Never Again

Part Two

Erin threw herself at the car smashing her fists against the tinted back window before dropping to her feet, uncaring that she could be run over too.  Thankfully the car stopped, it may have already been stopping, she didn’t care. On her knees next to the whimpering dog, she stroked his head, calming him slightly before starting to assess his injuries. He was moaning softly, but stopped as soon as she sat beside him sensing her there.

                “It’s ok Barney! I’m here; I’ll make it better darling!”  She cooed as she stroked. She heard the car door open and feet approach her, but she couldn’t even think of looking up, she’d either cry or scream profanities, and at the moment that would only stress out Barney even more. She was a Health Professional, she had to think, be calm. Feeling his jaw and then his neck, she snapped, “Call the operator and find the number of the emergency vet!”

                “Ok!” A voice replied, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see him.”

Her restraint dissolved, snapping up her head she snarled at him, “didn’t see him? You don’t see a ten inch high Yorkshire terrier; you can’t MISS an eleven stone Great Dane! Make the call!”

It was the man from the park, the one who’d elbowed her, “I should’ve known it was you! You barely saw me earlier...as you hit me out of your way! Talk about ego! There’s more than just you in the world!”

Jack Reilly was horrified. Looking down at the woman at his feet, and the damaged dog, it made him feel sick. He hadn’t seen the animal until he felt the thud against the back of the car, admittedly he had a lot on his mind, but it was dark. The dog should’ve been on a lead...hadn’t this woman heard of the word accident? Dialling quickly, he held the handset at his ear, trying to control his panic.

An operator connected him to the nearest emergency vet and when they started asking questions, he tapped the woman at his feet and handed her the phone. She took it and spoke calmly, yet urgently without panicking, all the time her hands ran over the huge dog’s limbs, as he watched he realised she was assessing for breaks. Suddenly the dog yelped, an awful, heart wrenching sound, and he knew she’d found an injury, hopefully the only one.  Her voice dragged him back to her face; she was talking urgently into the phone.

                “Bring him to you? He’s massive! I can hardly carry him there...you’ve only got ONE ambulance?” She shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Suddenly her eyes were on Jack and he was flummoxed, “can you drive us to the animal hospital? The ambulance is miles away on another call.”

Jack was trying to ignore the memory of the phone call that had distracted him earlier, he realised now that he had been distracted, he should have spotted a dog that size. Hell he was as big as a human...he shuddered, BIGGER than a child. The realisation was getting worse by the minute. Shit! He cursed to himself, this could have ended criminally!

                “I can take you anywhere!” He offered.

Nodding she hung up, “he’s broken a back leg, he could have internal injuries, it’s too early to tell, but we need to lift him into your car. Open the boot!”

Jack obliged, he could hardly argue, he felt worse than awful. Popping the door that flipped vertically upward, he scanned the boot, “I’ve got a blanket.”

There was no response, but she held a hand aloft for it. Squatting he helped her roll the huge animal onto the blanket, grimacing as he moaned, then glanced at the car.

                “He’s going to be better off in the boot.”

She nodded, “I’ll sit with him!”