A Sheepdog Called Sky Read online

  “You’ve had a horrible time, haven’t you,” she said, “but from now on, everything’s going to be different. I don’t know what your name was before, or if you even had a name, but I’m going to call you Sky. I’m going to look after you all the time and you’re going to get better.”

  The little dog opened his beautiful amber eyes and looked into Jasmine’s. And, very slowly, the tip of his tail began to wag.

  Nine days later, Manu and Ben were making cupcakes at the kitchen table when Jasmine came in to find a snack. Ben was beating the eggs vigorously into the butter, scattering droplets of mixture all around the kitchen. Manu was weighing the flour, clouds of white dust flying into the air as he tipped it from the bag into the scale pan.

  “What would you rather have?” Manu was saying. “Eyes that, when you blink for more than a second, they take a photo of what you were looking at and the photo comes out of your mouth, or ears that, when you press them, they play any music you like, or teeth that, when you tap them with your fingers, you can play a tune, like on a piano?”

  Ben sneezed into the mixing bowl. “Photo eyes,” he said, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Jasmine made a mental note not to eat any of the cupcakes.

  “Me too,” said Manu. “Is it eight ounces or eighteen ounces, Ella?”

  Jasmine and Manu’s sixteen-year-old sister, Ella, was officially in charge of their baking. She was sitting at the other side of the kitchen, hunched over a pad of paper she had balanced on one knee. A large book was balanced on her other knee. She was scribbling notes on to the paper, completely absorbed in the holiday research project she had been set as preparation for her A-Level English course. Manu had to repeat his question twice before she realised someone was speaking to her.

  “Eight,” she said. “All the ingredients should weigh eight ounces.”

  “Oh,” said Manu. “I thought that looked a lot.” He started scooping spoonfuls of flour back into the bag, sending more white clouds into the air.

  Jasmine took two bags of crisps from the snack cupboard and went back to the scullery, closing the door behind her. Tom was kneeling on the floor next to the dog bed, stroking Sky’s head. “Good boy, Sky,” he was saying. “You’re such a good boy, aren’t you?”

  Sky looked up and wagged his tail. He could move his head without help now, although he couldn’t yet support himself on his legs. He was eating five or six times a day, but he was still very thin. It would be a while before he reached a normal body weight.

  Jasmine took a box of dog biscuits from the cupboard above the work surface and Tom gently lifted Sky into a sitting position. Sky couldn’t do this by himself yet, but he could stay sitting up on his own once he was in position.

  Jasmine held out a biscuit in the palm of her hand, slightly away from Sky’s mouth. Sky stretched out his neck to gobble it up.

  “Good boy,” said Jasmine softly. “Good stretching. Well done. Let’s see if you can stretch even further.”

  She laid another biscuit on the floor, slightly further away this time. Again, Sky stretched out his neck, shot out his pink tongue and gobbled up the biscuit.

  “Good boy,” said Jasmine. “You’re getting stronger, aren’t you?”

  “Let’s put him in his harness for a bit,” said Tom.

  Jasmine had made the harness to help Sky regain the use of his legs, after Mum had told her about similar contraptions. Sky’s harness was a wide strip of towelling sewn into a loop and attached at the top to a piece of rope that hung from a hook Dad had fixed to the ceiling. Jasmine put Sky in it for short periods each day, to help him support himself and build up his muscles.

  Tom scooped Sky out of his basket and held him upright while Jasmine slipped the harness over his head and front legs. She smoothed out the fabric so that it stretched under his belly from his front legs to his back legs. Then Tom took his hands away, so that Sky was in a standing position with his legs on the floor.

  “I think he’s putting some weight on his front legs,” Jasmine said excitedly, after Sky had been in the harness for a while. “Look, they’re not just dangling any more, are they? Clever boy, Sky. You’re getting stronger.”

  At the sound of her praise, Sky looked adoringly at Jasmine and wagged his tail.

  “He’s so cute,” said Tom. “Do you think you’ll be allowed to keep him?”

