Mindy Kim and the Birthday Puppy Read online

  The next day, Eunice came over to help me potty train Theodore.

  “Okay,” she said. “So, the first thing you need to know about puppies is that they have very small bladders. That means they have to go potty all the time. Since you’re at school and your dad has to go to work, you should probably put Theodore in the bathroom with puppy pads so he can go when no one’s home. And you have to train him so he knows he should go on the pads. I’ll show you how!”

  Eunice and I went over to where Theodore already was, in the bathroom. We were keeping him in a pen in the bathroom for now, since it was too mean to have him locked up in the crate all day, and Dad said he didn’t want him to roam around the house until he was trained. I think he was scared Theodore might make a mess like last night.

  Theodore stood at the edge of the pen and stared at us with his large eyes as he wagged his tail.

  We just stared back at him. When we didn’t do anything for a while, he whined and whimpered.

  “So, we just watch him until he goes?” I guessed. “And then give him a treat?”

  “Well, just for the first time, yeah. You can go do something else for a few hours after that… probably two or three. Until he needs to go again. Then try to get him to go on the pads, and if he does, give him another treat!”

  While we were waiting for Theodore to pee, Eunice and I watched a Korean drama on her phone. Korean dramas are Korean TV shows. My mom and I used to watch them together all the time, but I hadn’t watched any since she died.

  The one Eunice picked was about a girl who falls in love with an alien. It was kind of weird, but it was funny, too!

  Soon enough, Theodore had to pee, and he peed on one of the pads!

  “Good boy!” I cheered, and gave him a treat. He looked so happy while he ate!

  “And that’s it!” Eunice said. “Keep doing this and he’ll probably be house-trained within two weeks. Don’t get mad at him if he doesn’t pee on the pad, though. Because then he’ll sneak around the house and keep having accidents.”

  “Okay!” I said. It seemed easy enough!

  After Eunice left, Dad let me use his tablet so I could look up how to train Theodore to do other things. That seemed pretty straightforward too! All I had to do was give Theodore a treat whenever he did what I told him to do.

  I was so excited! I was going to train Theodore to do all kinds of cool stuff, like dance and play dead! It was going to be easy-peasy.

  After dinner, I went back into the bathroom to hang out with Theodore.

  I held out a treat in front of me as I pointed at the floor.

  “Theodore, sit!”

  Theodore just stared back at me.

  “Sit, boy! Sit, Theodore!”

  I tried a couple more times, but it was no use. I thought long and hard about what to do. And then I got an idea.

  I approached Theodore, and this time I slowly moved my hand above his head so he had to back away from me. “Theodore, sit!”

  It worked! As he backed away, Theodore sat down to make space for me.

  “Good boy!”

  Like Eunice said I should do, I gave Theodore the treat. He happily munched on it before standing up again.

  I tried making him sit again. This time, it only took two more tries before Theodore sat down.

  “Good boy! You’re so smart!”

  That night, I said good-bye to Theodore before I went to bed again.

  “You’re doing so great, buddy!” I said. “Soon you’ll be completely trained and an expert in dog manners. And then you can go wherever you want in the house.”

  Theodore whined and whimpered again throughout the night, and I hugged Mr. Shiba, my Shiba Inu stuffed doll, tight.

  I couldn’t wait for the day I could sleep in my bed with my real dog!

  Chapter 6

  After teaching Theodore some more training basics, Dad and I decided to take him to a dog park. He was starting to look lonely all by himself at home.

  The dog park was in a fenced area with lots of trees. There were a ton of dogs already playing in the park, including a golden retriever, a corgi, a husky, and a Westie! All the big dogs were on one side of the park, while the small dogs were on the other. They were separated by a big fence.

  “It’s so the big dogs don’t hurt the little dogs,” Dad explained when I asked him about the fence.

  All the dogs were so cute! I couldn’t wait to say hi to everyone! And I couldn’t wait for Theodore to become friends with them.

  “Look, Theodore!” I said. “So many friends!”

