Head Over Paws

by Debbie Burns

  Olivia looked over the pens, nodding appreciatively. From all the enrichments in the cat and dog kennels inside, the fun kitty play area, and these pens for the dogs, this place wasn’t like any shelter she’d ever been to. And she couldn’t escape the feeling that she’d found just the place where she needed to be.

  “You ready for us, Patrick?” Tess asked.

  “Yes. I’m seventeen minutes behind schedule, but the loose section of fence is repaired.”

  “Great. I’ll tell Fidel and Megan that it’s back in business. I know there’s a handful of dogs who could still really use some work today, time permitting.”

  Feeling a bit like a kid who was being shuffled between babysitters, Olivia followed Patrick around for the next ten minutes, doing her best to commit to memory his concise and literal instructions. While she’d been around dogs her entire life, there were so many things she’d never thought of before. Not only did the shelter have established protocols on how to approach the dogs, but each animal had an individual care plan. Some dogs were fine with collars, while others needed a variety of different harnesses. Some dogs could be walked with others, some needed to be walked alone, and a few needed to be walked in the presence of two volunteers or staff members at a time due to health issues or questionable temperament.

  It was a lot to take in, but there were directions at each kennel for each dog, and Olivia was happy to know she wouldn’t need to rely on memory while getting used to everything. In addition to handling instructions, there was a short bio on each dog. Olivia loved scanning them as Patrick led her around the kennels, pointing out things she needed to know before they took the dogs out.

  When they got to quarantine and Patrick finished giving her the rundown of its specific procedures, she washed up and knelt in front of the pointer’s kennel.

  “Remember me, buddy?” He’d been dozing but lifted his big, liver-roan head off his giant paws and opened his eyes. Olivia flattened her hand against his kennel. “Because I sure missed you.”

  The pointer rose to all fours, tail pumping and ears forward, and licked the bit of her hand that he could reach through the mesh fence.

  “He does,” Patrick said, watching. “He’s more hesitant with the staff and other volunteers who approach him.”

  “I kept him overnight,” Olivia said, talking in an effort to press back an unexpected rush of emotion. “I wouldn’t have guessed that he’d paid me much notice, as nervous as he was, but maybe I was wrong.”

  “He’s timid, but he hasn’t been labeled a behavior risk. If you want to hook him up, you can. These kennels aren’t big enough to step into with him in it, so you’ll have to hook him up at the door.”

  Pretending to have a bit more confidence than she felt that the dog wouldn’t slip past her, Olivia opened the door, using her body as a block, and offered him a treat from her open hand. After he’d swiped it up with a flick of his warm tongue, she slipped his collar around until she found the ring, then hooked him up.

  “Correct.” Patrick’s tone was as matter-of-fact as they came.

  I wonder what he’ll say if I do it wrong? Releasing a breath of relief, she stepped back and opened the door. The pointer wasted no time rushing out. Instead of bolting for the door, he pressed into her side and let out a whine that melted her heart.

  “Do you approve of the name we’ve given him while he’s here? It means ‘sea chief.’ One of the volunteers suggested it after seeing the video of his struggle in the water.”

  Olivia looked back at the kennel. Morgan was written on top of his bio.

  “Morgan, huh?” She stroked the silky-smooth fur atop his head. He glanced upward, meeting her gaze for a split second. His tail thumped steadily. “Morgan, the sea chief. I like it.”

  “Even when the names are new to them, we use them repeatedly in training sessions. It doesn’t take the dogs long to connect with them.”

  Olivia nodded. “That’s fine by me.”

  “Can you attempt to get him to sit using the signal I showed you before exiting the room?”

  “With a closed fist, right?”

  “Yes, but say the command as you make the fist. If he’s not listening, you may need to show him a treat first.”

  Moving the leash to her left hand, Olivia made a fist with her right one and gave a “sit” command that came out with more confidence than she felt.

  Morgan glanced at her again for a split second but then looked toward the closed door expectantly. “Morgan, sit. Sit.”

