Sofia’s Puppy Love

• Hide-and-Seek
• Runt of the Litter
• A Dream Come True
• A Change of Heart
• Friendly Advice
• One Big Mess
• A Second Chance
• Furry Inspiration
• The Science Fair
• Surprise Delivery

Hide-and-Seek

Sofia Davis pulls on a pair of yellow gloves while glancing at a disgusting pile of cat hair. She had no idea cats shed so much! Sofia’s friends, Keiko Hayashi, Madison Rosen, and Jasmine Arroyo peer into the cage next to her. The four friends were busy volunteering at Rosa’s Refuge Animal Shelter, like they do every Saturday. Jasmine’s mother, Dr. Arroyo, is a veterinarian who volunteers there, too.

Madison coos as she scoops up the cat, Nugget. She moves the cat to an empty cat carrier while the girls get busy cleaning the cage.

Jasmine, grinning, asks Sofia how she thinks she’ll ever own a dog if she thinks cat hair is gross. Most dogs shed even more than cats. And, Sofia would have to pick up dog poop.

Keiko, owner of her dog, Sadie, agrees. She wishes Sadie would learn to use a toilet! Madison, giggling, says that’s why she has cats, so they use a litter box!

Sofia wishes she could chime in. She’s been wanting a dog more than anything, but her parents aren’t eager to get one. For now, Sofia has to be content with volunteering at the shelter.

Jasmine mentions that maybe doing a project comparing how much a cat sheds versus a dog would be a good science fair project. Unfortunately, she already decided to make electricity with a potato. Madison says she’s planning on reporting on exactly what temperature chocolate turns from a solid form to a liquid form. Keiko says she’s going to try to drop an egg with a parachute and prevent it from breaking. Sofia hasn’t figured out what to do for her science project yet, even though she’s one of the best science students in her class. She says she’s waiting to be inspired.

Just then, the girls are interrupted by two animal control officers carrying a large dog crate through the door. Mrs. Wallace, the owner of the shelter, is following. The officers set the crate down on the counter. Sofia and her friends are eager to see what’s inside the crate, but they’re all clueless.

The girls wait patiently until Mrs. Wallace is done with the paperwork. When the officers leave, Sofia is ready to burst. She eagerly asks Mrs. Wallace what’s in the crate. She responds that it’s a new resident. There were reports that a dog was abandoned in Greenlake Park. They found Penny, and brought her here. The officers named her Penny, since it’s easier to write that on the paperwork.

The girls inch closer to Penny. She sniffs Jasmine’s fingers, and wags her tail. She looks friendly, but tired. Mrs. Wallace carries the crate into the examination room. She indicates the girls can follow her, since Penny seems gentle.

Jasmine’s mom gently removes Penny from the crate. Penny lays quietly, resting her head in Sofia’s hand. Sofia can see her stomach looks puffy. When Sofia inquires if Penny is sick, Dr. Arroyo says that she’ll have to see. She looks at Penny’s eyes and ears, and then takes her temperature. As she moves the stethoscope down Penny’s body, she stops at her belly. Dr. Arroyo turns to the girls, and announces that Penny is pregnant, and about two months along. She should be giving birth any day.

Dr. Arroyo tells Mrs. Wallace she’d like to take an X-ray to see how many puppies she’s having. The girls excitedly leave the room. Sofia is beaming. Penny will be having the puppies at the shelter, which means that because they all volunteer there, they’re the ones having the puppies!

A few minutes later, Dr. Arroyo brings the girls back into the room. She flips a switch, and a screen lights up with an image. Sofia can see the curve of Penny’s belly, and inside of it, a bunch of tiny skeletons connected to tiny little skulls. Dr. Arroyo points out the five puppies, gesturing at their skulls. But then Sofia stops Dr. Arroyo from turning off the screen. Sofia points to another round object peeking out from beneath Penny’s spine. Is it a sixth puppy?

Dr. Arroyo looks closely. Sofia may be right. The last puppy is playing hide-and-seek.

