Trouble at the Kennel

by Dianne Harman

  It was still fresh in his memory. Mary had called him and said there had been, as she put it, an incident involving one of the rescue pit bulls. Evidently the manager of the kennel had brought her Labrador retriever to work with her that day. According to Mary the Labrador had intruded in the pit bull’s space, and the pit bull had attacked the Lab and almost severed his right rear leg. It required immediate surgery and while the prognosis for the dog’s recovery was good, the Labrador’s leg was in a splint, and the veterinarian was unsure if the dog would ever again be able to walk normally.

  Well, Jack thought, served the Labrador right for getting too close to the pit bull. Everyone knows dogs need their space, no matter what the breed, and they’ll fight to protect it. Fortunately, I was able to find foster homes for the five pit bulls I had on the property I rented from Doggie Love Kennel. Problem is, I don’t know where else to go. Mary and her manager have made such a big deal out of it, I’m not sure any of the other kennels around these parts will rent space to me. Seems like all the stupid people in the world are always unfairly blaming pit bulls for everything. It’s not as if every large dog isn’t capable of severing a leg if their space is invaded. Guess the manager threatened to quit immediately because her husband was furious when he found out. It was actually his dog.

  Jack thought back to when his love affair with pit bulls had started. He’d been a little boy and his parents decided it would be good for him to have a dog to take care of. They thought it would teach him to be responsible. The three of them had gone to the animal shelter, and from the moment Jack saw the little grey pit bull puppy he later named Lekko, his choice was made. His parents were just as enamored with Lekko. He was a faithful companion to Jack, and his parents never worried about him when Lekko was with him, which was pretty much all the time. Jack and Lekko were so inseparable that his parents became concerned about what would happen to Jack when it was Lekko’s time to leave this earth.

  One day Jack’s father came home from work and said, “Jack, would you help me? I’ve got something in the car I’d like you to carry in for me.” They walked out to the car and there in the back seat was a cardboard box with a beautiful little brindle and white pit bull puppy in it. “Thought Lekko could use a little friend,” he remembered his father had said. He’d named the puppy “Tiger,” because his markings were about the same as a tiger’s. From that day on, Jack had never been without a pet pit bull.

  He’d formed the Pit Bull Sanctuary when he became aware of negative comments in the press about the aggressive nature of the breed. When he was young he remembered his mother had always made him cross the street if a Doberman pinscher or a German shepherd was being walked by its owner on the sidewalk. She’d told him they were mean breeds and to steer clear of them. It was only in the last ten years that the focus had switched from those breeds to his beloved pit bull breed, and he felt they were getting an unfair rap.

  He began to hear that some kennels wouldn’t accept them and animal shelters were filled with the breed. Evidently many people abandoned their pit bulls when the media claimed they were dangerous. He’d met Mary Barnes several years earlier at a dog show. They happened to be sitting side by side watching a beautiful pit bull being shown in the terrier group by its trainer. “Great looking dog,” Jack had said.

  “Yes, he’s a beauty. I’d put my money on him. I’d really like to see a pit bull win. They get so much negative publicity.”

  One thing had led to another and after Mary and Jack had coffee following the event, he’d told her about his desire to help the breed by starting an organization he intended to call the “Pit Bull Sanctuary.” He told her the one thing stopping him was finding a place where he could keep the rescue dogs. Mary mentioned she owned a kennel and had often thought of doing something for the breed. She’d agreed to rent him a piece of her property if he would pay for the fencing required. Mary hadn’t wanted to offend any of her long-time customers, many of whom brought their dogs to her kennel for daily playtime, by having pit bulls that were rescue dogs mixed in with the paying customer’s dogs.

  For several years the arrangement had worked well. Even though Jack was an engineer in his daytime job, his night job consisted of finding homes for the rescued pit bulls. He was usually at the Doggie Love Kennel two or three times a week transporting dogs and generally caring for them. Although his volunteers usually fed and watered the dogs on a daily basis, occasionally he had to fill in for one of them when they were unable to go to Doggie Love Kennel.

