Page 88 of Housebroke

“Poor baby,” Malina said, taking Freddie from her and running her hand over his head. “We’ll get his vitals and then the doctor will see him. Doc also asked for a fecal test and blood work.”

“Yeah, I brought a fecal sample with me.” She knew the drill when the dogs were well and not well. She’d been through this before.

Malina was bright and friendly and gave Freddie a lot of pets and attention, the two things Freddie loved most. She set him on a towel on the table and did her work efficiently. “Doc should be in shortly.”

“Thanks, Malina.”

She closed the door and Hazel stood over Freddie, absently running her hand over his back as she surveyed the room. It was painted brightly, had dog cookies on the counter—no doubt treats for after shots—and felt cheerful.

The door opened and Dr. Amanda Harrison came in.

“Hi, Hazel. What’s up with Freddie today?”

She explained Freddie’s symptoms to Dr. Harrison, who then did an exam while speaking in soft tones to Freddie. “His abdomen isn’t distended, so I don’t think it’s a foreign body. His fecal was negative for parasites, and we’ll have to wait on blood work results. My guess is some kind of bacterial infection. I’m going to give him a shot for the nausea, and I’ll send you home with antibiotics andnausea meds. That should help him feel better right away. If the results are any different I’ll let you know. Withhold food today, but if he’s up to it you can give him some light food tomorrow.”

“Got it.”

Dr. Harrison gave Freddie his shot, which didn’t bother the pup at all. The doctor cupped Freddie’s chin. “Stay out of trouble, mister. Everyone loves you.” Freddie licked her nose and Dr. Harrison laughed. “Yeah, he’s a lover all right.”

“He sure is,” Hazel said.

“Let me know if you need anything else.”

“I will. Thanks, Doc.”

Feeling so much better about her pup, she gathered him up and went to the front desk to pay for the services, which the foster organization would cover, fortunately. They got back into the car, and she sent a text to Linc, letting him know what the doc said and that they were headed back to the house.

Linc was in the driveway when she pulled in. He took Freddie’s crate while she gathered up the paperwork and meds, and they went into the house. Linc freed Freddie from his crate, and all the dogs surrounded him, sniffing him all over. She let them out back, and Freddie looked improved already as he dashed out to the grass to pee. She breathed a sigh of relief when he went to play with the other dogs, even though he wasn’t as animated as he normally would be. At least he had more pep than earlier, and that was a good sign.

“He seems better.”

She nodded at Linc. “He got a shot and has some meds to take. Doc said it’s probably a minor infection. I’ve got some meds to givehim as well. And we can’t feed him today. But as long as he’s good, he should be back to normal routine in a couple of days.”

He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “That’s not too bad. I know you were worried.”

“I was. But I’m happy he’s okay.”

“Are you hungry? I made breakfast burritos. I know you didn’t eat this morning.”

She tilted her head back to look at him. “You. Made breakfast.”

“I’ll have you know I’m an amazing cook.”

“Is that right.”

“It is. As long as it’s eggs or steak. Or burgers.”

“I’ll hold you to making me a steak, then.”

“You got it.”

He left to go to the guesthouse and returned with a tray with an amazing breakfast burrito and some orange juice. She’d been so caught up on getting Freddie taken care of this morning, she hadn’t paid the slightest attention to herself. Now, though, she realized she was ravenously hungry.

“Thank you for doing this. I was going to fix food when I got back.”

He leaned back and unwrapped one of the burritos. “Now you don’t have to.”

She took a bite, then another, and didn’t utter another word until she’d consumed the entire burrito. She polished it off with several swallows of juice.

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