Near-peer audio readings are by a high school student, B. Fannin.
The story has been divided into 10 pages. Click on the Tabs below to view the pages.
She glanced at the desks to her right; her friends’ eyes were glued to the graph. Phew! Summer felt relieved. KT would never let me hear the end of it if she saw ME nodding off in Ms. McCarthy’s class. After all, Summer was the science nerd who quoted things they learned from class! She’d always dreamed of being a scientist ever since she was a little girl and was diagnosed with a rare disorder that confined her to a wheelchair. She wanted to be able to discover cures to diseases such as hers.
Summer shifted in her chair and forced herself to sit up straight. She was exhausted after taking care of her new pit bull puppy, Jenner. She had to walk him, feed him, bathe him, and clean up after him. It seemed like every time she turned around, Jenner was chewing up a shoe or knocking down a picture frame.
Jenner’s already getting so big, Summer thought while rubbing her temples. He’s only 4 months old, but he’s already 20 pounds. Soon, he’ll be 50lbs, but hopefully he’ll be trained by then… Summer sighed knowing her dreams of Jenner being her service dog were very far away. Finals, on the other hand, were just around the corner.
Summer widened her eyes to keep them from closing as she fixated on the material for their final exam—the last hurdle before summer vacation. Just as she felt her eyelids getting heavy again, the bell rang and her thoughts immediately snapped to Jenner, waiting for her at home.
Summer unlocked the front door, imagining Jenner’s tail whipping back and forth when he saw her. She opened the door and paused for a moment listening for the sound of his paws across the floor.
Silence. Mom must have taken him out already.
She closed the front door and wheeled past Jenner’s empty kennel. His breakfast lay untouched in his bowl. Hm, that’s weird, she thought. Jenner loves his food—Speaking of food, I need a snack.
Summer turned into the kitchen and groaned at what she saw. Jenner got dirty AGAIN?
Her mother was bathing Jenner in the largest bucket she had ever seen. His sad eyes looked up at her, his face covered in suds.
“He vomited in the kennel,” her mother said passing her a washcloth. “I can’t tell if he’s sick or if he just got into something he shouldn’t have.” She turned off the water, and Jenner just sat in the dirty water, motionless. “He’s been unusually calm all day and he didn’t eat his breakfast. We should take him to the vet.”
Summer thought she heard the concern in her mother’s voice, but she brushed it off. She was excited to see Dr. Variola, Jenner’s veterinarian. Last time I was there, I got to run Jenner’s blood test, Summer thought, beaming at the experience. All she did was press a few buttons, but it made her feel like a scientist.
At the animal clinic, Dr. Variola ran another blood test to figure out what was wrong with Jenner. Dr. Variola brought the results into the exam room, carrying the iPad with Jenner’s records on it. “Hi everyone. I see Jenner’s not feeling well. Today, we ran some blood work to look at any infections that Jenner may have. Right now, Jenner’s blood has a low level of cells called leukocytes that fight off viruses and bacteria.” She opened Jenner’s chart. “In another test, we identified these invaders as canine parvovirus.”
“Parvovirus?” Summer remembered hearing the name before.
Dr. Variola continued. “Parvovirus is caused by a virus that infects the cells in the digestive system. It hijacks the cells and replicates itself, eventually killing the cell and wreaking havoc on the digestive system.”
That’s why Jenner threw up. Summer thought to herself. She suddenly remembered something from Ms. McCarthy’s lecture on vaccines: “But if it’s a virus, antibiotics won’t work.”
“That’s right, Summer,” said Dr. Variola. “We mainly prevent viruses using vaccines. The parvovirus vaccine works by injecting a weakened form of the virus, which stimulates the dog’s immune system to protect itself without the dog actually getting sick.”
Summer nodded, remembering when Jenner got his parvovirus shots. He was so nervous that he made sweaty little paw prints on the metal exam table. “Jenner already got the vaccine. Did it not work?”
Dr. Variola nodded her head. “Yes, the vaccine worked, but Jenner’s immune system is still developing, so he we need to ‘boost’ his immune system to keep making antibodies that protect him from the virus. We call these shots boosters.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that three vaccines are needed,” Summer said. By Summer’s calculations, Jenner was old enough to have had all three boosters, but he had only gotten two. She watched a technician stick an IV into Jenner’s leg and place a bag of liquid above the exam table. Summer could see the saline drip from the bag into the tube that connected to Jenner’s bloodstream.
