Hounded to Death (31 page)

Berkley was the Brickmans' eighteen-month-old Golden Retriever. Though he'd been purchased as a pet for Joey and Carly, predictably the bulk of his care had fallen to Alice. He was a beautiful, smart, rambunctious, teenage dog; and as long as he had company, he mostly managed to stay out of trouble. Bored and left to his own devices, however, I could see how he might be tempted to entertain himself by tearing the place apart.

“That's where you come in,” said Alice.

I opened my mouth but she hurried on before I could speak.

“Don't worry, with a new baby and all, I wouldn't dream of asking you to look after him. So I found a place in town that offers doggie day care.”

Now she paused. Like it was my turn to say something. For a moment, I couldn't think what that should be.

“
Doggie
day care?” I managed finally.

Despite the subject matter, none of my Poodles even looked up. Though they understand most things I say, the Poodles possessed far too much dignity to ever think of themselves as doggies.

“Don't make fun,” said Alice. “Apparently it's a very successful facility. And hard to get into. There's a waiting list.”

“A waiting list,” I echoed faintly. It was all I could do to keep a straight face.

“The place is called Pine Ridge Canine Care Center. And you know I'm hopeless when it comes to things like this. I wouldn't have the slightest idea what to look for. But you know all that important dog-type stuff. So I was wondering if you could go and check it out for me. You know, see if it's the kind of place where Berkley would be happy.”

She'd played the flattery card and no surprise, it was working. Besides, while I was delighted to have the chance to stay at home and take care of Kevin, Alice wasn't the only one who'd spent some time recently looking around the house and wondering what to do next. A job like this sounded like it would be right up my alley.

“Sure,” I said. “I can do that. No problem.”

You'd think I'd know better than to make predictions like that.