There was a general buzz and discussion among the
dogs. Buster walked over and stood by Wiley, affirming his
position. “You're going to need some muscle.”
Astro agreed to join in. “It was starting to get boring
around here. This sounds like fun.”
“Count us in,” shouted Bouncer and Duke.
They all stood next to Buster and Wiley. Gibraltar
was left standing by himself. “You're not leaving me
behind,” stated Gibraltar, who joined the gang.
Buster smiled over at Wiley, “So this is the Blue
Collar Gang.”
Wiley observed the other dogs who were too old and
infirm to join them. Sadly he told them, “You guys will
always be part of the Blue Collar Gang.”
Then all the dogs mingled and said good bye. Slowly
Buster, Astro, Duke, Bouncer and Gibraltar left the shed
and headed across the yard and squeezed through a hole in
the fence to a rear alley. As Wiley cleared the fence, he
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hesitated and looked back, but the yard was empty. He
disappeared through the hole in the fence.
It was mid-morning at the institute and Doctor Howl
was addressing all the staff, shouting at them as usual. “I
want every one of the blue collar dogs back,” he ordered.
“There are twelve of them, they’re old and slow, and
they’re across the tracks somewhere in the triangle.”
Several staff members responded, “We’ll find them.”
Doctor Howl issued a specific order. “If you get your
hands on any blue collar dog, bring that dog to me
immediately.” Then he waved his hand, pointed at the door
and shouted, “Pick up every dog that's moving in the
triangle. Now get out of here.”
It was mid-day back at the Triangle. Six dogs were in
single file: Duke, Buster, Wiley, Astro, Bouncer and
Gibraltar all slowly wandering down a dusty debris-filled
alley. The hot sun had all of them moving at a slow pace
past vacant lots, small modest homes and boarded up
abandoned houses. Gibraltar had fallen behind and Bouncer
reminded him, “Gibraltar, come on. We’re not stopping.”
A hot and thirsty Gibraltar whispered under his
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breath, “Yea, yea.” Duke was up front on point looking for
a shelter and on guard for any sign of Doctor Howl's
people.
Wiley caught up to Buster and asked, “What are we
looking for?”
“We need to find a vacant house that’s open or a large
garage and it has to have water. It should be fenced for
security and a large shade tree would be great,” said Buster.
Up front, Duke stopped and pointed at an old run
down abandoned house. All of the dogs caught up with
Duke. “What do you think?” Duke asked.
“Let's take a look,” Wiley encouraged. The dogs all
left the alley and entered the property which was partially
fenced. Spreading out, they covered the grounds and
arrived at an open rear door. The house was a small, old
bungalow, partially boarded up. At the rear of the
bungalow there was a dripping faucet and a puddle of
water.
Astro hollered, “Hey, let’s check it out.”
Buster stepped up on the battered back porch, pushed
the door open and warned, “Follow me, but watch
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yourself.” The dogs surged through the open door and
checked out all the rooms. The house was a mess and had
obviously been occupied by homeless people. There were
holes in the walls, dirty mattresses in the two bedrooms and
piles of old clothes lying around. The bathroom reeked
with foul odors, and the kitchen was like a garbage pit.
Wiley doubtfully asked, “What do you think?”
They all hollered back, “This is our new home.”
Wiley looked over at Buster, who nodded approval.
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