001Hi, welcome back to the reading of Dog Town by Katherine Applegate. As we move in to chapter 11, Heartless Robot dogs are obedient. They don't have a choice. Nothing inside them but code. The fact that Metalhead didn't care about the kids wasn't all that unusual. It just showed he was as heartless as the next hunk of steel. Still, it was weird that he didn't obey. Chapter 12. The basement. Everybody thought management would move Metalhead to the basement, which is what we called the pins in the underground room. No dog liked the basement because the cages were small, dark, and cold. And the stairs to the basement were hard to find, so not many adopting families went down there. I suspected Metalhead would go to the ew waste pile. Never saw a dog fall from first
002cage to e-waste, but it could happen. That's what I was hoping for. Metalhead bugged me. While the rest of us were trying our perfect adopt me routines, he was reading his manual. He upset Gerald Dean. She had arthritis, so her adopt me routine was hard on her. She'd wiggle her bottom, walk on her hind legs, and then curtsy to the audience. She creaked and groaned, but she did her routine anyway. It was hard for her to understand why Metalhead wouldn't even try. "Hey, sugar, you with the metal head," she called to him. "You got to get yourself a routine. Otherwise, you'll never leave this place. Come on, dog. I can help you." Metalhead ignored her. Wouldn't even turn his head in her direction. Did they flip his switch? Gerald Dean whispered to me. "Nope, he's
003just rude." Geraldine circled around and around and then collapsed on the cement with a big thump. "A dog machine." "Who ever heard of such a thing?" she asked. "Apparently, they make one that comes with fake poop," I said. "Oh, for goodness sakes, what's this world coming to, Chance?" You can see why none of us had much affection for metal hounds. We'd been burned too many times. We'd do our Adopt Me routines, the licks, the tricks, the puppy eyes, and then we'd had a family hooked. The hope would cook in. We imagined car trips with our noses out the windows, bacon in our bowls, belly rubs, and cuddles on the couch. After being petted and played with, and all loved up, we'd get excited. Only to have a family adopt a mound of metal with an
004onoff switch. Nothing. More than a device, really. Chapter 13. No hairballs. We'd be left alone on the same cement floor, staring the same chain link fence, eating up the same cheap kibble out of the same chewed-up bowl. Metal dogs were easier. That's all there was to it. No muddy paws, no sharp claws, no fleas, no ticks, no hairballs, no vet bills. No pea stains on the carpet. No smelly dog food cans in the refrigerator. No neighbors calling the police because that dog is barking again. No hassles at all. Chapter 14. The barking problem. It took the better part of a week, but when Metalhead rejected yet another family, management moved him to the basement. Then she switched Gerald Dean to cage 22. All her barking had gotten the big girl demoted. This is the problem
005with barking. It's how we communicate. We bark to tell humans how we feel and they punish us. Is that fair or what? Chapter 15. Gerald Dean. Metalhead got what he deserved. Geraldine did not. We all loved Geraldine. She was a good listener. She never fell asleep while you were talking or interrupted a heartto-heart by shoving a ball in your face. Right then, Gerald Dean was nudging her water bowl under the fence so my buddy Buster could have a drink. Buster, an enthusiastic ball dog, had knocked his bowl over again. "You thirsty, Bustard?" J Gerald Dean asked. "Just don't tip it over. Okay, dog. Thanks. Thanks." The golden retriever slobbered between sloppy sips. The problem was Geraldine had been at Dog Town longer than I had. Many of the adopting family stopped by her pen, but
006nobody wanted to take her home. She was too big, too old, and too set in her ways. And we were all worried that she was on the list. Have I told you about the list? Yeah. Well, I'm not telling you now. I don't want to talk about it. Nobody does.