“It’s pretty awful,” said Dad, though he quickly followed up with, “Amy, don’t touch that dog. He could be sick.”

Amy didn’t even think about that. Her mind was already racing, looking for a solution. Bit by bit, step by step, she worked out the problem, the parameters, and the answer. “We need water. To loosen the tape.” She looked back at Katie, who nodded and trotted back to the car.

“Whoa, now, hold on,” said Dad. “We don’t know whose dog this is. Somebody might come looking for him.”

“They taped his mouth shut, Dad,” Amy argued.

“Yeah, but even then—” Before he could finish, Katie was back with the bottle of water from their snack bag.

Amy shushed the dog as she reached around behind his head to untie the blindfold. The rag had been cinched so tight it looked painful, so Amy’s fingers had to work carefully at the knot. She noticed that the German shepherd didn’t even flinch when she finally slid the fabric off his face. This poor guy must have been through a lot.

Once the blindfold was off, Amy could see the dog’s eyes shining. To Amy, the dog looked scared, lost … and she wondered how he had gotten here.

The muzzle was harder with how the tape was looped around it. Amy took the water bottle and dribbled water onto the dog’s fur, trying to loosen the adhesive. Then her father brought out his Swiss Army knife and used the tiny scissors inside to cut the tape where it held the shepherd’s mouth shut. Then they poured more water on the dog’s nose and chin, and Amy pulled the last of the tape away. It was a traumatic process, she thought, but at least they’d gotten the dog free.

As soon as they pulled the last of the tape off, the dog barked and licked Amy’s face. She laughed with a bit of crying on the end, happy to have liberated the dog but sad that anyone would leave such a sweet, handsome animal in this state. The shepherd pulled at his chain, licking Amy’s hand and wagging his tail excitedly. Katie stepped toward him, and the minute she was in reach, the dog bathed the little girl’s face in kisses, making her giggle and wrap her arms around his neck.

“All right, well,” said Dad, trying to look stern through his smile, “that was very sweet of you, Amy. But now that his face is free, we should call a shelter and leave him.”

“Dad!” cried Amy, climbing to her feet. She felt stung—how could he just leave this poor guy here? “We have to take him somewhere. He could die out here!”

“We can’t just walk away with him, Amy. He’s chained to that fence,” said Dad.

“Don’t you have bolt cutters in your emergency kit?” Mom asked.