Mike was a great guy, who was married to his
high school sweetheart and had two little girls, ages five and
eight. He did this job because of his love for animals, not for the
pay. He was also a vet tech, so he was the perfect person to help
the evening vets with procedures and monitor the animals
overnight.
"Hey Dr. Riley, we have four new intakes for
you to take a look at: two cats and two dogs. One of the dogs is in
rough shape. He was picked up from a negligent owner and will need
some extra attention."
Riley braced herself for what she was about
to see. She hated seeing the abuse humans could give to innocent
animals. She would never be able to understand the motivation
behind it. She decided to look at the neglected dog first; he was a
Shepherd mix and was clearly terrified of people. He was
underweight and had a bad case of mange. He cowered in the corner
of his cage with wide eyes and growled from fear, doing his best to
ward off people. She always had a way with animals, so she sat down
outside the door and calmly waited for him to approach her. After
about five minutes, he became curious enough to come forward and
smell her arm. She didn't dare move, but continued to breathe and
keep her body loose. After a couple more minutes, the Shepherd lay
down next to her and nuzzled her hand. She then decided to give the
scared animal a nice rub under the neck and behind the ears to show
she wasn't going to hurt him.
She carefully looped a leash around his neck
and slowly stood up. As she stood, he started to cower a bit, so
she slowed her movements and waited for him to acclimate. After he
decided she wasn't a threat, he followed her to the exam room and
stood patiently for her while she checked his vitals. He was about
15 lbs. underweight and was clearly dehydrated. She gave him his
vaccines, an antibiotic for the mange, and sub-Q fluids for
dehydration. Luckily, he was neutered, so he wouldn't need to go
through that ordeal as well. She figured that if he received some
good meals and a lot of love, he'd be better in a week or two. He'd
definitely need a patient owner to understand his fear and work
with him to trust humans again.
Her next client was a small, yellow tabby cat
whose elderly owner had passed away. The kitty was a sweetheart,
and Riley knew she'd find a home without a problem. Again, she was
already spayed, so no surgery for her, only a check over her
medical records to make sure she was up to date on her vaccines.
Coming from a loving home was always nice, because they usually
kept records of their pet's health.
The next cat was a cranky tomcat with thick
grey fur, and he needed to be neutered. He was a stray without any
records so she gave him his vaccines as well. The neuter went
without a problem and she left the cat to recover from his ordeal
in a small cage in the procedure room.
The final case for the night was a small,
scruffy mutt with a sweet disposition. Fleas infested his matted,
white coat. She wasn't a groomer, but it was clear the poor thing
needed a bath. She could smell the tang of infected wounds, so she
and Mike bathed him so they could get through the dirt and take a
better look at his skin. He had some open sores, so she doctored
them, dosed him with antibiotics, treated his fleas, and
administered vaccines. This pup was lucky to already be neutered as
well. Overall, it was an easy evening.
Before she left, she checked on the Shepherd
and saw he was already looking a bit perkier from the fluids. She
patiently waited for him to approach her again in order to
reinforce a positive human experience. His frightened, soulful eyes
were hard to resist. She wanted to take him home with her, but she
felt that way about 95% of the time when caring for the shelter
animals. She had to harden her heart a bit to be able to continue
this work, but it was worth it so they'd have good care. Two hours
after she walked in, she left the shelter, saying goodnight to Mike
and thanking him again for his help. He promptly thanked her for
her help as well.
It was chilly outside. The weather had been
nice the last few days, giving everyone a false hope for an early
spring. February in Vancouver, WA was still winter, even though it
always teased with about one week of sun. Locals knew it was short
lived and to prepare for another four or five months of rain. Riley
looked up at the sky and the full moon was obscured by clouds, she
guessed the nice weather was already over. She jumped in her old
Jeep Cherokee and headed to the local doggy daycare to pick up
Wolf. She always took him there on the long shelter days, so he
wouldn't be home alone all day. She then headed home to get some
sleep. There was only two more days until the weekend and she
couldn't wait to get some alone time. She had planned to take this
weekend off and work on some maintenance items at her house. It had
been neglected the last few years and she couldn't put the repairs
off any longer. If Wolf ever escaped and received an injury due to
the broken fence boards, she'd never forgive herself.
