Chapter 9

Chapter nine When he was finished peeing, Cheerio wagged his tail and looked at me happily. He had no idea he had done anything wrong. "You wait here," I said to him. "I'll go get help." I opened the door and tiptoed into the living room. "Mom," I whispered. "I have a little problem. Can I talk to you in the kitchen? I don't want to disturb Dad." "Don't worry about that, Hank," my dad said from his chair. "What's on your mind?" I had no choice. I took a breath and began. "Cheerio peed in my room," I said. "All over the carpet." "What happened?" my mom asked.

"Did you forget to put the wee-wee pad down?" my dad asked me. "I meant to put it down, Dad. My brain just didn't remember." "Okay, Hank," he said with a sigh. "I think it's best if Cheerio doesn't spend any more time in your room—at least until you can be more responsible." "But, Dad, it's almost time for bed. Where's he going to sleep?" "We'll put his crate in the kitchen, and he'll sleep there," he answered. "All alone? He'll be so sad." "He'll be fine," my dad said. "That's what you do when you're training a puppy. And as for you, I believe you have some cleanup work to do in your room." My mom helped me clean the carpet with tons of paper towels and a special spray that would stop Cheerio from peeing there again. While we were doing that, my dad got Cheerio and put him in his crate in the kitchen.

"Can I at least say good night to him?" I asked when I had finished cleaning up. "Of course," my dad said. "Just make it short. It's been an exciting day. Both you and Cheerio need to get some rest." I went into the kitchen and knelt down by Cheerio's crate. His tail wagged when he saw me. "Good night, boy," I said. "We'll go on a nice walk tomorrow. I promise. It will be morning before you know it." With one last look at him, I turned out the lights and went to my room.

As I climbed into bed, I could hear Cheerio crying for me. "Cheerio, that's enough!" my dad yelled. "Go to sleep." I lay there in bed, thinking of poor little Cheerio alone in the kitchen. He was there because of me. If only I had remembered to put down that pad, maybe I could have kept his crate in my room, right next to my bed. I couldn't sleep. Listening to Cheerio cry was just too sad. Then I remembered that the store owner at Pets for U and Me had said to put a piece of my clothing into Cheerio's crate. If it smelled like me, Cheerio would feel like I was there with him. So I crept out of bed and pulled a Mets sock from the dirty-laundry hamper. I sniffed it. Oh yeah, that was me, all right. I tiptoed into the kitchen. Cheerio was lying in his crate, his little nose sticking through the front gate. The minute he saw me, he almost did a backflip. I slid my fingers as far as I could into his crate, and felt his wet tongue licking

them. Boy, that felt good. Cheerio whimpered a little louder. "I miss you, too, puppy," I said. "Here, I've brought something so you won't be so lonely." I held up my sock for him to smell. He stuck his nose into them and took a big whiff. Then his tail started to wag like crazy. He was the only living thing on the planet who liked the way my sock smelled. "Okay, boy," I whispered. "I'll just open the door and put it right next to you. Keep very quiet so you don't wake Dad." As soon as I opened the door just a crack, he shot out of there like a jet plane.

"Cheerio! Get back here!" I yell-whispered. He didn't listen. He pushed open the kitchen door and disappeared. I followed him as fast as I could. I couldn't see him in the dark, but I could hear the clicking of his toenails on the wood floor. He was running in giant circles all around the dining- room table.