Runt of the Litter

It’s Sunday morning, and Sofia is busy clearing the table, but her mind is occupied thinking about Penny. How was she supposed to wait until her next volunteer shift? Then, she has an idea. She asks her parents if they can stop at the shelter on their way to her soccer game. Glancing at each other, Sofia’s mother agrees. They won’t be able to stay long, but the shelter is on the way to the field.

They arrive at the shelter a half hour later. Mrs. Wallace greets them, but Sofia’s surprised to see Dr. Arroyo there on a Sunday. Mrs. Wallace says they’re just in time for a special surprise. Dr. Arroyo leads them past rows of cats and dogs in their crates to a quiet area at the end of the hall. Inside an empty room is Penny. She’s on a pile of soft towels, facing the wall. They can hear a soft squeaking sound. As Sofia comes closer, she can see the source of the squeaks: the puppies have arrived.

Sofia looks down at a row of hungry pups with pink noses and white, brown, and black fur. They’re taking turns latching onto their mother’s belly to nurse. Their eyes are closed, and they look so tiny that Sofia could hold each puppy in one hand!

Mrs. Wallace says they were born a few hours ago. Sofia, beaming, counts up five puppies. Dr. Arroyo points to the end. There is a sixth puppy, snuggled into Penny’s fur. Dr. Arroyo says they named the puppies Peaches, Poppy, Pickle, Peanut, Princess, and the runt is named Piper.

Because Piper is a runt, that means he’s the tiniest. Dr. Arroyo demonstrates how the runt of the litter is pushed out of the way by the bigger puppies. His size makes it hard for him to compete for food. They’ll have to ensure he gets enough to eat and stays close to his family for warmth. If he doesn’t gain enough weight fast enough, he’ll be vulnerable to infections and disease.

Sofia’s eyes widen. She didn’t realize runts don’t always survive. But Dr. Arroyo assures her that they’ll do everything they can for Piper. Sofia nervously smiles, and asks what she can do to help. Dr. Arroyo says they’ll keep their crate heated so if Piper is pushed away by his siblings, he won’t get too cold. And they’ll have to bottle-feed him for a few weeks.

Sofia volunteers to be in charge of feeding him. Dr. Arroyo says that’s very much appreciated. They’d love her help on Saturdays when she volunteers. But they’ll need to be feeding him every two to three hours. Sofia decisively says she’ll come to the shelter every day after school to help.

Sofia’s mother clears her throat. Sofia has soccer practice two afternoons a week, and she can’t forget about her homework. But maybe they can compromise. Sofia can come look after Piper for two days during the week, as long as her schoolwork isn’t impacted. Sofia is thrilled. She’s eager to give Piper what he needs most: love and attention.

A Dream Come True

It’s two weeks later, and Sofia is joining her friends at the animal shelter. As they had for the past two weeks, they head straight for the puppies. Now they’re starting to look like their mother, an adorable mix of beagle and hound, with floppy ears and clumsy paws.

Jasmine announces that Poppy is her favorite, because she’s so curious. Madison says Pickle is always doing his favorite thing: eating. Jasmine says puppies spend most of their time eating and sleeping during the first few weeks. Keiko laughs and jokes as she watches Princess and Peanut together.

Sofia loves all the puppies, but her favorite is Piper. During every visit to the shelter, she charts his weight and temperature. She feeds him from a bottle as he lays in her arms. And he has a cute patch of white fur on his snout that’s shaped like a heart. Sofia explains he’s a little behind in weight gain. Piper should be doubling his weight in the first week, and then gain 5-10% more each week after. Although he does eat, he never finishes a bottle.

Jasmine points out that he always falls asleep during mealtime. Sofia glances down to see Piper’s eyes closed, even though his mouth is still on the bottle. Sofia gently bumps him up and down to wake him up, but to no avail: he’s out cold. Sofia puts the bottle down and writes down how much he ate.