Thursday morning dawned with clouds and
drizzle with a temperature hovering around 37 degrees. Yep, the
hint of spring was gone. Riley dosed herself with her rainy day
mood lifters - vitamins B and D. Oscar wound his furry, grey body
around her legs as she sat at the kitchen table reading a magazine
and eating her normal breakfast of oatmeal with brown sugar,
butter, and raisins. She chose to put a turtleneck on under her
scrubs, not only for the physical warmth, but also for extra
emotional comfort. She was still reeling a bit from losing her
patient yesterday; the long sleeves and turtleneck seemed to bring
a cozy comfort for some reason. Days like this left her wishing she
had a man in her life, someone she could cuddle up with in the
morning and lean her head on for support. Not that she remotely
knew what it would feel like.
Sad to say, but she was nearly thirty years
old, and had never had a serious boyfriend. She was a bit of a geek
in school, which made her the awkward outsider. Her pets were the
friends she relied on. Being an only child, she didn't even have
any brothers or sisters to fight with while growing up. In college,
she was too busy with school and work to make many friends; she had
to hold a 3.8 GPA in order to keep her scholarship. Sam was pretty
much the only friend she had; mainly facilitated by the fact they
were roommates.
The only guy Riley was ever close to was
Ryan, her neighbor and best friend from childhood. But she hadn't
seen him since she stood at the curb with tears streaming down her
face, waving at his car as it disappeared out of sight. It still
broke her heart a little bit thinking back when her parents told
her the Henderson's would be moving to Kansas. Something about a
job transfer. She didn't care about job transfers. The only thing
she understood was her best and only friend was ripped out of her
life along with her heart. Their house always stood vacant, as if
it was mocking her pain. It also fostered unrequited hope of them
returning. Although she hadn't thought of Ryan in months, this was
the second time in two days she found herself pondering on his
whereabouts.
After she took the last bite of her oatmeal,
she went into the kitchen to rinse out her bowl and stick it in the
dishwasher. She went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and then
headed for the door while saying goodbye to Wolf and Oscar for the
day.
Riley arrived at the clinic and Lyla was
already there, feeding and medicating the boarded animals. She had
taken them all outside to do their business and cleaned up any
messes as well. "Morning Dr. Riley." Lyla called from the back.
"Morning Lyla, anything I need to be aware
of?" Riley enquired.
"Nope, all looks good here. Our first client
is due in 15 minutes and we have back to backs until 1:30, then you
have a dental on Howard the Greyhound and a neuter on a new kitten
client."
"Great, thanks. I'll start reviewing some
charts. Let me know when they get in." Lyla always did a great job
of summing up the day's events and keeping track of any changes on
the calendar.
The rest of the day flew by without any major
issues. Howard had some major dental work done, but she expected
that since he was an old sight hound. She didn't have any
euthanasia's today, making for a much better day than
yesterday.
As Riley finished her charting that evening,
Sam popped in to remind her of her promise. "Remember, we're going
out tomorrow night. Don't you dare think about backing out of our
deal." Sam stood with arms akimbo and one eyebrow cocked, waiting
for a rebuttal.
"I told you I'd go. I'm not saying I'm
excited about it, but when I say I'll do something I always do it."
That was true too. Someone could always count on her to follow
through with her word. She lived by that premise. She believed, if
you started reneging on what you said, soon your words became
meaningless to those around you, and you lose accountability in all
things. She was incredibly staunch about her viewpoint on this, and
she expected everyone else to live by this mantra as well.
"I know," Sam said with a smile. "That's one
of the reasons I love you. The clinic is clean and set up for
tomorrow, and the animals are fed and medicated. We're heading out
and will see ya tomorrow. Try not to work too late."
