1

  An Odd Morning

  One warm summer morning, I woke up in my doggy bed and stretched with a big yawn.

  “Ahhh,” I sighed happily.

  Outside the window, I could hear birds singing. But that was about all I could hear.…

  Sniffing the air, I tilted my head. Something about today felt different. It felt, smelled, and sounded different. Usually my human family would be making lots of noise by now. But today the house was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  Sleepily I headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

  But when I poked my head into the kitchen, no one was there.

  My human parents, Darnell and Jennica, weren’t cooking up their delicious breakfast. And my human siblings, Imani and Wyatt, weren’t pouring my kibble into my doggy dish.

  I looked left, right, and even up and down. Where was everyone?

  “Good morning?” I woofed. “Um… is anyone else hungry for breakfast?”

  Every pup knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Without it, how could I go play with my farm friends?

  Should I start breakfast for them? I wondered, imagining myself as a chef. But that didn’t seem like a good idea.

  Suddenly Darnell and Jennica rushed past me in a whirl of backpacks and towels.

  “Whoa!” I barked in surprise, jumping out of the way. “There you are!”

  “Sorry, Bo,” Darnell said. “We’re in a bit of a rush, buddy. But don’t worry—I’ve got your breakfast and toys packed up right here.”

  He patted one of the backpacks. It was bone-shaped, and I wondered if it tasted just as yummy.

  I wagged my tail. Was this backpack for me?

  “Imani! Wyatt!” Jennica called up the stairs. “It’s time to go!”

  “Time to go where?” I asked.

  “We’re coming!” Imani and Wyatt shouted back.

  Too curious to wait for my human siblings to come down, I followed Darnell outside.

  I watched as he piled the backpacks in the back of the big, clunky, metal thing the Davises called Car.

  Everyone seemed to like Car a lot. I knew it took them to faraway places, but I wasn’t so sure that I trusted Car. It made loud noises and looked like it ran too fast. Faster than even me and my foal friend, Comet.

  Darnell climbed into Car’s front seat. He must’ve done something to make it mad, because suddenly the door swung closed, and Car roared to life with a loud VROOM.

  Oh, no—Darnell was trapped inside!

  2

  Car Attack!

  I ran to the car, barking in alarm.

  “Woof! Woof!” I called. “Are you okay in there?”

  Luckily, Jennica, Imani, and Wyatt had just stepped out of the house. I ran up to them.

  “Car ate Dad!” I woofed in warning. “We need to help him!”

  “Somebody’s excited,” Wyatt said, laughing.

  “Of course Bo’s excited,” Imani said. “This will be his first beach trip!”

  Beach trip? I didn’t know what “beach” was, but it didn’t matter—Dad was in trouble!

  But instead of listening to my warnings, my family also pulled Car’s doors open… and got right in! Ugh! Sometimes humans just don’t understand anything!

  Two snickering laughs caught my attention. Turning around, I spotted King and Diva seated on the house’s front steps. These barn cats aren’t always very nice, but sometimes they know things I don’t.

  I hurried over to them. “Do you guys know why Car is so angry? It started growling, and then it ate Dad!”

  The cats’ long tails whipped side to side sneakily.

  King rolled his eyes. “Silly puppy. Cars can’t be angry, and they don’t eat people. They are machines that take humans’ places.”

  “And it sounds like this one is taking you to the beach.” Diva smiled meanly. “That’s just no place for a pup.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked nervously.

  “It’s filled with wild waves and scratchy sand,” King replied. “Not to mention… the seagulls.”

  “Seagulls?” I asked. “What are those?”

  Diva hissed. “Terrible birds with long claws and sharp beaks. They’re like giant chickens. A million times bigger than even Clucks!”

  I imagined a giant Clucks, the farm’s head chicken, with huge claws and a pointy beak. I gulped.

  “Th-that doesn’t sound too bad,” I said softly, even though it definitely did not sound good.

  Diva wrapped her tail around me. “I would be careful out there. When you’re not looking, those birds will snatch you right up!”

  “Just like… THIS!” King suddenly pounced in front of me, his tail whipping to tap me.

  “Ahh!” I yelled, jumping back.

  The cats burst into laughter.

  “Come on, Bo!” Imani called to me, leaning out of Car. “We’ve got sandcastles to build!”

  I looked back at Car to see my family smiling. They looked happy and excited.

  “I bet it’s not so bad,” I woofed. “The Davises wouldn’t go there if it were so scary.”

  Those mean old cats just grinned. “Guess you’ll find out.…”

  I didn’t answer them. Quickly I ran to Car and hopped into the back seat with my siblings.

  “Off we go, Davis family!” Darnell said. He pulled on a big stick, and Car began to move.

  We were officially on the go!

  3

  On the Road

  Car. Was. Awesome!

  It didn’t just move. It also showed us all kinds of different places!

  Imani and Wyatt sat by the windows, which were perfect for sightseeing. We passed meadows, houses, and even fields of cows!

