Free Waggit Forever by Peter Howe Page A

tohunt when he was younger.
    After they had finished the meal, their guides suggested that they rest until it was quiet enough for them to move out. Waggit found it difficult to relax. He was on edge, thinking about Lowdown and worried about how he would handle the next part of the journey.
    â€œHow are you feeling?” he asked the old dog.
    â€œOh, not so bad,” Lowdown replied. “I ain’t exactly raring to go, but I feel a lot better than I did.”
    Gradually the noise from the streets calmed down, and finally the silence they had been waiting for settled all around them. Cicero and Pilodus decided it was time to move out, and the dogs prepared to leave. Waggit made sure that each of them said good-bye and thank you to the receptor as he held back the wire fence to let them out onto the street. They headed in the same direction as the previous night. They hadn’t gone more than a block before it became obvious that Lowdown was in trouble again. He limped badly and could move at only the slowest pace. Cicero gathered them into an empty parking lot to discuss the situation.
    â€œWe’ve gotta make better time than this,” he said. “Not only is it dangerous to move so slowly, but wealso have other dogs waiting for our help, and unless we get you to the new park quickly, we won’t be able to help them.”
    â€œI can’t go any faster than I am,” Lowdown said.
    â€œIn that case,” said the Ductor, “we’ll have to leave you to make your own way as best you can.”
    This caused a wave of growls and rumblings among the Tazarians.
    â€œYou know,” said Lowdown wearily, “before Waggit came back to fetch me after the rainstorm, I’d given up. I was in such pain, and the journey was so hard that it didn’t seem worth going on. But when I saw Waggit’s face and I realized how worried he was and how much he cared for me, then I thought ‘I’m as much a part of this team as any dog.’ Actually I think I was around before there was a team. I realized that I want to see our new home, and if I’m going to die— when I die—I want to do it surrounded by dogs who love me and I love back.” He paused for a second. “If there’s any way you can get me to the new park, please help me go there.”
    They were so moved by Lowdown’s plea, they couldn’t speak.
    â€œIf I stayed with Lowdown, how would we findthe next haven?” Waggit asked Pilodus after a few moments.
    â€œIt’s not hard,” he replied. “You just keep going on this street until you can’t go any farther and then turn uptown. That’ll bring you there. Once we’ve got these dogs settled, Cicero and I can come back to help you find it.”
    â€œLet’s do it,” said Waggit. “You guys take off and we’ll follow—slowly maybe, but we’ll get there.”
    The dogs all agreed that this was the best solution, and soon Waggit and Lowdown were by themselves.
    â€œI wish I wasn’t such a burden,” Lowdown said after they had walked in silence for a while. “Getting old is no fun, let me tell you. If it wasn’t for the alternative, I wouldn’t recommend it.”
    â€œI’ll be thankful if I grow old enough to be a burden,” Waggit replied. “A lot of us don’t. Did I ever tell you about the dog next to me in the Great Unknown?” Waggit had spent only a short period of his life in the dog pound before being rescued, but he had never forgotten it. “He was a really nice dog, but he didn’t make it. I sometimes wonder how any of us do.”
    It was in this somber frame of mind that they slowly continued down the street, stopping frequentlyfor Lowdown to catch his breath and rest his legs. As on the previous night, there were very few people about, but Waggit also worried about meeting other dogs who were not members of the Ductors. He was sure