The Sad Pony Read online

  This series is for my riding friend Shelley,

  who cares about all animals.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Copyright

  “Bye, Mum! Bye, Dad! Eva Harrison stood outside Passport Control, waving as her parents disappeared into the Departure Lounge.

  “Don’t forget – take lots of pictures of you swimming with dolphins!” Eva’s brother, Karl, called after them.

  “Watch out for alligators!” Eva’s voice was drowned out by the din of an airport announcement.

  Karl and Eva’s grandfather, Jimmy Harrison, waited until Heidi and Mark were out of sight, then took over. “Come on, Eva, time to go.” He led her and Karl through the check-in hall and out to the car park. “Don’t worry about them,” he smiled. “They’re going to have a fantastic time in Florida. And this holiday is your dad’s surprise late Christmas present to your mum, so they’re bound to have fun.”

  Eva nodded as she climbed into the Land Rover. “I know, Grandad. I’m really glad they’ve gone on holiday, but I’m still going to miss them.”

  “Well, we’ll be so busy at Animal Magic that you won’t have time to miss them,” Karl warned. “We won’t have a spare second to think about them sunning themselves on a beach with palm trees, looking out at a blue sea, snorkelling, swimming with dolphins…”

  “Stop, you’re making me jealous!” Eva held her hands over her ears. It was Friday – New Year’s Eve – and the snow that had fallen over Christmas had long since melted. Now England was grey and damp, the clouds were heavy and the days short. Eva sighed, then stared out of the window at the wet city streets.

  “Cheer up, Eva,” Jimmy said, grinning. “I happen to know that, besides arranging emergency vet cover while they’re away, your mum and dad have lined up a nice surprise for you and Karl later today.”

  Karl leaned forward from the back seat. “What kind of surprise?”

  “If I told you now, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” their grandad laughed.

  “Tell us anyway,” Eva begged. She was thinking that it might be a trip to the cinema or a visit to their favourite pizza restaurant.

  “No, I’m sworn to secrecy!” Leaving the city behind, Jimmy followed a dual carriageway, then took the exit marked Okeham. Pretty soon they were driving through farmland and heading for home.

  “Hey, Karl, I’m glad you’re back. I was hoping you’d feed the cats,” Jen said the minute he walked into Reception at Animal Magic. Jen, the centre’s veterinary assistant, was standing in for Mark and Heidi while they were on holiday, and she seemed run off her feet already.

  “No problem,” Karl said, hurrying down the corridor to the storeroom.

  “And Eva, could you come into the surgery and help me with Dylan?”

  Eva waved goodbye to her grandad, then followed Jen into the surgery where she saw a pet carrier on the examination table. Inside the carrier was a sad-looking ginger cat, half covered by a dirty fleece blanket.

  “Dylan’s owner dropped him off half an hour ago,” Jen explained. She put on a pair of surgical gloves and dumped the blanket in the bin before lifting the cat out of the carrier and placing him carefully on the scrubbed, shiny table. “She wasn’t best pleased with you, was she, poor thing?”

  Eva noticed that the little cat looked miserable. “Why, what did he do?”

  “It’s not something he did, actually.” Carefully, Jen opened Dylan’s mouth and peered inside, then examined his eyes. “He’s covered in fleas, poor chap, and his owner is complaining that she’s developed a skin condition called flea allergy dermatitis.”

  “So she’s left him with us?” Eva checked. She was feeling more and more sorry for the shivering cat.

  Jen nodded. “She said there was no chance of having him back, so I promised we’d rehome him once we’ve dealt with the fleas.”

  “How come the owner didn’t treat them herself?”

  “I haven’t a clue,” Jen answered. “It doesn’t look as if she even bothered to wash his bedding, judging by the state of that blanket. Uh-oh, Eva, I wouldn’t stroke Dylan if I were you – not yet.”

  Eva stepped back. “We’ll take a photo and Karl can put him on the website straight away,” she decided. “What Dylan needs is someone who gives him regular flea treatments, plus lots of cuddles!”

