CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

     Wiley and Maggie sprinted up one street and down

another as the ever present attack dogs slowly gained

ground. Then Wiley cut across a corner lot and quickly shot

down an alley, with Maggie right with him. Right away

Maggie realized where they were. “Hey, your first hideout

is down this alley,” Maggie declared.

     As they neared the hideout, now occupied by the

skunks, Wiley barked out instructions. “We’re going in the

back door and out the front window. Don’t stop for

anything.”

     Maggie shot back, “I’m your shadow.” The two dogs

burst through the rear door of the skunk bungalow, and

flew out the open front room window, landing on the old

porch, sped out of the yard and down the street. Five attack

dogs followed them through the rear door of the skunk’s

house. A minute later, coughing and choking, they

staggered back out the rear door of the bungalow into the

yard and the chase was over

                                        105

     Wiley and Maggie, wet, dirty, and exhausted, walked

toward Maggie’s home. They were too tired to talk. At that

moment, Bouncer, who was head scout, caught up with

them. He was anxious to talk to Wiley about the gang’s

plan to free a whole van of dogs before they were taken to

the institute.

     “You guys look beat,” said a concerned Bouncer.

     “We’re fine. Just catching our breath,” insisted Wiley.

     “The big raid is a go,” Bouncer announced.

     Wiley immediately perked up. “Go ahead. I know my

way home,” encouraged Maggie.

     “Let’s go,” said Bouncer.

     “Take care, both of you.” said Maggie. Then Wiley

and Bouncer ran off, and Maggie turned and walked toward

her home. As she continued on down the street with her

head down, she failed to see a van with two dog catchers

watching her. Then the van pulled out right in front of her,

and after freezing for a moment, Maggie spun around to get

away, but another van cut her off, and four institute dog

catchers surrounded her.

                                     106

     “You will not take me,” cried Maggie, as she

attempted to break out of the circle of dog catchers, but one

of them fired a tranquilizer gun, taking her down.

     As the dog catchers put Maggie’s limp body in the

back of the van, one proclaimed, “We’re taking the triangle

back.”

     Inside an old convenience store a few blocks away,

two institute dog catchers were arguing over what kind of

chips to buy. “I like barbecue chips,” said the driver.

     “I can't stand them,” stated the other dog catcher.

“They leave an awful barbecue taste in your mouth all

day.”

     “Yea. What do you like?” asked the driver.

     The other dog catcher held up a bag of chips. “These

low-cal baked chips.”

     “No way. They taste like cardboard,” insisted the

driver.

     Meanwhile, outside the old store, the gang had crept

into position, surrounding a truck filled with captured dogs.

Bouncer and Astro were behind the truck, Wiley was

                                           107

around the corner by the store, Astro and Gibraltar were in

the brush by the parking lot and Buster was lying down like

he was asleep near the front door. Just then, the dog

catchers came out of the store, still arguing over the chips.

     The driver looked down and noticed Buster on the

concrete walkway. He came to a complete stop and the

other dog catcher bumped into him. He quietly signaled to

his partner behind him and they both ran to the truck.

“That's the crazy dog that whizzed on our van,” yelled the

driver.

     “Let’s nail him,” shouted the other.

     They reached the van, threw open the doors and

grabbed their tranquilizer guns. Leaving the van’s doors

open, they both raced back to find Buster, who had taken

off around the corner of the store, making sure the men saw

him. The dog catchers pointed their tranquilizer guns and

fired. “Take him down,” ordered the driver.

     Meantime, Wiley had slipped in from the other corner

and jumped into the open van. He began pawing at buttons,

levers and knobs, trying to open the rear door of the van so

the captured dogs could be freed.

                                       108

     “Open up,” cried Wiley.

The      dog catchers wheeled around and saw Wiley in

their van and ran back with their guns drawn. Suddenly,

without warning, the rest of the gang stormed out of their

hiding places and rushed the dog catchers. The two men

froze in their tracks, surrounded by Astro, Bouncer, Duke,

and Gibraltar, who all looked like they meant business.

     Then Buster joined the gang and started barking

orders. “Keep them busy until all the dogs are free,” he

ordered.

     “Tranquilize as many as you can,” yelled the first dog

catcher. But just as a dog catcher lined up to fire his

tranquilizer gun, Bouncer attacked from behind, knocking

him off balance. The situation was quickly out of hand.

     At that instant, Wiley finally hit a button that opened

the rear doors of the van, releasing the captured dogs. Then

Wiley jumped out of the van and hollered, “Everybody

out!”

     “Hold them until all the dogs are out of here,” Wiley

instructed the gang. “Gibraltar, help me.” Quickly Wiley

                                       109

and Gibraltar began to round up the freed dogs and lead

them away.

     “Come on, come on, follow us,” Gibraltar hollered.

     As Wiley and Gibraltar herded the freed dogs down

the street, the rest of the gang attempted their getaway.

Buster gave the order, “Move out! Move out!” He, Astro,

Bouncer and Duke broke off their battle with the dog

catchers and quickly retreated in different directions. But

one member of the Blue Collar gang, Astro, was only able

to make it a short distance from the van before he went

down with a tranquilizer dart in his side.

