Waggit Forever by Peter Howe Page A

undercover.”
    The dogs thought this was an excellent plan, especially Lowdown. The novelty of the skateboard had now worn off, and he found it almost as tiring to balance on it as to walk, though not as painful. When the board was safely stowed in her backpack, Felicia attached two pieces of string to Gordo and Alona, the dogs who had volunteered to walk with her. As she explained to them, the last thing she wanted was another run-in with the authorities because of local leash laws. She then scooped up Lowdown and settled him under her arm.
    â€œYou’re heavier than you look,” she commented.
    â€œAnd smarter,” Lowdown retorted. “Just be glad it’s me with the tired old legs and not Gordo.”
    The strange caravan continued its journey. They were in a neighborhood that had once been a bustling industrial and commercial area but was now abandoned and decaying. They passed a former factory building, its long line of windows mostly smashed out and its walls decorated with scrawls of graffiti. Here and there wrecked cars littered the streets, some burned and others vandalized. In some ways the desolation of the area was a benefit to the dogs. There was no one on the street except for the occasional homeless person, who seemed as intent upon remaining unnoticeable as they were. The danger of this bleak environment was that there were no friendly passersby. Anyone the dogs met would likely be up to no good, especially the gangs that often roamed the area, according to Cicero and Pilodus.
    But the big advantage of the place was the number of buildings that could be used as havens. Almost any one of the structures they saw would offer shelter to traveling animals, but there was one that the Ductors favored. In its heyday it had been a busy factory,manufacturing screws and bolts, but now it was in the same sad state of decay as its neighbors.
    A chain-link fence with two padlocked gates surrounded the whole structure, but there were several places where the fence had been broken open, and the dogs filed one by one into the yard. It was one of those situations where dogs had an advantage over people. There was no break in the enclosure big enough to allow Felicia through.
    â€œI’ll just pop ’round the back and see if there’s a wall I can climb over or something,” she said cheerily, and disappeared around the back of the building after putting Lowdown back on the pavement. Pilodus led the dogs to a side entrance, carefully hugging the wall. The yard was lit with powerful lights that cast a yellowish orange glow, but the interior of the building was as black and dark as anywhere Waggit had ever been. Even though Pilodus had used this haven many times, he was always cautious when approaching it. The receptor had told him that it had been vandalized a number of times. All the copper piping had been stolen, and most of the machinery, and although there was little of value left to take, it was smart to be careful. Everyone was relieved whena black and white dog with a huge mane of hair poked his head out of the doorway and said, “It’s okay. Everything’s safe.”
    It was then that they heard Felicia’s screams.

12
Reunited
    T he screams were scary anyway, but because Waggit knew Felicia so well, they were especially frightening. He had watched her in tough situations before, and she had always kept her cool. He had only ever seen her break down once, and that was after they told her about the death of Lug when he was killed in the fight with Tashi. To hear the terror in her shouts now was alarming.
    â€œQuick,” he yelled, “follow me! Felicia needs us.”
    And without thinking about what they might find, the dogs all turned and ran with him back throughthe hole in the fence through which they had come just moments before. Even Lowdown hobbled after them, not because he could contribute to the group’s fighting power, but because there was nobody