Mutt's Promise Read online

  He was afraid of them!

  Later, when Luna remembered the encounter, she couldn’t explain why she did what she did. It just felt right.

  She started to dance.

  Without taking her eyes off the bear’s face, she trotted toward him. She trotted backward, just the way Gilbert had taught her. She wiggled her butt and stood on her hind legs.

  The bear stared back. His teeth clacked a little less. He stopped snorting.

  Luna sang (or believed she was singing), in a soft voice, “There’s the moon eating olives . . .”

  The bear stopped making any sounds at all as he stared at her.

  “You’d think he’d never heard a dog sing before,” Charlie whispered to Chief.

  The wisecrack was not a good idea. The bear lifted his massive paw and turned toward Charlie.

  Luna sang a bit louder, to bring the bear’s attention back to her. He hesitated, half turned in Charlie’s direction.

  Luna continued until the giant creature swung back around to watch Luna ’s steady performance.

  “I think he’s just afraid,” she sang.

  Chief muttered, “He’s afraid of us?”

  Luna sang, “Yes, I think he’s afraid of us.”

  When Luna stopped singing and dancing, the four of them stood in the woods, silently staring at one another. Then without a fuss, the bear slipped away, as light on his feet as a cat.

  The dogs stayed still, waiting.

  After a few minutes had passed, Charlie asked, “What just happened?”

  “I’ll tell you what happened,” Chief replied. “Luna danced away a bear.”

  Their triumph over the creature was exhilarating. After he left, they trotted a distance before stopping to celebrate by nipping at each other’s necks and playing, a luxury they hadn’t indulged in for a long time. For a few minutes, they were youngsters again, able to believe that it was important to wrestle one another to the ground. They faked one another out; they tumbled; they forgot to worry.

  But as they lay panting on the ground, fear returned.

  “What if he had decided to attack instead of run away?” Charlie mused.

  “Shhh,” said Luna. “Don’t even think about that.”

  “I’ll tell you what would have happened,” Chief said. “He was twice the size of all of us put together. Did you see those paws? He would have demolished us!”

  Tired as he was, he scrambled to his feet. “Let’s go,” he said with his most commanding bark.

  Luna and Charlie defied him silently, simply staying where they were, sprawled on the ground.

  Chief upped the ante. “What if that giant thing returns with friends?” he asked.

  Even though their bones felt like water, Luna and Charlie lurched upright.

  When Chief began to move, they followed.

  “Where are we going?” Luna asked.

  Charlie replied, “Let’s find a spot near the road to sleep tonight.”

  They often returned to the road, pulled by the unspoken hope that it would eventually lead them home.

  chapter twenty-one

  OUT OF THE WOODS

  Circumstances change. One day’s hopeful wish can become the next day’s disaster. The dogs were reminded of that in the morning when they found themselves trapped inside a large net.

  “This is my fault,” barked Chief loudly as two people scooped them up and hoisted them inside two crates waiting in the back of a large van. “I forced us to sleep by the road. I’m a fool.”

  “You aren’t a fool,” Luna cried out, without hesitation. “You did the right thing, how could you know?”

  Charlie collapsed into the silence of captivity, as though their days of freedom had never happened.

  They didn’t have time to argue or philosophize. Before they realized what was happening, their captors—a large man and a small woman—had climbed into the back of the van. The man opened Luna’s crate and reached his hand toward her. She growled as fiercely as she could.

  “Take it easy, girl,” he said. “Sit.”

  Even though his voice was gentle, Luna began to tremble, despite her efforts to remain still. Her shaking became more violent, but she didn’t budge as the man lifted one ear and then the other.

  “Look at this!” he called out. “This dog has her name tattooed on her ear.”

  Luna couldn’t help herself. She yanked her head away from his hands and then cowered, waiting for her punishment.

  It didn’t come.

  Instead, she heard the man’s voice grow even softer.

  “Don’t worry, girl,” he whispered as he squatted so that his face was at the same level as hers. She kept her gaze looking downward, but sneaked a glance at his. She saw nothing there that was frightening.

  “This one is called Luna,” he called out to his companion.

  “Luna?” said the woman. “That sounds familiar.”

  The man looked puzzled.

  “It does,” he said. Then he snapped his fingers. “Now I know where I heard that name,” he said. “She’s one of Raymond’s. You know, Puppy Paradise Raymond.”

  “Is that possible?” the woman replied. “We’re miles and miles from there. You really think she could be Raymond’s?”

  The sound of that hated name chilled Luna. But she was calmed a bit by the way the man and woman both said it—Raymond—with irritation, the way Gilbert used to exclaim when he’d been bitten by a mosquito.

  Was she imagining it, or were these people different?

  “Here, Luna,” the man said, holding out a dog biscuit. “You must be hungry.”

  Despite the signs that this man wasn’t threatening, the treat put Luna back at Raymond’s. Fear swept through her, making her feel she was being tested, knowing that if she lunged for the biscuit, she risked finding herself trapped in Hades’ jaws. She willed herself to stop shaking and sat motionless, staring at the bottom of the crate.

  “Look at this, Dr. Suzy,” the man said in surprise.