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

     Later the same day, Dr. Howl called everybody at the

institute together again to terrorize them. “You people have

failed. There are going to be some changes around here,

starting today,” he declared.

     “What happened to Mack and Frank?” asked a staff

member.

     “They're gone. Any time you lose a full van load of

dogs, you're toast,” confirmed the doctor. “I do have some

good news. Mack and Frank caught one of the Blue Collar

dogs.”

     “All right,” responded the staff enthusiastically.

     “I have some plans for him,” said Dr. Howl with a big

grin on his face. “Now get back to the Canine Triangle.”

     That same afternoon the Blue Collar Gang had just

finished herding the five rescued dogs into the rear yard of

Kate’s Second Life Rescue Home. There was general

excitement about pulling off a big raid, and as each Blue

Collar gang member returned, they were congratulated. But

                                          111

that subsided when Gibraltar realized that Astro was

missing. “Where's Astro?” asked Gibraltar with alarm.

     All the dogs started looking around. But Astro is

nowhere to be found. “He was right behind me,” claimed

Duke.

     Wiley was completely exhausted, so Buster took

command. “Bouncer and I will find him,” said Buster, and

the two dogs left the yard.

     At that moment, Kate came out of the house and saw

the mass of dogs, but she didn’t see Maggie. Kate spotted

Wiley lying on the grass. She stared down at him. “You

look beat,” she said. Then she asked Wiley, “Where's

Maggie? I haven't seen her all day. I thought she was with

you.”

     Wiley was horrified. He got to his feet and began to

search all around the yard, but no Maggie. Catching up to

Gibraltar, Wiley said with alarm, “Maggie's missing. I'm

going out to look for her. You and Duke return to the

hideout and stay on guard.”

     Kate watched as Wiley left, then turned her attention

to the new arrivals and said to herself, “That’s all I need,

                                        112

five more abandoned dogs.”

     Later in the day, Gibraltar and Duke were back at the

hideout when Buster and Bouncer returned. “Where's

Astro?” they asked.

     Buster and Bouncer just shook their heads sadly. “No

sign of him,” said Buster.

     “I'm afraid Dr. Howl captured him.” responded a

downhearted Bouncer as he collapsed on the ground.

    Then Wiley returned to the hideout. Depressed, with

his head held low, he shared more bad news with the gang

members.

     “Maggie's missing,” said a crestfallen Wiley.

     “So is Astro,” said Buster.

     “Dr. Howl has them,” murmured the rest of the gang.

     “We have to rescue them,” insisted Duke. “There is

no time to waste.”

     Back at the New Life Rescue Home, a very worried

Kate was on the phone talking with Jan. “Jan, things are out

of hand. I can’t believe it. Maggie’s missing. And to top it

                                       113

off, the Blue Collar dogs just herded five more abandoned

dogs into my back yard.”

     “Maggie’s missing! Oh no, that can’t be,” Jan said

sadly.

     “I can't find her. I thought she was with the Blue

collar gang or the dog that appears to be their leader, but

she wasn't. I have to look for her. I can't lose Maggie.”

     “I’ll be right over and take care of the new dogs,” said

Jan. “You search for Maggie.”

     “Thanks, Jan,” said Kate gratefully.

     Early the next morning, a van pulled to a stop on a

side street. Two dog catchers got out and went around to

the rear of the van and opened a door. They took a semidrugged

dog out and shoved it to the ground. The dog was

Astro and he just laid there as the men returned to the van

and drove off.

     Back at the institute, Dr. Howl was in an upbeat mood

as he intently watched a monitor screen with a number of

staff members. “That mongrel is starting to move. He's

going to lead us right to that pack of old misfits,” declared

a rejuvenated Doctor Howl.

                                       114

     We're getting a great signal from the chip you

inserted,” said an excited staff member.

     Dr. Howl grabbed a portable monitor and headed for

the exit shouting. “Follow me. No dog escapes from my

institute. I want everyone in the field helping capture these

escapees.”

     It was mid-morning. The gang had gathered in the

rear yard of the hideout, trying to figure their next move.

They knew that they had a number of problems and sensed

that time was running out. “Kate's not happy with us. Her

Maggie is lost, she’s up to ears with abandoned dogs, and

can’t afford to feed us much longer,” explained an anxious

Wiley.

     “She would be a lot happier if we rescued Maggie,”

added Gibraltar.

     Bouncer noticed something bumping against the alley

fence. He ran over to check it out. As he neared the rear

entrance to the hideout, he came nose to nose with Astro.

“Astro?” questioned Bouncer with amazement.

     The Blue Collar gang quickly ran over to Astro as he

entered the yard, elated to have him back. “Hey, man, you

                                        115


scared us. Where you been?” members of the gang asked

excitedly. Astro tried to answer but was woozy and swayed

back and fourth. Finally, he slowly collapsed to the ground.

The gang backed away giving him room. Wiley and Buster

stepped forward and examined Astro from head to tail.

     Wiley’s good sense of smell picked up an odor that

recognized. “I smell Doctor Howl,” he said shaking his

head.

     “And I smell drugs,” added Buster.

     Wiley asked, “What happened, Astro? Do you

remember anything?”

