Читать книгу Puppy Called Dez - John Tovey - Страница 8
ОглавлениеWith the test looming over me, I tried my best to remember what it took to be a good guide dog.
Number 1. Looking all around. I scribbled at the top of the list.
Number 2. Listening.
Number 3. Being a good friend, I wrote, but then I stopped because I couldn’t think of a number four.
I held the pencil in my paw and scratched the back of my ear with the tip of it.
‘Whatcha doing, Dez?’ a voice called from over my shoulder.
It was Vicky.
‘Nothing much, I’m just trying to remember what it takes to be a good guide dog.’
I sharpened up the end of my pencil. Wooden shavings curled out in small ribbons and fell against the piece of paper in my hand. I took a deep breath and blew them away.
‘What for?’ she asked, with a puzzled look on her face.
‘Because we’ve got some exams coming up, Violet said so.’
Vicky shook her head. ‘Oh, Dez, you’re such a worrier! Anyway, it’s not a written test, it’s a physical one.’
‘Physical?’
‘Yeah, it’s to test how good you are at running through tunnels, whether you know your name, that sort of thing.’
I placed the pencil down on the floor.
‘So we won’t have to write anything?’ I gasped, sitting up with my back against the side of the pen.
‘No, not at all! Just be yourself and you’ll be fine.’
‘But… but… Violet said…’
Vicky waved her paw as if trying to swat Violet’s name away.
‘Oh, don’t listen to a word she says, because you know what she’s like. Violet says things to wind you up, because she knows how much you worry.’
I scratched my head.
‘So, I don’t have to do this sort of thing?’ I asked, pointing towards the list.
‘Nope.’
‘So, would you help me?’ I begged. ‘I mean, would you help me pass the exam?’
Vicky wrapped a comforting paw around my shoulder. ‘Of course I will, little bruv. Now, stop worrying and you’ll be fine.’
For the rest of the day, Vicky had me running through tunnels we’d built using bits of cardboard. My stomach got wedged in the middle of them a few times, but by now, I was determined to become the best guide dog ever! I even started to watch how much I ate. And I practised until I became as fast as I could. In fact, I was so fast, I was knocking things over.
‘No, Dez, you need to slow down if you want to do well,’ Mum called from her bed.
But Violet disagreed. ‘No, you need to go faster. In fact, the faster, the better! The quicker you are, the better guide dog you’ll make.’
‘Really?’ I asked, a little surprised, ‘it’s just that Mum said—’
‘Oh, ignore Mum! She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Besides, she doesn’t have to do these tests, we do. No, the faster you go, the better.’
Violet’s words stayed in my head as I thanked her for her help. On the day of the test, I was raring to go and wound up as tight as a top on a bottle of fizzy pop. I watched from the side, running everything through in my head. Vesper went first but he didn’t seem very fast. He wasn’t as fast as me, but I knew from the look on the puppy handler’s face that he’d done well.
‘Good boy, Vesper,’ she said, giving him a pat on the top of his head.
He wagged his tail in delight.
‘Now then,’ she said, looking down at the clipboard she held. ‘Valdez, which one of you is Valdez?’
I gulped and stepped forward. Now it was my turn to shine. As I waddled over, I heard someone snigger; I turned to see Violet holding a paw over her mouth but as soon as our eyes met, she withdrew it and gave me a quick thumbs-up. It gave me extra courage to carry on.
‘Right, Valdez, I need you to go through this tunnel,’ the lady said, peering through it, tapping her hand against the ground at the other end.
I wanted to smile and wave at her, but I knew I had to concentrate. So I took a deep breath and with all my might, went running straight into the plastic tube. I was bounding along so fast that my back legs couldn’t keep up, and soon I’d tumbled over, landing flat on my back. The tunnel began to turn like a washing machine on full spin. It rolled out of control until I was falling over in the middle of it. My ears got tangled up beneath my head and I started to feel sick and dizzy. The examiner must have grabbed hold of it to stop it from spinning because suddenly it came to an abrupt halt. I clambered up onto four paws. Still feeling a little dizzy, I staggered out. Although my paws were on solid ground, the world was still spinning as I tried to focus on the examiner.
‘Er, right,’ she said, the disappointment obvious in her voice. Then I heard a snort of laughter and turned to see Violet clutching her sides. I shot her a stern look.
