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Girl Talk #38
Allison to the Rescue!
When Allison's little brother, Charlie, gets a puppy from Acorn Falls Animal Shelter, Allison promises to teach Charlie how to be responsible. But when she finds out that the shelter is dangerously overcrowded and dirty, she decides that Charlie isn't the only one who need to learn something about responsibility.
114 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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June 24, 2024Allison to the Rescue
Mary Birdsong is going to Chicago. Charlie wants to go with her but Mary distracts him by saying it’s time to feed Clyde (his imaginary dog). So, Al and Charlie go to feed “Clyde”. Charlie asks Al does she think their mom and dad would let him get a real dog. She says maybe when he’s older. But he says IS older. Al doubts it since he just asked last week. When they go in the house, he asks and he mom says he already knows the answer. Allison distracts him with cookies and milk and her swing. In her room, Charlie starts to cry and Allison tries to make him feel better by saying their parents just want to make sure he’s responsible. To which he says he always remembers to walk and feed Clyde. Allison says one day she he’ll be able to take great care of a dog. Charlie asks if Allison will help him be “sponsible”.
A guy named Alex asks Allison if the eighth-graders can get involved with S.A.F.E. and then she says he can come to the next meeting. Allison hopes they can get more new members so they can organize the next recycling drive and work on other projects, Although she’s not quite sure yet what the next project will be. A few of the ideas they discuss at lunch are better air quality by taking bicycles, endangered animals, and conversation of lights (energy?). Then Al tells her friends about Charlie wanting a dog. Katie says it might make him more responsible. Al says she guesses she’ll be the one to have to explain it to her parents and the others think this is a good idea because parents tend to listen to the older sibling. So, Allison decides to do it and does it at dinner that night.
Charlie is late to dinner that night and Allison finds him outside “feeding Clyde”, Al tells him not to say anything until she gives the word. When they get back, Allison addresses the issue about the dog. She makes the point that it might make him more responsible that he’ll have someone to take care of. Grandfather makes the point that a dog can be a boy's best friend, but her father argues he was much older than Charlie was. His grandfather said he was eight. Charlie brings up that he’s seven. This gets Charlie all excited but his dad said he was more mature. But Noma also brings up that he was but he was also a troublemaker and that the dog kept him out of trouble. So, the dog was a positive influence on him. The dog’s name was Tiger. Allison promises that if they let Charlie have a dog, she’ll help him take care of it. This seems to satisfy their father and he agrees to let Charlie get a dog.
Al, Nooma, and Charlie go one afternoon to the Animal Shelter to pick out a dog. They invite Billy to come along. Billy says he use to have a poodle. His mom use to teach it tricks (It sounds like Toto from the Cheetah Girls). Charlie says he’s going to name his dog Clybde Je. (Bily’s dog’s name was Bejeweled) Allison feels bad when she sees all the puppies and hopes they all get adopted soon. She doesn’t know how they’ll choose, but moments after Charlie finds the perfect dog. He decides to name the dog Ralph but when he says he barks it sounds like Ralph. (Really it sounded like RUFF),
Allison has a sleepover later. Her parents go out. Charlie brings the dog to dinner which does not make Nooma happy. She tells him no dogs at the table and he reluctantly agrees. Nooma says she’ll go check on the baby. Allison says she’ll go get Barett later so Nooma can go home. Later, they find Ralph nawing on something he’s not supposed to have. Katie tries to grab him but he moves away from her. Charlie gets him and they find out it's their dad’s slipper. Allison scolds him for this, but Charlie pleads with her to not do it and says he’ll never do it again. Allison says they have to train him what he does that’s wrong. Charlie is way to soft and ends the lecture with a pat on the head. Charlie and Ralph are then found playing tug or war with something. It’s one of the couch pillows. Allison has to again schold Charlie and Ralph. Ralph runs under the coach and this makes Barett excited. Randy then finds out that Ralph has peed on the floor. Allison tells Charlie he has to clean up after him and he asks why. Allison says because it’s your dog and this is what you have to do. By this time they can’t find Ralph.
