Page 34 of Big Island Sunrise
‘Olena nodded, her face sad as she looked across the lot. The dog wouldn’t let anyone else within eight feet of him, but Kai was scratching him behind his ears.
“He’s a big puppy, and the shelters are full. You can try one of the private rescues, but they’re even more overwhelmed.”
“Is Holoholona still around?” Lani asked.
“Might be.” ‘Olena’s attention pulled to the side and she walked away, shouting, “Luana! Do not throw things at your sister! You want her to fall out of that tree?”
“Here.” Lani showed Emma a page she’d pulled up on her phone,Holoholona Rescue. “There’s a phone number.”
“Thanks.”
“Hello?” A woman picked up on the first ring.
“Hi there, is this Holoholona Rescue?”
“Yes, this is Kathy.” Her voice was tired but kind. “How can I help you?”
“We found a puppy at Keiki Beach, and I’m wondering what can be done for him.”
“The Belgian Malinois?”
“Um, he looks like some kind of Shepherd mix? About six months old?”
“More like eight or ten, I think. But he’s underfed, maybe the runt. And he definitely has parasites. People have been calling about him for a few weeks, ever since he got dumped. Some breeder who couldn’t sell the whole litter probably dumped him there. We’ve gone out a few times, but he’s too skittish to catch.”
“My son is petting him right now.”
“Wow. That’s better than we’ve managed. Do you think you can get him to the vet?”
“I don’t know if I can get him in the car. If I can, do you have room at your shelter?”
Kathy gave a tired, one-note laugh. “Honey, my ‘shelter’ is a one-bedroom house with a pocket-sized yard. I have fourteen dogs here right now. We’ve got a good number of foster homes, but every one of them has more animals than they should. Same as every rescue on the island.”
Emotion pressed against the back of Emma’s throat as she watched the tired puppy lay his head in Kai’s lap.
“Just don’t call animal control,” Kathy said.
“Okay.”
“I’ll ask around and see if I can find a foster. Get him in the car if you can. I know a vet who can see him last minute. I’ll text you the address.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Thank you for caring.”
The call disconnected, and she looked at Lani.
“You think we can get them in the car?”
“I think Kai can.”
She was right. With the help of a spam musubi from a discarded lunch bag, the puppy followed Kai right into the back seat. He shrank with fear when Emma closed the door behind him.
She leaned against the car and put a hand over her eyes, suddenly very tired. She could hear her mother’s voice in her head.
You’re supposed to be selling animals off, not taking more home.
But it was all that she could do to stand her ground when Kai fought her on things that were in his best interest, like getting off of screens and out into the world. She couldn’t fight him on this, not when his heart was in the right place.
