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it. She and Charles climbed into the van. Lizzie watched the scenery go by, thinking about the last time she had come this way, when she and Meg had picked up Scout. That hadn’t been so very long ago — but Lizzie already felt as if she had known Scout forever.
    It wasn’t going to be easy to say good-bye to Scout when the time came for her to go to her forever home. That was the hard part about fostering puppies. Lizzie and Charles were always sad to let them go. But every puppy was so special. Lizzie felt very lucky to be able to spend even a little time with each one.
    Soon Dad pulled into the airport parking lot. He, Lizzie, and Charles got out and headed across the walkway into the small terminal. Lizzie looked around. The building was full of people walking up and down, looking for their baggage, and getting in line for tickets. But where was Meg? Where was Casey?
    Then she saw a woman bending over a dog’s travel crate, opening the door. A brown-and-black head poked out. Pointy nose, big pointy ears — it was Casey! Lizzie started running.
    Meg stood up and turned to give Lizzie a hug. Her face was serious. “Lizzie —” she began.
    But Lizzie had already bent down to say hello to Casey. Why wasn’t she coming out of her crate? Lizzie patted Casey’s head and scratched her between her ears, the way she liked. “Hey, girl,” she said. Then she saw the bandages. Casey’s shoulder was wrapped in gauze.
    By then, Charles and Dad had caught up. “Whatis it?” Dad asked Lizzie. He could tell she was upset.
    “Casey’s hurt,” Lizzie said. She looked at Meg. “What is it? What happened?”
    “Remember when Casey was limping that time at your house?” Meg asked. “Well, she fell when she was climbing into a cellar in Mexico to save a little girl, and that old shoulder injury got a lot worse. She had to have an operation.”
    Dad put an arm around Meg’s shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said.
    Meg nodded. “So am I. But she’s not in pain anymore. The vet said she’ll heal quickly and be able to walk around again really soon.”
    “That’s good,” Lizzie said. She and Charles were kneeling by Casey’s crate, patting her gentle face. “So when will she be able to go back to work?”
    Meg didn’t answer.
    Lizzie looked up to see that Meg’s eyes were filled with tears. She was shaking her head. “Never,” shesaid. “Casey is going to have to retire from search-and-rescue work. I’m losing my partner.”
    “Wow.” Lizzie didn’t know what to say. That was terrible news! Casey was so good at what she did. “But she’ll still be your pet, right?” she asked.
    “Of course!” said Meg. “This girl is going to have the cushiest retirement ever. I’m going to get her a big soft bed, and feed her bonbons every day, and rent videos for her to watch.” Lizzie could tell Meg was trying to sound happy, but the tears were still in her eyes.
    “I’ll come over and take her for walks,” Lizzie promised. “And she can still be our class mascot!” She knew it wasn’t much, but she wanted to say something to make Meg feel better.
    On the way home, Meg told them about the things Casey had done in Mexico. “She was amazing,” Meg said. “She found at least five people who were stuck inside buildings. That little girl was the last one, and Casey managed to pull her outof the wreckage, even with her shoulder hurting so terribly.”
    “She should get a medal,” Charles said.
    “She’s a hero,” Meg agreed.
    Dad had invited Meg over for dinner, so they drove straight home. Dad helped Meg lift Casey out of the van, and they brought her inside and laid her down gently near the fireplace. Mom had made lasagna and garlic bread, and the house smelled wonderful.
    Buddy and Scout galloped over to say hello to Casey. “Easy, you two!” said Lizzie. Charles grabbed Buddy and picked him up.
    But Scout went straight to Casey. She seemed to know it was important to be gentle with the big, injured