Except for the fact that her sister didn’t like anybody who didn’t like her, and there was no doubt that the dog didn’t like her sister.
To that end, Addie had argued against her parents leaving the dog with her sister because obviously it was a situation that would not go well. But her parents’ need to get away from her sister had driven away any concern about whether the dog would be in danger or whether her sister would be in danger. Her sister, was not in danger, but her sister had become a danger to the dog. Addie took another long slow deep breath and opened her car door, as one of the neighbors called out.
“How’s your sister doing?” she asked.
“She’s doing fine,” she said. “Why?”
“Oh, well, she had that terrible dog bite. I’m so glad that dog’s being put down.”
“Well, the dog didn’t bite her,” she said. “Bernie just made it up.”
The neighbor looked at her, shocked.
Addie shook her head, hopped into the driver’s side, and pulled out. She didn’t even know what the matter was with her. Well, yes, she did. The dog needed Addie to step up. She had bonded with the dog. Her sister had not. It was what it was. Addie had given up trying to defend her sister a long time ago. It burned her constantly to think that that dog was being put down because of her sister’s temper tantrum, her selfish wants. It was a good dog. It was a War Dog, and why the hell did nobody care? Somebody out there must care.
On that note, she headed back to the pound, where she spent so much of her time, trying to find ways to save the animal. She’d even contemplated breaking it out, wondering if she knew anybody who could help her. But figured that, as soon as she did that, her sister would blame her too. And, of course, Addie wasn’t the liar her sister was, and would probably ’fess up almost immediately, if somebody asked her if she had stolen the dog from the pound.
She’d also have to find a place to keep the dog, since her place was small, and the Malinois was huge. She had zero fear of Bernie—the dog. But Bernie, her sister? Addie shook her head. She figured that her sister’s actions had caused this whole scenario.
Didn’t matter how much one loved the dog, it was still a dog, it was still an animal, and so many had no respect for her as such. Her sister wasn’t a dog lover; she was only interested in getting love for herself, and nothing else mattered. To think that the dog and her sister shared the same name just blew Addie away. But it’s also how the poor dog had ended up here.
Addie blamed her parents for that too because they weren’t prepared to spend the time to help the dog adapt. They thought that her sister, would look after it, and that would free up the parents to leave for all their trips. What a joke. As Addie pulled into the pound, she saw several other vehicles here. She hopped out and walked into the front area.
The receptionist looked up at her, shook her head, and asked, “Still no good news?”
“Of course not,” she said. “Can I see her?”
She hesitated and then nodded. “Somebody else is in there too,” she said.
At that, Addie stared at her. “Are they putting her down now? You said that she still had a couple days.”
“Somebody else is here looking to positively ID her as one of the War Dogs,” she said in a low voice. “The boss isn’t very happy about it.”
At that, Addie’s eyebrows lifted because anything the boss wasn’t happy about was good news as far as Addie was concerned. She motioned at the door. “Buzz me through, will ya?” Addie had gotten to know the receptionist, Wendy, fairly well this last week or two.
Wendy asked, “How’s your sister doing?”
“I don’t even think she got bit,” she said with a wave of her hand.
“Well, there had to be a doctor’s report.”
Addie nodded. “Supposedly. I know,” she said, “but she sure as hell won’t show me the wound.”
“Weird,” she said.
At that, Addie didn’t even bother answering. Her mind was too busy trying to figure out how her sister had gotten a doctor’s report written. Addie didn’t even know if her sister had a regular doctor who she saw. Maybe Bernie went to an ER somewhere. That nagged away at Addie because none of it made any sense to her.
As she walked to the back all alone, she approached the cage to see a man sitting in the far corner with Bernie herself stretched all the way out, so that her paw rested in the man’s hand. She stopped in surprise. “Hello,” she said gently.
The man slowly turned to look at her. He smiled and said, “Hello.”
She said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bernie here quite so happy.”
“Bernie and I’ve been getting to know each other,” he said quietly.
She nodded and said, “This was my family’s dog.” At that, his smile fell away, and she understood. “It was my sister who got bit,” she said in apology.
“Ah,” he said. “How badly hurt is she?”
She hesitated, that old loyalty raising its head. “She’s not badly hurt,” she said with a shrug.
“Which is unusual then that the dog is being put down for something that isn’t very bad,” he said. “Normally you get several strikes before you get to that stage, and it has to be a bad bite or attack.”
“I know,” she said. “Apparently, and I wasn’t there at the time, my sister said she’d bitten her several times but refused to let anybody know.”
“And why is that?”
“I don’t know. She says it’s too painful to touch the bandage.”
“What’s your sister’s name?”
She hesitated and then said, “Bernie.”
He looked at her and looked at the dog, and she nodded. “Yeah, they have the same name. And that’s how she convinced my parents to get her the dog.”
“Well, dogs like this War Dog, they’re still working animals. She was eased into retirement, but she still wouldn’t have bitten anybody.”
“Well, it’s still an animal,” she said, feeling slightly defensive.
“Absolutely,” he said, “and, as such, she deserves respect and a second chance.”
“Well, you won’t get an argument out of me,” she said. She crouched in front of the gate, only to realize it wasn’t locked. She pushed it open slightly and asked, “Can I come in?”
“Do you know her well?”
“I’ve come many times,” she said. “The dog was given to my sister essentially, but Bernie and I have a strong bond. I really miss her.”
As she stepped in, Bernie’s tail wagged madly. Addie smiled, crouched in front of her, and said, “Hey, girl.”
And Bernie immediately bounced to her feet and gave her a huge welcome.
“That’s good to see,” he said. “I was worried after all the reports I’d heard that she had bitten somebody.”
“I’m not worried about getting bit,” she said. “It’s the euthanasia that’s supposed to happen on Friday that worries me.”
“I know,” he admitted. “I was hoping to find a way to stop it.”
“You and me both,” she said. The dog licked her face and then calmed down slightly, and Addie looked at the man. I didn’t introduce myself,” she said. “I’m Addie.”