When they do his has his head in a rubber boot of their Grandpa’s. Charlie tries to clean the rug and makes things worse by getting water all over the rug and making the spot bigger. Ralph gets loose and starts running around and almost knocks over a plant. Then he runs into the den. Then into Barett’s room and sees one of her stuffed dogs in her playpen and starts barking at it (thinking it’s one of his fellow animals at the shelter). Barette hears all the noise and then starts to cry. In the next hour, they manage to quiet Barette down and put her and Charlie to bed. Randy goes to take Ralph for a walk. They’re gone for a while and when they come back, Randy says she ran him up and down the block to give him a taste of his own medicine. By the time he gets back, the dog is pooped and goes immediately to sleep. The parents come home and say “it looks like they had a quiet evening” and “it doesn’t look like Ralph will be any trouble at all.”
Allison vents to Billy the next day, but she says she guesses it’s worth the work. Billy starts to say something but stops. Allison remembers that the day they went to the shelter she saw Billy talking to Mrs. Peabody. But he won’t tell her what’s wrong. Allie tells her friends Ralph is starting to cam down and it’s probably because he had a lot of energy from being caged up. Allison realizes Billy must have seen something that upset him and vows to find out what it is. She tells her friends she needs to talk to Billy and rushes off. Allie gets the idea Billy saw something bad about the shelter and he’s just not telling. She catches up with Billy and asks about the shelter. He confides that he saw other rooms filled with animals that were way smaller than that ones they were in, the rooms were overcrowded, and some of the cages looked like they hadn’t been cleaned out in days. Also, some of the food and water bowls were empty. That’s why he told her Ralph was lucky to be adopted by them. The conditions of the animals made him sad and then what if some of the animals had to be put to sleep? Or there wasn’t enough money to take care of them.
Allison tells Randy. Allison remembers (and tells Randy) she remembers how Mrs. Peabody told her she had to “get the room ready”. Randy says they can’t adopt them all. But Allison says maybe they can get the kids at school to adopt the animals. So then Allison calls Sabrina and tells her what Billy saw. Then she tells her (her) idea. Sabs says who can resist a furry face? Then Al comes up with the idea that this can be their next S.A.F.E project. Then Sabrina passes it along to Katie. Allison calls Randy back and tells her the idea.
At the meeting, there’s a huge turnout and Allison tells all the students about her idea. The students think it’s horrible, but they don’t really see how they can make a difference, Allison says it’s their responsibility to try to change things. Allison says she wants to have a “Adopt a Pet Day”. They can make posters and put them up around school. Not just at school. They’ll put them up all around Acorn Falls. They’ll also pass out fliers and they’ll call it “Pick A Pet Day”. Allison says she’ll try to get the fliers ready but right now what’s important is to just get the word out to as many people as they possibly can. Billy says he’ll tell Mrs. Peabody. By the end of the meeting, everyone has volunteered to help make posters or pass out fliers.
On Saturday, they meet to organize a poster painting committee at Allison’s house. They decide to take a picture of Ralph and put it on the flier. Luke agrees to let them use his camera and he’ll also pass out some of the fliers at the high school. Charlie gets a little unruly because Charlie has some socks he wants. So Randy takes off her sneaker and lets him have it. Then they get their picture. They think maybe it’s not an appropriate picture but then they have Randy let out a whistle. When Ralph looks up and drops the sneaker, they take the picture. Although getting the sneaker back is the trick, but they have Charlie give Ralph the socks and Randy gets her sneaker back.
While working on the posters, Ralph gets loose and gets into the paint and messes up the posters. But they decide to just leave the paw prints on the posters. They try to print an ad in the paper, but when the man tells them the cost, they try to talk him into doing it for a special cause. He then agrees to print the ad for no cost. He says he’ll do a half-page from then until Saturday. He says he’s happy to do it because he’s always been fond of animals (particularly rabbits).
