Finally, Kurt gave the Argentine mastiff free rein the length of the leash. And the only thing Zeus seemed interested to do with it was play. When his play bow wasn’t enticing enough to draw Orzo in, he wagged his tail and barked, then spun in a tight circle and dropped into another play bow. Picking up on his energy, the corgi wagged his tail and barked in return.
Kelsey, the only one of the three observers not holding a leash, had just pressed Play on her phone when Zeus rolled onto his back and Orzo stepped in close to lick his cheek. Suddenly, Zeus was on his feet and moving in a blur. Kelsey flinched before realizing the two dogs were full-scale playing. A grin broke out across her face as she recorded them dropping into play bows respectively and circling around one another in a crazy, wild dance. Zeus was easily four times Orzo’s size, but he didn’t seem to know it. He rolled onto his back a second time, wriggling his big, white body. Orzo came up next to him, not quite tall enough to see over Zeus’s barrel chest, barking and wagging his tail. The little corgi even turned around to expose his back, a sign of play and relaxed submission.
The romping went on for several minutes, with Zeus twice getting excited enough to jump up on Kurt to try to lick his face. The giant dog was big enough to reach it too. Even excited as he was, Zeus heard and listened to Kurt’s command of “Down.” Unfazed, the Argentine mastiff dropped back to all fours and then went back to playing with Orzo.
Finally exhausted, the two dogs stood side by side, mouths agape, looking as if they were wearing big grins as they panted. After a few seconds, Orzo plopped to the ground and collapsed onto his side, tongue lolling, resembling the pasta he’d been named after. Zeus leaned over to lick the side of Orzo’s face before sinking to the ground to rest as well.
After zooming in, one at a time, for a close-up of each of their contented faces, Kelsey finished recording. She fisted the sleeve of Patrick’s polo in disbelief. “Patrick, if this is half as good as I think it is, you have to get this on Facebook today.”
A few years ago, Patrick had taken over management of the shelter’s social media accounts. At first, it had seemed like a strange turn of events, considering Patrick’s difficulty discerning emotions, but his posts were well edited and spot-on, and he always ran the more emotional posts by Megan or Kelsey first. Once they added the adjectives and adverbs that made the story shine, he saw to the ins and outs of posting at the right time and ensuring the right followers saw and reposted the content.
Over the last few years, their social media following had increased tenfold. Kelsey was willing to bet this large Facebook following had helped Channel 3 choose to focus on the High Grove Animal Shelter over other area shelters six months ago for the weekly pet adoption stories the station had decided to produce.
“I suspect it’ll be as good as you’re hoping,” Patrick replied. “That was something. I agree with you, Kurt. It’s unlikely Zeus spent any time in a fighting ring.”
Kurt nodded. “He’s going to have an easier path than most of the other dogs we’ve taken in, that’s for certain. There are a few others inside who could end up in the same comfortable place with other dogs, but time will tell.”
Kelsey understood that most of these dogs would only be placed in single-dog homes. Significant ring time had left many of the dogs inhabiting Sabrina Raven’s home with as many emotional scars as physical ones. From here on out, they’d live quiet lives, and their new owners would need to agree to keep them out of dog parks and heavy crowds. But at least they’d be placed in loving homes. They’d get to experience what every dog should.
Her real hope was that the dogs would turn out to be more resilient and trusting than anyone expected. She liked to imagine every one of them not only learning to trust people again, but also learning to trust other dogs too.
Kurt and Patrick had Zeus and Orzo on their feet, and the group was heading around to the front of the house when Kelsey spotted a plain, white van pulling into the driveway.
“Looks like Rob’s on time,” Kurt said. “Patrick, let’s get these guys put away so as not to cause any more stress for our new arrival than necessary.”
Kelsey’s heart thumped in her chest. In all her years working with dogs, she’d never been as moved by one as she’d been by the resilient pit bull. “Patrick, here,” she said, passing him her phone before he headed inside. She didn’t want to get distracted and forget to give it to him later. “Take my phone with you when you head back to the shelter, please, so you don’t lose any quality in transfer. I’ll pick it up tonight when I drop Orzo off.”
Patrick slipped her phone into one of his deep pockets and buttoned it closed before leading Orzo inside to the deluxe travel crate where the ready-for-a-nap corgi was spending his downtime today.
Kelsey headed for the driveway where Rob was stepping from the van.
“How you holding up, young lady?” He walked toward her, hand extended, and ended up pulling her in for a hug. “I sure do appreciate all the work you’ve taken on
