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similar to the tunnel Shep had played in at the Park. The tube seemed to run under the wide street, though Shep could barely see through to its end in the dying light.
    â€œWe’d better sniff this out,” he woofed.
    The dogs were wary of setting paw in the tube — it was dark, and it smelled terrible. A trickle of grimy water ran along its bottom and the metal under the water was coated in a thick layer of slime. Shep longed for Callie to appear beside him, to see her run headlong into the tube out of sheer curiosity. Soon , he told himself. She’ll be back with me soon.
    â€œLast dog through is a soggy kibble,” Shep woofed and raced into the dark.
    The tunnel led into a wooded area, and the trickle of water opened into a wide, shallow stream. The dogs followed the stream through the trees. The water grew deeper, and Shep saw at its end an open expanse of water surrounded by fields.
    â€œIt’s a Park,” he barked. His tail began to wave in wide circles. “Perfect!”
    Dover sniffed at a wallow of mud. “Water lizard,” he yipped. “And something else. Both were here not too long ago.” He pricked his ears. “We’re not alone in this Park.”
    â€œWe don’t have to be alone,” Shep said, tail still in full swing. “I’m the alpha of any water lizard or nasty rodent we find. The real nugget is that there aren’t any dog catchers in this Park. It’s separate from the fenced pavement field. We can free the dogs and then meet back here.”
    â€œSo how exactly do we free the others?” yapped Rufus. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I can open any cages with my paws or my teeth.”
    The other dogs looked at Shep with raised ears, eager to hear what he’d woof. Daisy gave him her usual head tilt, this time with a distinct snarl of disapproval.
    Shep snorted and pawed the ground. “Well,” he began, “first, I’m going to go in and check the place out. Then I’ll come up with the plan. And then we’ll execute the plan.”
    â€œAll in one night?” woofed Boji. She waved her tail, but the look on her muzzle betrayed her doubts.
    â€œYes,” Shep barked as assuredly as he could. “They’ll all be free by next sun.”
    Fuzz leapt down from the tree branch he’d been perched upon. “Enough barking. Dogs need to move tail if finish before sun time.”

The sun burned low on the horizon, setting the clouds on fire against the pale blue of the fading sky. Already, a lone flame of the Great Wolf’s coat flickered in the dark. The pack agreed to wait by the tree until Shep returned with his rescue plan. As Shep had anticipated, Oscar refused to stay behind, so the pup and the cat followed Shep to the maze of cages.
    The humans had lit tall, blinding white lights near the curved-roof building as the sky grew dark; however, their light didn’t penetrate all the way to the outer cages. The three invaders were able to hide in the shadows all the way to the opening in the maze where they’d seen people dropped off that morning. As they crept along, Shep sniffed each of the cages, but nothing smelled familiar. Not that I’d recognize the scent of most of my pack , he reminded himself. By the time the catchers had come to the boat, the pack had grown so large that Shep hadn’t known every dog.
    Shep peeked around the edge of the last cage and got his first look inside the maze. His jaw dropped. There were more cages, endless cages — row after row, piled on top of one another, some with one dog, others with as many as three.
    Oscar whined, “How will we ever find our pack in this place?”
    â€œDogs, focus,” Fuzz hissed. “This way to Callie-dog.” He flicked his tail and slunk through the shadows toward the building.
    Shep and Oscar followed, pressed to the side of the row of cages. Every once in a while, a