Page 62 of Housebroke

They headed into the house.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Hazel opened the door to the local animal shelter. Sandy Patterson of Fluffy Fosters was in there talking with the head of the shelter, so she walked over to them. It had been a week since she’d picked up her dogs from Sandy after her trip to San Francisco. Sandy had, of course, spoiled them rotten.

Sandy smiled at her. “Hi, Hazel.”

“Hi, Sandy. Hey, Rick.”

“Nice to see you, Hazel,” Rick said.

She had worked with Rick before, taking in a few animals from the shelter. She’d known Sandy for as long as she’d been taking care of animals. In fact, it was Sandy who’d gotten Hazel into fostering after Hazel had volunteered at several weekend events when she’d still been married to Andrew. After the divorce, she’d agreed to take in her first dog—Gordon—who was still with her. But he was old and, okay, kind of ugly with missing hair and protruding teeth. Also, he was somewhat set in his ways and not exactly a family-type dog, which meant he was difficult to adopt out, though Hazel found him sweet and lovable. That no one elseever saw how perfect he was, was not Hazel’s problem. It was always difficult to place senior dogs.

“I’m glad you agreed to meet with us today, Hazel,” Rick said. “Sandy said you have an opening now that one of the dogs you fostered was adopted.”

“Uh...” She didn’t know how to respond to that since she and Sandy hadn’t communicated at all about her taking on another dog. She exchanged glances with Sandy, who just smiled at her.

Rick started walking back toward the cages, so they followed.

“She’s small, and a senior, but very well-behaved. Her owner passed away recently, and the family couldn’t take her in, so they surrendered her. She’s fourteen years old, but our vet did a thorough exam and tests and she’s in good health, though she could stand to get a little exercise.”

They stopped at a cage where a small Chihuahua/dachshund mix was huddled in a corner. Hazel felt the sadness vibes immediately. Not only had—she checked the name on the card—Mitzi lost the person she loved most in the world, leaving her alone and scared, but the only other people she had any connection to had abandoned her. Once again proving to Hazel that humans mostly sucked.

“Would you take her out so I can visit with her?” Hazel asked.

Rick nodded. “Sure.”

Rick opened the cage, and Hazel waited for Mitzi to come running out. Instead, she stayed pinned against the back of the cage.

The poor baby.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Hazel said, crouching down so Mitzi couldsee her. “I know you must feel so lost and lonely after losing your person. I’d really like to get to know you if you’ll let me.”

She sat on the floor in front of the cage and reached a hand inside. Mitzi leaned a little to give her a sniff. She left her hand there so Mitzi could get accustomed to her scent. She looked up at Rick and Sandy. “We’ll be fine here for a while.”

The two of them left, and Hazel got comfortable there on the floor. She talked to the dog in a low, sweet voice.

“We have four dogs at home right now. You’d love Gordon. He’s older, like you. And Lilith is a Chihuahua, though she likes to be in the middle of all the action at all times. Penny is super fun and you’d enjoy lying under the palm tree watching her antics. Freddie is a long dog like you are, and he’s just the sweetest. You’d have a whole bunch of dog siblings who would love and protect you. And I’d love and protect you, too, and try to find you a home with people who would care for you for the rest of your life.”

Mitzi finally made a move, inching over toward the entrance of the cage. She was a beautiful dark brown with fuzzy ears, slightly on the portly side, and appeared to be missing quite a few teeth, which made her tongue hang out. To some people she could be considered a hot mess. To Hazel, she was gorgeous.

“Oh, you’re such a pretty little girl. Who wouldn’t want to love you forever?”

The pup licked her fingers and came to the edge of the cage, then, finally out, crawling onto Hazel’s lap. Hazel fought back tears at how much this dog’s heart must have broken at the loss of the person she loved. She ran her hand over Mitzi’s back, stroking her fur.

“Don’t worry, baby. You’re coming home with me today. And you’ll never be lost or alone or scared again. I promise.”

She had no idea how Linc would feel about her adding another dog to the menagerie, but she’d worry about that later. Right now, Mitzi was her number one priority.

She scooped the dog up in her arms and carried her to the front where she saw Sandy filling out paperwork. Sandy cast a smile in her direction.

“I knew you were going to fall in love. I’m already doing the foster paperwork for you. All you have to do is sign.”

She hated being a sure thing. Then again, Sandy knew her well. Maybe too well. She signed the form and walked out the door with Mitzi cradled tightly against her.

“Okay, girl,” she said after she had Mitzi harnessed in the back seat. “Let’s take you home to meet your siblings.”

She just knew Mitzi was going to fit right in with the pack.

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