Ten-year-old James and his seven-year-old sister, Mandy are off to summer camp with their loyal German shepherd, Rosco. While Mandy struggles with homesickness, James's week is threatened by a prank-playing bunk mate's antics. But during an unexpect...
Just as he was on most of the McKendrick's trips and outings, Rosco, the family dog, had been brought along to Camp Hickory Ridge, too.
Rosco was allowed to sleep on the porch of Mandy's cabin each night. Normally, bringing a pet wouldn't be allowed. But Mr. Gray, the camp director, kept his own dog at camp all summer. Mr. Gray was a good friend of their uncle's.
When Mandy's parents, Mr. and Mrs. McKendrick, had decided to take a business trip while the kids were away at camp, the generous camp director had agreed to let the kids bring Rosco along.
He figured that it would not only help the McKendricks, but he thought it would be a good deal for him, too. Since his dog, Sheriff, was the only pet at camp all summer, he thought that Sheriff might welcome the company of another dog.
Rosco was two years old, and he was playful and energetic. He loved making friends with other dogs and was excited to meet Sheriff. But surprisingly, Sheriff had been anything but friendly to him.
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A large, older bullmastiff, who always seemed to be wearing a tired frown, Sheriff either lazed about all day or barked at the squirrels that he heard rustling in the woods.
What Mr. Gray did not realize, was that Sheriff liked not sharing the place with another dog. Camp Hickory Ridge was his territory and his alone. He meant to keep it that way.
So Rosco wasn't sure he'd be able to live up to his end of the deal. He didn't think that the grumpy, old dog wanted company at all.
Earlier today, at the relay races, Rosco had gotten a little carried away with the fun. Running across the lawn during a tennis ball relay, he'd snatched a ball when it fell to the ground. He'd run off with it, daring the kids to chase him. But they couldn't catch him, and in the process, he'd ruined any chance they had at winning that round.
But it was all in good fun. Even the kids had laughed. Rosco knew he wasn't supposed to do things like that, but he loved to play games like keep-away. Sometimes his rascally side got the better of him.
But Sheriff had not found his behavior at all amusing—not even a little bit. He'd thought Rosco was misbehaving and acting like a bratty puppy. He didn't see why the kids were laughing, and he didn't like that they were.
Earlier tonight, when Rosco trotted up to the dining hall porch for dinner, he saw two dog bowls that had been set for them outside the door. Both bowls were empty. Sheriff had gotten there first, and was already licking his chops, finishing up his meal. Rosco shot a questioning glance at Sheriff as the old grouch wandered off.
What's going on here? Rosco thought. Sheriff ate my dinner? After Sheriff ate his own dinner?
Sheriff turned and stared at him with cold, tired eyes and whined quietly. Yep.
Rosco had gotten the message, loud and clear—Rosco wasn't wanted here, not by that old grump.
Yes, Rosco was exactly right. Sheriff intended to see that Rosco had a terrible week. If he succeeded, then Rosco might never want to come back. And Sheriff would get to keep his territory all to himself.
So Rosco knew it was going to be a busy week. He had a lot to do—keep Mandy from missing home, find a way to make Sheriff warm up to him, and arrive early to every mealtime so that the crabby old dog didn't eat his food!