     “I don’t know. I have been in a haze. Everything is a

blur,” muttered Astro. “The last thing I remember is

something piercing my chest and a sharp pain.”

     “A tranquilizer dart,” said Buster in disgust.

     Suddenly, Wiley's head snapped up and his big ears

pivoted toward the front of the house. He motioned for

everybody to be quiet, intently listening for a few seconds,

then giving Buster a nod.

     “We have been discovered and are going to be

                                     116

attacked,” announced Buster. “Everyone to the basement.

Bouncer, you and Duke help Astro. Move out.” The gang

entered the back door of the old house and filed down the

stairs into the dark basement.

     Outside Dr. Howl and his posse of institute workers

had surrounded the Blue Collar Gang’s hide-out. They

were all in position to attack and were just waiting for the

order from Dr. Howl, who had confirmed Astro’s position

on his monitor. “I want every last one of them,” Dr. Howl

demanded. Then he threw his hands in the air signaling

attack as his team charged into the rear yard of the old

house.

     “This is the end of the Blue Collar Gang,” cried the

institute’s workers.

     They were armed with ropes, tranquilizer guns and

spraying gear, but the yard was completely vacant. Dr.

Howl glanced at his monitor and pointed to the rear door of

the old house. “They’re in the house,” he shouted. They

stormed into the house and down into the basement, but

ended up just staring at each other. No Blue Collar gang. “I

can't believe it,” screamed Dr. Howl. “Where's the flea

                                         117

bitten dog with the chip? What happened?”

     “I don’t know, sir,” said the technician carrying the

portable monitor. “The dog was right here on the screen

and then it went blank.”

     One of the search party spotted a small hole in the

basement wall behind an old beat up sofa. “Over here.

Look. There's a tunnel,” he shouted.

     “Turn the attack dogs loose,” ordered Dr. Howl. The

handler of the attack dogs ordered them down the tunnel

while Dr. Howl and his posse stood in the dark basement

flat-footed.

     Meanwhile, the Blue Collar gang was making their

way single file through a narrow dark tunnel, stepping

around old whiskey and wine bottles and other debris.

Gibraltar was leading the gang. Buster was next, followed

by Wiley. Duke and Bouncer were helping Astro stay on

his feet.

     “Dr. Howl drugged Astro and followed him to our

hideout,” said Wiley.

     “Astro’s still out of it. If Gibraltar hadn't found this

tunnel, we would be in big trouble,” conceded Buster.

                                          118

     Wiley agreed. “When you're at war, you must have an

exit strategy,” he said.

     Bouncer and Duke were working hard to keep Astro

on his feet and moving. “Smells like a distillery,” said

Bouncer coughing.

     “I think this was an escape tunnel for bootleggers,

back in prohibition,” suggested Duke.

     Wiley called out to Gibraltar. “Gibraltar, where does

this tunnel end?”

     “An old garage next door,” answered Gibraltar.

     Again Wiley's big ears shot up. “Stop,” he shouted.

The Blue Collar gang froze in place and listened to the

barking of the attack dogs in the tunnel.

     “Move out,” commanded Buster.

     While Dr. Howl and his men stood around in the back

yard of the hideout, next door the Blue Collar gang popped

one by one through some old boards in the corner of a

dusty, dirty garage. They all caught their breath and shook

out the dust and cobwebs from the tunnel. Buster noticed

an old oil drum and began to push it over to the tunnel’s

                                         119

exit. “I could use help,” he requested.

     All the dogs quickly pitched in rolling the old barrel

over to block the tunnels’ exit, none too soon as the attack

dogs ran into a dead-end.

     “We have to keep moving. If get separated, we'll meet

up at Kate's,” directed Wiley.

                                    120

CHAPTER TWENTY

     Dr. Howl was regrouping and was far from giving up.

He knew Astro had a chip implanted in him which would

identify his location and would eventually be picked up.

“We will pick up the trail,” he assured everyone.

     Within a few minutes the technician with the monitor

began to notice something on his screen. “Doctor, I'm

picking up the signal again,” he said. “They gave us the

slip, but all we have to do is follow the chip. Let's go,”

insisted Dr. Howl.

     The institute team, following behind the technician

with the monitor and Dr. Howl, moved quickly toward an

old garage on the property next door. But as they neared the

garage, the signal began indicating another direction.

     Meanwhile the gang was moving as fast as they could

with Astro, supporting him as the gang came down the

alley to Kate’s house.

     Across town, Brad was sitting in the rear of the Java

Shack, across the street from the County Animal Control

                                         121            


             

Center. He was in deep thought, staring at the cup of coffee

in front of him, and appeared to be very tired and stressed

out. Just then John entered the coffee shop, noticed Brad

and went over to his table. “Can I talk to you a minute?”

asked John.

     Brad looked up from his coffee, saw John, but was in

no mood to chat. “Listen, I don’t ....,” Brad began.

     But John interrupted. “Just two minutes, please.”

     “Sit down,” Brad motioned reluctantly. The two men

sat there for a moment, and then John began explaining his

situation. “I lost my dog Wiley and I've been all over

searching for him. I’ve checked the animal control center

every day.”

     Brad began to open up a little. “I know. I've seen you

there,” he said.

