Sofia's Puppy Love Read online

  Sofia grinned as Piper nuzzled his wet nose against her neck.

  “Your forever home is with me now,” Sofia told him as she kissed his fuzzy head.

  Turn the page for a sneak peek at Forever Friends #1, Jasmine’s Big Idea!

  Jasmine Arroyo had never seen anything cuter than the litter of six-week-old kittens. Well, her own dog, Cookie—her eighth birthday present—was pretty adorable. But with the kittens, the cuteness factor was multiplied by five. They stared up at her with curious eyes, mewing loudly.

  “They’re a noisy bunch, aren’t they?” her mom, Dr. Lydia Arroyo, said as she swept into the room at the animal shelter where the younger cats and kittens stayed.

  Jasmine kneeled to get a closer look. The kittens had come in three days ago, along with their mother. The director of the shelter, Rosa Wallace, had settled them into a cozy cage on the second shelf against the wall. But when Jasmine came to meet them, Mrs. Wallace moved the litter into a large cardboard box on the floor, its bottom lined with newspaper and soft old towels.

  Jasmine had instantly fallen in love with all five of them.

  “Making a lot of noise is a good sign, right?” she asked her mom.

  “It is,” Jasmine’s mom answered with a smile. “It means they’re getting stronger. Playing with them helps.”

  Jasmine smiled and reached into the large box. She gently pet the kitten she had named Tiger between his silky brown ears. She noticed that his fur was almost the same color as her own corkscrew curls. Tiger purred, then squirmed to the side and pounced on her hand.

  Jasmine’s mom was a veterinarian, a doctor who helps animals. Thanks to her mom, Jasmine knew pets needed things like certain kinds of food, plenty of water, and sometimes medicine to stay healthy. But since she had started volunteering at the animal shelter every Saturday, Jasmine had learned that petting and playing with the dogs and cats were just as important. Mrs. Wallace said the animals had to get used to being around humans and other animals before they could be adopted.

  “Thanks again for coming in today,” Mrs. Wallace said as she carried in a grocery bag of canned cat food. She smiled warmly at Jasmine, straightening her thick glasses. The glasses were the only sign that Mrs. Wallace was close to retirement age. Her dark brown skin was wrinkle free except for the tiny crinkles that appeared around her mouth when she smiled.

  “Because of your mom, their mom will soon be healthy enough to take care of these little guys again,” Mrs. Wallace said as she nodded at the kittens. They had begun burrowing into the folds of the towels. “At least until they’re a bit older and we find them forever homes.”

  When anyone brought in stray or abandoned animals, Mrs. Wallace and her husband took them in, made sure they were healthy, and then found them new, loving families. Jasmine thought it sounded like a hard but wonderful job.

  “It’s my pleasure,” Dr. Arroyo said as she took off her white coat and draped it over her arm. “But it’s close to dinnertime. We’d better get going, Jaz.”

  “Aw, Mom, do we have to go already?” Jasmine protested. “I was going to help walk the dogs and maybe feed the kittens …”

  “That’s sweet of you, Jasmine,” said Mrs. Wallace, “but Mr. Wallace will be along soon to walk the dogs, and I think these little ones have plans of their own.”

  She gestured toward the box. The kittens were huddled together, fast asleep.

  Jasmine hated leaving the shelter. If she could, she would come by every chance she got. She hoped to be a veterinarian one day, just like her mom.

  “All right,” she said, reluctantly getting to her feet. “I’ll see you next Saturday. I just wish there was more we could do for them now.”

  Mrs. Wallace took a step toward Jasmine and Dr. Arroyo, her eyes sparkling. “Well, maybe there’s something you could do for all the animals, actually,” she said. Then she motioned for Jasmine and her mom to follow her. They trailed Mrs. Wallace out of the cat room, across the shelter lobby, and right through the front door.

  Rosa’s Refuge Animal Shelter was housed in a cozy one-story brick building with separate areas for cats, puppies, and larger breeds. There were also private rooms where people could play with animals before they adopted them. And the small, fenced-in yard behind the shelter served as a dog run.

  Mrs. Wallace pointed to the empty storefront next to the shelter. A large red FOR SALE sign hung in the window.

  “I’m sure you’ve noticed how busy we’ve been at the shelter lately. We need more space so that we can take in all the animals that are homeless or between homes. Right now, we have to turn quite a few away. My husband and I would like to buy this store and make it part of our shelter.”

  Mrs. Wallace sighed. “But we would need to raise a lot more money to buy the store and remodel it to house animals. I’d love to have a community fund-raiser, but I’m so busy at the shelter, I could really use some help organizing it.”

  Suddenly, Jasmine had an idea. She looked up at her mom eagerly, her eyes shining.

  “Mom, we could help with a fund-raiser, couldn’t we?” she asked hopefully.

  Her mom smiled.

  “I don’t see why not,” she agreed warmly.

  “My mom helped the PTA plan the spring fair at my school last year,” Jasmine continued excitedly. “We raised a lot of money to buy books for the library.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Mrs. Wallace replied. “I was thinking of a carnival in the park across the street. My friend has a small petting zoo that he could set up, and we could have a bounce castle and sell some Rosa’s Refuge T-shirts. We could even ask local businesses to match the donations we raise. With any luck, we’ll have our adopt-a-cat trailer out, and we can get some people to take home a new pet!”

  “And we could raffle off prizes!” Jasmine suggested. “We did that at the school fair, and it was so fun. We also had a really cool arts-and-crafts area. Maybe we could do that, too.”

  “Those are terrific ideas, Jasmine,” Mrs. Wallace said. “In fact, how would you like to be my assistant carnival planner? I could really use your ideas and opinions about fun activities for kids.”

  Jasmine bounced up and down. “Ooh, Mom!” she said excitedly. “Can I do it? Can I? I already have ideas for signs and decorations …”

  Jasmine got a determined gleam in her eye that her mom instantly recognized. Dr. Arroyo couldn’t help but grin at her daughter’s enthusiasm.

  “I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Dr. Arroyo said. Mrs. Wallace nodded in agreement. “Now, what do you say we get home for dinner? Your father’s making pastelón.”

  Jasmine’s mouth watered. She loved her dad’s Puerto Rican lasagna.

  “Sounds good, Mom,” Jasmine replied as they waved good-bye to Mrs. Wallace and headed to their car.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Dr. Arroyo said as they walked. “You were so excited just a moment ago.”

  “I was just thinking of something Mrs. Wallace said,” Jasmine replied slowly. “What happens to the animals that Rosa’s Refuge turns away?”

  Her mom grew serious. “If they can’t find them homes, they have to put them to sleep,” Dr. Arroyo explained gently, putting her arm around her daughter. “It’s very sad, niña.”

  “Oh!” Jasmine said, shocked. No wonder Mrs. Wallace wanted to make the shelter larger. “That’s terrible, Mom. Now I realize how important this carnival is. I just have to help.”

  “I know you do, niña,” her mom replied.

  Jasmine was sure they would need more help to make the carnival a success. And she knew just the friends she wanted to ask.

  Crystal Velasquez was born in the Bronx, New York. She studied English and creative writing at Pennsylvania State University and is a graduate of NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute. She lives in Flushing, New York, and hopes to adopt a new puppy very soon.

  Special thanks to Dr. Heather Wiedrick for her veterinary expertise.

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  First printing 2018

  Cover art by Cathi Mingus, © 2019 American Girl

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  e-ISBN 978-1-338-11498-0

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