the top of his bowl.