     “I don’t know what to do anymore. Can you help

me?” pleaded John.

     Brad just sat there saying nothing and stared at his

coffee. Finally, he shook his head and exclaimed, “What

can I do? There are just too many dogs and cats. You have

been there and seen for yourself that the center is over

                                          122

 
crowded. There is no room for any more animals,” said a
                   
concerned Brad.

     While John knew that the animal control center was a

disaster, he was easy on Brad. “You guys are doing the best

you can with so many abandoned pets. It’s a horrible

situation,” said John sadly.

     “I didn't join CCAC to put animals to death,” Brad

continued. “I joined to rescue animals and see that they

found a good home.”

     John then brought out his wallet and began to take out

a picture of Wiley. “I'd like to show....”,

     “Seeing the heartbreak and stress his actions have

caused John, Brad just unloads on what he has been doing.

“You won't believe it. I have been involved in a program of

relocating older dogs from animal control to the

university’s animal research institute,” confessed Brad.

     “You and who else?” asked John.

     “I’m the lowest guy on the totem poll. This goes to

the top,” confirmed Brad.

     When John heard Brad’s confession, he temporarily

                                        123

forgot about Wiley. "I don't understand why you would do

such a thing,” John said with anger.

     “I was told that nobody wanted older dogs that didn’t

have a chance of being adopted. They said it was a win-win

situation for the CACC because it lowered the number of

dogs and the institute paid for them,” said Brad. He put his

hands over his eyes and just stopped talking for a moment,

trying to regain his composure. “Boy was I wrong. That

crazy doctor at the institute just wanted the dogs for painful

medical experiments,” said Brad remorsefully.

     John listened to Brad’s story in disbelief. “I don't

believe it. You have to report this,” John insisted.

     “I know, I know,” Brad agreed.

     It suddenly occurred to John that Wiley was one of

the dogs and he grabbed his wallet, took out a photo of

Wiley, and slid it across the table to Brad. “Did you ever

see my dog Wiley?” he asked.

     Brad picked up the photo and intently studied Wiley’s

picture. John watched as Brad’s facial expression became

very serious. “Wiley, that's the coyote dog. Yes,” affirmed

                                      124

Brad. “We did pick him up off the street. Then we moved

him over to the institute later that night.”

     John jumped to his feet. “You have to take me there,”

he demanded.

     Back at the Canine Triangle the Blue Collar Gang had

made their way from the back alley into the rear yard of

Kate’s old yellow house and quietly slipped into the storage

shed. Astro was the last Blue Collar dog in, assisted by

Bouncer and Duke. Astro looked at his friends and said

weakly. “Thanks you guys.”

     “Somehow they seem to be able to track us,” said Buster

as he observed Astro.

     Only a few minutes passed before Dr. Howl and his

posse arrived at the front of Kate’s house. The technician

looking at the monitor pointed at the house. “They are in

there,” he stated emphatically. Immediately Dr. Howl

stormed up to the front door and pounded on the door.

Inside Kate and Jan were discussing how to get the last five

dogs that Kate had inherited safely out of the triangle.

     “All the dogs are in my van, I don’t have room for

                                       125

any more at my shelter,” said Jan. “You have to let those

blue collar dogs go and concentrate on finding Maggie.”

     “You’re a godsend,” said Kate. “You’re right. It’s

Maggie who needs me now.”

     They were both startled by a loud knocking at the

front door. Kate went to the door and opened it, finding

herself face to face with a frantic little man in a white

smock. Behind him was a large group of people in white

smocks.

     “I want my dogs back,” demanded Dr. Howl.

Kate was completely confused and hesitated a

moment before responding. Jan joined her on the front

porch. “What dogs?” Kate asked.

     “What dogs?” snarled Dr. Howl. “My dogs. The dogs

are from the Institute of Animal Research. They’re part of

very important medical experiments.”

     “What are you talking about?” asked Kate.

     Dr. Howl pointed at Kate and shouted, “The dogs you

are protecting have been assigned into my medical research

project.”

                                         126


                                      

     Jan stepped up in support of Kate and pointedly

asked, “What project?”

     “Listen. It's for you, for me, for all of us so we can

live longer lives. I'm about to make a major breakthrough

in extending human life,” Dr. Howl responded.

     Kate had had enough of this phony. “These poor stray

abandoned pets are not fodder for experimentation. I do not

want to live longer at their expense,” she insisted. “The

SPCA, local animal shelters and people like us will find

homes for them.”

     “No one wants these dogs,” laughed Dr. Howl.

     Kate and Jan both shouted, “We do.”

     Then Kate pointed to the street, “Now get off my

property.”

     As Dr. Howl stood defiantly in front of Kate, he

noticed the picture of Maggie in a locket hanging from her

neck. Kate saw the smirk on his face as he stared at the

locket. The doctor then turned around, retreated down the

stairs, and went out the front gate yelling, “I'm calling the

police.”

                                       127

“Call who ever you want. I could care less,” replied

Kate as she and Jan went back into the house, slamming the

door shut.

     A few minutes after Dr. Howl placed his call to the

police, a couple of patrol cars arrived at the scene, and two

officers approached the doctor. Kate and Jan observed the

arrival of the police from the front window of the living

room.

