Domino Read Online Free Page B

and all around his neck and back. “It doesn’t even hurt much when the vet first puts a microchip in,” Dr. Bulford explained. “The chip is so small. It goes in with a needle. A lot like when you get a shot.”
    Mia squinched up her face. “I don’t like shots. And a piece of rice sounds big to me.”
    “Well, I guess Domino never had to deal with that, because the scanner isn’t picking up a chip.” Dr. Bulford sighed. “If it were, it would give me an ID number, so I could look up the owner’s information.”
    Michael was surprised at how relieved he felt. Sure, he wanted to find Domino’s real owners. But he also wanted to have more time with the kitten. He was already used to having Dominoaround, and he was not quite ready to give him up.
    “Here’s what we can do,” Dr. Bulford told them as she wrote notes on a clipboard. “You can make posters, lots of them, to hang up in the neighborhood.” She picked up Domino and handed him to Michael. “And I can send an email out to the other vets in the area.” The vet put the carrier on the examining table and held it open. “I’ll let you know if I hear of anyone who lost a friendly tuxedo kitten,” she said as Michael lowered Domino into the bag. “And you be sure to let me know if you find his family.”
    On the way home from Wags and Whiskers, Michael looked at all the light poles. The last flurries had stopped earlier that day, while he and Mia were at school. But so far no one had posted a sign for a lost kitten matching Domino’s description.
    After Michael finished his math homework and practiced his oral report, he started work on theposter. He sat in the dining room with the digital camera. Mia dragged a shoelace along the floor, trying to get Domino to chase it. Michael wanted a good shot for the poster.
    “Why do we have to make a poster, anyway?” Mia said. “If they were good owners, they would be out searching for him, putting up their own posters.” Mia wrapped the purple shoelace around the leg of a chair. Domino crouched down to watch the string inch along.
    Why is this string moving so slow? I could catch it easily, but where’s the fun in that?
    Michael could see Mia’s point. But they had to make the posters. He knew that whoever owned Domino, whoever had put that collar on him, probably loved him very much and wanted him back.
    “So, what do you think?” Michael asked, showing Mia the camera screen. In the picture, Domino looked extra cute and curious: ears pricked, eyesbright, and chin up. Then Michael pointed to the laptop screen. “The picture will go right there. Right above our phone number.”
    “The poster looks good. And the picture’s cute,” she said. “Too cute. What if we don’t find his owner, but someone else calls and wants to adopt him?”
    Michael hesitated. “Well, I guess that would be good. That’s what fostering is all about.” Michael knew his parents would be happy to hear him say that, but he didn’t really feel that way. The truth was he wanted to keep Domino as much as Mia did.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    “Don’t get mad at me,” Michael said through chattering teeth. “Dad’s the one who said you should come.” He was tired of hearing Mia whine as they trudged along the snowy sidewalk together, looking for light poles to tape posters onto.
    Mia splashed through a pile of slush. “Why do I have to help put up posters? I don’t even want to find Domino’s family.”
    Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t let Mom or Dad hear you say that,” he advised. “We won’t be allowed to foster any more cats if you act that way.”
    The sun was just a hazy glow, low in the slate-gray sky. It was getting late. Michael wondered ifanyone would even see the posters before morning. His bare fingers ached from the cold, but he couldn’t separate the posters with his gloves on. The next light pole was on the corner by John’s Pizza Place. When they got there, Michael held up a poster and Mia ripped off a