Charles stared at his dad. “Here, in the park?” he asked. Even though he had heard Dad perfectly well, he couldn’t believe his ears.

Dad nodded. “A runner just reported an abandoned puppy in the upper parking lot. She posted it on this special page for lost and missing dogs.” He was already walking quickly toward the trail that led to the upper parking area. Charles trotted after him, and Sammy followed along.

“What’s going on?” called Hunter Pagano, one of the other scouts. He and his twin brother, Tyler, were in the other second-grade class at Charles’s school, Littleton Elementary. Sammy and the other scout in their den, Liam Poole, were in Mr. Mason’s class, with Charles.

“There’s a puppy we have to help,” called Charles.

The twins threw down their rakes and ran over. Their mom followed behind. “A puppy?” she asked Charles’s dad when they caught up.

“That’s what I hear,” he said. “Let’s go find out.”

By the time they reached the trail, Liam had joined them as well, leaving the tarp he’d been using to drag raked-up leaves.

“I love dogs,” said Hunter as the group crossed the little footbridge and climbed the big wooden stairs that led to the parking lot. “We used to have one named Sadie. She was too wild so we had to find her a new home, but I liked her.”

“She liked me better,” said Tyler. “She always slept on my bed.”

“Not always,” said Hunter.

“Usually,” said Tyler.

“Boys,” said Mrs. Pagano, shaking her head. “How do you make everything into an argument? Sadie loved both of you, but neither of you is really old enough to remember her much.”

“I remember her,” said Tyler. “She was black and white and she was really soft, especially her ears.”

“I remember her better,” said Hunter. “She liked to lick my face.”

Hunter and Tyler’s mom stepped between them on the trail. “That’s enough,” she said.

“I have a dog,” said Liam. “Well, he’s not really my dog — he’s my grammy’s. But I get to play with him all the time. His name is Buster.”

Up front, Charles’s dad nodded. “We all love dogs, don’t we?” By then they were at the top of the trail. Charles looked up one side of the big parking lot and down the other. In summer, the parking lot would be full of cars roasting in the sun, but now it was empty. Except — what was that? “There!” He pointed. “Do you think the puppy is in that crate?”

At the far end of the parking lot was a large white plastic box, the type that people used when they were traveling with a dog. It had a small window on the side, but from this distance Charles couldn’t see if anything was in there.

The whole group broke into a trot, with Charles leading the way across the parking lot. As he grew nearer, he began to hear a high-pitched whimpering. He sped up, running as fast as he could. Poor puppy! Who would leave a little dog locked up all alone like that?

He was the first to arrive at the box. Now he could see something through the wire-mesh window. White fur — maybe some black fur, too? A pink tongue, panting. A shiny black eye staring back at him.

“It is a puppy — it really is,” Charles called as he reached for the latch.

“Wait, Charles!” Dad caught up and touched Charles’s shoulder. “We don’t know anything about this dog. Let’s take it slow. We can’t just let him out.”

“But Dad,” Charles said, “listen to him.”

The whimpering was louder now, punctuated by small yips and barks. The puppy banged around inside the cage as if he was fighting to get out. Charles pictured a wiry little terrier, bouncing around like a jumping bean.

“Okay, okay,” Dad said soothingly. “Don’t worry, fella. We’re here to help.” He looked around at the circle of boys who had crowded around the crate. “Everybody stand back, all right?”

Hunter took one step back, but came closer again when he noticed that Tyler hadn’t moved. Everyone else stood where they were, staring at the crate. “I’m sure it’s safe,” said Hunter and Tyler’s mom. “It’s just a little puppy, right?”

Dad shrugged and knelt down to open the door of the crate. “Oof!” he said as something big and furry erupted out of the box, knocking him over.

“Whoa!” said Charles as he jumped forward to grab the dog. “That is one giant puppy!”

Hunter and Tyler piled on, Hunter by the dog’s head and Tyler by his tail. Sammy stood in front of the dog, hands out to block the pup from running past him. Liam threw his arms around the puppy’s neck.

The puppy squirmed and wriggled, but he couldn’t get away. Charles felt for a collar, but all he found was thick, curly fur. “Dad,” he said. “How are we going to hold him?”

By now, Dad was back on his feet. “Let’s all calm down,” he said. “Everybody off the dog. I don’t think he’ll go anywhere.”

Sure enough, when all the boys had let go, the puppy shook himself off. His shaggy coat was white, with big splotches of black. He had big ears that hung down, a massive head, giant paws, a big wet pink tongue, and a big white fluffy tail. He gazed around at all the people. Then he turned and ran right back into the crate.