     “What a nut case,” exclaimed Jan. “Look at him

jumping up and down and pointing at your house.”

Kate was not going to stand for being harassed by a

crazy doctor. “I'm going out there,” she said calmly.

     “I'm with you,” assured Jan, and the two women went

out to meet the police officers.

     Pointing at the Doctor, Kate said, “That man is

harassing me.”

     “She has stolen my dogs,” Dr. Howl hollered.

     As the argument grew in intensity, so did the noise

factor. Inside the old storage shed, Wiley had his ears

straight up listening. While the other dogs were resting, he

                                       128

slipped out and worked his way around the side of the

house where he could see what was happening. Freezing in

his tracks at the sight of Dr. Howl, he observed the scene

and realized that the gang was in danger and left to warn

them.

                                       129

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

     “Hey, everybody, listen up,” Wiley said loudly. The

Blue Collar gang began to stir as he explained what was

happening in front of Kate’s house. “I think our gig is up,”

Wiley said. “Crazy Dr. Howl and his staff are out front

trying to convince the cops to search Kate’s property for us,

and I don't think Kate can stop them.”

     “What can we do?” the gang asked in unison.

     “The way I see it is we have two choices,” Wiley

answered. “The gang breaks up and we all go our separate

ways.”

     Before he could say another word, the gang

interrupted him. “No way!” they shouted.

     “Or,” said Wiley, letting that thought sink in.

     “Or what?” asked the gang.

     “Or we can make a final raid on that institute of pain

to free as many dogs as we can,” Wiley said in a matter of

fact manner.

                                       130

     Again the gang answered in unison, “That’s a no-brainer.”

     “Many of us will not come back,” Wiley added

grimly. “It looks to me like almost everyone from the

institute is in front of Kate’s house. We have to take

advantage of that and make our move now.”

     Bouncer headed for the storage room’s exit, “I’ll be

head scout.”

     “Astro should stay. Kate will take care of him,” said

Gibraltar with concern.

     But Astro stood up and gave everyone a determined

look. “I'm going. Anybody object?” There were no

objections.

     The gang members quickly got to their feet, headed

out of the old shed, and walked quietly through the back

yard into the alley, with Bouncer in the lead and Wiley and

Buster following behind.

     Out front, the debate raged on. The crowd had grown

larger with the addition of neighbors, onlookers and

another police car. “Arrest both of them and let me have

my dogs back,” Dr. Howl argued.

                                        131

     “He has no right to my dogs,” claimed Kate.

     “Does anyone have proof they are the dog’s owners?”

asked one of the police officers. There was silence from

both sides. Kate tried to explain, “These are abandoned

dogs, lost dogs. Sometimes the dog will have an

identification tag and we will call the owner, but most of

the time they refuse to come and claim their dog. The

majority of the dogs have no proof of ownership.”

     “She has 12 of my blue collar dogs and a van full of

dogs that my associates just rescued off the streets,” said

Dr. Howl.

     The police officer looked at Kate and said, “I need to

see the dogs.”

     “You are going to have to attain a search warrant,”

said a determined Kate.

     A few blocks away, the Blue Collar Gang was

making its way back over the railroad tracks toward the

institute. As they walked along, they were thinking they

might not survive their mission, “I can't believe it,” said

Wiley.

     “Can’t believe what?” Buster asked.

                                       132

“I didn’t realize how good I had it,” said Wiley

reminiscing. “Back at home, I had a special meal prepared

by John twice a day, and a daily massage by Nancy, my

own old velvet chair to sleep in, rides in the car, and

patrolling the back yard. I had the good life.”

“You had it made,” confirmed Buster. “You had what

I could only dream about.”

Duke asked Bouncer. “You never mentioned how you

ended up on the street.”

“I was a member of a military family and we moved

around the county a lot, but my family was assigned

overseas and couldn’t take me,” said Bouncer. “They left

me with another family who couldn’t adjust to taking care

of me, so I was dropped off at the animal control center.”

Astro had regained some of his humor and kidded, “I

wonder if Dr. Howl has visiting hours?”

Back at Kate’s house, the confrontation was still

going on with the police, who were upset at being asked to

get a warrant. “Listen lady, I'm running out of patience,”

said the police officer.

“Officer, I want my dogs,” demanded Dr. Howl.

                                       133

     The technician with the monitor came up to Dr. Howl

and tried to get his attention, “Dr. Howl, look. The dog

with the chip is on the move.”

     The doctor grabbed the monitor and studied it for a

moment. Then he spun around and shouted. “Everybody,

get back to the institute.”

     The crowd broke up and dispersed in different

directions, leaving the police officers and Kate and Jan

standing there. Kate said. “We told you that Doc was a

loony. You should investigate his institute not us.

Something is very wrong over there.”

     “We’re going to check it out,” said the police officer.

     “Good,” said Kate with relief, as she and Jan returned

to Kate’s house. Once inside, Jan noticed that Kate

appeared quite upset. “I know that was quite an ordeal, but

that insane little man is gone and we still have the dogs,”

she said.

     Kate turned to Jan. “That beast has Maggie,” she

burst out. “He smiled when he saw the picture of Maggie in

my locket. I'm going to that horrible place to look for her.”

