Nose Prints  
 


It was fun for Patrick for a little while to buddy up with  Henry.  It made him feel impawtant, but sometimes he wished for some friends to play with that were his own age.  Someone like Guinness, who he missed every day.  He knew she was gone, but he couldn't help wishing she could come back.  She always knew what game to play next.  Without her, Patrick got bored easily.

Wiggle was feeling a little queasy too.  After Henry told her stories about all the homeless dogs, she felt badly that they could not do more to help. 

Surely they had room for more Paws On Board?
Everyone liked the idea except for Henry.

"Let me talk to him," said Wiggle.

"Good Luck," said Patrick, "he won't even let me bring up the subject without biting my head off!" 

"Yeah, us too!" said the terriers.

Henry didn't really bite them, that was just an expression Patrick used.  But he did make growly, snappy, bad mood noises whenever anyone mentioned that there was still room in the WiggleBus.

One day when Henry was moping around inside the bus, Wiggle decided to try to broach the subject with him.
"Do you think we will ever add another dog to our family?" she asked him gently.

"Maybe someday," said Henry.  "I just don't want anyone to mess up this window."

"Why?" Wiggle asked, not understanding what was bothering Henry.

"Look," Henry pointed. "Guinney Gumdrop's nose print is still on the glass.  I never want anyone to mess it up, or to ever wash it away."  

Henry tried his very best not to cry when he told this to Wiggle, but anyone who knows Henry, knows this did not work.
"I'm so sorry I mentioned it," sighed Wiggle.  "I didn't mean to make you cry. There are some tissues in my glove box," she said.  

"You are not making me cry," said Henry.  "It's just so hard to go on into the future without her. I can still see her snout out the window.  No one could ever take her place".

"No one ever SHOULD take her place," said Wiggle. "But we could try to be like her, and Guinness believed in welcoming rescues as much as she could.  Maybe you could find a way to preserve that nose print so no one will ever mess it up," she suggested.
Henry's tail began to wag. "Wiggle you are BRILLIANT!" he exclaimed.  "I will call the FBI to find out how to preserve this nose print."

"The FBI?" asked Wiggle in a surprised voice.

"Yes, Furlock Bones Investigator," said Henry."He will know."

Wiggle was happy to see Henry try to find a way to keep the special nose print.   She was also secretly hoping to  talk to a real law enforcement dog.  She could ask Furlock Bones things to teach kids how to stay safe.  

"Maybe Furlock will help us both," she thought.