This stopped making me laugh once I realized it was harmful to the dogs. Their behaviour scared people. They would have to be dominated and taken home by force. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Often once they got home they’d be punished, as if it were their fault. I’d come back and apologize. They never held grudges. But my stratagem wasn’t just hurting the dogs; it was also attracting attention. So I went back to walking my canine friends in secret. I’d get started very early in the morning or on days when we didn’t have school but the adults still had to work. It was easier in summer, but I tried to keep up my routine all year long. In winter I preferred snowy days, since the newly fallen flakes would cover my tracks. Your eyes get used to the dark, especially when there’s moonlight. And you can hear better when it’s very cold out.

The dogs and I would go walking through the forests. I’d throw sticks, but I never taught them to bring them back to me. Some did it anyway. Natural fetchers. But I had no wish to train them. They already had enough troubles in their miserable lives without my adding to them. They followed me anyway.

At the height of my dog years, I had a rota of seven dogs I’d take for walks. One every day. It was exhausting. I was barely getting any sleep. The hardest part was bringing them back and tying them up again while they wagged their tails. I had a whole bunch of excuses ready, in case I got caught. “I was just passing by because I’m a mushroom picker.” “I saw a jackrabbit on your lawn.” “Your dog got off its leash.” But it only happened once, while I was tying a little mutt up to his pole. His owner came out in a yellow velour bathrobe.

“Hey, little girl. What are you doing?”

“Your dog got all wrapped around his stick. I wanted to give him a little room.”

Slipping a little truth in makes your lie more persuasive. I took off without waiting for the guy to answer. I could picture him, though, standing there in the door, too lazy to get to the bottom of the story. The sad part is I had to stop walking that dog. I had a plan for a few others, but I had to put it on hold a few months to give the guy time to forget what had happened. You can never be too careful.