Horseshoe Read Online Free PDF Page B

Where exactly was CARL?
    The address and a map were printed on the back page. It was a little far for walking—two miles—but she could easily ride her bike there. Doc Tock had said that they could visit anytime.
    Lisa hurried home. She dropped her books in her bedroom, ran a comb through her ponytail, and scribbled a note for her parents,
Back for dinner
. Then she went out to the garage and dusted off her bike. She didn’t ride it much anymore, now that she rode horses.
    The trip to CARL, along winding back roads, was quick and peaceful. A small wooden sign marked thedriveway, and the building looked just as it had in Doc Tock’s slide. Lisa parked her bike and walked in the main door.
    A receptionist looked up at her and smiled. Before Lisa could speak, a big brown and yellow dog came around the desk to meet her. “Champ!” said Lisa. She bent to pet him, and his tail beat furiously against the floor.
    “Have you been here before?” the receptionist asked.
    “No,” said Lisa, “but I heard all about Champ. I’m Lisa Atwood. I’m a member of Horse Wise Pony Club, and Doc Tock came to talk to us. She said we could visit anytime.”
    “I’m Letty,” the receptionist said, “and Dr. Takamura is the vet working here today. Wait just a sec and I’ll get her for you.”
    When Doc Tock came in, Lisa began to introduce herself again, but Doc Tock held up a hand. “You’re with the Pony Club, right?” she asked.
    “Yes. I’m Lisa Atwood,” Lisa said again.
    “I remember your face,” Doc Tock said. “Would you like to see the place?” Lisa nodded. “I’ll be happy to show it to you, but let me finish up this one job first. Come on in.” She stepped into one of the treatment rooms, and Lisa followed.
    Inside, on a stainless-steel examining table, was a large cardboard box. Inside the box, nestled on a white towel, were three baby raccoons. Lisa exclaimed with delight.
    “I’m vaccinating them for rabies,” said Doc Tock. “Put on a pair of these gloves and you can hold them for me.”
    The raccoons were the cutest babies Lisa had ever seen—all bright eyes, long noses, and long-fingered paws. They sniffed Lisa’s fingers busily while she held them, and one of them tried to catch hold of her hair. “They’re so adorable,” said Lisa. “I’d love to have one for a pet. Are they up for adoption?”
    “No,” said Doc Tock, capping the last of the syringes and throwing it away. “No, Lisa. These are wild animals, and we never put wild animals up for adoption. They aren’t meant to be pets. They’re cute and easy to care for now, but they grow up to be big raccoons with wild raccoon instincts. They’re much happier in the wild—what we want to do is be sure they are healthier in the wild too.” She picked up the box and carried it out of the room, motioning for Lisa to follow.
    The next room was long and bright and filled with many different types of animal cages. Doc Tock settledthe baby raccoons back into their own cage, and they immediately began to romp and play.
    “On this side,” Doc Tock explained, “we keep cages just for animals that come in for neutering. We run a low-cost spay and neuter clinic, and we’ve always got some clients.” Lisa peered into some of the cages. A dog, evidently recently back from surgery, blinked sleepily at her, and a cat arched its back against the cage door.
    Farther down the room Lisa met some of the animals who were recovering from accidents that had brought them to CARL. In one pen she saw the baby skunks that Doc Tock had predicted would be born on Saturday. “Were they really born on Saturday?” she asked.
    “You bet. Just a half hour after I returned here. Not that I really needed to do anything, but since the mother is slightly injured, I thought someone should be around in case there were problems. There weren’t, though, and the whole family will be released to the wild just as soon as the mom can make it on her own.” Doc Tock checked