a trash can. The dogcatcher dashed after it.

"Humans and their headgear," Fang muttered, scratching an ear, with his left hind leg, making the ear flop about.

"Hey!" came a voice from the cage below. "Fido! Little help here!"
 

Fang took his sweet time getting down there. He slipped onto the landing in front of the dogcatcher's back-seat-truck-cage.

Fang gave the girl pup a devilish smile. "Heya, Affy, did'ya miss me?"

Afghanna scoffed gratefully. "Come on, superdog, the dogcatcher's on his way back."

"Is she okay?" came a voice from a few inches below them, on the sidewalk.

"Relax, Skipper, she's in the paws of the best," Fang called down.

"I'll bet." Skip grumbled. Fang ignored him.

In seconds, the three pups were free and they had made their way to the park.

"Sorry about the rotten way I treated you two," Fang apologized, strolling along as if stepping to a silent rock beat. "But that pomeranian pet hooked me like no girl I've met."
 

Afghanna rolled her eyes. "Apology excepted, bigshot."

She elbowed Skip as they walked.

"Yeah, what she said," Skip growled.

"S'okay," Fang continued walking, two inches ahead of his friends, they flanked him from a tiny bit behind. "Even if it didn't work out, I got another plan."

His friends groaned.

"Hey, hey, hey," Fang raised his head as he walked, eyelids half closed. "You're with Fang. King of the block, gang. You'll live."

~To be continued in part 3!~