     “I'll drive,” volunteered Jan.

                                      134

     In separate cars, Brad and John arrived at the rear

entrance to the institute where Brad had delivered Wiley

and Buster. They got out of their cars and John followed

Brad to the rear entrance. Brad used his key, unlocked the

door, and the two men entered the large gym like facility

filled with dogs in large holding cages. A stench and

agonizing mournful sounds greeted Brad and John as they

walked by the holding cages. On the second floor of the

institute in the security control room, one of the two

remaining security guards yelled out, “Take a look. There

are two guys entering the rear receiving area.”

     The chief security guard came over and checked the

monitor. “It’s ok,” he said. “I recognize the tall guy. He

works for the county and Dr. Howl. I think his name is

Brad.”

     John couldn’t believe his eyes as he observed the

color collared dogs in the cages, clearly now research test

subjects. Some were completely shaved except for a few

patches of hair, while other dogs had tubes and wires

protruding from them with monitors attached. Many just

stood in their cages with blank drug induced stares.
                                       135

     Brad was white as a sheet and continued to shake his

head in disbelief. “John, you have to believe me. It was

dark. I didn't see this,” confessed Brad.

     John was in a daze and just kept walking by the

different cages searching for Wiley, “God! What did they

do with him? Where’s Wiley,” John wondered anxiously.

     Brad surveyed the area. “Where is everybody?” he

said.

     John began calling out Wiley’s name. “Wiley! Wiley!

Where are you?”

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                                     134                                

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

       The Blue Collar gang had successfully reached the

chain link fence at the rear of the institute, and began

looking for a way in. Gibraltar, running along the fence,

saw an opening. He shouted to the gang, “Here's a hole I

can slip through. I’ll open a gate.”

     “Just get us in,” Wiley encouraged.

     While Gibraltar was squeezing through the hole in the

fence and looking for a gate he could open, the gang was

being watched by one of the two remaining security guards.

Their attack dogs were gone as was everybody else. “The

little dog has broken into zone five and is running around

trying to open a gate,” reported the security guard watching

the monitor.

     Instantly the chief of security rushed over to the bank

of monitors to observe the situation. “The rest of the blue

collar dogs are outside the fence,” said the other security

guard.

     They both studied the monitors. “Open a gate and let

                                      137

them in. When they are all in, lock the rear gates and open

the gates that lead to the pit,” the chief security guard

ordered.

     “Why do you want them in the pit?” asked the other

security guard.

     “I think those motley excuses for dogs should have a

chance to meet Dr. Howl’s favorite pet,” said the chief

Security guard.

     “Titanic,” said the other security guard.

     “Yes Titanic,” answered said the chief security guard

with anticipation. “Those dogs are in for the surprise of

their lives.”

     Meantime, Gibraltar was frantically running around

inside the research facility, trying to find a gate to open,

pushing on one after another. Finally, he came up to one

gate that just swung open. The gang saw the gate and

quickly entered. “That’s strange,” said Gibraltar.

     All of the gang had made it inside, “Good work

Gibraltar,” said Wiley.

     “Follow me,” Bouncer said quietly. With Bouncer in

                                      138

in the lead, the gang continued advancing through a maze

of pens and cages at the rear of the institute. All the time,

they were being closely monitored by the two security men.

As the dogs neared the main holding area, horrible odors

and sounds engulfed them. Astro suddenly stopped for a

moment and shook from head to toe. “I remember I was

drugged here and they put something in the back of my

neck,” he said.

     “We know. You’re o.k. now Astro,” Buster assured

his friend.

     Following Bouncer, the dogs wandered into a large

pit surrounded with bars that went to the ceiling and steel

gates. The Blue Collar Gang stood in the middle of the pit

looking around. “This is too easy. Something is....,” said

Wiley.

     Buster interrupted. “Listen.” The gang froze in place.

What they heard was the clicking sound of locks to all the

gates around the pit. Then from the far side of the pit a gate

raised, and in strutted a gigantic dog with a ferocious face,

red eyes and black short hair. He looked like a mix of the

most bloodthirsty dogs in the world and was three times the

                                        139

size of Buster. His name was Titanic and he meant

business. “You have made a big mistake my little friends,”

Titanic bellowed.

     Buster could see the terror in the eyes of the Blue

Collar Gang. Since he had been in a few fights in his day,

he took over. “We have to hit him and take him down,”

Buster shouted.

     “How?” the paralyzed Blue Collar dogs shouted back.

     “Attack his feet,” ordered Buster.

     Astro, Gibraltar and Duke cried out. “We'll hit him

from behind.”

     “Bouncer, Wiley and I will take him head on,”

commanded Buster.

     “Attack!” yelled Wiley, and the fight was on. The

Blue Collar Gang flew into action. Astro, Gibraltar and

Duke went for Titanic’s rear legs, Bouncer, Wiley and

Buster attacked Titanic’s front legs. Their aggressive

charge caught Titanic off guard as they hit him with all

they had, and he went down. The gang pinned Titanic to

the ground and were in control.

                                       140

     “Keep him down,” Buster shouted.

