Dottie's Daring Day

By Meg Dendler

Dottie didn't mean to run away. But when she accidentally slipped out of her collar on the Razorback Greenway Trail during a Saturday walk, she began a day of adventure—exploring the town and the University of Arkansas campus. Along her journey she meets new friends and even learns how to Call the Hogs. She always planned to be home before dark, but will she still be able to find the way back to her girl Mindy when her daring day is done?

"Dottie's Daring Day" is a companion book to the best-selling, award-winning Cats in the Mirror series and a sequel of sorts to the #1 Amazon best-selling dog adventure story "Max's Wild Night."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Serenity Mountain Publishing
• Release date: Jan 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781732380660

Meg Dendler

Meg Dendler has considered herself a writer since she won a picture book contest in 5th grade and entertained her classmates with ongoing sequels for the rest of the year. Beginning serious work as a freelancer in the '90s while teaching elementary and middle school, Meg has over one hundred articles in print, including interviews with Kirk Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. She has won contests with her short stories and poetry, along with multiple international awards for her best-selling "Cats in the Mirror" alien rescue cat children's book series. "Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess" was honored as Best Juvenile Book of 2018 by the Oklahoma Writers' Federation. Meg is an editor with Pen-L Publishing and also does editing work for independent and self-publishing authors. Meg and her family live in Northwest Arkansas. Visit her at www.megdendler.com for more information about upcoming books and events and all of Meg's social media links. You can also follow Kimba on Facebook and Twitter.

Book preview

Dottie's Daring Day

DOTTIE'S DARING DAY

MEG WELCH DENDLER

Serenity Mountain Publishing

CONTENTS

Also by Meg Welch Dendler

Quote from Helen Keller

Author Disclaimer

Photo of Dottie

Chapter 1

A SATURDAY WALK

Chapter 2

RUNNING FREE

Chapter 3

DICKSON STREET

Chapter 4

BOOKS AND FRENCH FRIES

Chapter 5

A BOSSY CRITTER

Chapter 6

CARING COOK

Chapter 7

WORKING DOG

Chapter 8

CROSSING THE TRACKS

Chapter 9

CAMPUS

Chapter 10

TUSK IV

Chapter 11

SNEAKING IN

Chapter 12

HOT DOGS, AT LAST

Chapter 13

CALLING THE HOGS

Chapter 14

END OF THE LINE

Chapter 15

BEST MORNING EVER

Chapter 16

HOME AGAIN

Chapter 17

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Max’s Wild Night

Cats in the Mirror Series

Also by Meg Welch Dendler

For Older Readers

Author’s Note

Review Request

Words You May Not Know

About the Author

Cats in the Mirror Series

Book 1: Why Kimba Saved The World

Book 2: Vacation Hiro

Book 3: Miss Fatty Cat's Revenge

Book 4: Slinky Steps Out

Book 5: Kimba’s Christmas

Book 6: Snickerdoodle’s Shenanigans

And the Companion Books

Max's Wild Night

Dottie's Daring Day

Also by Meg Welch Dendler

Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess

Bianca: Journey to Ryuugito

For Older Readers

At the Corner of Magnetic and Main

The Tigran Chronicles

Published by Serenity Mountain Publishing

Springdale, AR

Dottie’s Daring Day

©2017 by Meg Welch Dendler

All rights reserved.

www.megdendler.com

Second Edition, 2018

ISBN: 978-1732380660

Cover design by Kelsey Rice.

Photo of Dottie as a puppy courtesy of the Humane Society of Cherokee County, OK.

Illustrations by Callista Rose Dendler.

All other photos by Scott or Meg Dendler.

No part of this book, text or photos, may be copied, reproduced, or shared in any form without the written consent of the author. All copyright laws apply.

Vellum flower icon Created with Vellum

Life is either a daring adventure

or it is nothing.

Helen Keller

The characters and events in this book

are not based on real events.

Well, maybe a little bit.

But the names have been changed

to protect the innocent.

Sometimes.

Dottie curled up with a stuffed Mufasa the lion from The Lion King.

Dottie and Mufasa, having a cuddle.

Image of a furry dog leaping in the air to play.

CHAPTER 1

A SATURDAY WALK

Dottie didn’t mean to run away. Well, not exactly. Not at first.

The day had started off like any other. Dottie had rolled out of bed in the tiny apartment she shared with her human mama, Mindy, and the timid black cat, Slinky. They all lived together near the campus of the University of Arkansas where Mindy was a student.

It wasn’t a big apartment, but it had everything a girl, a cat, and a dog needed. There was a bedroom with a bed just the right size for the three of them. There was a bathroom and a closet where Slinky liked to hide. There was a kitchen and a living room with a comfy sofa and a TV where the girl could sit down and cuddle with her pets.

What more could they ask for?

Mindy and Slinky had lived there first, and the cat had been with the girl for many years before they moved to the apartment. Dottie joined them a year ago. Mindy had found a picture of the dog online and had driven all the way to Oklahoma to adopt Dottie. Now they were a happy family.

Sometimes Slinky grumbled about having a dog around, but she didn’t really mind. Back when the cat and Mindy had lived with her parents, they had a dog there too. His name was Max, but Slinky and the other cats called him The Big Black Beast. Once in a while, Mindy and Dottie went to visit the girl’s family overnight. Then Max and Dottie could run around their property in the country and play and have a lovely time.

Slinky got to stay home. She detested rides in the car, but Dottie thought they were the best thing ever. The dog loved the twisty, curvy roads between the apartment and the family house in Eureka Springs. It was always like a grand adventure, and having Max to play with made the trip a special treat.

Slinky didn’t like to play with the dogs, so she didn’t feel like she was missing out on anything. She was quite happy to stay home and sleep.

When Dottie and Mindy went to visit the girl’s family in the country, Max would show Dottie all the best places to sniff in the yard and tell her stories about life in the Ozark Mountains. Spending time there was very different from life in the city. Around their apartment, Dottie mostly smelled cars and people and other dogs. In the country, there were cows and horses and coyotes and skunks and snakes and opossums and deer and armadillos and moles and giant crows. All those scents made her nose very happy.

Dottie loved those visits, but it was the very best to be back at home in the small apartment with her girl where it smelled just right. It smelled like home.

That particular morning, when Dottie ran away, the day had started out quite normally. It was a Saturday, so Mindy didn’t have to go to school. They woke up slowly and lazed in bed for a while. Slinky gave herself a bath in a sunbeam that hit the bottom of the bed. Mindy yawned and stretched and flopped back on her pillow again. Dottie loved the mornings when there was no rushing around or hurry, hurry, hurry.

After a late breakfast, Mindy pulled out the special going-for-a-walk leash. It was different than the one for quick potty breaks outside. That long, skinny leash meant they were going out to the big walking trail for a long, long, long walk. The dog’s ears perked up, waiting for what would come next.

Dottie, Mindy whispered, leaning down toward her. Do you want to go for a walk?

Dottie always wanted to go for a walk, but she loved this game. She barked and spun in a circle. Then she barked again and hopped up and down on her front legs three times.

Mindy laughed and said, Are you sure? We can always just stay home today?

Dottie knew her Mindy didn’t mean that. The girl was only egging her on. So Dottie played her part. She barked again, spun in a circle twice, and jumped her front legs up onto Mindy’s chest.

Okay, okay! the girl said. If you insist. We can go for a walk.

She hooked the leash onto Dottie’s collar as the dog wiggled from head to toe and nearly knocked everything off the coffee table with her thrashing fluffy tail. Her size and her long, black fur made her look like a border collie, but her brown-and-black markings were more like the Doberman part of