Hounds Abound by Linda O. Johnston Read Free Book Online Page B

head and led Zoey and her back down the stairway. I gave her a tour of the rest of this kennel area, pointed out our storage building at the rear, which held our laundry facilities, then around the back pathway onto the new property. I showed her the newest kennels and the large building that now contained upstairs offices for Dr. Mona and our part-time dog trainer, Gavin Mamo. Downstairs was a second kitchen and areas to house small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs, although we didn’t have any right now. One part was designed to hold puppies and some of our tiniest dogs. Plus, this was where our groom room was—the area where our new on-staff groomer Margoworked.
    As we walked around, I introduced Bella to our staff and volunteers. Quite a few were around that day, caring for and socializing our residents. We passed Nina as she hurried back toward the greeting area, and she seemed delighted to meet Bella.
    I also pointed out to Bella our new cat house as well as the latest quarantine building on the new property. We kept all animals there for at least a couple of weeks when they first arrived at HotRescues, as well as any ill creatures who needed to get well before going back into the general population.
    “It’s wonderful!” Bella kept exclaiming, which I thought was sweet. Of course it
was
wonderful. I had helped in the original design, as well as the current one. It all worked well.
    But Save’Em was wonderful, too.
    Our tour ended when Nina came to get me. “Our first prospective adopters of the day are here,” she said.
    I hurried toward the welcome area with Bella and Zoey, greeted the people who waited for me, and told them I’d be right with them. Then I walked Bella to her car. “I’m just so happy that I got a chance to see HotRescues,” she said as she slipped inside. “Of course you know I’m jealous.”
    “Why?” I blurted. “Save’Em is state-of-the art, too. It’s fantastic.”
    “But more of your residents are likely to find great forever homes,” she reminded me. “I’ll make my residents’ lives as happy as possible even if they stay with us, but still—”
    Her cell phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket—and frowned. “Damn him,” she whispered. I immediately knew who it was.
    “You don’t have to answer,” I said. “Let it go into your voice mail.”
    “He’ll only call again. And again.” But she did as I suggested.
    “And remember that you can’t talk on your cell while driving,” I told her.
    “Yes, Mom.” She laughed despite the strained expression on her pretty face. “See you soon, I hope.”
    “Definitely.”
    But if I’d known at the time the circumstances under which I’d next see Bella, I might not have spoken so quickly.
    That afternoon, I checked my e-mail while grabbing a quick sandwich that Nina had brought in for me—trying not to give Zoey pieces despite her adorable begging stare.
    A message from Carlie was there, and I opened it first. She had attached a link to a promo she had filmed for her upcoming TV show that would feature Save’Em. I immediately clicked on it.
    Her clip was fantastic! It made clear that, on her show, Carlie would counter the nonsense from Dr. Drammon’s interview about how older or disabled pets shouldn’t be allowed to live, that all of them should be assumed to be suffering. Since segments of that interview were still being aired on TV, this promotion was even more necessary.
    “As with everything else,” Carlie said to the camera, “every situation should be judged individually—and my opinion about Save Them All Sanctuary, and how it treats its special-needs residents, is all good. Tune in to my upcoming show, ‘Hug’Em at Save’Em.’”
    I called her, and she answered right away. “What a great way of contradicting that nasty S.O.B who’d have closed Save’Em’s doors and killed all its residents,” I said. “When will this spot air? Everyone who loves animals and doesn’t want to see