too.”
I jump back in. “Well, yeah, I already thought of that. This brings me to my second poster.” Gosh, they sure know how to mess up an orchestrated moment. I’ll explain the PSAs to them later, I guess.
I point to the second poster that Maggie holds.“We need to find out if any other vets around Ambler have treated animals with antifreeze poisoning. We need to check with the wildlife rehab.” I nod at Brenna. “And we ought to check with state-park rangers, too.”
Jules adds, “Let’s not forget the animal shelter. There are a couple vets on staff there and they may have noticed something.”
“Perfect!” Brenna says. “We may be able to find a geographic center for these cases.”
David looks confused. “Huh?”
Brenna has taken over. “By talking to wildlife specialists and vets who have treated sick pets, we can map where these animals have been. Then we can find the source of the antifreeze.”
“And if we can find it, then we can clean it up and prevent other animals and children from finding it,” Sunita chimes in.
“Exactly!” I am happy that everyone gets my plan, but I had a really exciting ending for my presentation. I was going to dramatically introduce my PSA idea by pretending that I’m an announcer on television. Oh well. No reason to bother with it now; everyone is already dividing up the duties.
Brenna and Jules will contact the state-park rangers and Brenna’s own parents. Jules will also call the animal shelter. Sunita and Maggie will talkto Gran and the other vets around Ambler. Josh and David will get a map and chart where the sick animals have been.
“And what will you be doing?” David asks me.
“I will be compiling all of our results and working on details of the PSAs.”
“What PSAs?” Brenna asks.
“Well, I was going to go over that now. But I think I’ll wait until we get a handle on finding the source of the antifreeze,” I say, looking around the room. “I can tell you the PSA part will be exciting, and it will involve all of us.” And maybe even get my mother interested in my life again.
David looks at Josh and shrugs. Brenna shakes her head and pulls out her phone.
I hear Sunita whisper to Maggie, “Do you know what she’s planning?”
“No idea,” Maggie answers.
Good. I’ve managed to maintain a little drama.
We begin our research right away. I watch as the Vet Volunteers pair up, sharing clipboards and paper. Josh and David go upstairs to see if the store has an area map. Everyone is getting down to business, so I pull out my pad and start writing out my ideas for the first PSA.
We’ve only been working for about ten minutes when Josh and David return with a rolled-up mapand a big corkboard. Josh leans the corkboard against one of the big bookcases and David pins the map up. Brenna, still on the phone, walks over to the map. Jules carries her clipboard over to Josh. From where I’m sitting, I see him look at what Jules has written and poke a few colored pins into the map. David wraps colored string around the pins. Interesting. That must be a region they found sick animals in.
I can hear Maggie talking with Gran. Sunita takes notes as Maggie repeats what Gran is telling her. This is going to work, I can tell!
Two hours later, we have nine pins on the map, indicating reported cases of antifreeze poisoning. Five are for pets, including Jinx, and four are for wild animals that have been diagnosed with, or are assumed to have, antifreeze poisoning. David and Josh stretch the string between the pinpoints, creating a circle. The Vet Volunteers huddle around the map.
“X marks the spot!” David says, pointing.
“Hey, that’s not far from my house!” Brenna exclaims, peering at the map. “It’s close to where the stream empties into Beltzville Lake.”
I point to a blue pin. “Look at this. Puff lived right here at the lakeshore. She’s the closest pin to the water.”
“She was the first fatality that we know of, right?”
I jump back in. “Well, yeah, I already thought of that. This brings me to my second poster.” Gosh, they sure know how to mess up an orchestrated moment. I’ll explain the PSAs to them later, I guess.
I point to the second poster that Maggie holds.“We need to find out if any other vets around Ambler have treated animals with antifreeze poisoning. We need to check with the wildlife rehab.” I nod at Brenna. “And we ought to check with state-park rangers, too.”
Jules adds, “Let’s not forget the animal shelter. There are a couple vets on staff there and they may have noticed something.”
“Perfect!” Brenna says. “We may be able to find a geographic center for these cases.”
David looks confused. “Huh?”
Brenna has taken over. “By talking to wildlife specialists and vets who have treated sick pets, we can map where these animals have been. Then we can find the source of the antifreeze.”
“And if we can find it, then we can clean it up and prevent other animals and children from finding it,” Sunita chimes in.
“Exactly!” I am happy that everyone gets my plan, but I had a really exciting ending for my presentation. I was going to dramatically introduce my PSA idea by pretending that I’m an announcer on television. Oh well. No reason to bother with it now; everyone is already dividing up the duties.
Brenna and Jules will contact the state-park rangers and Brenna’s own parents. Jules will also call the animal shelter. Sunita and Maggie will talkto Gran and the other vets around Ambler. Josh and David will get a map and chart where the sick animals have been.
“And what will you be doing?” David asks me.
“I will be compiling all of our results and working on details of the PSAs.”
“What PSAs?” Brenna asks.
“Well, I was going to go over that now. But I think I’ll wait until we get a handle on finding the source of the antifreeze,” I say, looking around the room. “I can tell you the PSA part will be exciting, and it will involve all of us.” And maybe even get my mother interested in my life again.
David looks at Josh and shrugs. Brenna shakes her head and pulls out her phone.
I hear Sunita whisper to Maggie, “Do you know what she’s planning?”
“No idea,” Maggie answers.
Good. I’ve managed to maintain a little drama.
We begin our research right away. I watch as the Vet Volunteers pair up, sharing clipboards and paper. Josh and David go upstairs to see if the store has an area map. Everyone is getting down to business, so I pull out my pad and start writing out my ideas for the first PSA.
We’ve only been working for about ten minutes when Josh and David return with a rolled-up mapand a big corkboard. Josh leans the corkboard against one of the big bookcases and David pins the map up. Brenna, still on the phone, walks over to the map. Jules carries her clipboard over to Josh. From where I’m sitting, I see him look at what Jules has written and poke a few colored pins into the map. David wraps colored string around the pins. Interesting. That must be a region they found sick animals in.
I can hear Maggie talking with Gran. Sunita takes notes as Maggie repeats what Gran is telling her. This is going to work, I can tell!
Two hours later, we have nine pins on the map, indicating reported cases of antifreeze poisoning. Five are for pets, including Jinx, and four are for wild animals that have been diagnosed with, or are assumed to have, antifreeze poisoning. David and Josh stretch the string between the pinpoints, creating a circle. The Vet Volunteers huddle around the map.
“X marks the spot!” David says, pointing.
“Hey, that’s not far from my house!” Brenna exclaims, peering at the map. “It’s close to where the stream empties into Beltzville Lake.”
I point to a blue pin. “Look at this. Puff lived right here at the lakeshore. She’s the closest pin to the water.”
“She was the first fatality that we know of, right?”
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