Madison peers over Sofia’s shoulder, and is surprised to see detailed notes about the weights and temperatures of all of the puppies. Jasmine agrees Sofia has been very busy! But all Sofia cares about is the snoozing puppy in her arms.

When Sofia’s parents come to pick her up, Sofia eagerly brings them over to look at the puppies. Piper is fast asleep under a heat lamp, his paws twitching as he dreams. Sofia’s mom agrees that he’s pretty adorable. Mrs. Wallace says Sofia is doing a wonderful job with him. Especially as she gets the puppy webcam set up, she’ll need all the help she can get. They’re hoping the puppy webcam will get people interested in adopting all of the pups.

Sofia feels her heart sink. Although she hopes the puppies all find forever homes, she is sad at thinking of them leaving the shelter. Sofia turns to her parents. They can adopt Piper and take him home right away! Sofia knows exactly what Piper needs and how to take care of him.

Sofia’s mom turns to face her. Puppies are a lot of hard work. And they’re all preoccupied at home. They’re busy renovating the spare bedroom, Sofia plays soccer, and has school. And the adults are busy at work all day. They wouldn’t have anybody home to walk, feed, and play with a puppy. It’s just not a good time to bring home a puppy.

Sofia has a lump in her throat. Her dreams of adopting Piper are slipping through her fingers. She begs, stating that she can take care of him! She’s the puppy expert! Jasmine, who has been watching across the hallway with Keiko and Madison, agrees.

Sofia’s mother begins to soften. She understands that Sofia has been wanting a puppy for a long time, and she has been working hard…

Mrs. Wallace interrupts. None of the puppies are ready to go to their forever home yet. They all need to stay with their mother for at least eight weeks.

Sofia’s parents look at each other, speaking in silent parent speak. Finally, her father turns to Sofia. He tells Sofia that if she can show them that she can continue to help out with Piper while keeping up with soccer and schoolwork, then when Piper’s old enough, they can take him home.

Sofia gasps. She’s so ecstatic. She’s finally getting a puppy of her own.

A Change of Heart

On Monday, Sofia floats into school. Yesterday, her team won their soccer game. And she can’t stop thinking about the fact that in just a few weeks, she’ll finally be able to take Piper home! She’d be able to take a dog to the dog park, or cuddle with one on the couch. She’d already figured out where his bed should go!

Sofia slides into her desk in class. She unzips her backpack and pulls out her notebook. But then she feels her stomachs ink. She forgot to do her homework over the weekend. Ms. Chen had given them a math and a writing assignment, and she forgot both.

Sofia quickly opens her notebook and begins to scribble on the page. But by the time Ms. Chen is done with attendance, Sofia has only finished one page of her writing assignment, and her math worksheet is blank. She glances over to Madison, who’s pulling out her science fair registration form. Shoot! Sofia has forgotten that, too. Today was the deadline for registering for the fair, and she was so looking forward to it. Last year, she won a prize on her photosynthesis project. But this year, she won’t be able to participate at all.

After class, Ms. Chen calls Sofia to stay a minute. Sofia tells her friends she’ll meet them in the cafeteria, and she approaches to Ms. Chen’s desk. She has a feeling she knows what Ms. Chen is going to say. As expected, Ms. Chen says she didn’t see Sofia’s science fair registration form. She knows Sofia had fun last year; why doesn’t Sofia want to participate this year?

Sofia guiltily says she meant to sign up, but she forgot the form was due today. And she doesn’t have an idea yet either. Nodding, Ms. Chen asks if this is related to the incomplete homework assignments Sofia turned in. Hanging her head, Sofia says she forgot to do those, too.

Sympathetically, Ms. Chen says it happens to everyone from time to time. There’s always next year. Sofia is grateful that Ms. Chen is so understanding. Hopefully her parents will be as well.

After school, Sofia’s mom picks her up to take her to Rosa’s Refuge. Sofia doesn’t want to tell her mom about her homework and the science fair project, but she knows she has to. Sofia admits she forgot to do her homework that weekend. And she missed the deadline to register for the science fair.

