How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor Page A

wagged so hard his whole body wiggled. He licked my hand like it was a T-bone steak.
    â€œYou wanna come with us?” I said.
    He cocked his head and peered up at me. And then, I swear, he nodded his head. If he could’ve talked, I was sure he would’ve said, “Heck, yeah, I wanna come with you.”
    So, quick as I could, I lifted the latch on the gate and opened it just enough to reach my arm in. My heart was pounding so hard all I could hear was the thump, thump, thump in my ears. I knew I had to keep myself moving or else I was liable to start thinking. And if I started thinking, I was liable to think I shouldn’t be doing this. So I turned my mind to “off” and grabbed Willy’s collar. I pulled him through the gate and out onto the sidewalk. He kept wagging his tail and looking at me with his shiny black eyes. I took the string out of my pocket and tied it to his flea collar.
    â€œOkay, let’s go,” I said to Toby, and took off running.
    I ran down Whitmore Road, around the corner, and into the woods. Willy ran along beside me. Every now and then he leaped up on me or nipped at my heels like this was the most fun game he’d ever played. Once in a while he’d let out a little yip.
    When we were far enough into the woods that I was
sure no one could see us from the road, I stopped to catch my breath. I put my hand on my pounding heart and leaned against a tree. Toby ran up and stopped beside me.
    â€œWe did it!” he hollered.
    â€œShhhh.” I clamped my hand over his mouth. “Somebody might hear us. You got to be really quiet.”
    Willy sat in front of us with his tongue hanging out, panting. His tail wagged on the ground. Swish, swish, swish.
    I knelt down and ran my hand along his back. He closed his eyes and leaned against me.
    â€œIt’s okay, fella,” I said. “Don’t be scared. Me and Toby are nice.”
    He scratched behind his ear with his hind leg, making the tag on his collar jingle.
    â€œWhat do we do now?” Toby said.
    â€œWe take him over to that house and tie him up on the porch.”
    â€œWhat if he don’t like it there?”
    â€œHe’s just gonna be there for a little while,” I said. “As soon as his owner puts up the reward sign, we’ll take him back home.”
    â€œOh.” Toby knelt and rubbed the top of Willy’s head. “What if his owner don’t put up a reward sign?”
    I flapped my hand at Toby. “Trust me. That lady is gonna want him back more than anything. She’s probably making a reward sign right now.”

    I made my voice sound calm and sure, but a funny little feeling was tapping at my insides. A feeling like maybe I had done a real bad thing. I took a deep breath, trying to swallow that feeling down and keep it from growing.
    I unbuckled Willy’s green collar and tossed it into the bushes. Tap, tap. There was that feeling again. Tapping at my insides like it was trying to tell me something.
    â€œWhat’d you do that for?” Toby said.
    I rolled my eyes. “Think about it, Toby.”
    Toby’s eyebrows squeezed together and he bit his lip. “’Cause he don’t need it anymore?” he said.
    I sighed. “No, dum- bo . Because we can’t take him back to his owner with his collar on or else she’d wonder how come we didn’t call her. Her phone number’s right there on the tag.”
    â€œOh.” Toby nodded, but he still looked confused. I swear sometimes he is dumber than dirt.
    â€œCome on.” I motioned for Toby to follow me. We made our way through the woods behind the houses on Whitmore Road. I could hear the cars on the highway up ahead, so I was pretty sure we were going in the right direction.
    Willy trotted along beside me happy as anything. Every now and then, he stopped to sniff the ground or root through the rotting leaves. Once, he stopped to dig, sending dirt and leaves and