Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of animal death.

The next morning, the group finds a map of the city, which lets them figure out the way back to Dogtown. Chance wants to get Metal Head and the book back to Quinn, but the idea of staying at Dogtown makes her sad. She remembers the sign that convinced her to leave and wonders, “[W]ould there be telephone poles I hadn’t yet checked on our way home?” (274).

On their way back to Dogtown, Metal Head asks why Chance is returning when there’s no reason for her to and her humans could be looking for her. Chance realizes that Metal Head does have a heart, even if it’s made of metal. Metal Head says that hearts are a nuisance, and Chance agrees: “[M]y heart was worn out from all the hoping. And I wasn’t sure I could hope anymore” (278).

When the group gets to Dogtown, they aren’t sure how to get inside because they’ve never entered voluntarily: “[D]ogs didn’t choose to go to Dogtown” (279). When a volunteer arrives and opens the door,