Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

Chapter 7 commences with Satchmo Jenkins recalling the time he was bitten in the leg by a neighbor’s rottweiler. The dog took “a chunk out of the back of Satchmo’s leg, left teeth marks that scarred in the shape of a sad face” (119). Satchmo was known to catch whatever ball was thrown his way and “never ever missed” (119). On the day of the biting, Satchmo missed a throw and the football fell “right into Ms. Adams’s yard, where Brutus the Rottweiler lived, chained to a tree” (120). Ms. Adams was “an older lady who sat in the window […] making sure no one stepped foot in her yard” (120). After ensuring that Ms. Adams is not in her customary spot in the window, Satchmo sneaks into her yard to retrieve the ball. He does and holds the ball up as “a sign of victory for Clancy to see” (122). Then, Brutus breaks free from his chain, begins to chase Satchmo, and bites him.

Four years later, Satchmo and his mother move to a new neighborhood for her new job “as an office assistant at a veterinary clinic” (123). After Satchmo’s incident with Brutus, his mother attempts to teach Satchmo how to interact with dogs.