001Chapter 56. Last minutes. There wasn't time for Geraldine to do her routine, so she gave the little boy a big sloppy lick and nuzzled his leg. Then she leaned ever so gently against the gray-haired lady. Soon, front desk was on the scene. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Dog town is closed," she said. "This is what this is the dog we want. This Geraldine," the grandma declared, as if she hadn't heard a word front desk had said. The little boy gave an oversized nod. Then he buried his face in Geraldine's thick fur. "We're not leaving unless she comes with us," the grandma declared. Front desk eyebrows shot up. Her jaw turned hard and her hands flew to her lips. "Excuse me, ma'am." This tiny woman was twice the age of front desk. Stroud closer and closer until she
002was right up in front desk face. "This dog needs a home," she said. Front desk stepped back. "She was no match for this woman who could have been a bouncer. That's how tough she was." "What was front desk going to do?" called the police on a tiny gray-haired woman who wanted to give a home to the dog in the last minutes of her last day on Earth. Front desk came to her senses. Soon she was bent over the paperwork and I was saying goodbye to our beloved Geraldine. Oh, Chance, you hold it together now. Dog, I found me a home, Geraldine whispered. And you will, too. Then all of us at Dog Town began to howl as we watched Geraldine lumber out of Dogtown with her forever family. Chapter 57. Group wag. We celebrated big
003time that night. We danced and pranced and staged a group wag the likes of which had never been seen. Long and lovely, short and stubby, bushy and bobbed, curly and corkcrew. Every dog in Dog Town wagged her tail at the same time. Our hearts were busting. We've done our part to help our sweet Geraldine find her forever home. Your heart is a muscle, I told Mouse at dinner that night. It grows stronger the more you use it. Metalhead stuck his nose through the fence. I'm planning on leaving tomorrow, he announced. He didn't care to discuss matters of the heart. He was just concerned that I would keep up my end of the deal. I'll bring the leash first thing in the morning, I said. Chapter 58. escape. I always make good on my promises. That
004may be my Aussie side. We're very responsible, so I got up with the first train whistle, hopped behind the counter, picked out a tiny dog leash, and made my way down to the basement. When I arrived, Mouse was waiting. "Where are you going?" I asked Metalhead as I pushed the leash through the chain link. "Home," he said. Mouse slipped the handle over the shoulder and began climbing up to the latch. "How are you planning to get out of Dog Town?" I thought you and the little guy would create a distraction. Then I'll sneak out the front door. I hadn't planned on helping Metalhead with anything beyond getting out of the basement. And I certainly wasn't going to put mouse in jeopardy. He was more vulnerable than we were. If a human saw him, they'd set
005a mouse trap, put out poison, or call in the cats. I shook my head. Too risky. Front desk likes you. Just go lick her foot. Metalhead suggested as mouse hooked the leash on the latch and dropped the link down. Metalhead grabbed the leash with his steel teeth and pulled the latch, clicked open, and Metalhead was out. Chapter 59. The smell of home. The escape from the basement seemed to happen more quickly than Metalhead thought it would. He quivered as he walked out of his cage. Was he scared? Not possible. Metal dogs didn't have feelings of any kind. Anywh who, we done our part. Now we needed to bow out gracefully, but it was still too early. Front desk and the volunteers didn't come in till 7:30. So we walked with Metalhead to the lobby. No
006danger in that. Then Metalhead did something that surprised me. He started talking about his humor. I find great satisfaction in hearing my little human read to me. I love when he talks about his adventures at school. Once he brought me to show and tell and all the kids took turns giving me orders. Oh, what a day that was. I love stories, so I started I stayed a little longer than I should have. The next thing I knew, there were footsteps on the path. We ducked behind the counter. The keys clinkedked, the lock turned. Awful stuffy in here, management told a volunteer as he pushed open the door. At least it's warm, the volunteer said, taking her mittens off. I'm going to keep the door open for just a minute to air the place out, management
007said, propping open the door with a bag of kibble. The smells coming from outdoors flooded my nostrils. Wet leaves, pine trees, wood fires burning, the intense aroma of a blue sky. I hadn't smelled the outside in such a long time. When management and the volunteer had gone to put their lunches away, I hopped to the door just close enough to get a nose full of freedom. What was the harm in one little sniff? Chapter 60. The call of the open door. We waited for management and the volunteer to walk back to the employees break room to put their lunches in the refrigerator. Now with the door propped open, all Metalhead would have to do was walk out. Mouse climbed on my back and we escorted Metalhead to the door. Good luck, I said, but the
008smell I couldn't turn away. Even the best trained dogs have a difficult time resisting an open door. Still, I knew better. It was the beginning of December. There was no way a three-legged dog and a small mouse could survive the winter outside. I turned away from the open door, but as I did, I saw something. Something I had dreamed about every night.