On the day of Pick A Pet Day, before they even get in the store they see tons of people already with pets outside. Billy even gets a pet. Randy also adopts a kitten. Mrs. Peabody thanks them and says she’d been struggling for a long time. There just wasn’t enough money to build a bigger facility and it broke her heart. But donations have been coming in all day and someone offered to buy the lot next to them so they can expand. There will be a picture of all of them in the Gazette.
My Thoughts
I really thought I read this whole plot somewhere in another series but I just can’t put my finger on which one it was (going blank). Charlie did surprise me. I thought it was gonna be that once he got the dog, he’d forget all about being “sponsible” and Allison would be doing most of the work. It kinda reminded me of a story my mother told me about how when she and my Dad were married he begged and begged for a dog. “Can I have a dog? I’ll take care of it. I promise I’ll take care of it.”” Then when she said yes he played with the dog for about two weeks and then after that guess who was taking care of the dog.. HER. I guess this was before I came along. I remember us having the dog but it’s hazy. So, I give Charlie props for *trying*. It is a BIG responsibility so I’ve heard. I have family members who have dogs. My dad and stepmother have *two* dogs and when I talk to her one of them is always sick from a condition that I found out that not only humans have but pets. So she’s always taking that one to the vet to have some kind of operation done to it or it needs some kind of expensive medicine. Ralph could have *easily* had medical issues being in the shelter and still might down the line. You just don’t ever know. But I can also see from this book why having a puppy never appealed to me. There have been times on and off that I might have toyed with the idea that I might want a kitten, but then kittens grow into cats eventually. So there went *that*. But for a “cause” series book, it wasn’t bad. I didn’t particularly care for the woman over the shelter keeping them in such poor conditions. It shouldn’t have taken having a stranger step in to do something about it (and she claimed she was so “heartbroken” I really didn’t see her trying to fix the situation. She might not have had the money to expand but she could have done the right thing and tried HERSELF to find them other places to stay.
Rating: 6 This had a feel-good kind of appeal to it. Everything worked out. Most of the pets found homes and the ones that didn’t would get a new better home.
Mary Birdsong is going to Chicago. Charlie wants to go with her but Mary distracts him by saying it’s time to feed Clyde (his imaginary dog). So, Al and Charlie go to feed “Clyde”. Charlie asks Al does she think their mom and dad would let him get a real dog. She says maybe when he’s older. But he says IS older. Al doubts it since he just asked last week. When they go in the house, he asks and he mom says he already knows the answer. Allison distracts him with cookies and milk and her swing. In her room, Charlie starts to cry and Allison tries to make him feel better by saying their parents just want to make sure he’s responsible. To which he says he always remembers to walk and feed Clyde. Allison says one day she he’ll be able to take great care of a dog. Charlie asks if Allison will help him be “sponsible”.
A guy named Alex asks Allison if the eighth-graders can get involved with S.A.F.E. and then she says he can come to the next meeting. Allison hopes they can get more new members so they can organize the next recycling drive and work on other projects, Although she’s not quite sure yet what the next project will be. A few of the ideas they discuss at lunch are better air quality by taking bicycles, endangered animals, and conversation of lights (energy?). Then Al tells her friends about Charlie wanting a dog. Katie says it might make him more responsible. Al says she guesses she’ll be the one to have to explain it to her parents and the others think this is a good idea because parents tend to listen to the older sibling. So, Allison decides to do it and does it at dinner that night.
Charlie is late to dinner that night and Allison finds him outside “feeding Clyde”, Al tells him not to say anything until she gives the word. When they get back, Allison addresses the issue about the dog. She makes the point that it might make him more responsible that he’ll have someone to take care of. Grandfather makes the point that a dog can be a boy's best friend, but her father argues he was much older than Charlie was. His grandfather said he was eight. Charlie brings up that he’s seven. This gets Charlie all excited but his dad said he was more mature. But Noma also brings up that he was but he was also a troublemaker and that the dog kept him out of trouble. So, the dog was a positive influence on him. The dog’s name was Tiger. Allison promises that if they let Charlie have a dog, she’ll help him take care of it. This seems to satisfy their father and he agrees to let Charlie get a dog.