  Jasmine looked at Tom incredulously. It had never even crossed her mind that she wouldn’t be allowed to keep Sky. “Of course I’m going to keep him,” she said.

  “You’re so lucky,” said Tom. “I wish I could have a dog.”

  “You can help look after Sky any time you like,” said Jasmine.

  Through the clattering and chattering in the kitchen, Jasmine heard Mum’s car pull up outside.

  “I want Mum to see Sky standing in his harness,” she said, opening the door from the scullery into the kitchen just as Mum opened the other door that led into the kitchen from the hall. Her partner at the vet’s surgery, David, was behind her.

  Mum’s eyebrows shot up and her mouth dropped open. Ben and Manu fell silent as they registered the shock on her face. They looked sheepishly at the table, the floor, the dresser top and then at each other. Every surface, including their faces, was covered in dustings of flour, sprinklings of sugar, smears of butter and trails of egg white. Broken egg yolk oozed across the floor, and there was a pattern of footprints where they had trodden in egg and flour and walked it across the tiles.

  “Where’s Ella?” asked Mum.

  The boys looked around vaguely. “I don’t know,” said Manu. “She was here.”

  Mum took a deep breath. “Well, go and find her, and ask her to come and help you clear up this mess, right now. And take your shoes off before you go upstairs,” she said, as the boys headed for the door.

  “Yes, Nadia,” said Ben, as he shuffled past her. “Thank you, Nadia. Sorry, Nadia.”

  Ben was always extremely polite to adults. It meant that he got away with all kinds of outrageous behaviour.

  “Sorry about that,” Mum said to David. “Just my son and his friend in typical style.”

  David gave a polite smile. He didn’t have children. And after visiting their house, Jasmine thought, he probably wouldn’t want any.

  “David’s come to give a second opinion on a cow, so he popped in to see how Sky’s getting on,” Mum said to Jasmine.

  “Your mum says you’ve done a great job with him,” said David. “He was such a sad little thing when I saw him last week.”

  “Come and look,” said Jasmine. David had last seen Sky the day after she had found him, when Mum had taken him into the surgery to give him his injections and a scan. She hoped he would see a real difference now.

  Sky was still in his harness. Tom was kneeling on the floor beside him, stroking his back. Sky looked up and wagged his tail as Jasmine came in.

  David’s eyes widened. “Wow,” he said. “That’s remarkable. I wouldn’t have recognised him.”

  At the sound of David’s voice, Sky’s tail tucked between his legs and he shrank back, baring his teeth in a low growl.

  “It’s all right, Sky,” said Jasmine, sinking to her knees beside the skinny little dog. “David’s a vet. He won’t hurt you.”

  She looked up at David. “He’s like this every time he hears a man’s voice,” she said. “He’s the same with Dad. We think a man must have been cruel to him.”

  “Poor little thing,” said David softly. “The RSPCA haven’t traced anyone yet?”

  “No, but they’re still trying,” said Mum. The scan had revealed that Sky had not been microchipped, so Mum had reported the case to the RSPCA as well as the local dog warden.

  Sky was relaxing slightly now, as Jasmine stroked him and murmured comforting words in his ear.

  “He looks so much healthier,” said David, still speaking softly so as not to frighten Sky, “and his coat’s much better already.”

  “Jasmine’s bathed him and dressed his sores every
day,” said Mum. “And he’s eating and drinking well now.”

  “He’s starting to support his weight, too,” said Jasmine. “Look, Mum, he’s using his front paws.”

  “You’re doing a wonderful job with him,” said David. “I’m really impressed.”

  “I’ll give the rehoming centre a call,” said Mum. “At this rate, he’ll be ready to go there in a few weeks, if nobody claims him.”

  Jasmine froze. Then she stared at Mum in horror. “What are you talking about? Sky’s not going to a rehoming centre.”

  “He has to go eventually, Jasmine,” said Mum. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. You surely didn’t think you were going to be able to keep him for ever?”

  Jasmine stared at her mother in outrage. “Of course I’m going to keep him,” she said. “He loves me and I love him. He’s already been abandoned by one owner. He’s not going to be abandoned by another one.”

