Waggit Forever by Peter Howe

Author:Peter Howe
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2010-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

13

Disaster, Destination, and Dismay

The first part of the night’s journey was as uneventful as the Ductors expected it to be, but as the streets became more residential, the dogs’ progress became increasingly difficult. Even in the early hours of the morning, the area was livelier than the more sedate neighborhoods adjacent to the park. More people were on the sidewalks, and there was a surprisingly large number of cars on the road. Waggit began to wonder whether the decision to move the team as one group was a wise one. It had been difficult enough to move seven Tazarians and two Ductors over the past two days, but now there were twice that number. Even Beidel had decided to accompany them on this last part of their journey. Felicia certainly helped by shepherding the dogs along, and Waggit watched her with pride as she escorted a small group across the street like a canine school crossing guard.

Fortunately every inch of the curb was lined with parked vehicles, and so concealment, even for this number of animals, was relatively easy. Waggit lay under one car, waiting for his turn to cross a particularly tricky intersection. From his vantage point he could see Felicia holding up her hand to stop the dogs when she saw traffic approaching, or waving them on when all was clear. He realized how fond he was of her, and that every member of the team shared his affection, even Tazar, whose hatred of humans was legendary. Waggit was conflicted about humans. He had certainly suffered because of them. He had been abandoned in the park by one at an early age; he had been captured by park rangers and sent to the pound, where he had seen many dogs taken from their cages, never to return; and he had witnessed immense cruelty when he and Felicia had rescued Lug from men who had been throwing rocks at him.

And yet for every cruel and thoughtless human act that he had suffered or seen, he could recall an equal number of kind and caring ones. Felicia was exceptional in so many ways that he suspected she was part human and part dog, but she wasn’t the only one who had shown him compassion. He had been rescued from the pound by a woman who had befriended him in the park; on his long trek with Felicia the previous year he had met a truck driver named Frosty who had given them a lift for many miles; and then there was the car-service driver named Miguel who gave them a lift in another way. He had cheered them up with his good humor and optimism when their spirits were down. But Waggit also knew that on one level Tazar was right. Humans were the enemy if you were a free dog. They seemed frightened of animals that they couldn’t control, and dogs living on their own were something that they couldn’t tolerate. They were a strange and complicated species, Waggit decided, and he thought it best to stick with dogs.

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