Dog Daze (17 page)

L
eave my mother alone!” Aneta forced herself between the two women. Wink yelped. “You are a bad person, trying to kill Wink.”

Wink’s wriggling caught Mrs. Leonard’s eye. “That dog has been nothing but problems since he was born. Freak—with that bad eye. He’s no worth to anyone.”

Aneta gasped.
How could she say that?

The male police officer stepped up and placed a hand on Mrs. Leonard, who continued to shout. Mom regained what Aneta called her “lawyer face,” maneuvering Aneta past the spluttering woman and up the hill toward the girls. “Thanks, ‘Neta. That woman wanted a fight, and unfortunately, I wanted to give her one. Thanks, sweetie, too, for saying ‘my mother.’ Do you know that’s the first time you’ve called me that?”

“You are such a Jasper, Mom,” Aneta said with a shaky smile.

“So are you, sweetie.”

“You got everything?” Sunny was twirling with her head tilted back. The girls were in front of the community center, waiting for the tail end of the Waddle to waddle past.

“Time for the reveal,” Esther said with a grin, whipping off the cover to the wagon.

“Wow.” Vee admired a miniature, real-looking desk. “You and your sibs did a great job. What’s it made out of?”

Esther pointed. “Cardboard, except for where Wink sits. The seat is my little brother’s square stool to reach the sink in the bathroom. He wanted Wink to sit on it.”

Sunny joined them. “Where’s the sign?”

Esther drew it out from under the desk. The girls read it in unison and broke up laughing. “Good enough?”

“More than!” Aneta said, her eyes crinkling. “Oh, Esther. This will work.”

They slid a squirmy Wink into his costume. He aroo’d a few times in protest. Aneta hung the last prop over the collar of her T-shirt for later and held him in the crook of her arm.

“Ready, action!” Sunny sang out, spinning around the group. The tail end of the parade waddled by. Esther pulled the wagon into position. Wink whined and tried to wriggle out of Aneta’s arms to join the final three bassets padding along. Two of them had white tip-top tails circling the air like Wink, while the third carried his like a question mark.

Aneta knelt and kissed Wink on the top of his velvety head, whispering, “Okay, here we go.” She wanted to ask God again for Wink, but with the help given for battling the Hound, she thought maybe she shouldn’t bug Him too much. She set Wink on his perch and nodded to Esther, who pulled on the handle of the wagon. They were off. The last hope for Wink and his for ever home as a Jasper.

“A basset is an asset! And we have a fine bunch of bassets with bassetude today for Oakton’s first Basset Waddle. Judging by the pledge sheets that have been turned in and tallied, we will definitely do this again next year!” The mayor cleared his throat then announced the top three Waddlers who’d gathered the most pledges for Paws ‘N’ Claws Animal Buddies. Each received a stuffed basset hound as a prize.

“Now,” he continued. “On to the judging for the King and Queen of the Waddle! Contestants, please slowly walk your dogs before the judges on the reviewing stand.”

While he gave instructions, Aneta stood on her tiptoes, looking over the other people holding leashes or pulling carts and wagons. Where was her mother? She smiled.
Her mother
. Finally, she felt like Mom was
her
mother. Looking back and forth at the growing crowd standing below the elevated judges’ platform, she located her mother standing with the rest of The Fam. Her mom was waving.

The head judge finished with, “When you get to the stand, turn and face your dog in the judges’ direction so we can get a really good look at your dog and the costume. Then head to The Sweet Stuff parking lot for a treat for you and your Waddler!”

Aneta placed the final piece of costume on Wink’s long nose. He shook it off.

“Just wait until we stand in front of the judges and put them on then,” Vee suggested.

A few more pulls with the wagon, and Wink was before the judges. Vee, Sunny, and Esther stood apart so the judges would get a good look at Wink in his costume.

“Last and certainly not least, we have Wink, who is available for adoption through Paws ‘N’ Claws Animal Buddies—”

Aneta’s smile froze as she slipped the dark-rimmed glasses on Wink. This time he didn’t shake them off, only tilted his long nose up at her. And winked. A sob leaped out of her throat. The judge’s voice was sprightly and cheerful. Like he was saying a good thing and not breaking Aneta’s heart. She had always known Wink was adoptable. It was just—just—

The judge continued. “The adoption booth of Paws ‘N’ Claws Animal Buddies is taking applications for adoption for Wink and many other dogs.”

Laughter swelled as the crowd noticed Wink’s little suit and tie along with the glasses, seated behind a desk that looked like a courtroom desk.

“According to the card here, it appears that Wink is dressed as Mr. B. H. Barker, Esquire, Attorney at Paw! Complete with spectacles!” Applause fluttered and grew in the midmorning air. Aneta carefully watched Mom. She was wiping her eyes. A good sign? The Fam was laughing. No surprise there. Aneta forced the smile to stay on her face. How many people would rush to adopt her Wink? Oh dear. Her legs had stopped working.

“Our turn’s over. Start walking, Aneta.” Vee’s calm voice pulled Aneta from her jumbled thoughts.

Dogs and people milled in front of the judges’ stand during the deliberations. Soon, the sound system squealed. The Squad held hands and Wink’s leash. The glasses were once again tucked over the collar of Aneta’s shirt.

