My dad straightened my hair bow for the fifteenth time and said, "Rickie, I have lived here 20 years and this is the biggest crowd I've seen except when that famous movie star, Madeira King, visited."
"Really?" I said. He nodded. I quickly scanned the area. "Dad, all of the families are here. I guess the other kids are like me and want to see and feel the real thing."
The moon settlement consisted mainly of the original large dome, a number of smaller domes for manufacturing, and an extensive network of air-tight underground corridors lined with offices and apartments. The corridors neared the surface only to access the domes and the shuttle port. We seldom came up to this level, except to see my mom off on her mining trips.
Many adults had come too. I noticed that even Deputy Administrator Wilson was here carrying her pet rat, Edgar, on her shoulder.
I was surprised she had showed up since Dad said she vehemently opposed the whole idea from the very beginning and had reluctantly agreed to the feasibility study.
Just then a fellow who worked in the computer room with my dad came up. "Waiting for your lottery prize, I see, Ms. Rickie." I nodded. "Hey, where's your mom?"
"Oh, Mom is head of one of the mining teams at the Copernicus Crater. Because it's far away, she works 4 weeks and has 2 weeks off. She'll be back next week. She's sorry to miss my big day."
"Docking in two minutes," announced the speaker above the cargo bay doors.
"Got to get to work. Bring the prize by some time." Dad's co-worker waved good-bye and drifted off down the corridor toward the computer room.
People had inhabited the moon for 30 years and the ones in charge had finally decided things were stable enough to allow us to have pets like cats and small dogs. They began by conducting this feasibility study with one cat and one dog. The way the study worked was you filled out a form, answering all kinds of questions. There were very strict guidelines about who qualified. Then from all the qualified applicants, they ran a lottery for the 2 recipients.
We were notified we qualified along with 25 others, so attended the "all hands" meeting for the drawing. I was so excited we won I bounced all the way home and didn't get to sleep until after midnight.
"Dad, what do dogs really feel like?" I asked.
"You're about to find out, Rickie. You're eleven, it's about time you had a pet. Just remember, you'll have to share Madame Flutterby with everyone. A lot of people like me have been here a long time with no pets."
"What about the rats and guinea pigs from the bio labs?"
"Well?" Dad shrugged. The purloined lab animal pets were a well known "secret".
A cheer arose when the shuttle carrying the first authorized pets docked. Everyone crowded closer; one of the cargo doors opened and the Head of Unload stepped out. Instantly it was silent.
"I have a crate for Mr. Gary Kensington."
The way parted for Gary, a single guy who worked in communications.
Gary opened the crate and took out a very sleepy, large cat and held him up for everyone to see.
"Meet Cocoa, a 2-year-old seal point Siamese tom."
Everyone cheered and clapped. Gary draped Cocoa over his shoulder like he was burping a baby and headed slowly for his apartment. Almost every one along the way ran their hand down Cocoa's back.
Michelle, a 3-year-old, yanked on Gary's pants. He stopped and stooped down so she could pet Cocoa.
"He's so soft," she whispered.
Cocoa slowly turned his head and looked at her. She exclaimed, "Oh, he has blue eyes!"
Everyone laughed and Gary escaped.
I figured I'd probably have to introduce Madame Flutterby too and started planning what to say. My dad poked me just in time to hear the announcement. "I have a live package for Ms. Rickie Bailer." Dad thrust the harness and leash into my hand.
Again the crowd parted.
Somehow I made it to the cargo door. I had a hard time believing I was the first kid on the moon to have a dog.
Since Flutterby was a seasoned traveler, she didn't need any tranquilizers like Cocoa. However, both had anti-nausea pills because of all the gravity changes involved. I put the harness on her to keep her safe until she could get used to the much lighter gravity. Flutterby readily jumped out of the crate when I called her, but looked confused when it took her a while to land.
"This is Madame Flutterby, an 18-month-old Shiba. Shibas are from Japan. They come in three different colors. Madame Flutterby is red, the best color. Her name is a take-off on a famous Puccini opera about a Japanese lady. My cousin Amy trained her as a Service Dog on earth, but lucky for me, my cousin let me have her." (*Shiba Inu information)
On the videophone I had seen Flutterby dance around greeting everyone. Here on the moon she seemed to float just like a butterfly, from person to person. She enjoyed all these new people so much she didn't pay much attention to the lighter gravity. I'm glad Amy trained her to be around lots of people by taking her to shopping malls, and things like that.
"She looks like a fox with a curly tail," someone said.
"No," a person nearby contended, "like a miniature sled dog."
People asked all sorts of questions.
Michelle stopped me with, "Why did you get a dog and not a pretty cat like Cocoa?"
