Hero the greyhound (Simon's Hero)

Hero the Greyhound (Chapter 20)

"So, that's that then" said Jemma, snapping shut her laptop lid, "we've finally found a home for River. It's been a long haul, hasn't it? I was beginning to think we'd never find the right person to take him on. I do hope he'll be OK. I know Simon loves him, I just hope his mum will help look after River if and when he finds it all a bit of a chore. Kids these days don't seem to have the staying power we had."

"Hark at grandma" laughed Christian, flipping the kettle switch to 'On', "I doubt she will need to do that much. Based on what I know about Simon, he's a good kid and he will do his best to look after River. Don't they say autistic people are really focused and enjoy routine? If that's the case, River should be the best cared for dog in the world."

"Autistic? Is Simon autistic? How on earth do you know that?" asked Jemma. Christian never failed to amaze her with his inside knowledge of their adopters.

"Well, all it takes is a good pair of ears and over the weeks he came to visit, he did or said certain things which made me wonder."

"Like what?" she asked as she opened up the bottom filing cabinet drawer to put away River's adoption papers "name me one thing you spotted which shouted 'autistic' at you."

"Well, he would always check the bolt was drawn across the metal gates whenever we went in to see the dogs. He never once just walked through and didn't check it and he would slide it open and shut at least twice to make sure it was definitely secure. He didn't know what 'passed away' meant when I told him about Samson and Delilah, his mum had to explain that it meant 'dead'. I think that was the real giveaway, I realised I needed to be quite black and white with him, no pussyfooting around with metaphors or similes so talking to him got quite a bit easier once I realised that. Also, I don't know whether you noticed but he didn't always look straight at the person he was talking to. He would often stare over my shoulder, almost as though he couldn't listen to me and look at me at the same time. I had a hunch about him and so I started reading about autism online after I'd met him a couple of times. Interestingly, it said they sometimes find it difficult to make eye contact whilst listening to someone speak. It was as though he needed to look away in order to 'see' my voice. Sounds very odd I know, but that's how it felt."

"Well, whatever you did, it worked and I was really chuffed when his mum said they would take him permanently" smiled Jemma, trying to decide whether or not to pop into the village shop for some sandwiches. "You really are very good with visitors; that's why I let you do the talking and then, I take all the credit when we organise the actual adoption." Christian winked at Jemma, he liked her, she worked hard and she really cared about the dogs. "If you're popping into the village, could you buy me some sarnies?" he asked, "anything veggie would be good." "Ewww" Jemma winced, "I don't know how you do it, I couldn't eat veggie food the whole time, it just isn't natural." "Well, it works for me," he said, "I can't imagine eating meat ever again and don't go giving me that thing about 'I-bet-you-miss-bacon-sandwiches' because I don't. I know what they are made of and I simply couldn't eat one now." "OK, OK" she laughed, "I promised not to mention bacon sarnies if you'll do me a favour and call the vet's surgery while I'm out. Just let them know we've re-homed River and tell them we've given Simone Ellis their number in case his back legs don't improve as well as we'd hoped. I'm guessing that, with gentle daily walks, he will do very well but they need to keep an eye on him and I was very impressed with the way they put poor old River back together again."

She gathered up her handbag, sunglasses and car keys and set off towards the car park. Christian sat back in his swivel chair with his hands behind his head and stretched his legs out underneath the desk. He really liked his job and he was absolutely thrilled River was no longer living alone in his pen, sadly watching the visitors walk past the wire mesh and rarely stopping to talk to him. Simon was a quirky boy and somehow, Christian had always known he and River were meant for one another. Things really couldn't have turned out any better, for either of them. The phone rang. "Here we go again" thought Christian, "Hello! Dogs Trust, Christian speaking, how can I help you?"