Sofia’s mom asks her what happened, and Sofia answers that she doesn’t really know what happened. She wasn’t inspired to come up with an idea, and she just forgot. She was so busy with Piper and soccer. Sofia’s mom hesitantly says that part of the deal of volunteering during the week was that she’d keep up her schoolwork. Perhaps Sofia has too much on her plate.

Sofia sits up straight in her seat. This can’t be happening! But Sofia knows that this was the deal, and she let down her side of the bargain. In the rearview mirror, Sofia can see the disappointment on her mom’s face. Continuing, her mother says that she’s sure Mrs. Wallace can find a good home for Piper. A dog is a big responsibility, and it’s not a decision to take lightly.

Sofia blinks back her tears. Just like that, all of her dreams of owning a dog of her own have been crushed.

Friendly Advice

When she gets to the shelter, Sofia immediately rushes to see the dogs. Penny is in the grooming area with an adult volunteer, but the puppies are playing separately. They bark as they see Sofia. Mrs. Wallace hands Sofia a pair of gloves. Trying to ignore her tears, she gently lifts Piper out of the pen and places him on the scale. She marks it on the chart, and realizes that he’s gained some weight since Saturday. Sofia knows she should be happy about that, but she can’t shake her sadness.

Anyway, Sofia knows she has a job to do. She weighs and measures a bottle of formula for Piper. She settles herself into a chair to feed him. She can feel he’s heavier, and his eyes are bright and alert. He licks her face and tries to climb onto her shoulder. Normally this would make Sofia so happy, but today, it just makes her sad. Tears slide down her face as Piper gulps down his bottle.

Mrs. Wallace sits next to Sofia, and asks her what’s wrong. Sofia has trouble finding the words. But finally, she spits out that Mom and Dad won’t let her adopt Piper. Mrs. Wallace pulls Sofia into a warm hug. She knows it’s very disappointing, but there’s still lots of animals at the shelter that still need her each Saturday. Sofia knows Mrs. Wallace is right. But it just isn’t the same.

The next Saturday, Sofia takes a break from volunteering at the shelter. Her parents are busy moving everything out of the spare room so they can paint. Meanwhile, Sofia is sprawling on her bed, reading. But she’s finding it hard to concentrate when the video chat on her computer chimes.

Sofia opens her laptop, and Jasmine’s face appears. Sofia can tell she is in Mrs. Wallace’s office. Madison squeezes into the frame, and asks Sofia where she is. Then Keiko’s face pops in. Sofia smiles sadly at her friends. She still can’t believe she won’t be able to take Piper home. Sofia just couldn’t bear to see him today.

Jasmine nodes understandingly. The puppies all missed Sofia today. Jasmine then states that Penny and Pickle have been adopted. Sofia opens the puppy webcam in a new window. A live video appears on the screen. Five puppies are there, but Penny and Pickle are gone. Keiko explains Penny and Pickle are hanging out in the adoption playroom with their future family. But they won’t be leaving for a few more weeks.

Sofia cries sadly. This is terrible! She didn’t realize the adoptions would start happening so soon. Pretty soon, all the puppies will be adopted and Sofia will never see Piper again! She blew it with her parents. They’ll never think she’ll be a good dog owner now.

Madison encouragingly disagrees with Sofia. She would be a great dog owner! She just needs to find a way to show that she’s responsible enough for a dog. And then maybe her parents will change her mind. Sofia wipes away a tear. It’s worth a try. Keiko adds that if anyone can do it, it’s Sofia.

One Big Mess

After hanging up the video chat, Sofia goes to talk to her parents. If she asks, maybe they can tell her how she can prove how responsible she can be. She finds her mom coming out of the spare room clutching her stomach. Her dad tells her Mom isn’t feeling well. Mom hasn’t been feeling well lately at all. Dad mentions that Sofia can help out by putting the lid back on the paint can.

