Chapter 16 - The Call From the Rescue
The rescue organization contacted Arthur two months later.
They had a newly trained dog whose handler had suddenly died.
The dog needed temporary placement with someone experienced.
Arthur looked at me.
“No.”
I knew that look.
“You want to.”
“We have Boone.”
“And?”
“I’m seventy-one.”
“And apparently still capable of making terrible decisions.”
He smiled.
We agreed to foster the dog.
Her name was Daisy.
Boone initially regarded her with the weary expression of an old man discovering someone had invited a teenager into his house.
Within three days, they slept beside each other.
Arthur began helping the organization with new handlers.
He showed people how to work with dogs in public.
How to ignore staring.
How to answer questions.
How to leave when necessary.
And how to stay when leaving would mean surrendering something important.
May you like
The man who had once whispered “Let’s go” now told nervous handlers:
“You belong in the room too.”
