Arthur, the Saint Bernard who delivers books to the Dog Library, thought it was time to have a party. Lately some of the dogs were so busy sniffing books that they forgot to take a nap. They needed a distraction.

Margaret the Dog Librarian agreed. She needed a break from organizing all the books.

Party food and decorations

My mother brought food to the party. Cheese puffs with extra cheese, peanut butter cookies made with chicken gravy, and banana cake with salmon frosting.

I couldn’t wait to get over there.

She also helped decorate the room with balloons and party hats. The littlest dogs got a small scarf instead of a hat.

The Paw Print game

Arthur and Margaret planned a party game. It was called the Paw Print game. Dogs marked the books they liked best with two paw prints. If they didn’t understand a book by smelling it, they added only one paw print.

Margaret made up one rule. The dogs couldn’t put their paw prints on just any book. They had to do a thorough smell test first.  She also made Stanley the Mischief Dog promise to behave himself and leave the books alone.

There were three bowls the dogs could dip their paws into before marking a book. One bowl was full of slimy mud, and my mother brought red and blue paint for the other two bowls.

Dogs who marked the most books got a prize. First place was a basket full of rubber balls and stuffed toys. Second place was a bandanna made of old socks. Third place was a box of beef strip bookmarks. They didn’t last very long.

When the game was over

When the game was over, Margaret made the dogs wash off their paws in soapy water. But it was too late. There was mud and paint all over the library floor. Some paint even got on the walls. Margaret guessed it was because of Stanley.