Finding Solace

X

The next morning I dressed in my own clothes, happy to have some sort of familiarity. I Went downstairs earlier than I usually did, only a half an hour after everyone left the house. When I asked to go see the animals, Mrs. Somers happily pointed me in the right direction.

"It seems that you have consider our previous conversation." Tawny said as I entered the door. She walked around the front desk. I just nodded my head. I was most likely going to stop by in here before she even said anything about it.

"I'm a bit busy with paperwork right now so I can't really hang out with you right now. I can show you on the way back to the kennels though, your puppy should be back there." I followed her and walked around the desk as she opened the door that led towards the back of the building.

On the way down the hall, she grabbed a pair of keys without even looking at them even though they looked identical to the others that were still hanging on the wall. Cute, colorful posters adorning different animals with cheesy phrases lined the walls, along with some medical ones. We passed some examinations rooms, I only knew what they were due to the helpful plagues that labels them. We passed the cat kennels along with dog kennels, making me wondering where she was taking me. When we reached one of the last doors, she inserted a key and turned it, the lock clicking open. It was the quarantine kennel.

"We would have put your puppy with the others but he needs more rest than playtime. He's a bit more sick than we would have liked him to be." She informed me as she gestured for me to go in. "He's the only one back here at the moment so we left his cage open to let him wandering around so he wouldn't be confined all the time."

She peeked her head around the corner and I watched as she moved her head around a bit, trying to look through the the tiny, rectangular window that was in the door. "It looks that both of the Somers are in the X-Ray room. "Do you mind if I go over and talk to them for bit? You'd only be alone for a few minutes tops. "

"I think I'll be okay." She nodded her head and exited the room. I head her soiled knocks on the room next door and the sound of the knob turning.

"He has no blockages in his stomach or intestines so there isn't any medical reason why he isn't eating. If he doesn't start eating soon we'll have to insert an IV and administer nutrients that way. He is also beginning to show signs of dehydration again. We have to make the decision now, otherwise he will die within a few days." My stomach grew tight as a male said that. There was no way that little puppy looked that sick. He seemed fine when I last saw him.

"You have a visiter next door." I heard her say.

"Okay, I'll be over in a minute. Just let me file these first." Another male said. I looked around the mostly empty room. The only thing in here was empty kennels, a table with a few chairs and a tub. There was no sign of the little dog anywhere.

"Puppy?" I called out, looking around the room. "Come 'ere puppy." I cooed out again. Little nailed clicked against the linoleum flooring as the little thing appeared from around an unknown corner. He trotted up towards me, gaining speed as he went, his little pink tongue hanging out of its mouth. I giggled and crouch down as it approached me, reaching out to pet the poor thing.

"No, don't!" A voiced called from the other room, out of my line if sight. I immediately stopped, the excited puppy now hopping at my feet, it's front paws resting on my lower shin. It gave a little bark, it's hairless tail wagging back and forth.

"I-I'm sorry." I felt bad.

"It's okay. He just has a form of mange, sarcoptic mange to be exact, which is transmittal to humans."

"Oh." I said, not completely understanding what that was but it definitely sounded like something I didn't want to touch.

"If you'd like, I can go and grab you a pair of gloves, so you can pet him." I eyed the little hairless puppy, scabs covering the majority of its body.

"Will it hurt him?" He eyes the small dog, it's waging the tail and its wanting need to be pet.

"I think he'll be fine. He will probably let you know if he doesn't like it."

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, looking him over. He seemed pretty happy for a puppy that could possibly due in a few days.

"His hair loss is from the mange, which I a mite that burrows into the hair follicle and causes the hair to fall out. He's a bit anemic from fleas and ticks. Those things we aren't really worried about because they are easy to treat. As you can see, he is extremely emaciated, which means he is underweight. He has worms and on top of that, he refuses to eat."

"That doesn't sound very good."

"No, it isn't." He agreed with me. "I'm surprised he's even acting like this. He's been curled up moping since we brought him in here." I nodded, letting him know that I was still paying attention. The puppy gave a little bark, impatient that I wasn't giving him the attention that he wanted.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I looked up at him, confused for what he was apologizing for. He nervously scratched his neck, he cheeks appearing a bit more red than before. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Maverick." He smiled as he held out his hand. I eyes it carefully before placing mine in his.

"Faylyn." I introduced myself, his calloused hand easily engulfing my own. He was taller than I though, my head barely reaching his chin. He was also much larger than I though. He would have been extremely intimidating if it wasn't for his broad smile and bright, cheery brown eyes. He reminded me of his mother.

"Well, I'll go grab you some gloves, I won't be long."  I watched as he exited the room, my body relaxing as he  disappeared. Although he seemed kind, his large statue was still somewhat intimidating. I helplessly watched as the puppy pawed at my jeans, yipping here and there.

True to his word, he appeared a few moments later, carrying a few blue latex gloves and a small silver bowel. He handed me a pair and I thanked him. I quickly pulled them on and gave the pup what he wanted, gently scratching behind his ears.

"Would you mind trying to feed him? I have a feeling he'll at least eat something." I nodded and he handed me the bowel and spoon. I scooped a bit of the puppy food before offering it to him. He almost instantly began licking up the food. I gave him a few more spoonfuls but it seemed that couldn't feed him as fast as he voids eat it.

"Can I just give him the bowel?"

"By all means." He agreed and I placed the bowel the on the floor. Within seconds the bowel was empty and the puppy was sniffing around for more food.

"Can we give him anymore?" I asked, eyeing the empty bowel.

"Unfortunately,no, we shouldn't. If we give him anymore, he might throw it back up. That's the bad thing about emaciated animals. They need to eat to put on weight but their stomachs have shrunk to the point where they can't eat much. We have to stretch it back out before they are able to eat properly again."

"Do you think he'll start eating now?" I asked, my voice weak. I didn't like the idea of him starving himself, let alone dying. Maverick turned to me and gave me grin, showing off his straight teeth.

"I think he eat when you're around."