Finding Solace

III

I yelped and fell backwards on my butt, the puppy squirmed in my arms from the sudden movement. At first I thought it was some kind is monster or demon, clad with fur and hooves. The thing let out a snort before adjusting its standing position. It just stood there, staring at me with its large, dark eyes.

Scooting backwards on the rotted, wooden floor, I tried to distance myself between the thing and myself. The puppy squirming became more violent the further away I got from the beast. The more distance I put between myself and the thing, the better I could see it. It's whiskered nose turned into an elongated snout with kind, beady eyes and floppy ears.

"This is not how I expected my day to be going." I muttered as a stood back up, dusting as much dirt as I could off my body. Slowly, I walked forward with a hand stretched out, nervous that the animal would lash out and kick me with its powerful hooves. When it made no sudden movements, I gently placed my hand on its nose. I got a content nicker, or what I hoped was out of contentment.

"Hey there, Bud." At first glance, the horse seemed to be fine, only seeming to be covered in dirt. Upon closer inspection, the horse was in much worse condition. The large animal stood on four overgrown hoofs. The hair on its entire body was a matted mess, tangled and caked with dirt and what could possibly be blood. I could visibly see its ribs and hip bones which made my heart drop. To make it even worse, two pus filled sores were on top of its back and they smelled awful. I reeled back and led out a cough. Just the sight of the poor animal made me want to puke.

"It's okay." I whispered to the horse, rubbing over its head as gently as possible, trying to give it as much comfort I could manage without hurting it. "I'm going to get you help. I promise." Placing a kiss between its eyes, I pulled my phone from my back pocket, groaning when it had no signal. Keeping the puppy secured in my arm, I held my phone up in the other and began to walk around in hopes of finding signal again. I knew I had signal by my car but I didn't know how good it would be and I didn't want to stray to far from the horse.

"Come on! Just give me one bar!" I pleaded and tried to hold my phone up higher. I wandered aimlessly around the yard, tripping over one of the sheets of metal but thankfully I caught myself before I fell. The sky all but rumbled back angrily back at me and droplets of water began to fall upon us.

Looking around desperately for coverage, I spotted a large oak tree, running underneath of it. It blocked out most of the water but some still managed to get through. Looking down at my phone, I almost cried when I saw that it not only had one bar of service but two. Opening up a search engine, I was quick to look up the closest vets near me and clicked on the first number.

"Hi! This is Third Street Veterinary Clinic! How may I help you?" A very cheery voice asked and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Um yeah, hi. I just stumbled upon a dog and..."

"Oh really?" She gasped, interrupting me. "We take any walk ins as fast as we can if you can bring it in."

"Well, um I also found a horse. Would you guys have anyway to come and get it? I only have a car. "

"Oh, Sweetie. We don't take in any animals large than Great Danes." She said with a bit of an attitude, like was I was supposed to know that. "You can try to call someone else."

"I will." I thanked her before hanging up and clicking on the second number. They once again did not take in large animals. I continued to go down the line of numbers, my shoulder slumping and my heart sinking as each number said they could only help the dog if I brought the dog to them. That meant that I had to leave the horse and I was not about to that. Dejected, there were only four numbers left on the list and I clicked on the next one. The rain began to pour down harder and the air got colder, making me shiver and pull the puppy closer. I just hoped the horse had a dry place to go.

"Hello! This is-"

"Hi!" I rushed out. "I'm sorry for interrupting you but I'm kind of stuck in the middle of nowhere with a neglected dog and horse and no one is helping me. They are both in terrible shape and I have no way of bringing the horse anywhere as I am in a car and I just really need some help." My voice cracked at the end as I tried to hold back my tears of frustration.

"Unfortunately this vet doesn't take in horses." She said, making me sigh, preparing to hang up again. "Though, a friend of mine works hand in hand with the Houston ASPCA and would gladly come and help you wherever you are."

"Are you serious?" I laughed and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Yes I am, Darling. Do you have any idea where you are at?" I could barely hear her over the pouring rain and the thunder. A flash of lightning made the puppy whimper and my heart clenched.

"I'm on the corner of Giles Road and Ross Lane."

"Oh dear! You really are out in the middle of nowhere. Well, currently, I am in the town east from you and my friend, Mr.Somers, is even farther. It's going to be a good two and half to three hours before he can even get you."

"That's okay. Just ask him to come as quick as possible, please."

"Okay, well. It's not required of you to stay. I can hear that the weather is quite bad out there."

"I'm not leaving them. I can't leave them." I whispered.

"That's very heartwarming to hear. Well, my name is Jesibell."

"Faylyn."

"Well, Faylyn, I'm going to give Mr.Somers a call and he will be there as fast as possible. Thank you for calling in."

"Thank you for helping me. Bye." I locked my phone back up and jumped when another crack of lightning streaked the sky. I curled closer the the tree and wrapped of the tattered tarps around the puppy and I. I wasn't going to go and sit in a warm, dry car when that poor horse had to suffer out here alone. I was not leaving.