"My dad's always telling me stories about his Grandpa's Border Collie. He never herded one sheep, but treed everything that moved from cats and squirrels to foxes and a mountain lion. He was a well trained dog and knew the meaning of NO. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lived to age 15. Of course after hearing all about Great-grandpa's adventures with his dog I wanted one. Plus my dad thinks every kid should have a pet."
"So do I," said Michelle. "Why did you get this kind of dog and not one like Grandpa's?"
"Border Collies are too big to come to the moon."
"Yes, but why a Shiba?" A lady with gray hair asked.
"For the last year or so we've been talking on the videophone with my cousin Amy and her family. She's 14 and had this Shiba, Madame Flutterby, who she trained as a Service Dog. After I saw what the dog could do and how smart she was, I decided that was the kind I wanted. Conveniently, Shibas don't mind living in small spaces and most females are within the 25 pound weight guideline. I'm glad my cousins's dog qualified to come here and that Amy actually let her come."
"We've all heard of Guide Dogs for the Blind, but Service Dogs?"
"The Guide Dog program expanded to include dogs for the deaf, paraplegics and epileptics, so they changed the name to Service Dogs."
We had finally worked our way though the crowd to our corridor. I looked
back; the crowd was breaking up. The Head of Unload signaled my dad to
come back to pick up a bag of dog kibbles. As he neared the cargo door,
I noticed that Deputy Administrator Wilson and her rat Edgar were still
there. I couldn't understand why she opposed having pets here, especially
since she certainly enjoyed her pet rat. Everyone knew Edgar. He always
wore elegant beaded collars and frequently rode on her shoulder as she
strode down the corridors tending to business.
On the way home we ran into Mr. Gonzales. He designs, builds and maintains all the space suits here. My mom had talked him into making my first one when I was a toddler, so I could go outside and play. (*related picture) He knelt down and ruffled Flutterby's ears. "Hello Madame," he said and she wiggled all over.
He looked up at me and said, "Bring her by next week and we'll fit her for a suit. A girl and her dog need to be outside."
"Wow, thanks Mr. Gonzales," I gushed at his retreating back. Only miners like my mom and exterior maintenance people spent any time outside, so Mr. Gonzales had offered us a real privilege.
When we got to our apartment, I took Flutterby into the kitchen and gave her kibbles and water. Then I joined my dad in the living room; he was already talking to Amy and her family. He said, "Here's Rickie."
"Hi," I said. "Thank you so much! Flutterby's here. She arrived safely. She's fine. I love her. And I need to know more about the Service Dog program and how you got her. She's eating in the kitchen. I'll go get her."
When I walked into the kitchen, there sat Edgar. "Edgar's in here," I squealed.
"What?" Dad called.
"Edgar's in the kitchen! He must have come in through the air duct."
"Pick him up. Get him out of Flutterby's reach," Dad shouted.
"Don't worry Dad, Flutterby is just watching him."
In the kitchen Edgar sat on his haunches across the bowl from Flutterby. Edgar held a dog kibble in his front paws and daintily nibbled on it. Flutterby just lay there and graciously shared her dinner.
Dad flew into the kitchen, scooped Edgar up, and thrust him into my hands. "Take him home immediately."
"Ok! Ok!"
The door bell rang. "I'll get it." Dad said. "Don't you know that Shibas were used in Japan to hunt small game? If she had taken a bite out of that rat, she and the whole study would have been history."
I heard excited voices in the living room. Edgar listened for awhile then finished eating his kibble and started nosing around my hand for more. I gave him a couple more, but he wasn't interested in my selection, so I put him down by the bowl and said, "You picky rat, get your own."
I heard a rapid intake of breath behind me and turned to see Deputy Administrator Wilson standing there.
Flutterby continued to lay serenely across the dish from Edgar. Edgar selected the kibble he wanted and I picked him up and handed him to Ms. Wilson.
"Why is the dog...uh, just laying there?" She asked.
"Amy taught her as a Service Dog to leave other animals alone."
"I saw the file. She failed Service Dog training." Her voice was hard.
"Yes, she's terrified of gun shots. Otherwise, she was one of the best dogs they'd ever had."
"Well, that won't be a problem here since guns are banned."
She turned to go. "Good night.... Thanks for keeping Edgar safe."
It was bedtime. I smiled as I put on my PJs. "Flutterby, we're going to have so much fun. We'll have adventures just like Great-grandpa and his dog."
Flutterby curled up on the rug next to my bed. Just before I fell asleep, I told my dad, "I finally have my dog and tomorrow our adventures on the moon begin."
"Actually," he said, "I think they've already started."
Flutterby opened one eye and barked.