  I glanced down at him, expecting him to be wagging his tail. Instead Theodore was hiding behind me with his tail tucked between his hind legs.

  “Aw, what’s wrong, buddy?”

  I knelt down so I was face to face with Theodore. He was shaking. He looked really scared!

  “Hey,” I said softly, patting him on the head. “It’s okay. I’m sure the dogs are really nice! You’ll go on the side with the small dogs, so it’ll be okay! Dad and I will keep you safe, I promise!”

  But Theodore still looked scared. When I tried to lead him toward the dog park, he tugged the opposite way on his leash.

  Suddenly I wasn’t so sure if this was a good idea. Theodore’s ears drooped a little, and the sad look in his eyes reminded me of how scared I was on the first day at my new school.

  “Being the new kid is always hard, but you can do it!” I said. “I believe in you! Let’s go make new friends!”

  I started running toward the park, and Theodore followed me.

  “Wait, Mindy!” Dad said. “Slow down or you’ll get the other dogs too riled up.”

  I looked up to see that Dad was right. The dogs that’d been playing near the gate stopped to stare at us. A few of the mean-looking ones started to bark!

  More slowly this time, Dad and I led Theodore to the gate of the dog park. As soon as we went inside, the Westie came over, wagging its tail.

  “Look, Theodore, a new friend! Be sure to play nice!”

  But before Theodore could sniff the other dog, another dog—a Maltese—started yapping and snapping at him!

  Theodore yelped and ran back to hide behind me.

  I waved at the barking Maltese.

  “Go away, you little pipsqueak! Leave Theodore alone!”

  “Sorry!” said a fancy-looking lady as she came running over to us. “No, Priscilla!” she said to the Maltese. “Bad girl!”

  She scooped the tiny dog into her arms and walked away from us.

  The Westie came closer again, sniffing around Theodore. But this time Theodore shrank back and froze until the dog left.

  Dad sighed. “Mindy, I don’t think Theodore is ready to make friends yet. It doesn’t seem like he’s good with other dogs.”

  “He’s just shy!” I said. “He only needs a bit of encouragement!”

  It made me really sad that Theodore was having so much trouble making friends. If only he weren’t so afraid of other dogs!

  I gently reached behind me and gave Theodore a little shove. “Go play, boy!”

  After a few more shoves, Theodore went off running and made a few laps of the park. The other dogs started chasing Theodore.

  “That’s it! Play!”

  But then a shih tzu snapped at him, and Theodore yelped.

  “Theodore, no!”

  The other dogs ran away when I bolted toward them. “Leave him alone!”

  When I scooped him into my arms, Theodore was shaking so much. I felt really bad for pushing him.

  A very tall man came toward us.

  “Hey, sorry, guys,” he said. “But honestly, your dog doesn’t look like he’s having any fun. You should take him back home.”

  I expected Dad to tell the man he was being really rude. But instead Dad didn’t say anything. He frowned as the man walked away and then said again, “I don’t think he’s ready, Mindy. We should leave before something bad happens.”

  The other dogs were watching Theodore now. Their
owners looked really wary too. I was so sad. Why couldn’t everyone be nicer to Theodore? He was the new kid!

  I put the leash back on Theodore and led him out of the fenced area.

  “It’s okay, Theodore,” I said. “We can try again another day.”

  Chapter 7

  Back home, Dad and I decided Theodore needed a bath. It was going to be his first one! I did my research, and the Internet said we should fill the tub so it went halfway up Theodore’s legs and make sure that Theodore didn’t get water in his ears.

  My bathtub was too small for the three of us, so Dad and I took Theodore to the master bathroom. Dad got in the bath first and made sure the water wasn’t too hot for Theodore or me.

  “Okay, I think it’s ready!” he said after a few minutes.

  I picked up Theodore and carefully got into the bath with him. Dad and I were both wearing shorts, so the water didn’t make our clothes wet.

  Gently, I lowered Theodore into the water. The moment he touched the water, his ears flattened against his head and he whimpered.

