The Bath!A Shiner Bockenheimer Adventure

The Bath! A Shiner Bockenheimer Adventure.

“Hey mom?” asks Olivia, “How many days until the tea party?”

“We only have 3 more days! I can’t believe the time flew by so fast! We have so much to do!” says Mom.

“Don't worry Mom” says Gavin “we will help you.”
“Yeah!” shouts Olivia “We love parties... but I don't like cleaning…”
Olivia asks, “Will we have to clean everything?”
“Yes, of course” says mom with a sly grin on her face.

“Mom, why do you have a smirk?” Gavin asks.
“Yeah, why are you making that face?” Olivia asks.
“Well, when I say everything, I mean everything! You also have to clean... Shiner!”

“Ahhhh!” Shiner howls!
“No bath!” Shiner barks as he runs away from them! “NO baths! RFFF!” Shiner does not like baths at all.
“Shiner, come back!” shouts Olivia.
“Don't worry Mom, Olivia and I will catch him and bring him back.” says Gavin.

Olivia and Gavin start searching throughout the house to find Shiner.
“Shiner? Here boy!” calls Olivia.
“Shiner B? where are you?” calls Gavin. They look all around the living room, the bathroom and the kitchen again.

“Maybe he went upstairs?” Olivia asks.
Olivia and Gavin run upstairs and check their rooms.
“Is he in your room?” asks Gavin.
“No! Is he in your room?” Asks Olivia.
“No! let's check the bathroom,” they both said at the same time.
Gavin and Olivia run to the bathroom and peek inside.
“Ah hah!” shouts Gavin.
Olivia looks around with a puzzled look on her face. “Why'd you say that?” asks Olivia.
“Well, I thought he was hiding in here,” says Gavin.
“Oh man! Where could he be?” cries Olivia.

Suddenly, Olivia and Gavin hear a noise downstairs. They rush out of the bathroom hallway and look downstairs. Shiner is staring at them from the bottom of the stairs with a mischievous grin on his face. “No Bath!” He barks and then starts running to the back door.
“Oh no! He is going to go outside!”
“That’s ok, he’s just gonna go to the backyard. We can catch him easy,” says Gavin, “I'll even bring a treat.”
Gavin grabs a jerky treat out of the bone shaped canister on the kitchen counter. “He won’t be able to resist! Watch this!”

Gavin and Olivia go outside with grins on their faces. They know Shiner LOVES jerky treats.
“Here Shiner! I have your favorite doggie treat! Come and get it.” says Gavin.
They see Shiner sniffing the air and he turns around to look at them. “Rff! Jerky! That’s my favorite!” Shiner starts running toward them.
Olivia tells Gavin, “get ready! Here he comes.”
Olivia and Gavin brace themselves because Shiner is running full speed! They wait for the big jump from Shiner and then boom! They are both knocked over and the treat flies out of Gavin’s hand. Shiner gobbles it up and starts running in the opposite direction. Olivia tries to grab him, but he slips right through her arms and she falls down again.
Gavin and Olivia laugh at each other and slowly get back up. As they turn around, they see Shiner running back into the house again.
As they follow him in, Gavin says to Olivia, “This is going to be harder than I thought!”
“Yeah, we need a plan!”
Gavin and Olivia go to the kitchen table and sit down to brainstorm some ideas.
“Maybe we can trap him in the bedroom?” says Olivia
“Maybe I should get the leash on him while he is sleeping?” Says Gavin.
“Oh I know!” shouts Gavin. “We should take him for a long walk and when he is really tired, we can put the leash on him and then give him a bath!”
“Yeah!” agrees Olivia, “that’s a great idea!”

“Okay! Let’s go!” Gavin and Olivia walk into the dining room with the leash in their hand. “Come on Shiner, let’s go for a walk! Don’t worry boy. No baths. Okay?”
Shiner comes running toward them with a big, goofy grin on his face and his ears are perked up. “Rff! Did you just say my favorite word! WALK! I love walks!” Shiner shouts. “Let’s go!” Shiner is so happy his butt starts wiggling from side to side.

“Yeah, let’s go,” smiles Olivia. She winks at Gavin and they both start grinning from ear to ear. THey know this plan will work! They grab a small water bottle and a snack from the kitchen and ask their mom if they can take Shiner on a walk. “Sure thing kids! You know what? I’ll go with you. I can use some exercise.”
“Yay! Rff!” Shiner is very happy. He loves when mom goes on walks with them.
They get their shoes on and head out the door with Shiner in the lead. He is so happy his tongue is hanging out of his mouth and he is grinning and wagging his tail.
“Shiner, you are such a goofy dog,” laughs Olivia.
Shiner doesn't mind what they say at all. He notices they are walking their usual route to the pond. Shiner thinks to himself, I love going to the pond. I hope there are ducks there. “Rff! Let’s go faster. I need to find some ducks to chase!” Shiner barks. He starts tugging on the leash and Gavin laughs as he stumbles a bit. “Ok. ok. We will go faster.”

