Shire Bottom Chronicles

Chapter Six

Cat walked down the rows of dog kennels, admiring each canine as she passed them. She had arrived before Rory had gotten off of work and decided there was no harm in looking. Bane had no idea, but Cerberus had recently sired a litter that would be born soon. It wouldn't hurt to have an extra guard dog around. Cat stopped by a litter of poodle mix puppies. She knew Rory would love the fluffy white babies.

"You're Cat, Cerberus's owner, right?" A voice spoke up behind her. Cat turned around to see the shelter director, Eva Gill, returning a hyper yellow lab to his kennel. The lab took a long, sloppy drink from his water bowl. Water dripped down his chin as he quickly buried his face in a bowl of kibble.

"Yes, I was just about to ask if the litter had been born yet," Cat said, watching the lab gulp down his food and sniff the ground for more. Eva opened the door and tossed him a Bully Stick. He caught it in midair and laid down on the old couch in his kennel to enjoy his treat. A few months ago, the shelter had asked for donations of used furniture to put in the dog kennels. People had donated couches and chairs for the dogs to have a comfy place to lie on.

"They're due any day now," Eva replied. "The latest ultrasound shows at least six puppies, and the mother is doing very well."

"I might be interested in taking one." Cat smiled. She knew that training another puppy required a lot of time, but Cerberus was a highly intelligent dog and he would help guide the puppy in the right direction. Rose probably wouldn't be happy with another dog in the house, but she'd get over it.

"Of course, you will get first pick when the puppies are born," Eva insisted, checking on a kennel with two yapping chihuahuas inside. The smaller brown one kept chasing the larger white dog and trying to steal her squeaky toy. "Anything else I can help you with today, Cat?"

Cat knelt down to pet one of the poodle puppies that was standing by the kennel door wagging its tail happily. It barked softly and tried to lick her hand. "Actually, I have a friend who wants a small dog and I think one of these poodles would be perfect for her."

Eva joined her by the kennel and read the pet information taped to the door. "These little guys are twelve weeks old, the perfect age for adoption. They are very friendly and sweet from what we've observed so far. Their mother is a miniature poodle, and the father a Maltese, so they are hypoallergenic if you're worried about allergies. There are two males and three females."

"Cat?" Rory walked down the row of kennels toward them. "The girl at the front desk told me you were back here. Sorry if I'm late, I had a long day at work." She ran a hand through her long tangled curls and Cat noticed her face was white as a sheet.

"Did your meeting go okay?" Cat wondered as Eva opened the kennel and lifted out the nearest puppy. She gently placed the puppy in Cat's arms. Cat knew that whatever was bothering Rory, one of these cute puppies would definitely cheer her up.

"It was...fine," Rory insisted, not wanting to discuss what happened at Chinatown. She had never experienced anything like that during a low blood sugar before. There were no warning signs before it occurred, no shakiness, nothing. She had tested before eating, and it was normal. Her pump would have stopped delivering insulin if her levels fell too low. Unless something had interfered with the transmitter. The screams and images of destruction had seemed so real...it just didn't make any sense!

"What were you thinking, boy or girl?" Cat asked, snuggling the sweet little fuzzball in her arms. Eva grabbed another puppy out, and it wiggled and squirmed, trying to escape her grasp. As she handed the little girl over to Rory, it almost immediately began nibbling her fingers and tugging on her sleeve.

"A girl." Rory smiled, stroking the puppy's soft white fur. The puppy gazed around the large room with bright, expressive dark eyes, but never once moved from its comfortable position in Rory's arms.