  “Exactly,” Jen agreed. She returned the patient to the carrier and prepared to carry him into the quarantine section of the cattery. “I did have one good piece of news while you were at the airport.”

  Eva followed her down the corridor. “What is it?”

  “Some people saw Jerry on the website – they want to come in and take a proper look at him.”

  Jerry was a gorgeous short-haired collie-cross who had been in the Animal Magic kennels since long before Christmas. Now it seemed his luck was in. “Did they sound nice?” Eva asked.

  “Yes, very,” Jen replied, stepping aside to let Karl hurry ahead to the cattery with two dishes of cat food. “Karl, I was telling Eva – we’ve got someone interested in adopting Jerry.”

  “Cool!” Karl had a soft spot for the collie-cross, who was playful and full of energy. “When are they coming in?”

  “Tomorrow’s Saturday, isn’t it? So, tomorrow at two o’clock. They’re called Jane and Rob Goodall. I wrote the appointment in the diary.”

  “OK. But right now we have to make sure we feed Dylan up,” Eva told Karl as Jen put the new arrival in isolation at the end of the row of cats all needing good homes. She paused by Lottie the allotment cat’s cage and peered in. “You’re looking good,” she murmured, smiling as Lottie purred, then tucked in to her meal. Then Eva ran after Jen, who had gone on into the small animals’ unit.

  “Meet another new arrival.” Jen lifted a grey and white rabbit out of a cage.

  “He’s cute!” Eva stroked the silky fur. “What’s his name?”

  “This is Boswell. He’s an unwanted Christmas present.”

  “Aah – you’re lovely!” Eva assured him as she took him from Jen. She liked the way he twitched his ears and wrinkled his nose at the same time. “Don’t worry – someone will snap you up and give you a great new home.”

  “After we’ve neutered you and given you a thorough health check,” Jen added. “By the way, I haven’t had time to ask – did your mum and dad get off safely?”

  Eva cuddled Boswell and nodded. “They’re in the air right now, lucky things.”

  Jen stroked the rabbit, then helped Eva to put him back in his cage. Then they hurried back into Reception.

  “What I don’t get’s why they left you all by yourself.” Eva had been puzzled by this. It wasn’t like her mum to push lots of responsibility on to her assistant.

  “I’m not by myself – I’ve got you and Karl.” Looking mysterious, Jen began to tidy some paperwork on the desk. “And you’re still on your school holidays so I’m sure we’ll cope very well.”

  Eva nodded. If every day was as busy as today, she wasn’t sure they would. But she didn’t say anything to Jen. Instead she went to stick some new notices on the board by the window.

  “Jen, is it OK if I go to the house and check on Holly?” she asked when she’d finished.

  “Sure. I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long!” Jen smiled as Eva darted off.

  Holly was the adorable new addition to the Harrison family – a black and white Border collie puppy who’d come to them on Christmas Eve. In one week she’d m
ade herself completely at home in the kitchen of the old farmhouse. She had her own bed by the side of the fire, her favourite spot under the table and a cheeky habit of jumping up into the lap of whoever came in for coffee.

  “Holly, where are you?” Eva cried as she ran into the kitchen.

  “She’s in here,” Karl called from the sitting room. He’d finished feeding the cats and beaten Eva to it.

  Eva hurried into the hallway. “Hey, Holly, it’s me!”

  Like a shot the pup scrambled to meet her, jumping up and yelping with joy.

  “Down, Holly!” Eva ordered, trying not to burst into delighted laughter.

  The excited puppy jumped up again. Then she squirmed on the floor, leaving a small puddle on the tiles.

  “Uh-oh, the dreaded excitement wee!” Grinning, Eva went back into the kitchen for the mop. Holly saw it and pounced. “No, Holly. This is a mop, not something to play with!” She was still dealing with the puddle when Karl appeared.

  “Hey, Eva, come in here,” he said with a mysterious smile.

  “What’s the big secret?” Eva propped the mop against the wall and went into the sitting room – to find Joel standing there.

  “Hello, Eva.”