  Olivia waited, hoping he’d respond, but the pointer simply stared at the door, wagging his short tail expectantly. She had a sinking feeling that dog training was harder than she’d anticipated.

  “Step in front of him. You need to distract him from the door.”

  Olivia did as instructed, repeating her command and attempting to draw the pointer’s attention to her closed fist. At first, he attempted to step to the side to look around her, but when the taut leash prevented it, he glanced from her fist to her face and back to her fist. “Sit, Morgan. Sit.”

  With a lick of his lips and a grunty little groan, Morgan sank back onto his haunches. Once he’d held the pose for a couple of seconds, Olivia rewarded him with a treat and an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “Good boy!”

  Happiness radiated through her. Sure, it had been a small success in the scheme of things, but it was still her first win in this new, structured world of professional animal care. “Now what?” she asked Patrick.

  His brow furrowed just the slightest bit. “Now you open the door.”

  Suppressing a giggle, Olivia said, “Of course. I open the door.”

  When Morgan hopped back to all fours and wagged his tail hard enough for his whole body to wag along with it, Olivia opened the door. “Come on, Morgan. Let’s go for a walk.”

  Chapter 18

  Four months ago, when Albert Washington had proposed the sale of his practice to Gabe, the “real and honest” food for thought he’d given was that if Gabe wanted his own practice, he’d best sign on for long days and late evenings. Gabe didn’t mind the demanding schedule or even the fifteen-minute appointments late in the day on a Friday that morphed into emergency surgeries—especially when they saved lives.

  But this afternoon, two things were in the back of his mind when he took radiographs of a middle-aged Yorkie in distress and found several small stones, one of which was lodged in his urethra blocking urine flow. Neither of them had anything to do with his confidence in saving the dog. Even new in practice as he was, Gabe had begun to lose track of the cystotomies he’d performed. As far as surgeries went, an emergency bladder-stone removal tended to be relatively simple, and he went into most of them with confidence when he gave owners reassuring odds of success and recovery.

  He’d gotten the all clear to do the surgery from the older woman who owned the Yorkie, and his concerns this afternoon were regarding Olivia and Samson. Tonight was his and Olivia’s first real date, and he didn’t want to keep her waiting. Especially considering she didn’t exactly have a place to go once she finished her first shift at the shelter. Perhaps she could go to her sister’s, but considering what she’d shared about her sister’s life right now, he didn’t want to assume that was an option.

  His other concern was regarding Samson. Yesterday, his dog had been raring to come to work, and he’d had an active day—at least for him—lounging behind the front counter, soaking up the unbridled affection given to him by the vet techs and assistants on staff, and occasionally hopping up to greet some of the dogs or cats as they came through the door. For a reason Gabe had yet to understand, some animals caught Samson’s attention from the get-go, even waking him from his periodic deep dozes. Yet, there were countless animals he didn’t have even the slightest interest in. Considering how Samson was wearing down easier now, perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise this morning when he’
d chosen to go back to bed rather than head out with Gabe for the day after breakfast and his morning walk.

  And since Gabe actually had plans after work that with any luck would stretch well into the night, he was going to need to head home before meeting up with Olivia. Samson had a strong bladder and bowels, but not that strong.

  As Janice, his lead surgical assistant, readied the Yorkie for surgery, Gabe shot off two texts. The first was to Yun, telling her he was heading into a late-in-the-day surgery and asking if she could swing by and let Samson out on her way home. She knew the door code and had done this favor for him often enough, just as he did cat duty for her whenever she headed out of town for the weekend. The second text was to Olivia, explaining what had come up and letting her know there was a good chance he’d run a little late but that he’d text as soon as he was out. He also sent her the address of his office and told her she could feel free to wait in the waiting room if she finished up before him.