“Jenner needs IV fluids to restore his water and electrolyte balance. We’ll need to keep him here, at the hospital, until his immune system is strong enough to fight the virus,” Dr. Variola explained. “Parvovirus is highly contagious, which is why we advise against any contact with other dogs until they have received all the boosters.”
Summer nodded along. Summer had been very careful to keep Jenner away from other dogs until he got all his vaccines.
Dr. Variola continued; “parvovirus can also last in the environment for several months, which is why it’s important to vaccinate your puppy before going on walks or to the park.”
Summer then remembered something that made her groan for the second time today. “Oh no.” Everyone turned to look at her: Dr. Variola, her mother, the technician, and even Jenner.
“Jenner ran away to the dog park last week,” she admitted with a sigh. He dug a hole under the back fence and escaped. I found him at the park but he was there a whole hour before I caught up with him.” Summer racked her brain trying to remember which dogs she’d seen there that day.
Jenner was now shivering from the IV fluids. He looks so pathetic! Summer thought, feeling badly for him.
Summer sat in the car; her thoughts stuck on Jenner. She reflected on Dr. Variola’s words: Jenner was fighting a very serious illness. Summer felt the guilt of Jenner escaping their yard weigh on her shoulders. As her feelings of pity for Jenner and guilt towards herself started to wear off, Summer began to feel anger bubbling. “Mom, who could have let their dogs go to the park without getting them vaccinated?! If they had just vaccinated their dog, Jenner wouldn’t be sick!” Summer exclaimed.
“Well, Summer, some people don’t have the time or money to take their pets to the vet, and other people don’t know that vaccines are important and needed,” her mom explained.
“I can’t believe that! I want to find out who gave Jenner parvovirus. Can I go to the park and ask other people if their dogs are sick?”
“Ok, I’ll check out the dog park’s Facebook page when we get home. They usually post their weekly meet up time,” her mom replied.
Summer was rolling down the sidewalk, her mom walking next to her. She loved the warm feeling of the sun on her arms. I can’t wait for summer to start! They turned the corner and saw the dog park across the street. Yes! There’s a lot of dogs here. I even recognize some dogs from the time Jenner escaped.
Summer and her mom entered the dog park, and some of the dog owners walked over to meet them at the gate. Summer’s mom had posted on the Facebook page, explaining Jenner’s illness and Summer’s wish to find out how Jenner had gotten parvovirus. They all knew that Summer would be asking them questions about their dogs’ health.
Summer quickly rehearsed the questions in her head: Did your dog receive the parvovirus vaccine as a puppy? Are they up-to-date on their vaccines? Over the past week, has your dog experienced any symptoms, such as lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, or fever?
She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the onslaught of interviews, and then rolled over to the group.
Summer and her mom were on their way back home. The questioning seemed to go by in a blur, face after face and question after question. Summer reflected on her results: Some frequent visitors of the dog park were missing, and their dogs were sick. And the healthy dogs at the park had all been vaccinated—with all their booster shots.
Summer had asked her mom to message the missing people and set up a group chat for Summer to ask them questions. They soon arrived at their house, and Summer headed to the computer to type a message to send to the missing people.
She finally composed the perfect message: “Hello, my name’s Summer. My dog Jenner has parvovirus, and I’m trying to collect data about which dogs in our neighborhood are vaccinated and which dogs have been sick recently. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?”
Slowly, the responses began to trickle in: “Yes.” “Yeah.” “Sure!” “No problem.”
Summer sent the questions. “First, what’s your name and your dog’s name? Second, was your dog vaccinated as a puppy and are they up to date on their vaccinations? Finally, Have they been sick recently?”
One person said, “My name’s Molly, and my dog’s name is Gallop. He’s still a puppy, and he hasn’t been vaccinated yet. He got sick three days ago. He started vomiting and having diarrhea. We took him to the vet, and the vet kept him for a few days. He came home yesterday, and he’s almost back to normal.”
