The little puppy was curled up in a box by the side of the road. He was cold and afraid. A boy on a bike came zooming down the hill and ran into the box. "You look like you need a home," said the boy, "and I need a puppy. It's good luck that I crashed into you!" The boy put the puppy inside his jacket and rode home. The wind whipped in the puppy's face as he peeked out. They were going so fast! But the puppy wasn't afraid anymore. He felt warm and safe close to the boy. The boy's name was Ricky Lee. His mother Mimi Lee looked sternly at the puppy. "If he's a good dog, he can stay," she said. "But if he's a bad dog, he will go to the dog pound." "The pound is where bad dogs go when nobody wants them anymore," explained Ricky's father Papi Lee. "He will be a good dog," Ricky promised. "I'm going to call him Tako." Papi Lee gave Tako a piece of warm smushberry muffin right from the oven. It was the most delicious thing Tako had ever tasted. As he munched on the muffin, Tako decided he would be a good dog, so he could stay with the Lee family forever. But it wasn't always easy to be a good dog. Sometimes Tako found a slipper that needed chewing--or honey-butter batter that needed licking--or a clothesline that needed tugging. And sometimes on rainy days Ricky became a monster, and Tako needed to bark at him, which woke the twins Mia and Lia from their nap. Then Mimi and Papi Lee would say, "Bad dog!" And Tako would get very still and quiet because he did not want to be sent to the pound. Excerpted from The Good Dog by Todd Kessler All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
