Part 5
Lydia lifted Piper onto the examination table while Grant kept Toby beside him. Piper lay on a folded towel, allowing Grant to support her chin without the usual push against his hand.
The veterinarian examined the swelling and compared her earlier records with fresh X-rays. She checked the healed skin, then brought Grant closer to show him the area near the joint.
“There’s an infection underneath,” she said. “I need to open that pocket and clean it before it damages more tissue.”
Grant looked from the images to Piper.
“When?”
“We’re getting ready now.”
At the end of the leash, Toby changed position. Piper’s tail moved faintly against the towel. Grant lowered his hand so she could keep her head resting.
“Will she walk again?”
“Her age helps, and we can treat this. But I need to see what’s there before I can tell you more.”
Tessa stepped forward to sign the rescue’s consent. Lydia went through the procedure with her while the staff gathered what they needed.
Grant moved away from the table. He held the leash in both hands because there was nothing else for them to do.
Toby followed Piper as far as the treatment-room door. When it closed, he lay down facing it.
Tessa brought a little food. He sniffed and turned away. Grant fetched Boone’s ball from the truck and set it beside his foot.
The puppy left it there.
Across from the door stood a bench with a leash notice tacked above it. Grant sat, elbows on his knees, and gathered the extra webbing into his palm.
Metal touched metal beyond the wall.
His thumb stopped moving along the lead. He was back in the other clinic, his hand on Boone’s collar, waiting for a response that wasn’t coming. He stood before he could reach the part where he walked out alone.
Tessa was at the desk. She could call him. The veterinarian didn’t need him in the hall, and sitting there wouldn’t change what happened behind the door.
He walked toward the lobby.
Toby lifted his head. He didn’t pull on the lead or scratch at the treatment door. He stayed where Piper had disappeared, his body squarely facing it.
Grant stopped at the far end of the bench. Daylight filled the lobby windows. His keys pressed against his leg through his pocket.
He looked down at the puppy, then returned to the bench and lowered himself to the floor.
“I’m here. Scoot.”
Toby made room by leaning against him.
Grant stretched his legs where they wouldn’t block the passage. He put a hand on the puppy’s shoulder and left it there.
The shelter opened around them. A delivery cart rattled through the lobby. The copier jammed, and someone called for help. Tessa handled it, then brought Grant water without asking whether he wanted to get up.
He drank some and set the cup beside the bench.
When the treatment door opened, he had to use the seat to push himself upright. Lydia’s cap had left a line across her forehead. For a second, he couldn’t read her face.
“She’s waking up,” she said. “The procedure’s done.”
His hand came off the bench.
Toby rose, sniffing toward the opening. Lydia bent to block him gently with her knee while she spoke.
The infected pocket had been cleaned. She hadn’t found the extensive joint damage she’d been concerned about. Piper would need medicine, careful monitoring, and restricted movement while the tissues healed.
Grant listened without looking away from her.
“The original injury can still affect that leg as she grows,” Lydia added. “This going well doesn’t erase that.”
“So she could keep limping.”
“Especially when she’s tired. We’ll keep checking her.”
Through the recovery-room window, he could see Piper beneath a light blanket. Her muzzle lay sideways on a towel, one ear folded under her head.
“What about the rest of her life?” he asked. “Can she do regular dog things?”
“I expect her to, with sensible care. She may always move a little differently.” Lydia glanced through the window. “She’s still Piper.”
Grant looked down at Toby waiting by his boot. A few days earlier, Piper had made him follow her around the exercise room for his own ball.
He picked the ball up from the floor.
Later, when Piper was fully awake and Lydia had checked her again, Toby was allowed a brief visit. Grant kept him on the lead.
The puppy approached without his usual rush. He sniffed the edge of the recovery bed and lowered himself beside it.
Piper lifted her head. Her front foot slid toward the edge of the blanket. Toby moved his own until their toes met, and Grant let a little more leash pass through his hand.
Lydia checked Piper once more, then left them with Tessa.
“I’ll need a medical foster after she’s cleared,” Tessa said. “Medicine on schedule, checks here, somebody watching how she uses that leg.”
Grant glanced at the water bowl beyond the bed.
“I’ll take her.”
Tessa stayed where she was.
“This is longer than a few nights. You’d have two puppies, and one needs recovery time.”
“I can take leave at first. After that, I’ll need someone to cover what I can’t around shifts.” He rubbed the seam of his coat between finger and thumb. “Can we arrange that?”
“We can help. But this leg could mean appointments later, too.”
“I listened to Lydia.” He looked toward Piper, then back at Tessa. “Bring me the forms.”
Tessa studied him before she spoke again.
“Do you mean foster to adopt?”
“Both dogs…”
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