     Titanic had never been knocked off his feet and he

didn't like it. He gathered all his strength as the Blue Collar

Gang hung on for dear life. Wiley looked around

desperately for an exit from the pit. With a loud roar,

Titanic rolled over on his side sending Buster and Duke

flying off. He sprung to his feet, shedding the dogs like

shaking water off his back, swinging his tail and hitting

Gibraltar so hard it sent the little dog crashing against the

pit wall, where he crumbled to the floor.

     Then Titanic decided to go after Buster, the biggest

Blue Collar warrior. Titanic stalked down Buster, cornered

him and attacked. Buster tried to hold off the bigger dog

but was getting mauled.

     Wiley regrouped the gang. “Buster's in trouble,” he

hollered, and ran to help his friend, followed by Bouncer,

Astro, and Duke. They flew at Titanic with all their might

and inflicted enough pain that Titanic stopped his attack on

Buster, spun around and faced them, head butting Wiley,

knocking him to the dirt floor unconscious. Then Titanic

grabbed onto Bouncer's neck, tossed him in the air, and

                                        141

crashed into Astro and Duke, sending them flying half way

across the pit.

Brad was following John around helping him hunt for

Wiley when they both heard sounds of a vicious dog fight.

“What's that?” John asked.

“Sounds like trouble,” answered Brad. The two men

ran in the direction of the howling and went right past

Maggie, who was in her cage. She noticed John and Brad,

jumped up and tried gain their attention.

“Help me!” Maggie cried out, but the two men were

focused on what sounded like a deadly battle just ahead.

                                      142

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

     When John and Brad arrived at the pit, they saw an

on-going epic battle. Buster, Astro, Bouncer and Duke

were getting beaten up, and Gibraltar was struggling to get

back on his feet. John looked at the mayhem and saw to his

horror that Wiley was lying motionless on the dirt in the

middle of the pit. “Wiley! Wiley! What have they done to

you?” John screamed at the top of his lungs. There was no

movement. He shook a gate and shouted to Brad, “Open the

gates!”

     Brad ran around the pit as the vicious fighting

continued inside, unable to find how to open the gates.

Then over the loud speaker they both heard someone

laughing. “Oh boy! This is a slaughter,” said the chief

security guard.

     Another laughing voice hollered. “It’s the end of the

Blue Collar Gang.” Brad and John looked up and saw the

two security men in the control room, laughing and

pointing at the fight in the pit. John spun around and

headed for the nearby stairs.

                                       143

     “I’m going up there,” he hollered. Brad followed. The

two men climbed the stairs to the second floor and raced

down the hall into the control room where Brad showed his

CACC badge.

     “Animal control. Open the gates and stop the

fighting,” he demanded.

     The chief security guard just laughed and said. “Are

you kidding? You’re in big trouble, buddy.”

     The two security men tried to grab John and Brad,

starting a second fight as the four men wrestled and swung

at each other, destroying the control room. Finally, John

and Brad prevailed.

     John shouted at Brad. “Open the gates, but don't let

that monster out.”

     “I'll try,” Brad said. He ran over to the battered

control panel and began turning dials and hitting switches

until a monitor indicated at least one gate was opening.

     The battle scene in the pit looked like the end of the

line for the Blue Collar Gang as Titanic was moving to

finish them off. Wounded and exhausted, the gang was

cornered. Wiley and Gibraltar were back on their feet,

                                        144

joining Buster, Astro, Bouncer and Duke, in forming a final

front line. “Enough fun and games,” shouted Titanic as he

moved in.

Out of the corner of his eye, Wiley saw one gate

slowly begin to open behind Titanic, and out of Titanic’s

line of vision.

“That gate is opening,” he shouted. “Get out!” The

gang split into two groups and attempted to go around

Titanic to the gate, but they were too battle fatigued to

move very fast. Just then, Titanic saw the half open gate

and charged to cut the gang off, but failed to get to the gate

in time. Duke, Bouncer and Astro had made it under the

gate, so Titanic attacked Wiley, Buster and Gibraltar. He

threw Wiley aside, staggering him, and kicked Gibraltar

against the wall like a soccer ball. Titanic then ended up

face to face with Buster.

“It isn’t polite to leave before I finish the main

course,” Titanic laughed menacingly.

Buster yelled to a Wiley and Gibraltar, “Get out of

here both of you.” Then he turned to face Titanic. “Come

on big boy. You and me. Mano a mano."

                                      145

An enraged Titanic attacked Buster. There was a

furious battle and Buster fell to the floor of the pit seriously

wounded. As Buster made his final stand, Gibraltar and

Wiley were able it get to the gate, but Wiley suddenly

halted, spun around, and dashed back in to the pit to aid his

best friend.

Clearly Buster had lost the battle and Titanic

immediately turned his attention to Wiley, who had to dive

back under the gate. Wiley stared back at Buster, lying

motionless in the dirt of the pit. Then Buster slowly opened

his eyes, and with great effort, spoke softly. “Go Wiley,

find Maggie,” he said as his large brown eyes fell shut.

Meanwhile John was helplessly frozen in place,

watching events in the pit on a monitor as the gate opened

and the Blue Collar Gang made their escape. He saw

Wiley’s bravery in attempting to help Buster.

“Open all the other cages,” John cried out.