Sofia watches them leave, and then looks in the spare room. It’s empty except for some buckets of paint and brushes. Perhaps Sofia can do the painting for them! Not only would she be showing how helpful she can be, but she’d be showing them she can handle a big job by herself! Although Sofia had never painted a room before, Keiko had painted sets for a school play once. How hard could it be?

Sofia dips a brush into the can of light green paint and slathers it on the wall. She continues to paint, covering one wall. It’s not so hard. She twirls across the room in a victory dance. But, then she stumbles, and kicks the pail over. Thick green liquid pours across the hardwood floor.

Sofia rights the bucket and begins scooping up paint, trying to put it back in the can. But it continues to ooze across the floor. Sofia runs to the bathroom to get some paper towels. On her way back, she sees something that stops her short. She forgot to put the paintbrush down when she left the spare room. Now, it’s dripped green paint all along the hallway, trailed by light green footprints.

Rolling her eyes, berating herself, Sofia hurries back to the spare room. She tries to wipe up the paint, but instead, it just spreads around. Even worse, bits of paper towel have ripped off and are getting stuck in the paint.

Suddenly, a voice booms from behind her. Sofia whirls around to find her father standing in the doorway, his mouth hanging open. There’s paint everywhere except the walls. Sofia can tell he wants to yell, but he seems too exhausted to do either. Instead, he suggests Sofia takes off her sneakers and gets herself cleaned up, while he tries to fix the spilled paint.

Sofia does as she’s told, and removes her sneakers to make her way to the bathroom. She tried to be responsible, but all she’d done was make things worse. After she finished putting her clothes to soak, she texted her friends the bad news.

A Second Chance

The next morning, the doorbell rang bright and early. Sofia hurries to answer it so it doesn’t disrupt Mom. She opens the door to see Jasmine in her old jeans and blue bandanna. Keiko has on paint-splattered overalls, Madison has on gray sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. Keiko’s holding a bag full of smocks, paintbrushes, and cleaning supplies. They’ve come to help Sofia paint.

Sofia is surprised by this act of kindness. But she doubts Dad will let her help with the painting again. But then, Sofia hears Dad’s voice behind her. Apparently, her friends already reached out and asked Sofia’s father if they could help. He decided the more helping hands, the better.

Sofia changes into a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt. When she comes into the spare room, Dad is pouring paint into four plastic trays. He gets a long roller to help him get the top parts of the walls. Together, they all start to paint. It’s hard work, but also fun. Most of the paint ends up on the walls, but they all get some on themselves, too.

In just a few hours, they’re done! Sofia smiles. With her friends’ help, she’d managed to fix her painting mistake. But she knew it wasn’t enough.

The next day at school, Sofia heads straight to Ms. Chen’s desk instead of lunch with her friends. She’s nervous, but her friends stand in the doorway giving her encouraging thumbs-up signs. Sofia tells Ms. Chen that she knows the deadline was missed, but she’d really like to enter the science fair, if that’s okay.

Ms. Chen leans back in her chair. She’s not sure, and says the teachers have already started arranging the gym for all the projects. She asks Sofia what she has in mind.

Sofia says she still doesn’t have an idea, but she can come up with one super quick. After the longest three seconds of Sofia’s life, Ms. Chen says that she’s willing to give Sofia a second chance. But Sofia must come up with an idea over lunch period.

Sofia practically skips out of the classroom, clutching a new form for the science fair in her hand. Now, she just has to come up with the best idea for the science fair ever.

Furry Inspiration

The four girls settle into the cafeteria for their lunch. Jasmine is crunching on some carrots while flipping through their science book.

Maybe a volcano? No, Sofia tried that over the summer, and she made a mess. Keiko suggests a model of the solar system. But Michael, another kid in their class, is already doing one. Jasmine keeps flipping through. So many of the ideas involve time, like feeding plants different liquids to see which diets make them grow fastest.

Madison points at a chart on the page. It looks like the chart Sofia made for Piper. Sofia gasps. Of course! Piper can be the subject of her science fair project!