The trio finally arrive at the pond and they let Shiner off the leash. As soon as he is free, he starts chasing the ducks! “Rfff! Rfff! Get outta here ducks!” Shiner barks. He runs along the bank of the pond, back and forth, barking at the ducks. “I got them” he barks!
Suddenly, they hear “Honk! Honk! Honk”
“Rfff! Ahhh! RFFF! It’s the geese. RUN AWAY!” Shiner barks and starts running. The geese start chasing Shiner around the pond while Mom, Gavin and Olivia fall on the ground laughing. “That’ll teach him to mess with the birds!” laughs mom. Shiner turns the corner and disappears behind the brick wall that surrounds one of the areas by the pond.
“Hey, where did that silly dog go?” asks Gavin.
“I don’t know,” says Olivia as she wipes tears from her eyes, “I was laughing too much.”
“Ok kids, let’s go find him. He can’t have gone too far,” mom says.
They start walking to the brick wall area. As they get closer, they hear Shiner barking in a different tone than before. They start walking faster and turn the corner and they see Shiner barking at a small, black dog that was huddled in the corner. She’s sitting down on some cardboard next to an old flier with an angel on it and pieces of old food all around.
“Rff! Finally! This dog needs help.” Shiner barks at them.


“Ok kids, stand back. I am going to try and help it. Stay next to Shiner. Hey there,” mom says in a calm, safe voice, “are you ok lil pup?” The dog raises its head and stares at mom and the kids. It starts walking slowly toward them, with a little tale wag.
“That’s right, it’s ok. Come over here. You’re ok.” She continues talking to the dog in a sing-song voice. The dog finally comes over and mom says “It’s ok kids. Bring that leash. Let’s take her home and then we can get her cleaned up and find her owner.”

“Yay!” Both kids are so happy.
“Rfff! You’re going to be just fine doggy! This is a great family,” Shiner tells the dog.
They all head back to the house and go to the backyard.
“Phew! We really need to get this dog cleaned up. She is dirty.” As they get the hose out, the dog starts to tremble.
“Don’t be scared lil doggy,” Olivia says in a soothing tone.
“Yeah, it’s ok,” Gavin chimes in, “Baths are really fun. Aren’t they Shiner?”

Shiner looks at Gavin and then at Olivia and sighs. “Rff…Rfff…Yes…They can be fun…sometimes,” he barks in a low tone.
Shiner slowly walks over and says, “watch me. It doesn’t hurt at all.” Shiner takes a deep breath, and builds up his courage. “Come on Gavin, come on Olivia, you can give me a bath too!”
Gavin and Olivia look at each other in shock! He never volunteers to take a bath. “What a good dog you are, Shiner!”
They start to give Shiner a bath and despite himself, he begins to enjoy the bath. The other dog creeps over slowly and waits for her turn.
“What a good girl you are!” Olivia tells the dog.

Gavin and Olivia get both dogs cleaned up and head into the house after putting all the bath supplies away. “Whew! I stink!” says Gavin. “Yeah you do!” laughs Olivia. “Hey!” Gavin says and they start chasing each other in the house.

“Kids!” Dad shouts, “Ya’ll are stinky! Get washed up and then we can have dinner.”
“Ok dad!”
The kids go upstairs and take showers while Mom and Dad get dinner ready. Shiner and the dog are both laying on the floor, asleep, from all the excitement.
They finally sit down to eat and Gavin and Olivia tell Dad all about the adventure at the pond.
“Mom, Dad? Can we keep her?” asks Olivia hopefully.
“Well, we need to take her to the vet and get her checked out. We also need to put up fliers and check for a chip. She could be a lost dog,” Dad replies.
“Okay,” Olivia says sadly. “I guess that makes sense. I can help make fliers tomorrow.”
“I can check online,” Mom says.

After dinner, the family curls up on the couch and Gavin and Olivia whisper to each other. “I hope we get to keep her.” “Yeah, me too,” barks Shiner.

The next day, they take the dog to the vet to get checked out. “Well, she is doing well, considering where you all found her,” the vet says. “I did not find a chip and I haven’t found any lost dog fliers matching this description. If you’d like to foster her for a few more weeks, you can. Eventually, if no one comes forward, you can adopt her.”
“Well girl? What do you say? Do you want to stay with us for a while?” Mom asks the dog.
“Rff!” She barks. The family laughs. “I think that’s a yes!” Dad says.
“Well what are we going to name her?” Gavin asks.
“Hmm… that’s a great question…” Dad says. “Let’s think about it at home.”

When they get home, Shiner is pacing back and forth at the door. He looks up as he hears the car pull into the drive.
“Rff! You’re home! What did the vet say?” Shiner barks at them.
“Guess what Shiner?! The dog is going to stay for a while!”
“Hooray!” barks Shiner. He starts jumping around and wiggling everywhere.
“But she’s going to need a name. Do you have any ideas boy?” asks Olivia.
“Rff! I know! We should call her Halo. Because she was found next to an Angel,” Shiner explains.
“Ohhh! That’s a great idea!” Mom replies.
“Ok, girl, Your new name is Halo,” Dad says.
The family crowds around Halo and gives her a big hug.
“You’re home now girl.”

That weekend, they had the tea party and Shiner and Halo were running and laughing and playing together. It was the best day ever!