  “Joel!” She ran to hug the young veterinary assistant who had left Animal Magic a few months earlier to go and work in Russia. “Why? I mean, what are…?” Eva paused mid-sentence. “…Hey, are you our surprise?”

  Joel gave her a wide grin. “Yes! I’m home for the New Year.”

  “Wow!” Eva was speechless. She’d missed seeing Joel’s kind, smiling face around the place and his scruffy Beetle car parked out in the yard. “Happy New Year! Cool surprise!”

  “It gets better,” Karl promised, scooping Holly up as she ran between his legs. “Tell her, Joel.”

  “I’m here for a couple of weeks, and I told Heidi that rather than just sitting around twiddling my thumbs, I’d help out here.”

  “At Animal Magic?” Eva gasped.

  “Where else?” Joel grinned. “In fact, I’m off to the surgery to help Jen.”

  “Right now?” Eva gasped.

  “Right this very minute.” Joel laughed as he walked out of the house and across the yard.

  “Happy New Year!” Annie Brooks greeted Eva from Rosie’s stable.

  It was Saturday and Eva had got up early to bring Annie the surprise news about Joel.

  “Yeah, Happy New Year!” she gasped now, grinning at Annie and seizing a mucking-out fork. “It definitely is a happy, Happy New Year!”

  “Why, what’s happened?” Annie asked, as Rosie, the cheeky Shetland pony, gave her a nudge in the back, then barged past to stick her shaggy head over the door.

  “Hi, Rosie.” Eva grinned. She stroked the pony’s nose. “Joel’s only come back to help out at Animal Magic – that’s all!”

  “Hey, cool! How long’s he staying?”

  The two girls chatted as Eva got stuck in to mucking out Guinevere and Merlin’s stable. “Until Mum and Dad get back. Jen says she’s glad of the help, and of course Joel already knows everything about the rescue centre. Hey, are you going to keep the horses in today or turn them out into the field?”

  Annie glanced up at the blue sky. “Mum said to let them out.”

  “It’s cold,” Eva warned. “There’s ice on all the paths.”

  “Maybe we’ll just leave them out for the morning, then bring them in again.” Annie went to the tack room to fetch the horses’ rugs while Eva forked muck into a wheelbarrow.

  “It’s so cool – Joel’s been telling us about working in Russia. He loves it.”

  “Here’s Merlin’s rug,” Annie interrupted. “Stand still, Rosie, while I put yours on.”

  Quickly, Eva slid the horse rug over young Merlin’s back and buckled the straps. She smiled to herself as she heard the scuffle next door.

  “Stand still, Rosie. I can’t do the straps if you dance around like that. That’s better. No, I haven’t got any treats in my pocket – stop that, you naughty thing!”

  By the time Annie had finished with Rosie, Eva had rugged Guinevere and let her and Merlin out into the frosty field.

  The grey mare and her foal trotted off down the slope. They’d spotted Karl on the riverside path and gone to say hello.

  “Hi, Karl!” Eva waved and ran to join them. “What are you up to?”

  “I’m taking Jerry for a quick walk before the Goodalls come to see him,” he explained. “And I brought Holly along too.”

  “Aah!” Leaning over the fence, Eva laughed to see little Holly on the end of the lead. The puppy was snuffling in the long grass. Then she lifted her head to shake off the white frost from the tip of her black nose.

  “Watch out, here comes Rosie,” Karl warned.

  At last Annie had got Rosie’s rug on, and now the sturdy Shetland was frisking down the slope.

  “Wait for me!” Annie called, zipping up her thick jacket and coming to join Eva and Karl.

  “How’s Rosie settling in?” Karl asked Annie. It was less than two weeks since Rosie had moved in to the Brookses’ new stables. Before that the pony had stayed next door at Animal Magic, waiting for someone to adopt her.

  “Good,” Annie reported. “She still gets on well with Gwinnie and Merlin.”

  “Who’s the boss out of the three of them?” Karl asked. He let Jerry off the lead to run along the riverside path.

  “Rosie!” Annie answered quickly. “She’s the smallest, but she definitely orders the other two around.”

