Finding Boomer

           One Friday morning, Carlos filled Boomer’s cat food dish.  After school, the food was still there.

 “Dad,” Carlos said, “have you seen Boomer?  He didn’t eat.”

 “Don’t worry,” Mr. Delgado said.  “It’s a beautiful day.  He’s probably too busy exploring.” 

When Carlos’s mother came home from work, she said the same thing.  But by bedtime, Boomer was still gone.  As a result, Carlos hardly slept. 

The next morning, Mrs. Delgado had an important meeting.  Mr. Delgado stayed home to watch the baby.  “If Boomer doesn’t come home by tonight, we’ll search together,” Mr. Delgado promised.  But Carlos was impatient.

 “May I go look for Boomer myself?”  Carlos asked his father.

 “I’m sorry,” said Mr. Delgado.  “But you know you can’t go walking around the neighborhood alone.”

 Carlos left fresh food on the porch.  Every few minutes, he checked it.  He hung Boomer’s favorite toy on the fence.  He called ad called for Boomer.  Carlos began to think his cat was lost forever. 

Suddenly, Carlos had an idea.  He phoned is friend Emily.  “Boomer is missing,” Carlos said.

“I’m sorry,” Emily said, “but I haven’t seen him.”  “That’s OK,” Carlos said.  “Just call three people you know and let them know that Boomer is missing.  Tell them what he looks like.  Give them my phone number.  Then ask each of them to call three people and do the same thing.

          “That’s a great idea!”  Emily said.  “Soon, dozens of people will be looking for Boomer.” 

          Then Carlos called Max and Gino.  They both agreed to help.  Carlos waited all afternoon for a phone call.  He had almost given up when the phone rang. 

          “Hello,” a woman said.  “My name is Susan Rivera.  I live at 15 Maple Street.  I think I’ve found your cat.”

          Carlos was so excited that he ran straight to the car.  “Carlos,” Mr. Delgado said, “it might not be Boomer, you know.  There are lots of stray cats that look like our Boomer.”  But Carlos was too excited to listen.

          When Mrs. Rivera opened the door, Carlos’s heart sank.  A large orange cat was standing by her feet.  “Oh, don’t worry!” she said.  “That’s my cat, Cyrus. The cat I found is in my garage.”

          As soon as the garage door opened, Boomer jumped into Carlos’s arms.  “Boomer!” Carlos shouted.  The cat began to purr.

          Back at home, Carlos fixed a special treat for Boomer.  Then Boomer went straight to his bed for a nap.

          “I’m proud of you,” Mrs. Delgado said to Carlos.  “You couldn’t use your feet to go look for Boomer, so you used your brain instead.”

Impatient: not able to wait

garage:  room or building in which to park a car