  “Jasmine, a dog is a huge amount of work,” said Mum. “It won’t be like Truffle or Button, where they grow up very quickly and can just live on the farm. Sky will need hours of attention every day for the whole of his life, and that might be fourteen years or more.”

  “I know that,” said Jasmine. “I’ve read all about looking after collies.”

  “Then you’ll know how much work they are. How are you going to manage that when you’re at school all day?”

  “Only from nine till three. And I bet Dad would like to have him around while I’m at school. I’m going to train him as a sheepdog when he’s old enough, so he’ll be a help to Dad.”

  David was looking increasingly uncomfortable. “I’d better go and look at this cow,” he said. “Where is she?”

  “She’s in the old bull pen,” said Mum. “Michael should be around. He’s probably feeding the calves. Thanks, David. And sorry about the chaos.”

  “Are you still going to be all right to look after the chinchillas,” David asked Jasmine, “or will you be too busy with Sky?”

  “Oh, no, I’ll definitely look after the chinchillas,” said Jasmine. “It’s school holidays now, so I’ve got plenty of time.”

  As soon as David had left the room, Jasmine said, “I can’t believe you’re thinking of sending Sky to the rehoming centre! Do you want him to spend his life in a cage, looking out through the wire with sad hopeful eyes, like all those other poor dogs? How can you even bear to think of it?”

  Jasmine’s parents had taken her to visit the rehoming centre once, and had vowed never to do so again after she had begged to take home every animal in the place.

  Sky started to whine.

  “See?” said Jasmine. “He knows. You’ve upset him.”

  “He’s upset because he can tell you’re upset,” said Mum.

  “So don’t upset me, then.”

  Mum raised her eyebrows warningly. “I don’t think we should be having this conversation in front of Sky,” she said. “Or Tom, for that matter. Sorry, Tom.”

  Jasmine followed her into the kitchen, which looked marginally less chaotic than before. Ella was sitting in the corner reading her book. Manu and Ben were at the table, stirring a vast quantity of blood-coloured liquid in Mum’s largest mixing bowl.

  “What on earth is that?” said Mum.

  “Icing,” said Manu. “For the cupcakes.”

  “But that’s far too runny. And why have you made such a ridiculous amount?”

  “It was a bit stiff, so we added more water,” said Ben, glancing at Manu. “But my elbow got jogged and I think we might have added a bit too much.”

  “So then we put in all the rest of the icing sugar,” said Manu. “Two whole bags of it, but the icing’s still runny.”

  “Sorry, Nadia,” said Ben.

  Mum gave Ella an exasperated glance. “Ella, you promised you’d supervise them.”

  “I did,” protested Ella, “but if you take your eyes off them for even one second, they do things no normal human being would ever think of. Like pouring in the entire bottle of red colouring and filling the whole bowl with water.”

  Mum gave a heavy sigh. “Leave that icing, boys, and go and do something else. Something quiet and clean. I’ll sort the icing out later.”

  “Let’s go and put that cow’s tooth we found in our collection,” said Manu. He looked around the table. “Where is it?”

  “In one of your pockets, probably,” said Mum. “That’s where I usually find things, right before they go in the washing machine. If I’m lucky, that is.”

  Last month, the washing machine had broken, and when the repair man had been called out, at great expense, he had found several small bones and teeth inside it.

  “It’s not in my pocket,” said Manu. “Oh, now I remember, I took it out of my pocket and put it on the table, right there, before we started making the cakes.”

  Everyone looked at the table. There was no sign of a cow’s tooth. Everyone turned their gaze towards the Aga oven where the cupcakes were now cooking.

  Ben grinned. “It will be a lucky dip,” he said. “And the prize will be a lucky cow’s tooth.”

  Jasmine sighed impatiently. “Anyway,” she said to her mother, “Sky’s attached to me now, so it would be cruel to give him away.”

  Mum turned her attention to Jasmine. “Firstly, Jas, we still don’t know what happened to him. His owner might come and claim him. So there’s no point even discussing it yet.”

  “But his owner was cruel to him! You can’t let him go back.”

