Luke and his hearing-ear dog, Herald

About the Book

When Luke, a nine-year-old boy who is deaf, gets a puppy named Herald, they discover they can talk to each other. They have their challenges, especially when Luke's father invites the neighborhod bully on a camping trip. But through their adventures they learn about patience, friendship, love and trust.

About the Author

Andrea and Arlene are sisters. They grew up in Michigan with another sister and brother. Although Arlene lives in Kansas, she remains close to them. Andrea works as an Ultrasound Technologist in Michigan. She is married and has two children, one son-in-law, and one grandchild. Her own two dogs, Luke and Bailey helped inspire the story. Arlene works as a Polysomnographic (Sleep) Technologist. She is married and has fi ve children, two daughter-in-laws and three grandchildren. Andrea and Arlene have enjoyed writing this book together and anticipate more to come. Luke and his hearing-ear dog, Herald Andrea J. Zoll and Arlene J. Garcia.

Table of Contents and Excerpts

Contents

1. Luke Meets Herald
2. The Closet 18
3. Patience Please 24
4. The Encounter 28
5. The Open Gate 34
6. Out of Control 42
7. Camping 47
8. The Lake 54
9. The Trail 59
10. The Campfire 65
11. The Sand Dune 73
12. Goliath 79
13. The Storm 86
14. Back to School 96

CHAPTER ONE LUKE MEETS HERALD

The car door slammed with a thud. Nine-yearold Luke saw it shut as he watched from the kitchen window, but he couldn't hear it. Luke was deaf, but he could see quite well, and he stared in disbelief. There in his father's arms was a squirming puppy. The puppy was small with white fur that stuck out in all directions. "How could this be?" Luke thought. He had wanted a puppy for so long and had asked so many times. "Can I really be getting a puppy of my own," Luke wondered.

The kitchen door opened and Luke ran to greet his father. Mr. Wise placed the small scrappy bundle of fur into Luke's arms." Here you go, Luke. He's all yours," Mr. Wise signed. The puppy began to lick and lick Luke's freckled face. It tickled and made Luke laugh. Luke signed a "thank you" to his parents and gave them a big hug.

Luke ran upstairs holding the squirming puppy. Once in his room, Luke placed the puppy on the floor and sat beside him. "What shall I name him," Luke thought. Just then Luke's father poked his head in the bedroom. "Here's a whistle, Son. You can teach your puppy to come to the sound of it," Mr. Wise signed and tossed the whistle to Luke and then left.

"I think I'll try that," Luke thought. He placed the whistle in his mouth and began to blow. The puppy's pointy ears perked up as he looked up at Luke. "Not so loud. You'll wake up the neighbors," the puppy scolded. Luke's mouth fell open and the whistle hit the floor. He didn't hear the whistle hit the floor, but he was sure he heard the puppy talk. The puppy spoke again, "You look like you just saw8 a ghost! Does that mean you can hear me?"

Luke rubbed his ears. "Yes, I can hear you, and I've never heard anyone talk before, especially not a dog. I'm going to let my dad listen to you," Luke said. The words tumbled unexpectedly from his mouth. Luke didn't like to talk. The kids at school told him his voice sounded squeaky, but it seemed easy to talk to this puppy.

"Don't bother," said the puppy. "I talked to your father all the way home in the car, and he didn't hear a thing I said. I must admit I was a little surprised you heard me. No one has ever talked back to me before. I am very lucky to be your dog." "How can I hear you? I'm deaf." Luke asked as he scratched his head. "I can speak easier with you, too. Talking has always been a struggle for me." "Maybe you hear with different and special kind of ears, and maybe I can hear you with special ears," the puppy replied. Then he scrambled up on Luke's lap and wagged his tail. "What's your name?" the puppy asked.

"My name is Luke. What's yours?" Luke asked, as he stroked the puppy's soft fur. "It's your job to name me. All dogs are named by people, but if you want me to help you I will," the puppy offered.

"Sure," Luke said, "give me some suggestions."

"My mom called me Herald," the puppy said.

"You mean like the song Hark, the Herald Angels Sing?" Luke asked. "You are as wonderful as an angel to me because I've never heard anyone tell me anything before. Herald is a good name. Do you want to meet my sister and see if she can hear you? She's not deaf like me, and she tries to help me a lot. She also makes me crazy a lot."