Marty and Shiloh normally run through the meadow behind their house together, but it is now deer season again, so they can’t go into the fields without the danger of being shot. Marty trains Shiloh not to go into the meadow and wishes that he could explain why. Shiloh runs around with a black Labrador, and Marty is glad that Shiloh has a dog friend. At school, rumors fly about Judd getting into a bar fight. Miss Talbot assigns the sixth graders a project called “Imagine the Future” (49), in which they have to write and present a report about their future careers and lives. David cannot decide what to write about, but Marty decides to write about being a veterinarian; he would love to work with animals.

That Saturday, Marty tells Doc Murphy that he wants to be a vet. Doc explains that he will have to work hard and go to college if he wants to enter a medical career. Doc also encourages him to follow his dreams. Soon afterward, Ma tells the family that Grandma Preston has been stealing other people’s glasses in the nursing home because she thinks they are her glasses.