Chapter 11

Chapter 11 WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? AND COULD THAT PERSON PLEASE COME GET THEM? Jodi couldn't believe this was happening. All she'd wanted was to show her brother that she could be responsible. That she could take care of animals. Every sort of animal! And now those animals were scattered all over a public park. They were people's beloved pets…and they were lost. All lost. All her fault. "Dewey!" cried Ms. Minerva, and she ran off after the cat. "Dewey Decimal, come back here!" Jodi fought back tears. "I lost them. I can't believe I lost them."

"Uh, well, not all of them," Po said. He held up the fishbowl. "Bubbles here stuck around." Jodi couldn't fight the tears anymore. She stood there in the middle of the park, her knees skinned and her fingers sore, and she cried. Then she felt her brother's arms around her. He gave her a good long hug—then he gripped her by her shoulders and he looked her in the eyes.

"We can fix this, Jodi," he said. "But we can't do it without you." "M-me?" Jodi said. "You know these animals," he said. "You know them extremely well. And you can tell us what we need to do to get them back." He smiled. "You just have to believe in yourself. Like I believe in you." Jodi almost wanted to cry again, hearing that. But there was no more time for tears. Those animals needed her. "Okay," she said, wiping her cheeks. "Here's what we're going to do. Polly always wants a cracker. Theo, get the parrot back by giving her as many treats as it

takes. Harper, same idea for the iguana—but give him fruit, not crackers." Theo and Harper grabbed the treats from Jodi, saluted, and ran off. She rubbed her chin. "We could round up the dogs if we knew how to use Doc's whistle…." "Oh!" said Po. "I know how to use it. I read the instruction manual last night!" Morgan gave him a suspicious look. "Really?" "Why is that so hard to believe?" Po asked. "I'm a reluctant reader, sure. But Doc is an absolute poet." He turned to Jodi. "I can do it. I know I can. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, right? Consider it done-done-done-donnne."

"I trust you, Po," said Jodi. "And Pupernicus is a natural-born leader. If he comes running, the others will follow." She paused. "That just leaves Ms. Minerva's cat." "So what do cats like?" asked Morgan. He thought about it for a moment, and his eyes went to the goldfish. Po covered Bubbles with his body. "Don't even think about it!" he cried. Jodi snapped her fingers. "I've got it!" She dug around in her bag until she found the laser pointer she'd used for her presentation. "Cats love to chase laser pointers. We'll get him back in no time."

Morgan grinned. "I knew you'd think of something." "Thinking is only half the battle," said Jodi. "Go, go, go!" It took nearly an hour. Po blew the whistle until he was out of breath—and surrounded by a captive canine audience. Theo had to climb a tree to reach the parrot. And to her embarrassment, Harper captured the wrong lizard on her first attempt. She had to go back and find the right one all over again. But as Jodi used the laser pointer to lure Dewey back into Ms. Minerva's waiting stroller, they all breathed big sighs of relief.