  “We don’t know that for certain. Legally, we have to wait a month before rehoming him, to give an owner time to come forward. And if he does need to be rehomed, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would love a beautiful dog like Sky. It wouldn’t be safe to have him here, with his fear of loud noises. It wouldn’t be fair to expect Manu to be quiet all the time.”

  “It would be perfect,” said Ella, “but sadly not possible in this world.”

  Manu looked hurt. “I can be quiet,” he said. “And I want to keep Sky. Ben and me are going to train him to search out animal bones.”

  “You are not,” said Jasmine. “I’m going to train him properly. I’ve already been reading about it. And Dad wants a sheepdog.”

  “His fear of men’s voices could be a real problem, too,” said Mum. “There are always people visiting the farm and walking through on the footpaths, and we can’t have him lashing out and biting. We’d get in terrible trouble.”

  “He doesn’t bite!” said Jasmine indignantly.

  “He hasn’t done so far,” said Mum, “but we don’t know what he might do if he was really frightened. And what about the cats? They might not appreciate having a collie around the place.”

  “Jasmine!” called Tom, from the scullery. “Come and see this.”

  Jasmine dashed in. Sky was standing in his harness. He fixed his amber eyes on her adoringly and wagged his feathery tail.

  “He’s putting his weight on all four legs now, I’m sure he is,” said Tom.

  Jasmine crouched down and felt his legs. He certainly seemed to be supporting his own weight.

  “Let’s take him out of the harness,” she said. “Come on, Sky, we’ll see if you can stand up by yourself.”

  She lifted the puppy up and Tom slipped the harness back over his head and front paws. Holding her breath, Jasmine gently set him down on the floor. He stood there, on his own four paws, gazing lovingly at Jasmine and swishing his tail.

  Tom and Jasmine grinned at each other. “Oh, Sky,” said Jasmine. “You are the best dog in all the world.”

  Mum opened the door from the kitchen.

  “Look!” said Jasmine.

  “Oh,” said Mum softly. “That’s amazing. I didn’t think he’d even survive, and now he’s standing up by himself.”

  “So,” said Jasmine, “I have to keep him now, don’t I?”

  But Mum still wore the serious expression that meant she wasn’t yet convinced. “I know he’s gorgeous, Jas, and you’ve given him fantastic ca
re and attention. I do know how attached you are to him, honestly. And you’ll have him for a few more weeks, until he’s fit enough to go to the rehoming centre.”

  Jasmine opened her mouth to protest, but Mum carried on. “All those things I said before still apply,” she said. “It’s a huge commitment, taking on another dog, especially a collie, and I just can’t make that commitment at the moment.”

  Despite what Mum had said, Jasmine did not give up hope. She was certain that no owner would come forward, and her plan was to turn Sky into such a model dog over the next few weeks that the whole family would want to keep him.

  The question of the cats, at least, was easily resolved. Toffee and Marmite had taken no notice of Sky at all while he was a helpless little invalid, but the first time he walked towards them on his own four feet, they crouched low to the ground and hissed so ferociously that poor Sky slunk out of the room with his tail between his legs.

  “Angela says that means the cats have established their dominance over him,” Jasmine told Tom two weeks later, as she clipped Sky’s lead to his collar and they walked down the garden path.

  Angela was Tom’s aunty, and she had been helping Jasmine to teach Sky the basic commands of collie training. She owned a collie called Jake, whom Jasmine had looked after in the May half term while Angela was away.

  “Now she says the rest of us have to establish our dominance over him, too,” said Jasmine.

  “That sounds mean,” said Tom.

  “It’s not mean, it’s just because dogs are pack animals,” said Jasmine, “so they need to know who’s pack leader. And they have to be bottom of the family pack, otherwise they won’t behave. We have to show him we’re always kind and fun to be with, but also that we’re always in charge, and that we have all the best toys.”

  In the garden, they let Sky off the lead. This was as much freedom as he had been allowed so far. He still wasn’t fully protected by his injections, and also he wasn’t fit enough to go for long walks yet. But the big garden was a perfect place for training sessions.