The next Saturday, Sofia is extra excited to go to the shelter. Not only will she get to see Piper, but she has a great plan for her project. She plans to show everybody how to care for runts so they get stronger and healthier, just like Piper. Mrs. Wallace also thinks it’s a fantastic idea.

When Sofia gets to the puppy pen, she sees it’s full with visitors. Madison whispers the puppy webcam has built up so much buzz that everybody wants to come meet them in person. Sofia watches the puppies tumble and play in their pen. It’s almost as if they want to put on a show. Peanut and Princess trot around carrying two ends of the same toy. Peaches snuggles next to Penny, and Poppy is sniffing all the new visitors. Pickle is busy eating dry dog food. Sofia sees a ribbon around Penny and Pickle’s necks that say I’ve been adopted!. Peanut and Princess both have the ribbon, too. But that means there’s only three puppies left. What if someone has adopted Piper?

Where was Piper anyway? Sofia looks around in panic. She can’t see him. Then, she notices him, snuggled under a blanket, hiding from the crowd. But when he sees Sofia, he wriggles out and bounds over. Dr. Arroyo comes up next to Sofia, and tells her that he’s almost the same weight now as his brothers and sisters, all because of Sofia’s help.

Sofia overhears a dad nearby, talking to his son, telling him he can pick out whichever puppy he wants. Sofia anxiously watches as the boy looks from puppy to puppy. Please don’t pick Piper, Sofia pleads to herself. Finally, the boy points at Poppy. Mrs. Wallace places a ribbon around Poppy’s neck. Sofia breathes a sigh of relief. It’s only a matter of time until someone picks Piper.

The Science Fair

Two weeks later, everyone in school gathers in the gymnasium for the annual science fair. It seems like everyone from the whole town is there. Jasmine has managed to make a great electric circuit with her potato. She impresses everyone by showing how it can turn on a lamp. Madison set up a fondue pot to melt different kinds of chocolate bars. Next to her, Keiko has set up a ladder, which she plans on dropping her egg from with a special cushioned parachute she designed and built herself.

Sofia’s presentation was about runts. And it gathered quite a crowd. It showed the charts Sofia had made to track Piper’s diet and weight for the first six weeks of his life. But what really drew the crowd was the puppy movie Sofia had made on her laptop. Mrs. Wallace had let Sofia record some video from the webcam, and Madison contributed footage she’d taken with her phone showing Sofia bottle-feeding and weighing Piper. Any time someone passed by Sofia’s table, they oohed and aahed at the adorable puppies.

Although all of the attention makes Sofia very happy, it also makes her nervous. Peaches and Piper are the only puppies left to be adopted. It’s only a matter of time until someone picks Piper. But Sofia knows the important thing is that Piper finds his forever home.

Ms. Chen is busy telling Sofia’s father how proud he should be of Sofia. Sofia’s mother wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed home. Ms. Chen then continues to tell Dad that Sofia was the one who approached her to ask for a second chance, not the other way around. Ms. Chen had doubts that Sofia could get the project ready in time, but she was proved wrong.

Sofia’s father took a long look at the project. The video clips showed Piper diving under the blankets, and then popping his head out and panting. Then, Dad says something that makes Piper’s heart race. He suggests that after the science fair, they go to the shelter to adopt Piper! Yes, Sofia made quite a few messes. But she helped clean every single one up. Sofia really proved that she is mature by asking Ms. Chen for another chance at the science fair, and how hard she worked with Piper.

Sofia’s thrilled. She shouts across the gym to her friends that she’ll get to adopt Piper after all. All four girls jump up and down gleefully. And they hurry away from the gym to go to Rosa’s Refuge.

When they get to the shelter, Sofia excitedly hurries inside where they meet Mrs. Wallace. Sofia tells Mrs. Wallace that they’re finally ready to adopt Piper!