  “I guess he doesn’t like water,” Dad said. “That’s too bad. I heard some dogs like to swim.”

  The thought of Theodore swimming made me giggle. He was so small that it was hard to imagine him bravely moving in the water. Maybe he could when he was more grown-up!

  Theodore was trembling from head to toe. He looked really scared.

  “It’s okay, buddy,” I said. “It’s just water!”

  Gently, I scooped a handful of the lukewarm water and lightly splashed it on him. He sniffed my still-wet hand and licked it. It tickled!

  Dad and I carefully splashed water on Theodore until his entire body was wet. Damp, Theodore looked really funny, and he was a lot skinnier, too! He looked more like a big mouse than a dog.

  Dad put some oatmeal-scented dog shampoo onto his hands and scrubbed it into Theodore’s fur. Theodore stood still, and even closed his eyes a little bit.

  I giggled. “He’s liking your massage, Dad!”

  Dad smiled. It was the first time I’d seen him smile because of Theodore!

  I reached out and helped spread the shampoo all over Theodore. He was still shaking, but luckily, he was keeping still. He was being such a good boy!

  “Good boy, Theodore!” I said. “I’ll give you a brand-new bone after this. You totally deserve one!”

  He wagged his tail, like he knew what I was saying. Dad and I grinned at each other.

  Even though taking care of him was a lot of work, Theodore was so cute that it was all worth it. And I was really glad I had Dad by my side to help me!

  Chapter 8

  Monday I had to go back to school. Saying good-bye to Theodore was so hard! I gave him a big hug before Dad and I left the house.

  “He’ll be fine, Mindy. Don’t worry,” said Dad. “You’ll be back home before you know it.”

  When I started closing the bathroom door, Theodore lay down on the floor and stared up at me with sad eyes.

  “I’ll be back soon, buddy,” I said. “I promise!”

  The school day seemed really long, a thousand billion times longer than usual. I kept staring at the clock on the classroom wall.

  During lunch, everyone who was at my birthday party asked me about my puppy.

  “What did you name him?” Dill wanted to know.

  “Theodore!”

  “Theodore?” Dill asked. “Why did you name him that?”

  I shrugged. “He looked like a Theodore! Kind of like Teddy Roosevelt.”

  Everyone at my table giggled.

  “Well, I think the name is perfect and cute,” Sally said. I could always count on her to have my back! “How is potty training going?”

  I told my friends all about my weekend with Theodore.

  “You should give him peanut butter when he’s a good boy!” said Dill. “Dogs love peanut butter!”

  “But don’t give him chocolate. It’s poisonous.”

  “Get a bell chain and hang it on the doorknob so he can ring the bell whenever he needs to go potty outside!”

  Everyone had such good tips! But then some people had really silly suggestions like:

  “Throw him in the water and it’ll teach him how to swim!”

  “Wear a mask and run around while chasing him!”

  The boys who suggested this laughed and high-fived each other.

  Sally rolled her eyes. “Ugh,” she said. “Don’t listen to them. They’re just being silly.”

  My friends who couldn’t make it to my party said they wanted to see what Theodore looked like. I promised I would bring pictures for our next “What’s New with You?” show-and-tell!

  After school, Eunice picked me up and drove me back to my house. I was bouncing up and down in my seat during the entire car ride.

  Eunice laughed. “I was like that when we first got Oliver, too! The first day away is always hard.”

  Oliver the Maltese is Eunice’s dog. He and I are buddies, even though he only pays attention to me when I have food.

  When we arrived, Theodore was so glad to see me that he peed on the floor!

  “Gross!” Eunice exclaimed. “It’s okay. A lot of puppies do that. Hopefully, he’ll grow out of it.”

  After we cleaned up the mess, we got Theodore’s leash so we could take him out for a walk. Eunice told me to pack some treats before we left.

  “What do we need those for?” I asked.

  Eunice smiled. “You’ll see.”

  Theodore wasn’t good at walking with a leash yet. His little legs moved so fast that they became a blur. He tugged and tugged until he coughed because the collar was choking him.