Al, Nooma, and Charlie go one afternoon to the Animal Shelter to pick out a dog. They invite Billy to come along. Billy says he use to have a poodle. His mom use to teach it tricks (It sounds like Toto from the Cheetah Girls). Charlie says he’s going to name his dog Clybde Je. (Bily’s dog’s name was Bejeweled) Allison feels bad when she sees all the puppies and hopes they all get adopted soon. She doesn’t know how they’ll choose, but moments after Charlie finds the perfect dog. He decides to name the dog Ralph but when he says he barks it sounds like Ralph. (Really it sounded like RUFF),
Allison has a sleepover later. Her parents go out. Charlie brings the dog to dinner which does not make Nooma happy. She tells him no dogs at the table and he reluctantly agrees. Nooma says she’ll go check on the baby. Allison says she’ll go get Barett later so Nooma can go home. Later, they find Ralph nawing on something he’s not supposed to have. Katie tries to grab him but he moves away from her. Charlie gets him and they find out it's their dad’s slipper. Allison scolds him for this, but Charlie pleads with her to not do it and says he’ll never do it again. Allison says they have to train him what he does that’s wrong. Charlie is way to soft and ends the lecture with a pat on the head. Charlie and Ralph are then found playing tug or war with something. It’s one of the couch pillows. Allison has to again schold Charlie and Ralph. Ralph runs under the coach and this makes Barett excited. Randy then finds out that Ralph has peed on the floor. Allison tells Charlie he has to clean up after him and he asks why. Allison says because it’s your dog and this is what you have to do. By this time they can’t find Ralph.
When they do his has his head in a rubber boot of their Grandpa’s. Charlie tries to clean the rug and makes things worse by getting water all over the rug and making the spot bigger. Ralph gets loose and starts running around and almost knocks over a plant. Then he runs into the den. Then into Barett’s room and sees one of her stuffed dogs in her playpen and starts barking at it (thinking it’s one of his fellow animals at the shelter). Barette hears all the noise and then starts to cry. In the next hour, they manage to quiet Barette down and put her and Charlie to bed. Randy goes to take Ralph for a walk. They’re gone for a while and when they come back, Randy says she ran him up and down the block to give him a taste of his own medicine. By the time he gets back, the dog is pooped and goes immediately to sleep. The parents come home and say “it looks like they had a quiet evening” and “it doesn’t look like Ralph will be any trouble at all.”
Allison vents to Billy the next day, but she says she guesses it’s worth the work. Billy starts to say something but stops. Allison remembers that the day they went to the shelter she saw Billy talking to Mrs. Peabody. But he won’t tell her what’s wrong. Allie tells her friends Ralph is starting to cam down and it’s probably because he had a lot of energy from being caged up. Allison realizes Billy must have seen something that upset him and vows to find out what it is. She tells her friends she needs to talk to Billy and rushes off. Allie gets the idea Billy saw something bad about the shelter and he’s just not telling. She catches up with Billy and asks about the shelter. He confides that he saw other rooms filled with animals that were way smaller than that ones they were in, the rooms were overcrowded, and some of the cages looked like they hadn’t been cleaned out in days. Also, some of the food and water bowls were empty. That’s why he told her Ralph was lucky to be adopted by them. The conditions of the animals made him sad and then what if some of the animals had to be put to sleep? Or there wasn’t enough money to take care of them.
Allison tells Randy. Allison remembers (and tells Randy) she remembers how Mrs. Peabody told her she had to “get the room ready”. Randy says they can’t adopt them all. But Allison says maybe they can get the kids at school to adopt the animals. So then Allison calls Sabrina and tells her what Billy saw. Then she tells her (her) idea. Sabs says who can resist a furry face? Then Al comes up with the idea that this can be their next S.A.F.E project. Then Sabrina passes it along to Katie. Allison calls Randy back and tells her the idea.