  I tried to inch forward a little bit, but I was sitting in something called a pup seat. It looked like a plushy box without a lid. There was a small leash inside it that hooked to my collar.

  Imani, Wyatt, and I had breakfast in the back seat. Who know you could eat like this?

  “Check this out!” Imani said, pointing out the window. “More farms!”

  I perked up both my ears at this. There were more farms? Did they have tons of animal friends in them like we did?

  Wyatt noticed how excited I was. “Want to take a look, Bo? You can stick your head out the window just a bit.”

  I barked happily. Wyatt unhooked my collar, and I carefully climbed onto his lap. He lowered the window so I could stick the tip of my nose out. But as soon as I did, I quickly pulled my head back.

  The wind was fast and loud, but the air smelled so fresh! I tried sticking my head out again, little by little, until the wind pushed back my ears. And guess what—I loved it!

  I spotted some horses grazing in a field. I barked, “Hi! I’m Bo!”

  “Neigh!” the horses called back.

  Wow! Sticking my head out Car’s window was so much fun!

  After that, Darnell played music, and everyone sang. I howled along with them.

  But the very best part was when Jennica reached into my bone-shaped backpack and passed me a delicious bone. Was there anything better than that?

  I chewed and chewed so much that I must have dozed off.

  Next thing I knew, Car had stopped moving, and the doors were opening.

  “We’re here!” Jennica called out. “Welcome to Blue Waves Dog Beach.”

  Wait a minute. Did she say “dog beach”?

  I poked my head out the door, and sure enough, I heard barking. Lots of barking.

  And something else…

  Imani said, “Ooh, can you hear the seagulls?”

  Oh, no. Lifting an ear, I listened for the horrible monster birds Diva and King had told me about.

  Squawk! Squawk!

  Nervously I peered up at the sky. I spotted a few white-and-gray birds flying off in the distance. Luckily, those didn’t look like monsters. I would have to be careful!

  Jennica hooked a leash to my collar and helped me hop down out of Car. And that’s when I spied the most amazing sight I’d ever seen. Just a few steps ahead of where Car sat, sand stretched on forever. Not only that, but there was sparkling blue water as far as I could see.

  And so—many—pups!

  4

  Nice and Sandy

  If you’ve never been to a dog beach before, there are a few things you should know.

  The first thing is that instead of mud and grass, the beach is covered with soft, cool sand. It isn’t scratchy at all! It’s so soft that your paws sink right in.

  This is almost as good as mud, I thought. I bet Zonks would like it too.

  Zonks is my pig pal. We love rolling around in the mud baths together.

  The second thing you should know is that there are lots of dogs running around on the beach.

  I spotted tall dogs, short dogs, dogs with tons of fur, and dogs without any fur at all. Even dogs wearing hats and shoes played about! I’d never worn anything so flashy before.

  “Let’s find a nice shady spot,” Darnell said. “Then the fun can really begin.”

  The third thing is that it’s important to find the perfect spot. The sun is fun and all, but you don’t want to get too hot. We bounced between a few spaces until Imani found the coolest spot underneath a bunch of tall palm trees.

  “Good find, kids,” Jennica said. “This spot is great.”

  They spread out a big blanket on the sand. Wyatt unzipped my bone-shaped backpack and brought out two bowls. He filled one with kibble and the other with water.

  Imani unzipped another backpack and pulled out buc

kets, shovels, and other toys.

  “Do you want to help us build a castle, Bo?” she asked.

  I barked. Of course I did!

  Imani let me kick wet sand into a bucket, which she then flipped over to make castle towers. Wyatt placed a few wavy rocks on the top. He called them “seashells.” For the final touch, I pressed my paw against the castle door.

  “Perfect! We’ll call this Castle Bo,” Wyatt declared, writing in the sand with a stick.

  After that, Wyatt and I buried Imani in sand so that only her head stuck out.

  “Oooh, I want a mermaid tail!” Imani said.

  Wyatt shaped the sand covering Imani’s legs into a fish tail. It was so silly, I couldn’t help but run around her, laughing.

  Finally, after we’d had lunch, Jennica suggested, “Why don’t you play with some other pups, Bo? This is a dog beach, after all, and it’s perfectly safe. We’ll be watching from right here.”

  “Okay!” I barked.

  After giving each of my family members a lick on the cheek, I headed off to make some new beach friends.

  5

  A Pup Named Otto

  There was just one tiny little problem with making new friends. This beach had too many pups!

  They were busy running, digging, rolling in the sand, and fetching. I liked to do all those things too, but I didn’t know anyone here.

  Slowly I walked up to a group of tiny dogs who had pointy ears.

  “Hi! My name is Bo,” I woofed. “I’m from the Davis family farm. It’s my first time here! What about you guys?”

  The little dogs began barking and yipping all at once. I couldn’t figure out who was saying what!

  “Oops,” I said with an awkward smile. “Sorry!”

  I noticed a few pups racing back and forth from the shore into the water.

  Racing—now that I could totally do.

  “Can I join?” I asked one of the dogs, my tail wagging excitedly.