  “No, boy, slow down! You’re choking yourself!” I said. “Slow down!”

  “Here, let me,” said Eunice. “The trick is to stop whenever he pulls and only keep going when he calms down. It takes a lot of patience, but he’ll get it eventually!”

  When Eunice started walking, Theodore wiggled and strained against his leash. Eunice stopped and stood still until he gave up. Only when he was completely still did she start walking again, all the while showing him the treat.

  “Okay, now you try,” Eunice said, handing me the leash.

  “Okay!”

  Like Eunice did, I started walking but stopped when he pulled again. It was a really slow process, but I was determined to train Theodore so he could walk with a leash!

  We did one loop around the neighborhood park before heading back home.

  As we walked, I told Eunice about Theodore’s rough day at the dog park. When I was done telling her everything, she said, “I have an idea! How about we introduce him to Oliver? He’s pretty nice to other dogs. I think it’s because he’s a bit older.”

  “That’d be so great!” I said.

  Theodore had another chance to make a friend!

  Chapter 9

  The next day, after school, I scooped Theodore into my arms and got into Eunice’s car. Theodore was scared of riding in the car, but I gave him a tight hug.

  “It’s okay, boy. Eunice doesn’t live far from us, so it’ll be a short ride!”

  Theodore licked my face. He was so sweet!

  Even before we entered Eunice’s house, Oliver started barking. His little yips were so loud that we could hear them from outside.

  Theodore started barking too. His voice was a little lower but more babyish.

  “They’re talking to each other already!” I said. I hoped this meant they would become friends really soon.

  We walked up to Eunice’s door. When she opened it, Oliver shot out of the house, raced around the yard, and then ran back toward us in a white blur!

  Theodore yelped and jumped behind me.

  “It’s okay, Theodore! Oliver just wants to say hi!”

  Oliver reached us, and soon he was chasing Theodore. The two dogs ran in circles around me. They were making me dizzy!

  Eunice waited for the right moment and then quickly scooped Oliver into her arms.

&
nbsp; “Gotcha!” she said.

  The small dog squirmed around.

  “Here,” she said. “Maybe this will help.”

  She carried Oliver into the house, and Theodore and I followed after her. Once we were all inside, Eunice sat on the living room floor, still hugging Oliver close to her.

  I gave Theodore a gentle shove.

  “Okay,” she said. “Now Theodore should be able to properly meet Oliver.”

  “Go say hi!”

  Theodore sniffed my hands, then cautiously moved toward Oliver. Oliver stuck his head out in Theodore’s direction and started barking again.

  Theodore froze, and his tail went between his legs.

  “It’s okay, buddy!” I said. “Oliver is nice!”

  I softly pushed Theodore again. He slowly approached Oliver again, sniffing the floor.

  And then, finally, Oliver and Theodore were nose to nose!

  I crossed my fingers and toes and held my breath as the two dogs sniffed each other. I really hoped they’d get along! Oliver squirmed around in Eunice’s grip, but she held tight.

  Theodore started wagging his tail, and so did Oliver. So far, so good.

  And then Eunice slowly let go of Oliver. This time Oliver didn’t run. And neither did Theodore. The two dogs continued sniffing each other, looking really excited. They even sniffed each other’s butts!

  Eunice and I laughed.

  “It’s so funny when dogs do that,” Eunice said. “It’s the dog way of saying hi. Let’s find a ball so they can play with each other!”

  Eunice picked up a tennis ball that was in the corner of the room. She handed it to me.

  “Try throwing it!”

  “Okay!” I turned to the dogs. “Theodore! Oliver!”

  I waved the ball in front of me. Both dogs turned to look at me, their eyes wide with attention.

  I giggled. They were both so cute!

  “Wait!” Eunice took out her phone and snapped a picture of the dogs.

  “Good thinking!” I said. I couldn’t wait to show the picture to Dad!

  I circled my arm around and around, like I’d seen baseball pitchers do on TV.