‘You need to go faster,’ she hissed, with a paw against the side of her mouth so the others wouldn’t hear.
I knew she was right; I’d been too slow, and that’s why I’d made such a mess of it.
The next part of the test was recall, or answering to my name. I was determined to do well, but as soon as the puppy handler called out Valdez, I was so busy thinking about what I needed to do that I forgot it was my actual name.
‘VALDEZ!’ the woman repeated.
I looked over my shoulder, wondering if she was talking to someone else, but I was puzzled when I saw there was no one there, only me. That’s when I realised, she was talking to me, Dez… Valdez!
‘Coming!’ I woofed.
I ran over to her as fast as my legs would carry me. With no obstacles to trip me up, I’d reached her within seconds. But running was easy, it was the stopping I wasn’t so good at. Instead, when I tried to put the brakes on, I ran past her in a doggy blur and crashed straight into the opposite wall, headbutting it hard. I shook my ears as my head rang inside, like a bell. Soon, all I could see were white stars, only not of the puppy variety, but actual real-life sparkling stars, dancing around in front of my eyes.
‘Right, okay. You’re certainly an eager little chap, who’s willing to please,’ the woman said, ticking something off her list.
I thought she must be paying me a compliment, but when I noticed the look on her face, I realised I’d messed up again. It took me a few moments to come around. I shook my head but my elephant ears slapped me hard around the face, making me feel even more stupid.
‘Valdez,’ the trainer said, trying to snap me out of my daze, ‘I need you to watch this.’ She pulled something out of her pocket. It was a round object attached to a piece of string, which she began to swing in front of my eyes. I watched as it swung from side to side.
Don’t take your eyes off it, I told myself. Don’t take your eyes off it, not even for a second.
‘Good! Clever boy!’ the woman encouraged.
I stared even harder until my eyes began to ache. But the more I stared, the more tired I felt. I yawned, then, without warning, the room blurred. I don’t know how long I was asleep, but a sharp pain in one of my ears woke me: it was Violet nipping me.
‘Where am I?’ I asked, rubbing my eyes.
‘You’re in the puppy pen. Someone had to pick you up and carry you back to bed.’
‘Eh?’
‘You fell asleep, stupid! You failed the test because you fell asleep, right in the middle of the floor.’
‘I didn’t!’ I gasped. Suddenly I remembered the swinging circle and my eyelids growing heavy. ‘What did the woman say? I mean, how did I do in the test?’
But Violet simply threw back her head and snorted with laughter. ‘You failed, Valdez. What did you expect? You were fast asleep, snoring, in the middle of the test. You’ll never be a guide dog now, unlike me,’ she added, polishing her claws against the fur on her chest. ‘You see, I passed with flying colours.’
At this I panicked because becoming a guide dog was all I’d ever wanted. I was rubbish at everything else, apart from eating.
‘But what does it mean?’ I cried.
‘It means,’ Violet smirked, covering my eyes with my enormous ears, ‘that you’ll never become a guide dog. That’s it, you’ve blown your chance. Your dream is over!’
After she’d left, I buried my face between my paws and began to cry. I cried because I’d messed up and now there was no going back. The others were watching the puppy tests, so I was all alone… or so I thought.
‘Hey, Dez, is that you?’ called a voice.
It was Star.
I wiped my eyes, took a deep breath and poked my head out of the front of the bars to see her.
‘Why are you crying?’
‘I wasn’t,’ I sniffed. ‘I’ve just got a bit of a cold.’
Star shook her head. ‘Dez, I heard you. Listen, don’t cry, because everything will be alright, I promise.’
‘But the puppy test – I failed,’ I told her, my voice quivering, and with tears in my eyes. ‘I’ll never be a guide dog now,’ I sniffed.
‘Of course you will! They knew you were nervous, lots of pups are, so they’re going to give you a second chance.’
‘But how do you know?’
Star put a paw up against the side of her mouth and whispered: ‘Because I saw the re-test list and your name is on it.’
‘WHAAT?’ I gasped.
‘SHUSSHHH!’ she hissed. ‘Don’t tell anyone, because I’ll get in trouble. There was a list of names, and yours was right at the top.’
‘Yes!’ I grinned, punching the air. ‘So they’re going to give me another chance? I can still be a guide dog?’
‘Yes,’ said Star, ‘so stop worrying, and start practising! You can do this, Dez. You can become the best guide dog this place has ever seen.’