Two other people’s responses were similar: Angelica’s dog was named Luna, and Luna got sick four days ago. Luna had not been vaccinated, and they were still at the vet’s office. Jasmin’s dog named Lulu was vaccinated but got sick four days ago. Lulu’s still at the vet’s office, and she’s slowly recovering.
One dog named Einstein seemed to be the outlier. He got sick two weeks ago and was not vaccinated. Einstein was the first dog to get sick, and Marty, Einstein’s owner, said that their veterinarian confirmed that Einstein had parvovirus. Einstein had been sick for 7 days. The veterinarian had tried everything they could, but Einstein didn’t make it. He had always been sick as a puppy and didn’t have a strong immune system.
Summer moved around the papers in front of her, looking for the graph she had created about when each of the dogs was sick.
She mulled over the data, and quickly came to the conclusion that Einstein must have given Jenner, Luna, Gallop, and Lulu parvovirus. I thought finding out who gave Jenner parvovirus would have made me happy, but I’m still worried about Jenner. He’s still sick, and there’s nothing I can do about it, Summer mused.
She overheard her mom talking to Dr. Variola on the phone, and Jenner didn’t seem to be getting better. Summer’s thoughts were sad, picturing Jenner’s uncertain future. I know! I can go back in time and take Jenner to get his parvo booster! Then, he wouldn’t have gotten parvovirus!
She quickly texted Jace, explaining Jenner’s situation and her idea. She asked him to bring over the backpack that housed their microprocessor that allowed them to travel in time. Shortly after, Jace arrived at her house.
“Hey Summer,” Jace said. His eyes brimming with compassion. “Do you want me to come with you? This is more important than my brother’s friend’s birthday party.” Jace leaned over and gave Summer a hug.
Summer smiled at Jace, trying to reassure him. “No, it’ll be ok. It’s just a quick trip!”
“Ok,” Jace smiled back. “Be safe!” He turned around and walked away from her house.
Summer sat in her room by herself. She held the backpack in her lap and unzipped the top, revealing the microprocessor’s keyboard. She placed her fingers on the ESCAPE, TAB, and CAPS LOCK keys, readying herself for the familiar tug around her navel. She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered out loud, “Mission accepted. Let’s do this.” On the count of three, she pressed the key combination, and then the feeling of free-falling overcame her.
When the feeling subsided, she felt a little tongue lapping at her leg. She opened her eyes and looked down at her legs. “Jenner!” She leaned over, picked up her puppy who was still small enough to hold in her lap.
Jenner wiggled in her arms, trying to lick Summer’s nose. Summer wrapped one arm around Jenner, holding onto him as she wheeled out of the room. Now I’ve got to find my mom and convince her to take us to Dr. Variola.
Summer’s mom and Summer, with Jenner nestled in her lap, entered the vet clinic. Dr. Variola called them back to a room, and Summer explained that she wanted Jenner to have his booster vaccines. Dr. Variola pulled the vials and syringes out of her pocket and measured the vaccine dose.
“So, Jenner will be completely protected from parvovirus, right?” Summer asked hopefully.
“Well,” Dr. Variola started to explain, “not necessarily. Vaccines can never fully prevent an illness. Some dogs don’t respond to the vaccine, so they don’t develop adequate immunity to the vaccine.” Dr. Variola reassured Summer, saying “But, the odds of Jenner staying healthy are definitely in your favor.”
Summer sat in her room, looking over at little Jenner sleeping on the bed. She leaned over and pet him. Ok, it’s time to go back to my time.
She rolled herself to the middle of the room and started the ritual that would take her back home. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the familiar time-traveling sensation. She whispered to herself, “Mission completed. Let’s go home” before pressing the keys to take her home.
Summer was rolling down the sidewalk. She pulled her sweater closer to her body, trying to keep warm in the chilly fall weather. Suddenly, her wheelchair wheel got caught in a crack in the sidewalk, and her chair shuddered to a stop. Her phone fell out of her chair, bouncing across the sidewalk.
Ahead of her, Jenner turned around and looked at her, his ears strained toward her. He trotted over toward her phone and gently picked it up in his mouth before placing it back in Summer’s lap. Jenner turned around and walked out ahead of Summer once again.
Summer looked down at her white, stocky dog. Her heart felt warm, almost like it was going to burst from love.