  He sighed and stood up. He had no idea what he was going to do now that he had no place to temporarily keep the dogs. The incident between the Labrador retriever and one of the rescue pit bulls had happened only a few days ago, and he’d removed all the dogs as soon as Mary had called. The more he thought about it, the madder he got. It wasn’t the pit bull’s fault. It was the fault of the Labrador retriever for getting too close and the fault of whoever had left the gate ajar. And who was going to suffer? The poor rescue pit bulls.

  Serve Mary right if something bad happened at her kennel. Let her know what it feels like to have some major problems. Maybe if all of her dogs were to get loose from Doggie Love Kennel, one of them would attack another dog or even bite a human. Wouldn’t be too sorry to see that kennel go under. She wouldn’t even give me a second chance.

  Take your pit bulls and get out of here. Nice way to do business, Mary. Bet that Lab is still allowed there. Probably asked for it. Yeah, she needs to feel like I do. Think I know just how to go about making that happen.

  Jack sat back down and called to his dogs, “Here Nick, here Joe, here Sheila. Here’s a treat for my good dogs,” he said taking three dog cookies from his pocket and giving one to each of them, while a smile slowly appeared on his face as he came to a decision.

  CHAPTER 4

  When Lisa Collins got into her Jaguar to return home after an appointment with the veterinarian, she made sure her Yorkshire terrier, Duchess, was firmly secured in her dog harness in the back seat. She still couldn’t believe what had happened to her precious little dog. The vet had confirmed that Duchess was pregnant, something Lisa had suspected for the last week. The problem was she didn’t know who the dog was that was responsible for getting Duchess pregnant. She knew when Duchess was supposed to come into heat and even had a stud lined up, one whose lineage was every bit as good as Duchess’s. She became suspicious Duchess was pregnant when she didn’t come into heat.

  She got home and carried Duchess into her large early 20th century home. Lisa’s aunt had raised Yorkshire terriers, and Lisa had become fascinated with the breed when she was a teenager. She’d helped her aunt show her dogs throughout the western states. All Lisa wanted in life was to own the top champion Yorkshire terrier in the United States, as well as Great Britain if it worked out that way. Lisa was fortunate to have been the sole beneficiary of her aunt’s sizable estate, most of which could be traced to investments in the lumber industry. Her aunt was a very astute business woman and had sold the family timber holdings and sawmills before the industry fell on hard times.

  Her aunt’s death occurred while Lisa was in college. She married a fellow student after they graduated, but the marriage didn’t last long. Larry Collins was simply no match for the Yorkshire terriers and Lisa’s compelling desire to own the top champion in the terrier category. When the marriage ended, Lisa had bought two more Yorkies, hoping one of them would bring her the coveted prize. While they both became champions, it was clear to Lisa neither one would provide her with what had become an obsession, being the owner of the American Kennel Club’s dog with the most Grand Champion points for terriers.

  Every waking hour found Lisa reading about the dog world, working with her dogs, and developing relationships with breeders. After several years she located a breeder on the East Coast who had a dam who had been the Best of Show at Westminster which had been bred to the Best of Show in Canada. The veterinarian was projecting a litter of five pups. Lisa had sent the bre
eder a check for $10,000 as a down payment for a female pup from the litter.

  When she got the call that the dam had given birth, she got on the first plane she could and travelled to Connecticut to see her new puppy. She paid the breeder the balance of the purchase price and told him she would be back in eight weeks to take the puppy she had named Duchess home with her. Every hope that Lisa had ever had for having the top champion Yorkie was wrapped up in the little ball of fur. No expense was spared for the puppy. The little dog dined on filet mignon and slept in a dog bed with custom-made satin sheets which were changed daily by Lisa’s housekeeper.

  Duchess was always perfectly groomed. In fact, the groomer came to the house daily to comb out the terrier’s silky hair and put a different bow in her hair. On show days the groomer traveled with Lisa and spent three hours getting Duchess ready for her trip around the show ring. Lisa looked at her with adoring eyes as Duchess walked over to her favorite silk cushion and reclined on it.