  Knowing the Yorkie’s owner was in a clear state of distress, he headed into the front room where she intended to wait out the surgery. “You’re welcome to stay, Ms. Bonner, of course. But once he’s out of surgery and in recovery, he won’t want to do anything but sleep. We’ll keep him in recovery through tomorrow morning, and so long as there are no complications, you should be fine to pick him up before noon tomorrow. The best thing for him will be to sleep it off for several hours and through the night as much as possible. You remember Janice? She’ll be assisting me, and she’s here till eight. She’ll make sure he’s on the mend before she takes off for the night.”

  After a bit more reassurance, Ms. Bonner agreed the best thing for her would be to head over to her daughter’s house where her grandkids could keep her busy until her beloved dog was out of surgery. Gabe promised to call with an update once the Yorkie was in recovery, and she headed out after enveloping him in a hug he’d not expected.

  “God bless your caring soul,” she said, patting his cheek with motherly pride as she pulled away. “I know why Dr. Washington looked to you to take over his practice.”

  Letting the compliment roll over him, Gabe headed to the back to scrub up, then slipped on a sterile surgical gown, gloves, cap, and mask and headed into the operating room.

  The whole building was in dire need of updates, some things more than others, but the operating room had been remodeled a little over ten years ago, and the equipment and supplies were high-quality. This was one of the main reasons Gabe was excited to take over the practice at the price Dr. Washington was asking. That and he liked the clientele the older vet had built up over a forty-three-year career. When it came to the building itself, a long-ago converted home that had been built in the late 1800s, Gabe still wondered what he was getting himself into. In a dream world, he’d purchase the business only and move into a newer building, but in every discussion they’d had to date, Albert hadn’t been willing to consider splitting the sale. Before Gabe ended up signing on any dotted lines, he still needed to have the building inspected and to carve out time for a lengthy discussion with the business consultant he had on retainer to guide him through this.

  As was typical, as soon as he was scrubbed and gloved and in the surgical room, Gabe’s thoughts quieted, and he lost himself in the routines that had been instilled in him both in lectures and labs and during his internship. He liked the working relationship he was developing with some of the assistants and techs who assisted him in surgery, and today, Janice, a middle-aged vet tech who’d worked for Dr. Washington since she graduated from high school, was assisting him. She knew where to stand and what to pass and what to clip usually without Gabe having to ask. Unlike some of the less-experienced techs, she also knew not to ramble on. She was quiet and focused.

  Once he’d cut through the lining of the abdomen and into the bladder, Gabe easily found and scooped out the stone that was causing the blockage and a few others that were bouncing around in the Yorkie’s bladder. If the Yorkie’s owner had waited until Monday to bring him in like she’d considered doing, there was a good chance the dog’s bladder would’ve burst. Thankfully, once the stone was removed and the dog was on a round of antibiotics, he’d be able to make a full recovery in a short time.

  When Ms. Bonner picked him up tomorrow to take him home, Gabe would have a talk with her about some changes she could make in the dog’s diet to help prevent more stones from forming. Middle-aged and older Yorkies could be prone to kidney and bladder stones, and now that her dog was proven to develop them, the little guy was going to need to be monitored every six months from here on out.

  By the time he had finished and the dog was in recovery, it was nearly half past six. Gabe stripped out of his surgical gown, mask, and gloves and headed to the adjoining scrub closet where he’d left his phone on a shelf. Olivia had texted back, but Yun hadn’t, and Gabe decided not to follow up with her. Hopefully, Olivia would be fine swinging by his place before they headed out to dinner.

  Gabe opened up Olivia’s text to find that she’d replied with nothing more than a simple okay. Determined not to think anything of it, he dialed her number as he stepped out into the back hallway. He was more than a little surprised to hear her hello echo through the empty hall just before it rang out in the receiver.

  “Hey, you’re here?” Suddenly the night seemed to be shining a lot brighter.

  “I hope that’s okay.”

  Gabe headed down the hall and pressed open the swinging door that separated the staff-only section of the office from the two patient rooms, the front desk, and the waiting room. While it had been bustling all day, the front room was now empty aside from one gorgeous redhead who was seated on the wooden bench at the side, a dog magazine on her lap and a smile lighting her face that made his heart swell.

