Page 10 of Grady

Savannah rubbed him as much as she could, but he kept rolling onto his back. She rubbed his belly, then put the towels in the hamper in the laundry room. She walked back to the living room with him on her heels.

“You don’t have to worry about me throwing you out. In fact, if no one claims you, I’m going to keep you after I ask Kinley if I can. I’ll call her now.” Savannah sat on the sofa, scrolled through her contacts until she found Kinley’s number.

“Vanna, how are you?” Kinley Wilson asked her when she answered.

“I’m fine, Kinley. How about you?”

“I’m wonderful. Is there something wrong?”

“No, not really. A dog showed up here. He’s very young and once the weather clears, I’m going to take him to Dr. Russell to see if he’s microchipped.”

“What if he’s not?”

“Well, that’s why I’m calling. If he isn’t claimed, I’d love to keep him, but I’m not sure how you would feel about that. If not, I suppose I could move into the apartment above my shop. That would be no problem. I don’t want to upset you about the dog.”

“Of course, you can keep him.”

“Kinley, I don’t even know if he’s house trained.” Savannahnibbled on her lower lip, anxiously waiting.

“Then you’d have to train him. What is he?”

“I don’t know. He still has a puppy bark, but he’s going to be big whatever he is.”

“As much as I love dogs, how can I tell you you can’t have him?”

“Thank you so much. That’s the only thing that worried me.”

“It’s no problem. Let me know what you find out from the vet.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Wonderful! Oh, Levi is calling for me. I’d better go. Talk soon.”

“Yes. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome. Bye.” Kinley hung up.

Savannah placed her phone on the coffee table and pulled the quilt over her as she tried to find a movie. The dog jumped onto the sofa, curled in a ball, and then put his head on her leg and stared at her. She figured the dog knew she’d taken in him from the cold. She rubbed her finger over his snout, then smiled when he sighed.

“You’re safe. How about we find a good movie, then we’ll head to bed.” She smiled as she hoped no one claimed him.

It was three days before she was able to get to the store. She walked out toward her car, opened the back door, and Bentley jumped into the back seat. She named him because she couldn’t keep saying, hey, to get his attention. He was completely house trained and slept with her at night.

She decided to take him to the vet today, then just keep him with her in the store. He was so well behaved that she knew someone had taken the time to train him. Sighing, she realized that if he did belong to someone, she’d have to give him up and that broke her heart. After only three days, he had wormed his way into her heart.

After pulling into the parking lot of the animal hospital, she made her way inside and asked the girl at the front desk if she had a leash she could use.

“I was able to get him into the car by holding onto his fur, but the parking lot isn’t as close as my door. I can just slip the leash on him by using the loop.”

“Sure, let me get you one. Dr. Russell said you’d be coming by but didn’t know what day.” The young woman entered a closet and came out with a leash. “Here you go. I’ll hold the door for you.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

Savannah quickly made her way to her vehicle to see the dog watching her and his tail was going crazy. She opened the door enough to slip her hands in and put the leash on him, then she pushed it open and he jumped out, but stayed beside her.

“Come on, Bentley. Let’s see if you belong to someone.” Her heart broke just thinking of letting him go back to someone who wasn’t even looking for him.

The young woman opened the door, and Savannah entered.

---