Max the Missing Puppy Read Online Free PDF Page A

in the hedge. We guessed he’d been hit by a car.”
    The vet nodded. “He’s very lucky. If he’d been out there much longer I don’t think he’d have made it. As it is,” he looked up at Jasmine, “I can’t promise that he will, but he’s got a fighting chance. His leg isn’t broken, just badly cut, but he’s lost a lot of blood, and he’s very weak. I’m going to sedate him and put him on a drip, then stitch up the cut. If he turns the corner in the next coupleof hours, he should be OK. But he’s really young, and that amount of blood loss in such a small dog…” He tailed off, but they all knew what he meant.
    Jasmine gulped. “Can we wait while you do it? That would be OK, wouldn’t it?” she asked her parents.
    The vet smiled sympathetically at her. “Of course. You can stay in the waiting room.” He was already gently gathering Max up, to take him to the operating theatre. The puppy looked so small and helpless, and Jasmine just couldn’t hold back the tears that were starting to trickle down the side of her nose.
    Her mum hugged her gently, and led her out to the waiting room – and that was all they could do, just wait. 

    When the vet came back out into the reception area he was looking cautiously pleased. Jasmine had been sitting leaning against her mum’s shoulder, feeling worn out from her excitement and panic at finding the hurt puppy. But she jumped up immediately. “Is he going to be OK?”
    The vet nodded slowly. “I think so. He’s certainly got a good chance. The cut on his leg should heal well now it’s stitched, and apart from that he’s just badly bruised. Definitely no fractures. He really was lucky. He’s just sleeping off the anaesthetic now.” He smiled down at Jasmine. “Would you like to come and see him?” 
    “Oh, please!” Jasmine nodded, and they followed him through to a room at the back of the surgery that was lined with cages. Most were empty – Jasmine guessed they didn’t do that many operations at the weekend – but at one end, by the window, a small black and white shape was snuggled into a blue blanket. Jasmine peered in. The little puppy was fast asleep, but he seemed to be breathing more easily, and the horrible wound on his leg was clean and neatly stitched. 

    “He should be fine when he wakes up,” the vet said hopefully. “He’ll be dozy for the rest of the day, though. He’ll have to take some painkillers in his food for a few days, and in a week or so he’ll need the stitches out, but that’s all. We’re not open tomorrow, but I’ll be here anyway at about nine if you want to pop down and see how he is.”
    Jasmine nodded eagerly, and then realized that her mum and dad might not want to. She gave them a pleading sort of look.
    Her dad smiled. “It’s OK, Jasmine. I’d like to know how he’s doing too. Now that we’ve rescued him, it feels almost like he’s ours.”
    Jasmine smiled wistfully. If only! She would so love to have a dog. But she could never be lucky enough to own a gorgeous puppy like this.

Chapter Five
    Half-term was meant to be fun, Molly thought miserably. You weren’t supposed to spend all day holed up in your bedroom, because you were too sad even to phone up and ask a friend round. Molly just didn’t think she could face any of her mates at the moment. Max had been missing since Friday, and now it was Monday. Mollywasn’t giving up, of course she wasn’t, but her frantic searching was starting to seem hopeless. Listlessly, she heaved herself off her bed, and went downstairs to find her mum.
    Molly was pretty certain that her mum had given up hope of ever finding Max. She kept gently trying to point out to Molly that there had been no sign of him for three days, and no one had even mentioned seeing a puppy. But she was clearly still feeling guilty about letting him get out that she agreed to go searching whenever Molly asked. They’d spent at least a couple of hours out looking every day so far,