  Dr. Suzy looked up and said with a sigh, “I know, Bill. They’re all afraid to eat.”

  Bill inspected their ears, dog by dog, and wrote their names in a notebook before scooting into the driver’s seat.

  “Don’t worry,” Dr. Suzy said to the dogs in a clear, calm voice. “You are going to be fine now. You don’t have to run anymore.”

  None of them budged, but they were listening intently.

  “Why should they believe me?” the woman said as she slid into the passenger seat. “That man should be arrested.”

  “Maybe he will be this time,” Luna heard Bill say. “Finally someone who worked for him is willing to speak out. We’ve been hearing about him for years but have never been able to pin anything on him.”

  “I couldn’t believe it,” said Dr. Suzy, “when you told me about the young guy interviewed on the radio. The one who worked for him.”

  They hit a bump in the road, and Bill called out to the dogs, “You okay back there?”

  Luna tried to focus on what the humans were saying.

  “Why did Louis decide to blow the whistle on Raymond?” Dr. Suzy asked.

  Bill explained. “It was actually these three!” he said. “When they made a break for it, Louis realized how miserable they must be. Their courage inspired him to tell the truth about Puppy Paradise. He went straight to the police with a full report, complete with pictures he’d taken.”

  “Did you hear that?” Luna asked Chief.

  Chief nodded sleepily.

  “Where do you think they’re taking us?” Luna asked.

  There was no answer. She saw that both Chief and Charlie had drifted off. Soon Luna followed them into a kind of half-sleep, her exhaustion overcoming her uncertainty.

  Luna and the others woke up as the van was slowing to a stop.
r />   They had arrived at a bright yellow building. Dr. Suzy and Bill slipped collars onto each of the dogs and snapped on a leash. This was something new, but the humans were so matter-of-fact about it that Luna and the other two dogs didn’t object, and allowed themselves to be led inside.

  Luna noticed that the yard was dotted with crocuses, just beginning to bloom. Winter was over.

  chapter twenty-two

  SECOND CHANCES

  Welcome to Second Chances,” Dr. Suzy said.

  Luna gave a quick look around. The main room wasn’t much, just some chairs, and a woman sitting behind a desk.

  Dr. Suzy handed Luna’s leash to Bill, who was holding on to Chief and Charlie. “Could you take our new guests out back while I catch up here?” she asked.

  The three dogs followed Bill without making a sound, not knowing what to expect. When they walked through the door, Luna couldn’t help but wag her tails at the delightful sight that greeted her. Dogs of all shapes and sizes roamed free in a room filled with old sofas and all kinds of toys. The dogs were neatly groomed and well behaved, eyeing the newcomers with curiosity but without commotion.

  Suddenly Luna felt overwhelmed. She began to tug on her leash, trying to find somewhere to hide.

  Bill knelt down and petted her.

  “I know, it’s a lot to take in, girl,” he said. “Come with me.”

  Charlie and Chief began to whimper.

  “You too, boys,” Bill said in a kind voice.

  He led the friends to yet another room, where several big cages were spread around, with plenty of space between them, each cage occupied by one dog. It was very clean. The animals in this room barked out weak greetings, and it was obvious that they were less robust, more timid, than the dogs out front.

  Luna, Charlie, and Chief didn’t make eye contact with any of them. After Puppy Paradise, they were wary of other dogs. Bill seemed to understand their need for privacy. He led the group to cages arranged in a cluster near one another. But these cages were nothing like the prisons that had confined them at Raymond’s. These were large and clean, with solid bottoms, not wire floors that cut into their paws. Each cage contained a chew toy and a pillow, and the doors were unlocked. They could walk out if they wanted to.

  Charlie immediately grabbed his toy between his teeth, but Luna and Chief ignored theirs. They didn’t have things like that back on the farm. It meant nothing to them.

  At the beginning, they did little else besides sleep. They were exhausted, far more than they realized. They’d quickly run off that huge meal at the farmhouse. All three of them were bony, their coats dull and hanging on their frames.

  It took some time for Luna to realize how awful they looked. Out in the wild, she had come to see Charlie as a hero. In her eyes, his fur had no longer seemed scraggly but instead wild and commanding. In their new peaceful surroundings, Charlie looked scrawny and weak, even pathetic.

  All of them fell sick shortly after they arrived.

  Dr. Suzy examined them.

  “Just as I suspected,” she told Bill. “They all have worms.”

  Luna’s ears perked up. “Worms!”

  Chief told her these were a different kind of worms, but she didn’t care. The worms, whatever kind they were, just reminded her of how much she missed her mother, Gilbert, and the farm. She fell asleep whimpering with sorrow, remembering the day she had told Mutt that she was afraid of worms and her mother had teased her out of it. It seemed very long ago.

  Days passed and she barely moved, weakened by the worms that had invaded her stomach. To Luna’s disappointment and shock, she was almost as miserable as she had been at Raymond’s Puppy Paradise. Someday she would come to realize that it made sense: For weeks she had lived in fear—fear of being beaten, fear of humiliation, fear of being scapegoat for a day. For weeks her constant companions had been filth, hunger, and dread—and the desire to escape. That desire had been a powerful motivation. Now it was gone.

