Page 62 of Devoted Enough

I looked out the front window as we pulled up to a house. A black lab was sitting on the sidewalk, his owner on the porch. Once Haven came to a stop, she opened the bus doors, and Monty came charging in. He stopped when he saw me, gave me a sniff, headed to a seat, and jumped up into it. Haven clipped on the dog seat belt to Monty’s harness, and we were on our way to get the next dog.

“They really know which seat is theirs?” I asked, glancing back at Monty, who I swore was smiling at me.

“Yes! They all know where to sit once they get onto the bus.”

We drove to five more houses and picked up Piper, a German shorthair pointer that sat beside me. Lucy was a mixed-breed dog that only had eyes for Monty. Next up was Nelly, a golden retriever who I swore was the happiest dog I had ever met. Lou,a small terrier-type dog, sat beside Nelly and completely ignored me. The last dog we picked up was Ralph. A German shepherd that was a retired bomb dog. According to Haven, Ralph was always on duty, and I shouldn’t be surprised if he started trailing something. My job was to get Ralph back into relaxed mode.

“Ralph? That’s really his name?” I asked as we pulled up to the parking lot of a trailhead. “Just doesn’t seem like a tough bomb dog name.”

Ralph barked, and Haven laughed. “I think you better take that back.”

Holding up my hands, I stood and faced Ralph. “I think your name is tough, boy. Just like you.”

He barked again, and if I hadn’t been looking, I would have missed the wink.

“Did he just wink at me?”

Haven laughed once again, and I couldn’t deny the way it made my stomach flip as if I were on a ride. I had totally made the right decision by spending the day with her.

“Normally, I take them off the bus in groups, but since you’re here and we have a smaller group today, you can help.”

“I’m at your service.”

Once we got all six dogs off the bus, I watched Haven put on a vest with carabiners attached. She then put each dog’s leash on a carabiner, and we started to walk to the trail.

“Um, you know I could hold a couple of them.”

She smiled. “I do this every day, sometimes with twelve dogs.”

“How do they not drag you along the path?”

Haven chuckled. “They’re very well-behaved dogs. Chad has trained a few of them. He’s a great trainer. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

I wanted to roll my eyes but stopped myself. Clearly, Haven thought of this guy as a co-worker, and I needed to stow away my jealousy.

“I’m going to let them all off. They’ll do their business, and then we can head on.”

“Do their business?” I asked as I watched her tell each dog to stay while she unleashed them. Once they were all off the leashes, she said the word break, and they all took off. I was impressed by how they stayed close to her.

“Go potty.”

She took the vest off, stuffed it into her backpack, and started taking out little blue bags. “It’s poop duty time.”

I stood there and watched all six dogs go to the bathroom, and Haven got all of it. She put all six bags at the trailhead. “We’ll grab these on the way out and throw them away. Ready?”

I nodded, impressed with how organized it all was.

Taking out a long whistle, she called the dogs. “Let’s go!”

The five took off down the trail, with Haven and me following them.

“How long is the walk?” I asked.

“Forty-five minutes. We reach a point where they can get in the water and play. They loved it this past summer, but now that the temperatures are cooler, they tend to just get drinks.”

“What if someone comes on the trail? What do you do?”

“Recall them all.”

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