Mrs. Wallace’s face falls. She says that just that morning a family came in and decided to adopt two puppies. They adopted both Peaches and Piper. In fact, not only were they adopted, but the family took both puppies home, since they’ve been fully weaned. Piper is gone.

Sofia is speechless. The noises from all the other animals become a mumbled drone in her head. She cannot focus or even think. She never even got to say goodbye.

When Sofia gets home, she crawls into bed beside her mom. She feels like the world is ending. Sofia will never love another dog like she loved Piper. Her mother says she understands. But there may be something that will cheer her up.

Sofia’s mom reaches into her dresser and pulls out another X-ray. But this time instead of six tiny skulls, Sofia sees one big skull with a tiny five-fingered fist next to it. Sofia’s mom tells her that she’s going to be a big sister. Mom is pregnant!

Sofia can’t believe it. She’s always wanted a baby brother or sister, but she just always thought she’d be an only child. She’s so excited! Mom says they don’t know yet if it’s a boy or a girl, but they’ll love the baby regardless.

Sofia smiles. She’s still sad about Piper, but she’s thrilled by her parents’ surprising news. And soon, she’ll have a little brother or sister. Then she realizes. The spare room! It’s to be a new bedroom for the baby!

Mom nods her head. And they’ll need someone responsible to help them make the spare room extra special for the new baby. Sofia exclaims that she’d be happy to help.

And for just a few moments, the crack in Sofia’s heart hurts a little bit less.

Surprise Delivery

Sofia tilts her head to one side. Perhaps the rocking chair would look better next to the new crib. Madison picks up a yellow pillow, complaining that’s where the rocking chair started! Jasmine says perhaps Sofia is overthinking things. The chair looked great no matter where they placed it.

Sofia blushes. She just wants the nursery to be perfect. Jasmine says it’s already perfect. Sofia steps back and tries to see the room through her friends’ eyes. Mom and Dad already moved in all the large furniture. But Sofia is in charge of decorations. She’s taken the job very seriously. There’s an owl-shaped lamp on the dresser, and stuffed bears in the crib. The blankets and the foam-green walls make the room feel warm and cozy. She’d hoped the room would take her mind off Piper, but she still thinks about the tiny pup all the time.

Sofia went to go get her parents. The room is finally ready to show them. It’s been two months since they told Sofia about Mom’s pregnancy, and now she’s wearing a loose summer dress over her bulging belly.

The girls count up to three together, in anticipation of Mom and Dad opening their eyes. When they see the room, grins spread across their faces. It’s a perfect nursery!

Later that day, the girls all go to Rosa’s Refuge to help Mrs. Wallace with a new dog that’s coming in. She’s nervously standing outside the shelter waiting. What she’s there to do couldn’t wait.

Sofia asks if everything is okay. Mrs. Wallace says that she prides herself on finding the right home for each animal. But every now and then, a family realizes they made a mistake and has to bring an adopted animal back. And that’s what happened this morning. A dog came back, and is now looking quite lost. He’s refusing to eat anything.

Mrs. Wallace says that if anyone can cheer up this returned pet, it’s the four girls. Mrs. Wallace opens the door, and escorts the girls inside to the playroom. Sofia looks around, but all she can see is a lumpy blanket in the corner. Sofia asks Mrs. Wallace where the dog is.

At the sound of Sofia’s voice, the lump wiggles. A second later, a stubby paw pokes out from underneath the blanket, followed by a snout and a patch of white fur shaped like a heart. The dog is Piper!

Piper leaps to his feet and bounds over to Sofia at top speed. Sofia bends just in time to scoop Piper into her arms.

Mrs. Wallace explains that the family that adopted him realized two puppies was too much to handle. And Piper never seemed happy there. So, they brought him back, hoping Mrs. Wallace could find him a new home.

Sofia’s mom states that Mrs. Wallace has found one already. Sofia feels a spark of hope inside her chest. Can they really keep him? Sofia’s parents glance at each other, before Dad responds, “Absolutely.”

Sofia grins as Piper nuzzles her neck. Piper’s forever home is with Sofia.