Then came voices. This, too, was something we’d experienced before, so I yawned.
“Okay, I’m not sure how this is going to work.” That was a voice I hadn’t heard. I pictured another man.
“Maybe instead of droppin’ the tailgate, I just roll back the tarp?” This was the voice belonging to the man who had yelled.
“I think we’re just going to have one shot at the mother. Once she sees what we’re up to she’ll bail over the sides.”
“Okay.”
“I forgot to ask, you said you have the gun on you?” New Voice asked.
“Yeah,” Familiar Voice replied.
“Would you mind?”
“Oh, hell no, here it is. I ain’t never shot a pistol in my life.”
I looked over at Mother. She seemed less stressed. Maybe all dogs calmed down once something seemed to be occurring over and over.
There was an unrecognizable clicking sound. “So, you ready?”
“Yeah.”
With a loud crackle, hands appeared on both sides of the den, and daylight began flooding into our enclosure. The roof was being peeled back by the men, who were peering down at us. Mother was growling ominously. There were two humans—the one with the hairy face from before, and a taller man with a smooth face and more hair on his head.
The smooth-faced man smiled, his teeth white. “Okay, girl. Be still, now. This will go a lot better if you hold still.”
“She ’bout ripped my arm outta the socket before,” the hairy-faced man said.
Smooth Face looked up sharply. “She actually bit you?”
“Uh, no.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“She ain’t friendly, though.”
“She’s got a litter. They get protective.”
Mother was growling more loudly. Her teeth were on display now.
“Hey there. Just hold still,” Smooth Face soothed.
“Look out!”
Her nails scrabbling, Mother turned to the exposed side of the den and in a flash leapt over, vanishing. Instantly, my siblings reacted, swarming in the same direction.
“Well, I guess I could have predicted that,” Smooth Face chuckled. “See how skinny she was? She hasn’t had a home for some time. She’s not going to trust a person no matter how gently I talk.”
“Big, though.”
“Mostly malamute, as far as I can tell. These pups have something else in them, though. Dane?”
“Hey, thanks for taking the bullet outta the gun, I didn’t know howta do that,” Hairy Face said.
“I removed the clip, too. I can’t believe he handed it to you with a round in the chamber. That’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, well, he’s my boss, so I guess I won’t be complainin’. You, uh, won’t tell anyone I didn’t follow his instructions? Wouldn’t wanta have this get back ta him.”
“Tell him you did what he said. It explains why there aren’t any bullets left.”
My siblings reacted in various ways as the men lowered their hands into the den. Some cowered, but others, like Heavy Boy, were wagging and submissive.
“Can I see the puppies?” I looked up at this, a third voice, pitched high.
“Sure, Ava, here.” Smooth Face lifted a small human off the ground. It was, I realized, a little girl. She clapped her hands. “Puppies!” she squealed in her high, delighted voice.
Smooth Face put the girl down. “Time to get them in the crate.”
He deftly scooped me up. I was placed in a basket with my littermates, who all had their forepaws on the sides, noses raised, trying to see.
The little girl’s smiling face appeared over the edge of the basket, gazing down at us. I stared up at her, curious about all the different smells wafting from her—sweet and spicy and flowery.
“Okay, Ava, let’s get these little guys inside where it’s warm.”
The basket shifted and the world was once again unstable, made worse by the absence of our mother. Several of my siblings squealed in alarm, while I concentrated on trying to stay out of the way as Heavy Boy came tumbling by.
Suddenly the air was warmer. The new den stopped moving. The little girl reached in and I found I welcomed her touch as she lifted me up to her face. Her light eyes stared at me from very close, and I felt an impulse to lick her skin, though I did not know why.
“We have a problem, Ava,” Smooth Face said. “We can bottle feed them, but without a mother I am not sure they’ll survive.”
“I’ll do it!” the little girl piped in immediately.
“Well, I know that. But we’ll be late getting home tonight, and that’s not going to make your mother happy.”
The little girl was still gazing at me, and I stared rapturously back. “I want to keep this one.”
The man laughed. “We probably can’t, Ava. Let’s get going with the bottles.”
Every experience was utterly new. When the little girl sat holding me on my back, pinning me between her legs, I squirmed in discomfort, but then she lowered a small object toward my mouth and when I smelled the tiny drop of rich milk oozing from it I took it in my mouth like a teat and sucked hard and was rewarded with a meal rich and sweet.
In the den with Mother, night fell as a gradual process, but in this new place it came in a single instant, with such swift abruptness I felt several of my siblings twitch in alarm. Anxious without our mother, we were restless and took a long time before we dozed off. I slept on top of Heavy Boy, and it was much better than the other way around.
The next morning the little girl and the man returned and once again we were given nourishment while lying on our backs. I knew my littermates had fed because they all carried the smell of the dense milk on their lips.
“We have to get the mother to come back, Ava,” Smooth Face said. “We won’t be able to bottle feed these little guys as much as they need, otherwise.”
“I’ll stay home from school Monday,” the little girl replied.
“You can’t do that.”
“Daddy…”
“Ava, remember how I explained that sometimes we pick up an animal and we can’t save them because they are sick, or because they have been badly mistreated? It’s like these puppies are sick. I have other animals to take care of and I don’t have anyone to help me right now.”
“Please.”
“Maybe the mother will come back. Okay, Ava? Hopefully she’ll miss her babies.”
The little girl, I decided, was named Ava. She reached for me a short time later, and her hands made me feel safe and warm. She carried me out into the cool air, cuddling me to her chest.
I smelled Mother before I saw her. Suddenly Ava drew in a sharp breath.
“Are you the mommy?” she asked in a small voice.
Mother had edged out of some thick trees and was creeping hesitantly toward us across the grass. She lowered her head when the girl spoke, her distrust obvious with every uncertain step.
Ava set me down, leaving me by myself in the grass. I saw my mother watch warily as the little girl retreated until she was standing at the door to the building.
“Daddy! The mother came!” Ava called shrilly. “It’s okay, girl,” she urged in softer tones. “Come see your baby.”