  I have people waiting to buy her puppies. She’s everything I ever wanted in a dog. She’s not only one of the best Yorkies in the United States, she’s also number one in AKC Grand Championship Points, and I’m the one who trained her and showed her. She’s only had one litter, but people were standing in line to buy the puppies, even at the price I was charging, $10,000 per puppy. People told me that was a ridiculous amount of money to ask for a dog, but I just said, “Look at this dog. She’s what every Yorkshire terrier should look like,” and every one of the litter was sold at full price.

  Lisa walked over to Duchess and gently stroked her soft, silky coat. Duchess looked up at her with her large green eyes, and Lisa could swear she was smiling. Those eyes captivated people when they saw Duchess for the first time. They were emerald green and mesmerizing.

  Sweet girl, I am so sorry. I wish you could tell me who the father is. I don’t know what to do. The vet said he could perform an abortion on you, but since I’m morally opposed to them, I certainly couldn’t do that to you. The problem is, if word gets out you’ve had a litter and they’re a mixed breed, which I’m pretty sure they will be, it might ruin your chances for anyone wanting a puppy from you in the future. Plus, I probably wouldn’t be able to get the price for your puppies that I got from the last litter.

  Lisa stood up and walked into her office. The vet told her Duchess was about four weeks along. He’d said, which she already knew, that the gestation period for dogs was sixty-three days. When she told him she didn’t know how or when Duchess had gotten pregnant, he suggested she look at a calendar and figure out where Duchess might have been twenty-eight to thirty days ago.

  She sat down at her computer and pulled up her calendar, trying to re-create where she and Duchess had been four weeks ago. When she looked at her calendar she remembered she’d gone to her nephew’s wedding in Las Vegas for three days. It was both his wife-to-be and his second marriage, and they’d decided it would be better to get married in Las Vegas rather than have a big church wedding. Lisa had scheduled an expensive dog sitter to come to the house to be with Duchess while she was in Las Vegas, but the dog sitter had become ill at the last minute, and Lisa had no choice but to put Duchess in a kennel. She briefly considered not going to the wedding, but she knew her sister would never forgive her for putting Duchess above her nephew. She called several people she trusted in the dog world, and Doggie Love Kennel came highly recommended.

  Lisa boarded Duchess at the Doggie Love Kennel for three days. That was the only time she’d been away from Duchess during the time frame in question. Duchess must have come into heat a little early, and one of the dogs at the kennel was responsible for the pregnancy.

  This really infuriates me. Not only is Duchess pregnant, but I had to pay a special rate for an isolated kennel because she isn’t spayed. I was told that any female dog over four months old is required to stay in her own kennel and is not allowed to commingle with the other dogs, because she might come into heat. I had no problem with that, but obviously, something went wrong.

  She picked up the phone and dialed the kennel’s number. “Doggie Love, may I help you?” a woman’s voice on the other end of the phone asked.

  “Yes. I’d like to speak with the owner, Mary Barnes.”

  “Please hold while I get her.”

  A few moments later a woman’s voice came on the line. “This is Mary Barnes, may I help you?”

  “Yes, this is Lisa Collins. I believe we’ve met before. I’m the owner of a Yorkshire terrier, Duchess, that I boarded with your kennel a month ago. There’s a little problem that’s developed. No, actually it’s a very big problem. Duchess is a not only a champion Yorkshire terrier, she is also number one in AKC Grand Champion Points. I have a waiting list of people who want her puppies. The problem is she’s pregnant. The vet’s certain she’s about four weeks along. I didn’t breed her. The only place she was during that time frame was in your kennel. I’m certain that one of the dogs there must be responsible for her pregnancy. Believe me, I am not happy about this situation.”

  “Ms. Collins, I don’t like being accused of allowing a situation like that to happen in my kennel. We are very careful here at Doggie Love Kennel. I assure you Duchess was not impregnated during her stay with us.”