  Luna and the other two no longer needed to do their nightly exercises, or to buck one another up. They had lost purpose. Now they didn’t feel like doing anything at all. So even though they weren’t trapped inside their crates, they never ventured outside except when Dr. Suzy and Bill took them for fresh air.

  One day Luna overheard Bill and Dr. Suzy talking about them.

  “Is something seriously wrong?” Bill asked.

  Dr. Suzy didn’t answer right away.

  “Physically they’re getting better every day,” she said. “But I think they are depressed.”

  “Should we be doing something else?” Bill asked.

  Dr. Suzy shook her head.

  “I’ve seen this many times,” she said, “especially in brave animals like this bunch. Sometimes it’s the ones with the most guts that have a hard time when they’re rescued. It’s like they’ve used up more than they had, and now they have to build themselves back to the starting point, where they feel like living again.”

  Luna was upset. She knew she should feel happy to be with these kind people, but instead she just felt limp, as if the spirit had been drained out of her. Would she ever care about anything again? She couldn’t see how.

  Then Bill asked the question that was always on her mind.

  “What do you think will happen to them?” he asked.

  Dr. Suzy walked over to Luna with a strange look on her face.

  “Honestly?” the vet replied. “I believe they are going to be fine, but I can’t lie and tell you why or how. Some dogs are survivors and some aren’t. This bunch? They definitely are.”

  Hearing Dr. Suzy call them survivors was the first moment Luna began to feel safe.

  chapter twenty-three

  CHARLIE’S TURN

  Luna stared listlessly at the television set playing at low volume. It didn’t interest her at all.

  Charlie, however, was fascinated by the voices and the flashes of light and shadow that came from the box. He told Luna and Chief that it brought back memories of his owners, who had spent a great deal of time staring at the TV, with Charlie nestled on their laps.

  The television meant nothing to Luna and her brother. There hadn’t been one at Gilbert’s house. Besides, there had been no extra time for him and his family to sit around; their shack hadn’t been built for lounging.

  One day Luna asked Charlie, “What do you find so interesting about it?”

  He didn’t take his eyes off the screen.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s fun!”

  Luna looked at him and then realized that Charlie had changed since they’d gotten to the shelter. If someone asked her to describe him now, she’d say he was cute!

  His shaggy fur was clean and fluffed up; his eyes were bright and alert, peeping out from the curls that flopped onto them. His stomach had filled out just enough to make him look sturdy. For the first time since she’d met him, Charlie’s looks matched his good-natured personality.

  Luna soon realized she wasn’t the only one who had noticed the transformation. The people running the shelter moved Charlie to the other part of the building, to be with the dogs who had recovered from whatever trauma had brought them there.

  He didn’t disappear. Not at all. All of the dogs gathered together in the yard most days, and Charlie would wander over to Luna and Chief to say hello. But he was disappearing in another way. While Luna and her brother remained in a strange state of numbness, Charlie had regained his spirit. He was always chasing a ball, or nipping at someone to get them to play with him. It was as if nothing bad had ever happened to him.

  Luna envied him, but she was also glad.

  “Someone is going to adopt you any minute,” she said to her friend one day.

  “I agree!” Charlie said happily. “That goes for all of us!”

  But Chief and Luna were doubtful.

  “Wh
at’s wrong with us?” Luna asked her brother when Charlie had run off to play with someone else. “No one wanted us back at Mr. Thomas’s. No one’s going to want us now.”

  “That’s not true,” Chief said.

  “Oh, yeah?” said Luna. “Where are Happy and Alegre?”

  It was the first time she’d spoken their names in a long time.

  “You know where they are,” said Chief. “They were adopted.”

  Luna felt tired. “Yes,” she said. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

  She didn’t realize that Charlie had rejoined them.

  “I don’t get it,” he interjected. “Until the two of you arrived I had completely given up. But now the tables are turned and I can’t make you feel better.”

  He shook his head sadly. “Why?” he asked.

  Luna was touched by her shaggy friend’s sweetness.

  “You do make us feel better, Charlie,” she said. “You really do.”

  Soon, just as Luna predicted, a family came to take Charlie home with them. When that day arrived, Charlie barked at Luna.

  “Could you do your little dance for me, one last time?” he asked.

  Luna started to shake her head. She just didn’t feel like it.

  Chief chimed in. “Come on, Luna,” he barked.

  Chief began to walk forward and backward, a clumsy version of Luna’s dance.

  As she watched her brother, something shifted inside her. Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself smile.

  And then she trotted over to Chief and gave him a playful nudge.

  “Not like that, silly,” she barked.

  “Oh, yeah?” he asked. “Then how?”

  “Like this,” Luna said, and proceeded to show him. Her dance was the same but different. Before, Luna had moved with the carefree joy of a puppy. Now each step she took carried the weight of everything that had happened to her.

  “That is beautiful,” Chief said, his voice full of admiration.

  “Thank you,” Charlie added.

  “You are welcome,” replied Luna. Then, without realizing she was doing it, she gave a little bow, just as Gilbert had taught her.