“I hear there’s a fugitive harboring a suspect in here,” Officer Harrow said, but he was smiling. “May we come in?”
I led them to Leo’s room. The closet door was still shut tight.
Officer Harrow didn’t bark orders. He didn’t stand over the door. He sat down on the carpet. He signaled his dog to lie down next to him.
“Leo?” he called out softly. “My name is Officer Harrow. And this is Officer Radar. We heard Barnaby might be in trouble.”
Silence from the closet.
“You know,” Harrow continued, talking to the door, “Officer Radar here is a dog, just like Barnaby. He works for the police. In fact, he’s the boss. I just drive the car.”
Slowly, the closet door creaked open an inch. One terrified blue eye peeked out.
“You don’t take dogs away?” Leo whispered.
“Son,” Officer Harrow said, his voice thick with emotion, “We don’t take good boys away. We protect them. We work with them. A dog is a partner. A dog is family.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sticker—a junior officer badge. “Radar wanted to know if Barnaby wants to be an honorary member of the K-9 unit. We need brave dogs to keep the neighborhood safe from squirrels.”