  “Sure thing!” the other dog said. “Hey, guys, we have a new pup!”

  The rest of the dogs barked hellos.

  “Race ya!” one of them called out.

  Everyone started to run, and I followed them as they hurried toward the water. But just as I reached the other dogs, water sprayed onto the sand and washed all over me!

  “Yuck!” I had swallowed a mouthful of salty water, and it was not tasty.

  Now that I was wet, sand stuck to my paws. I shook my feet, trying to get it off.

  “Don’t worry, little one,” a bigger dog said, nudging me playfully. “You’ll grow into your beach paws soon enough.”

  “Beach paws?” I asked.

  “Yeah, you know,” the dog said. “Some dogs grow ’em easily.…”

  He nodded toward the group of pups that were splashing around in the water, having fun.

  “And some dogs don’t,” he finished, pointing his nose at a group of pups crowded away from the shoreline.

  “Do I have beach paws?” I asked, looking at mine. They looked like my regular old paws.

  “You’ll figure it out,” the dog replied. “Now, my paws have some running to do! See ya!”

  Suddenly I couldn’t help but worry. What if I never grew into my beach paws?

  Tail down, I turned to go back to my humans. But a small pup with brown fur stood in my path. His long nose was high in the air as he sniffed.

  “Oh!” I said, tilting my head. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

  “Excuse me,” he said. “Have you seen a grown-up human with a beard around here? Or a little human boy in a striped shirt?”

  I looked all around, but there were too many humans. “No, I’m sorry.”

  The pup slumped. His big, floppy ears covered his eyes. “Oh, it’s no use.…”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  With a whine, the pup lay down. “I can’t find my humans.”

  I gasped. “Oh, no! Where did they go?”

  He shrugged. “I was chasing a ball, and I kept running and running… and running. I guess I ran too far, and now I can’t find my way back to my humans’ spot.”

  Ah—this was something I could help with! After all, I had helped the barnyard animals at home find all sorts of things.

  “What did your spot look like?” I asked.

  The pup said, “It was very sandy and close to the water.”

  Everywhere I looked, I saw lots of sand and water. We weren’t off to a good start.

  “I have an idea.” I lifted my head and shook my collar. It said my name and, on the back, the Davis family’s phone number. “If we show my family your collar, they’ll know who to call!”

  “About that…” He lifted his head to show that he wasn’t wearing a collar. “It must’ve slipped off when I was running.”

  My mission had just gotten harder. A tag was the best way for a lost pup to find his humans. Still, I knew I had to help.

  I offered my paw. “I’m Bo.”

  The pup lifted his own sandy paw to pat mine. “I’m Otto.”

  “Otto, I’m going to help you find your humans!” I promised.

  6

  In Search of—Squawk!

  As we walked along the beach, Otto told me nearly everything there was to know about him. This pup sure liked to talk, but I didn’t mind.

  Otto liked the smell of the beach breeze, especially when the wind made his ears flap. He liked bones, but only the super-soft kind. He especially liked going on walks with his human family along the seashore.

  “The beach is great and all,” Otto said, “but the water does not taste good. Don’t try to drink it, ever!”

  “It’s pretty gross,” I agreed. “The water back at the Davis family farm is as fresh as can be.”

  Otto looked impressed. “Do you know a lot of farm animals?”

  “Yeah!” I barked. “Lots of them. You should come visit us sometime!”

  “I’ve never been to a farm before, but I’ve always wanted to meet a horse,” Otto said. “Omar, my human brother, has all sorts of horse toys. Our human dad, Oscar, buys them and—”

  He froze suddenly, one of his ears shooting straight up.

  “Are you okay?” I asked worriedly.

  “Do you hear that?” he whispered.

  I paused but didn’t hear anything.

  “I thought I heard my name,” he said, sighing.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “We’ll find Oscar and Omar in no time!”

  But “in no time” turned into a long time.

  We walked past lots of human families, stopped to ask a few pups if they had seen Omar and Oscar, and even tried calling out their names. But of course humans only heard us bark.

  Otto’s tail became droopier and droopier. I didn’t know how to cheer him up.

  Think! I thought. What do you like to do when you’re sad?

  Oh yeah—a good game of roll-in-the-mud always does the trick.

  “Hey, look!” I walked over to a hole filled with slushy wet sand and rolled around in it. “It’s just like mud!”

  Otto dunked in a paw, then pulled it out. “I don’t know if I like mud.”

  “Oh, it’s the best,” I said. “Come on, try it!”

  Slowly Otto inched closer to the slushy sand. Then he flung himself down and started rolling.

  “Ick!” Otto laughed. “This feels gross.… I like it!”

  Taking a break was just what we needed!

  We rolled around and kicked the wet sand, splashing it all over the place. But our fun was cut short when I heard a new sound.

  Squawk! Squawk!

  I stopped rolling immediately and looked up at the sky. A seagull with a big, glinting beak was flying right at us!

  “Oh, no!” I shouted. “Run, Otto! It’s a monster bird!”

 

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