  “Well, Ms. Barnes, I am just as certain it happened when she was there. I’d like to know what you intend to do about it.”

  “Nothing, absolutely nothing. As I said, we don’t allow situations like that to occur here at Doggie Love. Duchess must have been impregnated by one of your neighbor’s dogs or something like that. No, I’m certain it did not happen here at Doggie Love.”

  “Fine. My attorney will be in touch with you,” Lisa said, slamming the phone down. Great, this is just great. I don’t know who the father is, the kennel denies any responsibility, and I haven’t even addressed whether or not Duchess could be injured giving birth if it turns out the father was some big pit bull or some large dog like that. Sometimes life is so unfair.

  She walked back to where Duchess was sleeping on her satin pillow. “Mama will take care of you, darling. That woman at the kennel deserves to have something bad happen to her for what she’s done to my precious baby girl,” she cooed. “It’s going to be fine. Trust me, I’ll take care of it.”

  Serve Ms. Barnes right if all of her dogs were released from their kennels and allowed to run loose in the neighboring area. Then when a lot more of them get pregnant, she’d probably lose her business from all the lawsuits that would be filed against her, Lisa thought, smiling to herself with a look of satisfaction on her face.

  CHAPTER 5

  After leaving Mike at the kennel so he could continue his investigation, Kelly, along with the two dogs, started driving home. As she drove she wiped away the tears sliding down her cheeks and wondered why someone would want to kill Mary Barnes. She considered Mary to be one of her best friends and found it hard to believe that someone as well-liked as Mary had been murdered.

  Putting Mary and the word murder in the same sentence was hard for her to do. She also wondered what would happen to the kennel and the dogs that were boarded there now that Mary was dead. Selfishly, Kelly felt lucky she and Mike had returned when they did. If they’d arrived a day later, Rebel might never have been found. The very thought of losing him caused her to start crying again.

  When she approached the driveway of her house she smiled in spite of her tears. She loved the large house that was situated on a hill overlooking the bay. Brightly colored flowers greeted her and the picturesque view of the bay warmed her heart. When the bay was flat and free from waves, the sun shining on it made it look as if diamonds were dancing on the water. It was a sight that never failed to thrill her.

  “Come on, guys,” Kelly said, “let’s go inside.” She caught a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror and saw a tall dark-haired middle-aged woman. She thought that maybe Mike’s comments about her being attractive weren’t said by him just to make her feel good. Lively eyes looked out from a porc
elain complexion. She wore her hair pulled up in a chignon, a tortoiseshell hair clip holding it in place. Kelly took a long look at herself, trying to see if she’d gained any noticeable weight while they’d been in Italy and Cuba.

  Although she was tall, she wasn’t slender and was well aware that eating like she had while she was in both countries could have easily added a few unwanted pounds to a body that obviously liked to eat. She breathed a sigh of relief as she looked in the mirror, glad that if some damage had been done, it wasn’t too obvious. She decided she’d eat only healthy food for the next few days to counterbalance the overindulging she’d taken part in while she’d enjoyed the Italian and Cuban food.

  The dogs romped from room to room, clearly glad to be home, and ended up in front of the glass patio door, wanting to go out so they could get reacquainted with their own yard. Kelly opened the sliding glass patio door and let them run around in the yard while she brought in the luggage. She spent the next couple of hours unpacking, reading the mail, and deciding what she and Mike could have for dinner, although she knew when a crime had been committed, particularly murder, Mike would probably not make it home until quite late. She was tired from the long trip and had no desire to go to the store.

  Mike liked to make a wonderful dish he called “fisherman’s fried rice.” She decided tonight was the perfect night for the dish Mike had learned to make years ago from his friend, Jack Trout, who had been Mike’s fishing guide while they were in Cuba. It only required rice, bacon, eggs, scallions, and a little soy sauce. She had all of the ingredients, and if Mike couldn’t make it home, she could easily prepare it herself. After all of the wonderful food they’d eaten lately, she looked forward to a simpler meal. I’ll start my new healthy regime tomorrow, she thought.