Chapter Four #3
“I’ll have to have a talk with him about his problematic attitude,” Ollie mumbled as we gathered around the exam table. “You’ll want to look for buckshot according to what Patience Leary told me.” Ollie gave me a nod as we filed into the room after Aiden.
“Don’t. It will only make him worse. Those kinds don’t learn. They don’t want to learn. They just want to hate. We need to get her stabilized then sedated.”
“How can I help?” I asked. Aiden looked up from the dog, who was lying on the exam table like a very good girl. Her back leg was bloody. She gave my hand a lick as it hung by my side.
“You can help by grabbing me supplies from the cabinets behind us.”
I dashed over to the cabinet, opened it, and waited anxiously.
The poor dog was being so good, so patient, never snarling or anything mean-spirited, even though she had to be in pain.
Aiden called out for several things in rapid-fire succession.
The cabinet was in such disarray it took me three times as long as it should have to find what I was looking for.
Tomorrow I was coming in after morning chores to tidy this cabinet.
I’d not be able to sleep tonight knowing it was this chaotic.
“Gums are nice and red, pulse is steady, limbs are warm. I’m not seeing any signs of shock. I’ll need some saline and sterile gauze. The wounds aren’t bleeding too badly, but I will have to sedate her to remove any pellets that may be in her flesh.”
“Poor Lady,” I cooed as I rifled around in the medical cabinet chaos. Maybe this would be tidied up as soon as Lady was resting comfortably.
“You two look like you have things in hand. I’m going to run home to get a clean shirt then finish my shift. Ford, if you want, come by our place after you get done here. Dodge is making fajitas for dinner.”
“Okay, sure, as long as she’s okay,” I said with a nod at the heavily panting dog. “Are you going to go out and arrest that shithead for shooting this good girl?”
“Sorry, I can’t. She was attacking his sheep, and as a rancher, he has the right to shoot any dog on his property that’s threatening his livestock. I wish I could, Ford, truly I do, as she’s a good dog. Didn’t even try to bite me when I found her on the road, even though she was clearly in pain.”
“That’s a stupid law,” I snarled, which made the dog whine.
“Sorry, I’m not mad at you, Lady,” I whispered, and her fluffy tail thumped the table a time or two.
I glanced at Ollie, who might someday maybe be my brother-in-law.
Half-brother-in-law? Not sure how that would work out.
Still, he was Dodge’s boyfriend and a cop, so I did not want to push him in any way. “I’m not mad at you either, Ollie.”
“Good to know.” He gave me a wan smile then left us to tend to Lady.
With my help, Aiden soon had things under control.
Lady was sedated, x-rayed, and had four pellets removed from the meaty part of her upper leg.
She’d been scanned for a microchip but one wasn’t found.
Aiden placed a cone on her as she slept.
I carried her to a pen in the back, indoors still but away from the exam room.
It was large, obviously for large animals like goats or sheep, and it was thick with fresh hay bedding over pine shavings, which gave off a pleasant smell.
We gated off a section and placed non-slip pads, what Aiden called vet bedding, in her space.
I placed some water in a bowl and placed it close to her.
Once she was settled and sleeping peacefully, I stepped out of the pen, closed the gate, and found Aiden staring at me with open approval. I blushed red hot.
“I’m impressed,” he said as I fumbled with the latch on the gate.
Rubbing it between my fingers made the metal warm up.
“You did really well assisting me in there. You stayed calm, never lost your focus, and were quick to hand me what I asked for. Have you ever trained in any kind of medical setting?”
“Me? No.” I clipped a dog clip onto the latch—added to the pen closure to thwart goats who were known escape artists, ask me how I know—then turned to look at him. “I’m not smart enough for anything like that.”
“I’d have to argue that point. You’re smart, clever, and possess a meticulous mind when it comes to facts, data, and organization. Being detail-oriented isn’t a bad thing, Ford. I wish I had a tenth of your attention to accuracy.”
“Yeah, your cabinets are a disaster.” I knelt down to pet Lady through the fence, her fur soft as satin, even if it was a little grimy. “Will she be okay?”
“I think so. I’ll keep an eye on her for a few days while I reach out online about a lost dog. If no one claims her within five days or so, I’ll call the closest animal welfare agency to come pick her up.”
I ran my fingers along her nose, making her whiskers twitch slightly. “If no one claims her in five days, I’ll take her.”
A long, long, long silence fell over the garage/office. I could almost feel his dark, dark eyes boring into me.
“That’s a big decision to make, Ford. Perhaps you should talk to Baker before you commit to taking in an abandoned dog. She’ll need attention while she heals, and she was seen threatening livestock, so she might not be a good dog to have around goats.”
“She’s a good girl. I can feel it in my heart.
I’ll talk to Baker, though.” I gave her one final pat on her head.
Even asleep, her tail wagged merrily. I rose, turned to look him in the eye, and made a firm announcement.
“Tomorrow I’m going to tidy your supply closet.
I would do it tonight, but I have to go to Dodge and Ollie’s for dinner. ”
“Okay,” he replied with a wry sort of snort. “I look forward to you coming in and tidying up my chaos.”
I looked forward to it as well, and seeing Lady, of course. Visiting with Dodge and Dahn was also something to look forward to. Talking to Baker? Yeah, not so much.