“You’ve had a pretty rough time of it, haven’t you?” he asked, his voice neutral.
When she took another step toward him, he smiled and held the treat out farther.
She stretched her neck out, sniffing.
Then he put it on the ground in front of him, took one step back and crouched down again. “Shambhala, come.”
She took several more hesitant steps closer to the dog biscuit and him, still fighting off her training, and yet, at the same time, understanding somewhere in the back of her mind this was what she used to do.
He waited until she got closer, then he said, “Stop.” Immediately the dog froze, quivering. He smiled at her gently, then said, “Okay.”
She bent lower to the ground, snatched the treat and inhaled it.
He hated to see she was obviously starving. He pulled out a second dog treat out, knowing she needed much better food than just this, but it was something. Giving her almost no time, he held it out, put it down a little bit closer, took a half a step back and waited until she came.
As soon as she got there, he ordered her to stop.
She quivered and glared at him, hating the command, but helpless to override her training. Then he released her to have the treat. She gobbled it up and seemed to relax slightly.
He had a third one in his hand. This time he didn’t pull back but placed it between them. As soon as she got there, she hesitated, waiting for him to give her the command. He smiled and told her it was okay.
She gobbled it up and then looked at him again. He had a couple little pieces in his hand still, but that was it. He held out his hand with the pieces on his flat palm, his fingers outstretched, the treat on the surface.
Sensing some trick, she froze, wanting the last little bit, but not sure she could trust him. He kept talking to her in a calm gentle voice. He had looped a rope over his arm so as soon as he could get closer to her, he would drop it around her neck. She stepped up a little closer and closer again.
He kept talking to her calmly and gently. In the background he could hear little Sari’s voice calling out for the doggy. But neither he nor Shambhala broke eye contact. It was too important right now.
She took another step forward and sniffed his hand, wanting the treat, but it was just a hair out of reach. He kept still and kept talking to her. As soon as she reached for the treat, he eased his spare hand up under the rope and carefully looped it over her neck. She froze as soon as the noose dropped down, then looked at him in shock.
He stood up slowly and gently, told her to heel. With the leash on, she stepped up to his left side and stood at attention. He reached a hand down and gently stroked the top of her head.
“That’s a good girl, Shambhala,” he whispered. He walked her back toward where Sari and Daniela waited for him. Sari had a biscuit in her hand and so did Daniela. He held out his hand for the one from Daniela. She gave it to him. He turned to face Shambhala and ordered her to sit. She did. He held up part of the treat for her.
“She looks starved,” Daniela murmured at his side. Then took Sari’s treat from her to hand to Weston.
He fed Shambhala the remaining treat. “Looks like she’s had a pretty rough time,” he said. “Maybe just since the accident, I don’t know. But there’s blood on her haunch too.”
“You seem to have her under control now,” she said in surprise. “You made that look easy.”
“Nothing easy about it,” he said. “That’s her training. She’s responding to the command style she knows.”
“Maybe, but she still looks like she has suffered.”
With that all the treats were gone. Shambhala looked up at him as if to see what was next. He smiled at her and reached a hand down to scratch her ears. “We need to find a place where we can take you, girl.”
“I have a fenced yard,” Daniela said.
He looked at her and hesitated. He’d already taken advantage of her generosity, more than he would have liked. It was as if she could sense his hesitation.
“Look. No reason not to,” she pointed out quietly. “I know you’re trying to be independent, but you need a place where the dog can be safe. I do have a good fence, and she needs a few days to recover. What will you do with her after this?”
“I don’t know,” he said in surprise. “I didn’t allow myself to think to this point. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d catch her.”
“And here I thought you always had everything planned out,” she said in a light teasing manner.
He didn’t take his gaze off Shambhala, who was much more relaxed now. He gave her a hand command to lie down, and she dropped and lay down. When he gave her another one to relax, to say she was off duty, she sprawled out on her side. “She is very well trained,” he said.
“I don’t know if you just made her do that last bit,” Daniela said, “but, if you did, that’s amazing. I’m surprised she remembers any of that training.”
“It’s not a case of remembering as much as it was what she was. It was how she lived for the longest time, so anything other than her training would have been uncomfortable and scary. This is giving her that