  As if to prove it, Rosie began to nudge and push at Merlin as if she was rounding him up and herding him back up the hill.

  Eva and Karl laughed. “We miss her,” Eva said.

  “Mum says she’s a little character.” Annie smiled. “Hey, what’s she up to now?”

  Rosie had suddenly broken away from Merlin and was making a beeline for the fence which separated the Brookses’ field from the yard at Animal Magic. She covered the ground as fast as her little legs would carry her.

  “Rosie, stop!” Eva yelled. She chased after the pony, trying to head her off before she reached the boundary.

  But Rosie wouldn’t listen. She charged straight at the high fence.

  “Uh-oh, she’s going to jump!” Karl cringed and closed his eyes. “I can’t look.”

  “She’s too small, she’ll never make it,” Annie wailed.

  Eva sprinted across the field and got to the fence seconds before Rosie. She stood in the pony’s path, waving both arms above her head, warning her away.

  At the last second, Rosie put on the brakes and slid to a stop along the frosty ground, digging up the turf just inches from the high fence.

  “No way was that a good idea!” Eva told her sternly. “If you want to come and visit us, you have to be sensible and let Annie lead you through the gate.”

  Rosie snickered then trotted up to Eva.

  “OK, so now you’re sorry.” Eva laughed, relenting and letting cheeky Rosie push her nose against her hand. “But just remember – this is your home now. So no more crazy ideas about getting back to Animal Magic!”

  Eva spent the afternoon helping in the kennels. She bathed a grey, short-coated cross-breed with a lot of bull mastiff in him. The stray had arrived at lunchtime, covered in mud and lame in his front foot. A woman driving on the main road into the city had seen him limping along the grass verge. Since he wasn’t wearing a collar, the woman had decided to bring him into the rescue centre.

  “If only people would microchip their pets,” Jen sighed, watching Eva set about cleaning the dog up. “We’ll hold him for a while in case the owner comes looking, but my guess is he’ll end up on our website.”

  Eva sponged the dog down, then rubbed him dry with a towel. “Don’t worry – I’m going to choose a name for you… Let’s call you Butch! And we’ll find you a lovely, kind new owner,” she promised.

  Further down the row of kennels, Karl was busy sprucing up Jerry, ready for his appointment with the Gooda
lls. “You’re looking smart,” he murmured.

  Just then, Joel popped his head around the door. “Eva, do you mind giving me a hand with two new arrivals?”

  “No problem.” Giving Butch one last rub, she put him safely back in his kennel and dashed to Reception.

  “Oh, and Karl, the Goodalls are here,” Joel added. “Bring Jerry through.”

  “It’s your big moment,” Karl told Jerry, putting him on the lead and following Eva and Joel out of the kennels.

  “Two more strays.” Joel showed Eva the small cage on top of the reception desk. “Brought in by Pete Knight from Main Street. He found them hiding in his garden shed, searching for a bit of warmth.”

  Curious, Eva peered into the cage to see two guinea pigs – one toffee coloured, one brown and white. They were huddled in a corner, scrabbling at the floor of the cage with their pink front feet.

  “Jen examined them and says they’re both males. Would you like to choose names?” Joel asked Eva.

  “Hmm… How about Toffee and Fudge?” She grinned as the names popped into her head.

  “Nice one. Toffee and Fudge it is. I’m sure they’ll be snapped up the minute you put them on the website.”

  Eva nodded, and then she stepped aside to let Jerry make his big entrance with Karl. There was a middle-aged man and a woman sitting in the waiting area, looking nervous but eager.

  “This is Jerry,” Karl told the couple. “Sit, Jerry!”

  The obedient dog instantly followed his command.

  “He’s sweet,” Mrs Goodall said. “See his eyes – they look intelligent.”

  “He’s quite lively when you take him out for a walk,” Karl warned her.

  “Will he come back when you call him?” Mr Goodall asked.

  Karl nodded. “Would you like to come for a walk and see him in action?”

  “Great idea,” Mr Goodall agreed. “We don’t want to adopt him and then find out that he’s too much for us to handle.”