At the meeting, there’s a huge turnout and Allison tells all the students about her idea. The students think it’s horrible, but they don’t really see how they can make a difference, Allison says it’s their responsibility to try to change things. Allison says she wants to have a “Adopt a Pet Day”. They can make posters and put them up around school. Not just at school. They’ll put them up all around Acorn Falls. They’ll also pass out fliers and they’ll call it “Pick A Pet Day”. Allison says she’ll try to get the fliers ready but right now what’s important is to just get the word out to as many people as they possibly can. Billy says he’ll tell Mrs. Peabody. By the end of the meeting, everyone has volunteered to help make posters or pass out fliers.
On Saturday, they meet to organize a poster painting committee at Allison’s house. They decide to take a picture of Ralph and put it on the flier. Luke agrees to let them use his camera and he’ll also pass out some of the fliers at the high school. Charlie gets a little unruly because Charlie has some socks he wants. So Randy takes off her sneaker and lets him have it. Then they get their picture. They think maybe it’s not an appropriate picture but then they have Randy let out a whistle. When Ralph looks up and drops the sneaker, they take the picture. Although getting the sneaker back is the trick, but they have Charlie give Ralph the socks and Randy gets her sneaker back.
While working on the posters, Ralph gets loose and gets into the paint and messes up the posters. But they decide to just leave the paw prints on the posters. They try to print an ad in the paper, but when the man tells them the cost, they try to talk him into doing it for a special cause. He then agrees to print the ad for no cost. He says he’ll do a half-page from then until Saturday. He says he’s happy to do it because he’s always been fond of animals (particularly rabbits).
On the day of Pick A Pet Day, before they even get in the store they see tons of people already with pets outside. Billy even gets a pet. Randy also adopts a kitten. Mrs. Peabody thanks them and says she’d been struggling for a long time. There just wasn’t enough money to build a bigger facility and it broke her heart. But donations have been coming in all day and someone offered to buy the lot next to them so they can expand. There will be a picture of all of them in the Gazette.
My Thoughts
I really thought I read this whole plot somewhere in another series but I just can’t put my finger on which one it was (going blank). Charlie did surprise me. I thought it was gonna be that once he got the dog, he’d forget all about being “sponsible” and Allison would be doing most of the work. It kinda reminded me of a story my mother told me about how when she and my Dad were married he begged and begged for a dog. “Can I have a dog? I’ll take care of it. I promise I’ll take care of it.”” Then when she said yes he played with the dog for about two weeks and then after that guess who was taking care of the dog.. HER. I guess this was before I came along. I remember us having the dog but it’s hazy. So, I give Charlie props for *trying*. It is a BIG responsibility so I’ve heard. I have family members who have dogs. My dad and stepmother have *two* dogs and when I talk to her one of them is always sick from a condition that I found out that not only humans have but pets. So she’s always taking that one to the vet to have some kind of operation done to it or it needs some kind of expensive medicine. Ralph could have *easily* had medical issues being in the shelter and still might down the line. You just don’t ever know. But I can also see from this book why having a puppy never appealed to me. There have been times on and off that I might have toyed with the idea that I might want a kitten, but then kittens grow into cats eventually. So there went *that*. But for a “cause” series book, it wasn’t bad. I didn’t particularly care for the woman over the shelter keeping them in such poor conditions. It shouldn’t have taken having a stranger step in to do something about it (and she claimed she was so “heartbroken” I really didn’t see her trying to fix the situation. She might not have had the money to expand but she could have done the right thing and tried HERSELF to find them other places to stay.
Rating: 6 This had a feel-good kind of appeal to it. Everything worked out. Most of the pets found homes and the ones that didn’t would get a new better home.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2013
these books were like reading a diary each book was different though it was like you were in school again.
Want to Read
February 26, 2015I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13094580
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13094580
June 24, 2016
all books from this serial were with me in my childhood and puberty-time ;) and in that time it was great. One time...I will read it with my daughters
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