  She was in jeans, a pair of heels that were low but just sexy enough to send a rush of heat to his groin, and a silky purple blouse that dipped in a vee and called his attention to her cleavage like a beacon.

  “Ah… Wow, you look great.” He dragged his fingers over his chin. “It’s good to see you. Really good. And I feel like a schmuck making you wait. But there was this Yorkie who had a bladder stone that was too big to pass. It was obstructing his urine, so there was no putting the surgery off.”

  “Believe me, that’s definitely more important than being on time for dinner.” Olivia bit her lip as her smile dropped to that just-a-little-bit-shy demeanor of hers. “So this is you just coming out of surgery.”

  Gabe glanced down at the dark-blue scrubs he was wearing today. He’d taken off the surgical gown, but the paper breathing mask was still hanging around his neck. And there was a cap still on his head. “Uh, yeah, I may have checked my phone right away.”

  Olivia laughed, shaking her head. “You look great. I don’t know why, but it didn’t fully hit me till just now that you’re a vet. I’m glad you were in jeans and a T-shirt when we met, or I’m sure I wouldn’t have had the nerve to talk to you, much less…” Her voice trailed off and color rushed to her cheeks. “Are we the only ones here now?”

  Gabe tugged the cap off and dragged his fingers through his hair, probably making a bigger mess of it than it already was. “Ahhh, no. Janice assisted me. She’s in back with the Yorkie, getting him set up in a post-op kennel for the night. I bet you’re starving, but would you like a quick tour before we head out?”

  He smiled over how she returned the magazine to the pile stacked on the table, rather than just dropping it anywhere. “I’m a little hungry, but I’d love to see where you do your magic.”

  It was Gabe’s turn to feel a dose of modesty wash over him. He dropped his voice so that Janice couldn’t hear. “If you want the truth, there are a lot of days when I feel more like I’m playing doctor rather than actually being one. Though I’m getting more used to it all the time.” He waved her toward the main exam room. “Still. Dr. Washington was right when he said I’ll come across things just
about every day that no one can train you for.”

  “I can only imagine.” She trailed after him, her hands flattened against the back of her hips as she looked around.

  “The hardest parts have had to do with putting a terminally ill or a geriatric dog or cat to sleep. Even when I’m convinced it’s the best thing to do, I don’t think expressing that to a grieving family is something I’ll ever be comfortable with.”

  “I’m sure that’s tough. Really tough.”

  “Yeah, well, the good outweighs the bad. By a long shot. And some other less heart-wrenching things throw me off too. Like when my clients want my opinion on things that don’t have anything to do with their pet.”

  “Like what do you mean?” Olivia asked, rolling her right foot in a circle by the tip of her heel as she listened.

  It was her easy smile, Gabe decided, that drew him to her most. Maybe next it was the attentiveness in her gaze. Like she couldn’t see anything but him. Whatever the case, he was glad to hear Janice shuffling around in back. Knowing they weren’t alone kept him from pressing Olivia into the exam table with a kiss to match the one that had steamed up his Tacoma windows last Saturday.

  “Ah, like today a client asked what kind of shoes I like to wear since I stand on my feet all day. A couple days ago, I felt like I was getting cross-examined as to which publicly traded pet care companies were the best to invest in in this market.” He searched for another example. There were so many every day. “Here’s a tough one. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been asked if I believe animals have souls, and if they do, if they share our heaven.”

  Olivia’s delicate eyebrows arched high. “How do you answer that?”

  “Carefully.”

  As Olivia laughed, he motioned across the room. “So, this room and the one next to it are where we see most clients. Dr. Washington ran the place as a small, intimate practice from the time the doors opened in 1979. To tell you the truth, this building is a bit inadequate in some ways, but he never outgrew it. One of the biggest things I’d love to have, aside from a third exam room, is a separate waiting room for cats. We do our best to keep them out of the waiting room when there are dogs in it, but sometimes it’s just not possible.”