I need help finding a book about a child and a dragon. Unfortunately my memory of the book is very very fuzzy, but I remember that it was published in the late 90’s to early 2000’s and set in the real world. I think the dragon was the only fantasy element, but I can’t remember. Aimed at young kids (5 to 7 year olds).
The baby dragon was left on a child’s doorstep in a basket covered in blankets (I think the blankets were red?) with a note asking the family to care for it and some gold coins to cover the expenses of its care. After some time with the family, they take it to the vet for vaccinations; the first needle used breaks on the dragon’s scales and, after being soothed by the child, the dragon lifts its scales slightly, like a cat fluffing up its tail, so that the vet can give it the vaccinations.
I don’t remember much else about the story from there, unfortunately; I think the dragon either flies away at the end of the book or is collected by whoever left it on the doorstep at the beginning.
The book had illustrations in it and I think the dragon was a greenish colour.
