Chapter Four #2
Once inside, he unclipped their leashes. Tank looked up as if for instructions, so Jock told him, “Go on, explore. I’ll play with little man here.” As if he understood him, Tank turned to do a patrol of the fence line, stopping every few yards to sprinkle a dominant claim.
Maynard stayed beside Jock, his eyes locked on the other man in the enclosure.
Jock pulled a ball from his pocket and got Maynard’s attention, noting how often the dog glanced at the other man.
“It’s okay, buddy. I won’t let anything happen to you.
” He got to one knee and made a show of straightening Maynard’s flower-covered pajamas.
“Look at how handsome you are, big boy. You ready to play a little? Huh?” Maynard’s tension level was visibly lower, and Jock stood and threw the ball in a single motion.
Maynard took off after the ball and caught it on the third bounce. He rounded a tree, ran past Tank, and arrowed straight back to Jock. He dropped the ball at his feet.
“Good boy,” Jock said as he tousled Maynard’s head. “Not so fast, maybe. Take your time, buddy.”
He threw the ball again, this time arching it far up into the air. Maynard anticipated the landing point and caught the ball on the first bounce. This time he ran a circle around the lab and their owner before coming back to Jock and dropping the ball while he pranced in place.
“Oh, looking to make friends?” He threw the ball again, this time in the opposite direction of the other pair, and he laughed out loud when Maynard gave him a dirty look. Still, the lure of the ball was too much, and he took off after it. “We need to slow down, buddy.”
This time Maynard didn’t bring the ball back to Jock.
Didn’t even try to make it look as if he would eventually.
He looped right and ran next to Tank for a dozen strides before Tank slowed to a majestic trot.
Then Maynard looped left and ran a tight circle around the man with the lab.
The lab was off on a stick chase, and Maynard dropped the ball at the man’s feet.
“Oh, you jerk.” Jock started walking in that direction as the lab realized a dog was closer to their human.
The lab came racing back, muzzle punching Maynard in the ribs and knocking him to the side a couple of feet.
Jock was in a run now, ready to land on one or both dogs if the encounter escalated.
Then he slowed, because Maynard didn’t retaliate, but didn’t back down either.
The man bent over and picked up the ball and the stick.
“Hi. I’m Hank, and this is Zorro.”
Jock met the outstretched hand with his own. “Pleased. I’m Jock, and this troublemaker is Maynard. Tank is over by the bench, completely unimpressed he’s not on the couch at home.”
“Maynard seems active, like Zorro.”
“Yeah, he’s a big ole bundle of energy these days.
” He took the ball when it was offered. “Sorry for the interruption.” Jock turned to walk to his previous position, surprised when a chocolate brown nose bumped his hand.
He looked back and laughed to find Maynard was standing next to Hank, eying the stick in his hand, while Zorro had followed him, only interested in the ball.
“Let’s try trading toys.” Hank held out the stick, and Jock passed over the ball, and the dogs followed their current object obsession.
“Works for me.” He threw the stick the opposite direction from where Hank threw the ball, and the dogs both tore off to retrieve the items.
Five minutes later, he brought the stick back to Hank.
“We’re out of here. Maynard’s recovering from some bad stuff, and I think this is about all the exercise he needs today.
” He shook his head when Hank tried to return the ball.
“Keep it. Zorro is enjoying it. I’ve got more in the truck.
” He held out his hand, and they shook goodbye.
Back in the truck, he looked at Maynard in the mirror.
“You didn’t make a friend, but you got me to talk to a stranger.
That’s nearly a miracle, boy. Have to tell Silly next time she calls.
” He started the engine as a notification pinged on his phone.
“And that’s the signal that it’s time to leave for Kent’s. ”
Both dogs perked up at the name. Kent was stingy with treats, but that seemed to make the ones they begged off him even better tasting.
“Yeah, yeah, he’s the treat guy. I’m just the chauffeur.”
He parked in the back of the vet’s practice, then entered through the back door. He’d found that bringing Maynard this way was much less stressful on the dog.
Kent was out front, talking to an older lady who was holding a tiny kitten and stroking it. “...need kitten food for probably ten months, Mrs. Richmond. But she’s very healthy. You’ve picked a good cat to adopt.”
“Oh, she’s not a stray from the rescue. This is the product of the cat distribution system. She just showed up on my front porch. I couldn’t turn her away, now, could I?”
“No, ma’am. I guess you couldn’t. It’s always good when a pet picks the owner.”
“Well, I consider myself well and truly selected. Thank you, doctor. You’re very good at your job.”
She turned to leave, and Kent stayed by the counter until the outer door closed. Then he bent and pounded his forehead gently against the countertop.
“I will love all customers. I will love all my customers. My clients are great.”
“You okay? Doing any damage? Need me to call someone?” Jock stared at Kent, who was now bent over and resting his head on the countertop.
“She means well, she really does. But I’d bet you ten to one that she’ll either call or come back in tomorrow for what will amount to the same examination.
” Kent straightened and turned. “Who’s my favorite puppy in the whole world?
” Maynard went to him willingly, and Kent stroked his head and ears while the dog’s tail whipped back and forth.
“I don’t have to ask how he’s doing. I can see how much better he is just days out.
