Kago got home but told his mother nothing. In the morning, he noticed Spokes’ bed had not been slept in. Kago didn’t know what Spokes’ plan was. He didn’t know what he should do either. Spokes was part of a cruel, illegal dog-fighting syndicate. But what could Kago do? Spokes was his cousin. He rubbed Tiger’s head. Was that what was supposed to happen to Tiger? Was he going to be pushed into that cage and bitten to death, just like the brown dog?

At work, Kago didn’t want to talk to anyone. He worked hard. The physical pain of lifting bags of cement helped him clear his mind. At lunch time Jojo found him sitting alone, away from the warehouse, under a tree.

“Where’ve you been all day?” she asked.

“Around.” Kago didn’t want to talk. Jojo sat down next to him, but said nothing. She was there to listen and soon, though he had thought he didn’t want to, he began to talk. “You know, family can really be a problem.”

“Why? What happened?” Jojo asked.

“Last night I found out what job my cousin is doing that lets him earn all of that money.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“They’re doing dog fighting. Can you believe it? Betting on dog fights.”

Kago explained how he’d gone to the warehouse and seen everything. “And you won’t believe this. Do you know where they’re getting dogs? From the dog rescue place where we found Tiger.

“No way! That place is legit. They wouldn’t do that.” Jojo didn’t believe it.

“Maybe they don’t know. Maybe these guys just come and take the dogs that don’t get collected by owners.”

“But how do you know it’s dogs from that place?”

Kago waited. Should he tell her? She seemed to have a special place in her heart for dogs. But she also didn’t believe him. This would make her change her mind. “You know that dog with Tiger, the brown one?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“So when I was there last night, he was thrown in the pit with this massive dog. He was dead within a few minutes. It was a bloodbath. Terrible.” Jojo’s eyes filled with tears. Kago put his arm around her. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s so awful. How could people do that?” Jojo said.

“I don’t know. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now that I know about it.”

“Maybe we can tell the man who gave you Tiger. He seemed nice. If they can’t get dogs from him, then they won’t have any dogs to fight with, to bet on. I think if he knows what they’re doing with the dogs, he’ll be angry. He’ll go to the police. They’ll shut the whole thing down. Then it will be out of your hands.”

The lunch siren sounded and they went back to work. Maybe Jojo was right. It was wrong what they were doing. Kago was angry that Spokes had put him in this position. He always took the easy way out. He couldn’t work hard for his money like everyone else; instead he did this. It was wrong!

After work Kago quickly slipped out without seeing Jojo, and got a taxi. He was going to Paws R Us. Maybe Jojo was right. He would tell that man what was going on. That man would call the police and it would all be over.

* * *

Tell us what you think: Is it a good idea for Kago to turn in his cousin? Is he doing the right thing, going to the dog rescue place?