He lives in Anchorage, and he works for the post office. When he saw Dingo charge off after the sled dog teams today, he said to me, ‘Wow! That dog of yours sure is fast. I bet he’s strong too. The Anchorage mail carriers could use a dog like him.’”

“Yeah, I know Dingo is really fast and strong!” Jason said. “He’s the best dog in the world.” He petted Dingo while his dad continued.

“At first, I thought that he was just complimenting Dingo,” Jason’s dad said. “But then he asked, ‘So, how much do you want? I’ll give you a hundred dollars for him.’ I was going to tell him that Dingo wasn’t for sale, but then I thought for a moment. Our heater is broken, and it’s already November. I don’t get paid much for my job, and your mother stays home to take care of the house. Jason, I’m sorry…I told him to come tomorrow to pick up Dingo.”

Tears sprang to Jason’s eyes. “No!” he said. “How could you? You sold Dingo for a hundred dollars?”

Jason’s father tried to explain. “Jason, we need the money…” he said.

“I don’t care about money!” Jason shouted, tears running down his cheek. “Dingo is my best friend! How could you sell him?” He ran up to his room crying.

Jason’s mother looked sympathetic. “Honey, you know how much Jason loves Dingo,” she said to her husband. “I know that we need money, but wasn’t there any other way?”

Jason’s father shook his head. “This is the only way,” he said. “It’s already starting to get cold out. If we don’t have a heater that works, we’ll freeze to death. I know that Jason is going to miss Dingo dearly, but there’s no other choice.”

Dingo lay down on the ground. Why were they doing this to him? They knew that he loved Jason so much. And what about Saba? They had been together for their whole lives, and now they were going to be separated for the first time. 

Suddenly Dingo charged out of the room. “Come back, boy!” Jason’s dad called out.

Jason’s mom shook her head. “Dingo and Jason have both been through a lot today,” she said. “I think that they need some time to be alone.”

Jason’s dad rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said. “Dingo’s just a dog. He probably doesn’t even know what we were talking about.”

-----

Dingo arrived panting in the boiler room. A small group of dogs had come since Saba’s arrival. “You aren’t going to believe this!” he said. “I…” Suddenly he broke off and closed his eyes. Unconscious, he collapsed onto the ground.

“Dingo!” Saba shouted. She quickly ran to get a bowl of water. When she got back, she poured it onto him. “Are you okay?”

Dingo spat out some water and coughed. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “Well, I was going to tell you about the big news. My owner’s father was talking to some guy at the race today and he sold me to him!”

Saba raised her eyebrows. Something seemed wrong. “So, where does the guy live?” she asked.

Dingo cleared his throat. “Well…that’s the bad part,” he said. “He lives in Anchorage. I have to live down there now.”

Saba tried to keep calm. “You’re going to come back, right?” she asked, biting her lip.

Dingo sat silent for a moment. Finally, he muttered, “No.”

Saba made her best attempt to hold back her tears. “No…” she said. “It can’t be true. You can’t go to Anchorage!”

Dingo hung his head sadly. “It’s true,” he said. “I’m going to Anchorage…and I’m not coming back.”

Saba ran out of the boiler room, crying uncontrollably. “It’s not fair,” she said as Dingo followed her out of the building. “How can they do this to us? We’ve been together since we were born. I don’t want to lose you.”

Dingo put one of his front legs around his sister. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll never forget about you. I’ll come back. I’ll do whatever it takes…”

Chapter 3

Dingo left Saba and went back into the boiler room. He knew that his sister would need some time to be alone and think about everything that was happening.

A million thoughts rushed around Saba’s mind. When would Dingo leave? Would he be able to say goodbye to her? How would Kodi and her father find out about the whole thing?

Saba walked over to the doorway of the boiler room. She overheard her brother talking to the other dogs. Would this be the last time she ever heard his voice?

More tears started running down Saba’s cheek. How would she ever be able to say goodbye to her brother?

-----

All the dogs were excited about the news Dingo had brought. Questions began to fill the air.

“When are you leaving?”

“What are you going to do in Anchorage?”

“Who in their right mind would want to buy you?” a mean dog named Tair asked.

Dingo glared at Tair. “Very funny,” he said. “Well, my new owner works for the Anchorage post office. He’s probably got some job for me. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

The room buzzed with excitement. Some were happy for Dingo, but others were sad to hear that he was leaving. Tair and a small group of his friends were just happy to see him go. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” one of them said. “Nome will be a better place when Ding-dong leaves.” The small group laughed at their friend’s comment.

“Come on,” Tair said. “Let’s get out of here. After tomorrow, we’ll never have to see Ding-dong’s ugly face again.”

As Tair turned to leave, an angry dog jumped to block the way between him and the door. It was the new husky that Saba had seen when she had first entered the boiler room. “Stop picking on Dingo,” he said, growling. “What did he ever do to you?”

Tair growled back at the dog. “Since when do I need a reason to pick on someone?” he said. “You obviously don’t know who you’re messing with. Now move out of my way!”

The dog stood his ground. “I’m not moving until you apologize to Dingo,” he said.

Tair glared at the dog. “Don’t you know who I am?” he asked. “I’m Tair. And Tair doesn’t apologize to anyone. If you don’t move, I’ll get you out of my way.” Tair roughly shoved the dog to one side and began to walk out the door. The dog slammed into the wall.

Even though the dog had injured his leg on impact against the wall, he didn’t give up. “I don’t care who you are,” he said boldly. “I’m not afraid of you. Leave Dingo alone!” He painfully walked over to Tair.

Tair was reaching the end of his rope. “I warned you,” he said. “You will be afraid of me after I get through with you.” Snarling, he walked closer to the new dog.

Suddenly Saba came in the room and stood between Tair and the dog. “Leave us alone!” she said. “Get out of here and take your friends with you, bully!”

Tair shivered with mock fear. “Oh no!” he said sarcastically. “Ding-dong’s sister is out to get me! Have mercy!” All of the mean dogs laughed with their leader.

Saba narrowed her eyes. “I mean it,” she said. “Now go!”

“I was about to leave anyway,” Tair said. With a scowl, he turned to the new dog. “You’re lucky that I’m in a good mood today. Otherwise, I would have finished you off by now. Take my advice: stay away from me, and we’ll both be better off. Oh, and before I forget…tell Ding-dong to learn how to stand up for himself.” With a laugh, he walked out of the door with his friends following him.

A few moments later, Dingo walked up to the new dog. “Thanks,” he said. “Tair’s been picking on me for weeks. I didn’t want to stand up to him, but neither did anyone else. Anyone who can stand up to Tair is pretty brave by my standards.”

The dog smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “No one should have to put up with dogs like Tair. I thought that it was about time for someone to stand up to him.” He winced as he tested his injured leg.

“Are you okay?” Dingo asked. “I know someone that could take care of your leg.”

The dog shook his head. “No, I’m fine,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”

Dingo smiled. “Wow,” he said. “I wish that I could be that tough! Well, I have to go now and say goodbye to a few more people.” He took a last glance at Saba and then ran out of the room.

“You’re really