“All right,” smiled a relieved Brad.

John ran out of the control room. “I'm going to get

Wiley,” he hollered.

Nearby, Maggie’s heart was pounding as she heard

                                       146

the ferocious sounds of dogs battling, but was unable to

leave her cage. Then to her surprise she heard the locks on

the cages open. She stood still for a moment and watched

with amazement as the institute came to life and dogs

barked in joy as they left their cages.

     A short distance away, Wiley, battle scarred and head

down, slowly limped away from the pit with his battered

friends. He knew he still had one more mission. “I have to

find Maggie,” he said. “The rest of you get out of here” He

staggered from cage to cage, searching and calling out for

Maggie. All the while he was being pushed and shoved by

other the dogs breaking out of the institute. Then he

rounded a corner and saw Maggie standing in front of her

cage. She couldn’t believe her eyes as Wiley approached

her. Maggie could see Wiley was hurting and unsteady, but

was determined to come to her rescue.

     “Wiley, you’re hurt. You look horrible. What

happened?” Maggie asked emotionally.

     Wiley’s only words were, “Maggie, follow me,” as

both dogs made their way to the exits, along with all the

other escapees.

                                        147

     On the other side of the institute, John was running to

the pit, and upon arriving, yelled as loud as he could,

“Wiley! Wiley!” What he discovered was Buster’s body

lying motionless in the center of the pit and Titanic lying

nearby licking his wounds.

     Dr. Howl and his staff had returned and were

hurrying up the front steps of the institute. Just as they

arrived on the top step and were about to enter the institute,

the doors flew open and out poured the dogs, running,

limping, hobbling, and helping each other escape. Seeing

his experiment go up in flames Dr. Howl said hatefully,

“You worthless bunch of mutts.”

     Then Brad came out of the institute with the two

security men all heading to the police. Brad yelled, “Howl,

I'm turning myself in and these men are ready to talk. You,

the institute and your friends at animal control are going

down.”

     Kate and Jan had also arrived at the institute and were

astonished by the scene before them. Kate looked out over

the sea of dogs. “How am I going to find Maggie?” she said

dejectedly.

                                       148

     At that very moment, Wiley and Maggie came out of

the building and appeared at the top of the steps. Jan was

the first one to spot them and cried out, “Kate, there’s

Maggie!” Kate bounded up the steps as Maggie came down

the steps and the two were reunited.

     “Maggie! Maggie!” Kate shouted joyfully.

Wiley joined them, as did the rest of the Blue Collar

Gang. “Look at this. You dogs did it. You're heroes!” Kate

and Jan exclaimed.

     John appeared at the top of the institute steps and

surveyed the happy chaos below him. He looked back and

forth over the crowd, searching for Wiley. Out of the corner

of his eye, just off to the side, John noticed a small group of

dogs with blue collars beside two women. One of the dogs

was Wiley. “Wiley! Wiley!” he shouted frantically, at first

unable to believe his eyes.

     Wiley’s ears shot up as he heard John's voice, despite

all the barking and noise. He turned his head toward the

voice and saw John running toward him. Wiley exploded

straight for John, and they met on the steps, both going full

force. Then Wiley jumped and John reached out and

                                       149

wrapped his arms around the friend he had come so close to

losing. As Wiley cried out the most soulful cries of joy,

John was over come. “Wiley! Wiley! God! I don't believe

it.”

     Then the Blue Collar Gang, Maggie, Kate and Jan

joined Wiley and John. Kate gave Wiley a loving hug.

“You have a very special dog, but I feel you already know

that.” Kate said joyfully to John.

     But despite all the celebrating and happy reunions, the

Blue Collar Gang was grieving the loss of their big anchor,

Buster. “Buster knew all along what he was going to do,”

said a choked up Astro.

     “He saved all of us,” said a mournful Gibraltar.

     As Wiley listened, his mood changed, his tail dropped

and he began to slip away from the group. John followed as

Wiley headed back into the institute and returned to the pit.

Wiley saw the half opened gate and an exhausted Titanic

lying in the center of the pit. A jolt of electricity shot

through him. Buster was gone. He put his head down and

went through all the runways and cages to the exercise field

and in the distance saw a large black dog dragging himself

                                       150

across the field. Wiley ran as best he could toward Buster

shouting, “Buster, come back!” Buster stopped, as a

breathless Wiley caught up and exclaimed, “I thought you

were dead.”

     “So did Titanic,” said Buster.

     “Come on back,” said Wiley to Buster. “The gang is

going to get great homes, Kate and Jan....”

     “I don’t trust any human,” Buster responded

solemnly.

     “Do you trust me?” Wiley asked quietly.

     John, who had been watching from a distance, burst

into a big smile as Buster and Wiley turned around and

walked confidently in his direction, finally heading home.

                                       151

       Where’s Wiley?

               ISBN 1449910483

               EAN 13-978144991088

        Copyright © 2007 by John Westlund

     This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real

people, events, establishments, or locales are intended only

to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity, and

are used fictitiously. All other names and characters, and

places and all dialogue and incidents portrayed in this book

are the product of the author’s imagination.

     All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

or otherwise, without prior written permission

from the copyright holder, except in the case of brief

quotations in reviews.