Even though he wasn’t talking loudly, Kelsey overheard Patrick saying, “That’s his cage there, in the second window on the south side.”
Kelsey’s heart skipped a beat or two. “Oh my God, Tess, that must be Devil’s first owner. She must have called back.”
“Wow. I would’ve guessed she wouldn’t come.”
Kelsey understood her. Giving away a dog, learning about an ordeal like these guys had been through, and still coming forward took an enormous amount of courage. “Let’s get these guys put away. I don’t want any reason to get Devil’s guard up.”
They headed in through the back of the house, kenneled the dogs, and met up with Patrick and the woman on the front porch. He made introductions, then asked if Tina wanted to see the other dogs before reconnecting with Devil.
Tina flinched as the big dog’s new name rolled off Patrick’s tongue. “I’m not sure I can handle knowing what he’s done to deserve that name, but for most of his life he’s been Toby. And to be honest, my heart’s broken enough without meeting any more of these poor creatures.”
Patrick nodded a touch more matter-of-factly than he should’ve, considering the circumstances. “He doesn’t do well with the other dogs. You should stay on the porch, and I’ll bring him out.”
Tess followed him inside, while Kelsey opted to stay with Tina. “Thank you for coming.”
Tina brushed a tear from the corner of her right eye. Up close, it was easy to see she’d shed more than a few this morning. Her eyes were puffy, and her voice was nasal. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry in front of him. He can read me too easily. I had him for four and a half years, and I expected to have him for the duration of his life, but there were circumstances beyond my control.” She brushed away fresh tears. “Toby was never an easy dog. I had people tell me they thought he’d be better behaved with a man as his master. I loved him dearly though, and it was our life, not theirs.”
Kelsey wondered if Patrick had braced her for the dog that Devil had become in their time away from each other. A dog who destroyed chew toys within a handful of minutes and was showing no progression with his zero tolerance for other dogs. He wasn’t aggressive toward people though, or Rob wouldn’t have allowed him to come here.
She was debating whether or not to broach the topic when Tess pulled the door open wide. “Patrick’s walking him out.”
Kelsey and Tina backed in front of the rocking chairs as Patrick appeared in the doorway, holding Devil on a short leash with two hands.
At first and as was typical, Devil’s gaze immediately locked on the road. Then Tina choked back a sob loud enough to catch his attention. While his body froze, Devil’s head cocked sideways and he sniffed loudly.
Then, in a burst of commotion so abrupt Kelsey could hardly register it, Devil dove toward Tina, yanking Patrick off his feet and half dragging him along behind. Kelsey braced for the small woman to be knocked down. But as abruptly as he took off, Devil skidded to a halt and burrowed his massive, drooly head against her as he whined. His bushy tail wagged like a set of wipers on high speed.
Tina sank to her knees and draped her hands around his furry neck, sobbing. Her words were muffled and nearly incoherent from her tears, but Kelsey caught the forgiveness being sought in them. The floodgates opened behind her own eyes.
Wanting to give Tina privacy, Kelsey excused herself and headed into the kitchen and toward the mountain of food and water bowls that needed cleaning. The warmth of the water and the silky soap bubbles always helped this chore to be a soothing one.
Tess came in ten minutes behind her. She sank into a chair and collapsed her head and chest on the table. “Wow.” For a minute, she didn’t add anything else. Then, after a long breath, she sat up and explained that Tina’s father, a widower, had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer around the time Tina had been laid off. She moved in with him just over a year ago. His condo had a twenty-five-pound pet limit, and after finding no one willing to care for Toby, Tina had located someone on a big dog forum who lived in Arkansas and was looking to adopt a dog his size. They met up halfway. The man had pictures of his deceased Great Dane, and he’d seemed like a trustworthy, caring person, but giving Toby away had been the hardest thing she’d ever done.
“A few weeks after Devil—I mean, Toby—was adopted, the man dropped out of contact,” Tess added. “Tina worried he was blocking her calls, but she’d given Toby away so there was nothing she could do.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Yeah, I know. She says her life has been empty without him. She understands about the trial and how Toby can’t be released into her care until he’s made a lot more progress, but she’s fine with it. She’s just across the river in Belleville. She’ll come out every day until she can take him home. Patrick’s going to time his visits here so they can work with Toby together. I guess he was always a bit stubborn and peculiar, but she knows how to get him to listen to her. Patrick’s got her walking him around the yard, and Toby’s focused on her every word.”
“That’s awesome. I was worried he was so damaged we wouldn’t be able to get through to him. But that reaction when he saw her…” She teared up again and cleared her throat. “He’s just a big, wounded baby. And Patrick was right. He wouldn’t bond with anyone else because he was waiting for her.