Excellent. Let’s get him up on a table, and I’ll see if there’s anything I need to work on. ”
Tank chose that moment to sidle up to Kent and lean.
“Can’t forget about my other favorite puppy, can I? Hey, Tankster, how are you, man?” Tank groaned in response, then snuffled at both of Kent’s hands. “You smell precious, don’t you?”
Jock laughed. “Well, he hasn’t had a bath in a week or so, but I wouldn’t say he smells precious.”
Kent shook his head. “Precious is the kitten’s name.”
Chuckling, Jock bent and picked up Maynard. “Which room do you want?”
“Oh, straight through there.” Kent followed Jock and the two dogs into the room. Kent seemed locked in on Maynard, watching every movement and flinch. “He’s looking really good.”
“He’s moving a lot better. Surprising.”
“Dogs are resilient, especially when they’re loved.
” Kent deftly removed Maynard’s pajamas and stroked down the dog’s sides and legs.
“So much better.” He bent closer and pointed to a wound on Maynard’s flank.
“Need to work on that one.” As if to illustrate the need, Maynard suddenly curved into a bean shape and attempted to lick the spot.
“That would be a mistake, my dude.” Kent redirected the dog’s head back to Jock, who held the collar this time.
“Okay, I see three I need to work on and treat. Are you good being in here, Jock?”
“Yeah, I’m surprisingly good too.”
Kent got started working, and Jock found it easier to talk to the man’s back.
“We went to a dog park before we came here, the one over on Central. I’d hoped it would be less busy, and I picked either a good day or a good time of day, because there was just one other guy there. He had a lab, really pretty chocolate.”
“Oh?” Kent’s voice was noncommittal, and Maynard was standing still for the treatment, so Jock kept talking.
“Yeah. We stayed on our own side for a while, then Maynard decided Daddy needed to make a friend, so he initiated contact. The lab wasn’t the happiest at first, knocked Maynard pretty hard, but our boy didn’t react or retaliate.
And that’s the story of how I met someone at the park and talked to them.
Handful of words, but still. A stranger, you know? ”
“Yeah.” Kent’s hands stilled. “It can be hard when the way our brain reacts doesn’t line up with reality.”
“You know it.” Tank had been sitting in the heel position, leaning on Jock, and took this moment to move into a reclining position, all while letting out the longest, loudest, and stinkiest fart in all the world.
“Oh my god,” Kent coughed, waving his hand. “Out, Tank. Get out.” He straightened and looked at the mastiff. “Where there’s one of those, there’s always more. Out, Tank.”
Jock laughed as the mastiff slunk slowly out of the room. He was only a few feet away when he let loose with another gut goblin, that maybe, impossibly, smelled fouler.
“Oh my god, that’s so bad.” Kent pretended to gag, and Jock grinned at him.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad. We’ve got Silly to thank for it. We’ll be going back to straight kibble starting tonight.”
“Oh, soft food? What brand?”
“Well, that’s the thing, see. There was an article about fresh food being really good, another article that sang the praises of organ meat, and a woman named Silly who loves Tank beyond belief.”
“Oh, man. Chopping up raw meat?”
“Bought a food processor, just for that task. She didn’t like the mystery ingredients of the stuff we bought from the store.
” Jock gave Maynard a series of rubs, trying to stem his laughter.
“I’m never going to tell her that it caused the vet to puke, but the bag of minced meat is going in the trash tonight. ”
“Yeah, best idea. If you’re hooked on adding fresh food to their diet, pick up one of the brands in the coolers at the pet store, mystery ingredients or not. They’re developed specifically for dog guts. If you’re lucky, the farts will be the worst of the lesson.”
“I don’t even want to think about the alternative.
” Jock had barely stopped laughing when he heard Tank rip another fart.
It took a minute for the smell to make it back to them, but it found them with deadly aim.
“Holy hell, that is a stinky-ass dog. Silly doesn’t get to make any more decisions about our dogs. ”
Kent stood and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Dogs, plural.”
“Well, yeah. Maynard and Tank.”
“Sounded like more than two dogs in that ‘dogs, plural.’”
“Not in the foreseeable future. Maynard and Tank get along like a house afire, with Maynard being stuck to Tank no matter where they are. No guarantees that another dog would find a niche to slot into.”
“But you’re not saying no.” Kent rubbed Maynard’s ears gently. “Not saying no.”
“I volunteer over at St. Tammany rescue.”
“You live in Tangipahoa, right?”
“Yeah, but they had lots of dog walkers. I wanted to help, not stand around.”
Kent gave Maynard a final pat. “But you’re showing up, wanting to help, and that’s a lot more than most people do. Good on ya.”
“Maynard, my dude, you ready to go home?” The way the dog’s ears perked up made it clear he knew the word associated with something pleasant.
“Let’s go home.” That pulled him to lean against Jock, who wrapped arms around him and placed his feet on the floor.
Maynard pulled a spinout exit that left both men laughing again.
“I think he really wants to go home.”
“Me too.” Jock followed him to the waiting room, where Tank had found a spot to sprawl out on.
Kent came out with a small brown bag. “Few more painkillers so he gets good sleep at night, but other than that, you’re doing a great job, man. Could be a vet tech the way you handle all of this.”
“I’m a biker and a mechanic, but I love my dogs.”