Mavis could hardly believe how great this adventure was turning out.
She had actually found Wonderland.
And now she had convinced someone to let them in.
Wonderland was a hustle-bustle of activity. Everywhere Mavis looked were dogs.
Dogs on leashes.
Dogs in kennels.
Dogs playing in grassy fenced areas.
And all the dogs looked a lot like Henry, with long skinny legs and long pointy noses.
Mavis kept saying to Rose, “Isn’t this cool?” and “Did you see that?”
Rose would nod or shrug.
Mavis wished that Rose were having as much fun as she was, but it didn’t seem like she was.
The woman with the bushy gray ponytail led them to a cinder-block building.
“Here ya go,” she said.
Mavis leaned her bike against the building and went inside, motioning for Rose to do the same.
Inside, the air was damp and smelled like dogs. Along each side were rows of kennels. Inside most of the kennels was a barking dog. A greyhound, like Henry. At the end of each kennel was a small door that led to an outside kennel.
Roger, the man who had picked Henry up in the van, was washing metal bowls.
“Can I help y’all?” he said. “I don’t have any appointments until tomorrow.”
“We’re looking for a dog,” Mavis told him.
“Got an appointment?” Roger asked.
“Um…” Mavis couldn’t think of a good fib, so she said, “We’re looking for that white dog with a brown spot on his side.”
“Ah, y’all are the ones who found that rascal who ran off.” The man dried his hands on his jeans.
Mavis nodded. “His name is Henry and we found him and he really loves us, but Mr. Duffy called to have him picked up. Right, Rose?”
Rose nodded.
Roger chuckled. “His name is Alabama Rocket Boy, and he’s a naughty one.”
Alabama Rocket Boy?
What kind of name was that for a dog?
“Can we see him?” Mavis asked.
Roger led them down the row of kennels. When they got to the last one, which was empty, Roger whistled.
Sure enough, Henry came leaping through the little door from outside and darted over to the front of the kennel, wagging his tail and whining with excitement at the sight of Rose and Mavis.
“Hey, Henry!” Mavis said, stooping and putting her hand through the chain link for him to sniff.
Henry wagged his tail so hard his whole body wagged.
“He remembers us!” Mavis said.
Rose ran her hand along Henry’s nose.
Mavis told Roger how she and Rose had found Henry in the woods and taken him to Mr. Duffy.
“We wanted Mr. Duffy to keep him, but he said Henry belonged here.”
“Well, if one of y’all wants a dog, you’ve come to the right place,” Roger said. “Ole Rocket Boy here is ready for adoption.”
“He is?” Mavis turned to Rose. “See? I told you. I knew it.”
Then she turned back to Roger and said. “We’ll take him.”
Rose gave her a wide-eyed look and said, “But—”
“You can’t just take him,” Roger said.
Mavis stood up. “Why not?”
Roger told Rose and Mavis about the Wonderland Adoption Center.
The dogs were greyhounds who had lived their whole lives right here at the racetrack. They had been trained to run since they were puppies. When they were ready to race, they lived in the race kennels.
But by the time the dogs were three or four years old, they were too old to race anymore.
“Too old?” Mavis said.
“Yep. They slow down, like Rocket Boy.” He nodded toward Henry. “He’s got a bum hip, too. A few years of hard racing will do that sometimes.”
“What happens to them when they get too old?”
“They’re ready for adoption,” Roger said. “I try my best to find ’em a good home.”
“Really?” Mavis looked at Rose. “Then we’ll adopt him, right, Rose?”
“Whoa now,” Roger said. “It don’t happen like that. For one thing, y’all have to have a grown-up with you. And then there’s paperwork and interviews and home inspections and stuff.”
Mavis felt her shoulders droop. All her careful planning hadn’t included this.
Now what?
How could she and Rose get Henry and Mr. Duffy together?