"Thanks guys, see ya in the morning." Riley
leaned back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair. She
needed to make a couple of phone calls with blood test results,
finish up some charts and then she'd be able to head home.
She arrived home close to 7:00 and took Wolf
for his three-mile walk. When they finished, she had just enough
time to swing by her favorite pet store, Canine Utopia, to pick up
Wolf and Oscar's food. Wolf loved visiting the store because he
always received a special treat. As the bell chimed their entry,
his toenails scrabbled on the hardwood floor. She had to keep a
keen eye on him around the bulk treat counter; he was so big he
could easily turn his head for a self-serve snack. The owner,
Aaron, greeted her and started grabbing her usual food from the
shelf. She picked out a treat for Wolf and let him chomp it down as
she paid her bill and chatted with Aaron about the happenings in
downtown. He was always involved with the community and usually had
some kind of special event he was planning. Aaron helped her to the
car with her purchases and she thanked him as she jumped inside to
head home.
She quickly ate some dinner while reviewing a
new medical journal, which came out with information on possible
canine cancer treatments. When she looked up at the clock, it was
10:30 and time for bed. She walked down the short hallway of her
two-bedroom bungalow and entered the bathroom to brush her teeth,
wash her face, and comb her hair before climbing into bed. As soon
as she was in, she called up Wolf and Oscar who cuddled in next to
her. She cringed as she thought about going out with the girls
tomorrow night, on a Friday of all nights. She knew the bar would
be full of couples on dates or singles on the prowl, once more
bringing her lonely existence into stark relief.
It was a
spring-like Monday morning as Garrett jumped in his truck and
headed to the new jobsite. He wanted to make sure everyone showed
up on time. He didn't want to hear any excuses from his crew about
being late because of parking, traffic, or getting lost. He can get
there on time, and so can they. Breck's Construction was a general
contracting firm, which worked on commercial properties ranging
from quick shops to medium size condominium complexes. This job
happened to be new construction, a grocery store in Vancouver, WA.
The company's main office was located in Portland, OR, on the other
side of the Columbia River. Breck, the company's namesake, happened
to be Garrett's father-in-law, or ex father-in-law. He wasn't sure
how you label family left over after you became a widower. Widower
felt like a strange label to put on a 32-year-old man. Not that he
felt young anymore. Watching the woman he loves die slowly from a
mysterious illness, aged him.
Breck was a great boss and was kind enough to
keep Garrett on as foreman after Sarah passed away. He was a hard
worker and deserved his position, but he felt responsible for
letting Sarah die. He felt he should have been able to control the
situation, find what was making her sick, and stop it. He blamed
himself, so he never understood why Breck didn't. Sarah was Breck's
little girl, and Garrett didn't save her. He appreciated the
employment, but he still felt guilty almost every day he had to
look Breck in the eye. This week was actually the third anniversary
of her death, so he was feeling pretty grumpy and touchy. It also
happened to be the week of the full moon, so he was beyond
irritable. He felt sorry for the poor sod that showed up late to
this job.
Shockingly his entire crew was on time. He
was embarrassed to find himself a bit disappointed; he was hoping
he could release some of the bile he'd been carrying around inside.
He secretly wondered if Breck had warned the guys about his mood
this week. Did he give them a heads up that they had better be on
time or Garrett would flip out on them? He couldn't seem to find
any humor in the situation as he descended from his truck and
started assigning tasks for his crew.
A good portion of the crew was from the two
local packs, so they were more of a brotherhood than coworkers. The
guys always respected Garrett and liked to work for him, but they
also had this week marked on their calendar. They all knew this was
the anniversary of when he lost his love, Sarah. They knew he lived
a solitary existence since she died, and that's hard to do when
you're part of a pack. Garrett found a way to be involved without
really letting his heart get involved. He always seemed a bit numb
and robotic as he went through the motions of life.