Six courageous but very different dogs are facing an incoming and deadly hurricane. Overcoming bullying, prejudgment and fear determine whether they will survive...
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Outside of Paw Medical, reporters scurried to get the latest news. The Sentinel had sent Kathleen to cover the story. The dog owners arrived one by one.
Mrs. Vandermier dismissed reporters with a wave of her hand. She would not answer any questions.
Mr. Vitelli said, "Lucky has brought only happiness and luck to my family," as he entered the veterinary center.
Jamal showed up with his new girlfriend. With a tear in his eye, he said, "All I want is to get my dog back."
Ellen and Steven wanted to avoid the madness at the front entrance. They circled the building until they found a side door and snuck in.
A private waiting room was made available to them. This was unusual, but so were the circumstances. No one spoke until Mr. Vitelli said the collie belonged to him, and yes, his name was Lucky. Jamal said Tony, the bulldog, was his. Steven and Ellen said that Mia and Bear were their dogs.
Mrs. Vandermier remained silent. All eyes turned to her. Mr. Vitelli encouraged her to speak. "Well if I must ..." she said, taking a deep breath, "the poodle is mine, and her name is Princess." With that, she started to cry.
"Now, now," said Mr. Vitelli, "we know how you feel."
"How could you possibly know how I feel?" she retorted.
"Because we all love our dogs. I am as sad as you are."
"Me too," said Jamal. "Lately, I have not treated Tony the way he deserves. I feel guilty, and if anything terrible has happened to him, I'll never forgive myself."
Mrs. Vandermier blotted her eyes. "I apologize," she said. "I'm so distressed and afraid. Princess is fragile, and it would be nearly impossible for her to survive the storm at sea."
"Don't give up," said Ellen, putting her arms around Mrs. Vandermier. "The dogs took care of each other. Now we need to be strong for them. The new dog led them to shelter on the boat and became their friend. Maybe it was she who was responsible for saving our dogs! I wish I understood the mystery of all of this."
Everyone nodded.
A moment later, Luke and Briana entered the waiting room and introduced themselves.
"I heard about you on TV," Mrs. Vandermier said. "You lost your boat, the Nostro Destino. How awful!"
Luke was quick to respond. "We came here to support you. We hope our boat lasted long enough to save all the dogs."
Briana added, "We also want to inquire about the stray. We feel sorry for her, because she is the only one without an owner."
Luke looked around at everyone before announcing, "We're going to get a new boat, and we've decided to name it the Nostro Destino 6."
"Wow!" Jamal said under his breath.
"You are so kind," said Mrs. Vandermier.
"Not at all," said Luke. "The insurance company will cover most of our loss, but losing your best friend is irreparable."