“Residents of fair Oakton! We have our King and Queen of the first annual Oakton Founders’ Day Basset Waddle.” He held up a piece of paper with a flourish and read: “Queen of the Waddle is Elder Clara, the resident drooler at the Oakton Residence for Seniors. Dressed as Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother!”

Please oh please, let Wink win
. She remembered the last time she’d said, “Please oh please.” She’d been dreading winning a poster contest. Dreading having to speak in front of people. Dreading working with girls she didn’t know. Look how it had all turned out! She’d spoken in front of a large group twice and hadn’t died. The girls were now her best friends. Wink, however, still did not have a forever home with Aneta.

“…For Mr. B. H. Barker, Esquire, Attorney at Paw!” She hadn’t been paying attention. Squeals erupted from the other Squadders. She was encased in a group hug, including Wink. Louder shrieks as they tipped over into a big pile on the ground. Wink, safe inside Aneta’s arms, slurped up the side of her face.

“See?” Sunny untangled herself, giggling. “He’s proud to be King!”

The Queen and King of the Waddle were placed on a mini stage. Nadine placed the crowns on their heads. Elder Clara promptly lay down and showed her belly for rubs. Wink stomped on his ears, sat back, and aroo-aroo’d. The crowd shouted with laughter. The girls giggled. The Waddle was a success. Wink was King!

Not
More
Trouble?

A
warm breeze swept across the park, and basset noses lifted to read the air. In a flash, Wink had tumbled off the low platform onto the grass, righted himself, and hurtled across the park toward the vendor booths on the opposite side. Not once did he stumble on his ears. Sometimes it appeared that all four feet were off the ground at once!

“Where’s he going?” Sunny yelled, chasing after him and being unsuccessful.

“Could be
anywhere
! Too many smells!” panted Esther, pulling up the rear and puffing mightily.

“He’s stopped at that van behind the Puppy Pellets booth.” Vee stopped so abruptly, Aneta collided with her. “Ouch. Sorry. But that’s
the
van! My clipboard says the Leonards have the Puppy Pellets booth. That white van from the park last night was
their
van!”

Wink’s nose skimmed the ground. He ran up to the back door of the long, panel-work van parked at a right angle be tween the tables and began to bay, “Aroo! Aroo!”

Faint answering bays came from the inside!

“The evidence!” Esther ran to the door and pulled on it. Locked. “It must be those dogs from Mr. Leonard’s garage. How long have they been in there? We’ve got to get them out.” She looked around wildly. Aneta thought if her friend had a stick she would have smashed the window. “Mr. and Mrs. Leonard have the key! It’s too hot. They’ll die!” Esther began to cry, continuing to tug on the door.

Sunny spun around to face the girls, her face alive with determination. “I know how we save those dogs
and
get our evidence.” She took off back across the field, waving her arms and jumping as though it was all part of the show.

“The King and his nose!” she yelled as she approached the judges’ stand. “The King has detected a surprise with his powerful nose!”

The mayor leaned over and handed her the microphone. “Well, nobody told me about this stunt, but it sounds like fun. Go ahead, Sunny.”

Sunny took the mic and backed up with large dramatic steps, all the while keeping her eyes on the crowd and talking. “Ladies and gentlemen! The King has found a secret scent. It must be in that van. Shall we open it and see?”

Aneta stood, keeping an eye on Wink. She heard her friend’s voice boom over the microphone. What was she up to? Those had to be the poor dogs from the Leonards’ garage. But how to get the van open? The day had become so hot, Aneta wished she’d worn a hat. How long could they survive in the heat of a closed van?

The crowd, appearing to embrace another Waddle event to coordinate with the Hound Dawg chase, the city band, the Blessing of the Hounds, and the crowning of costumed royalty, began to chant. “Open, open, open!”

From across the park, Aneta saw Sunny wave at the animal control officer who had checked the Leonards’ garage that morning. He looked puzzled at her wild gesturing but joined her. Holding the mic away from her, she whispered to him. He straightened and ran toward his truck. Sunny began to bounce up and down. “Well, folks, we have a brave volunteer to open the door.”

By now, other bassets were joining Wink in the howling. Once ten did, fifteen more began to howl. Shivers shot up Aneta’s spine. The chorus grew louder and more eerie. Several dogs broke loose from owners too caught up in the show to hold tight to leashes and began to run around the park. The noise level streaked upward until Sunny had to shout above the crowd and the hounds. “Hang on, folks!”

The officer returned with a thin piece of metal. He crossed the park and went up to the van.

“What’s that?” Aneta asked, pointing to the metal.

“Called a ‘slim jim,’ ” he replied, sliding the thin strip of metal down into the driver’s-side window. The lock popped open.

“It is open!” roared Sunny into the mic.

“Hooray!” the crowd yelled and clapped.

Once the officer had unlocked the front door, he disappeared into the van. The crowd quieted expectantly until the back doors burst open. Aneta scooped up Wink to get him out of the way. A wave of heat gushed from the van.

The crowd roared, “Opened! Opened—” then fell abruptly silent.

Inside the van, stacked in crates two high and four across, were basset hound puppies and several adult dogs. Not all of them were howling. Some were not moving.