Page 93 of A Much Younger Man
I sighed because I wasn’t ready to answer that. “I don’t know. Do I have to define everything all the time? What if I let my life happen organically and you just butt out?”
April turned back to the front. “Touchy.”
“I think you mean touché,” Travis said. They high-fived each other. “Don’t be a grouch.”
An unbelievably long three hours later, we pulled onto a gravel drive at the end of which sat a manufactured house. Animal control was already there, along with an ambulance and police. I pulled in next to a van I knew belonged to my colleague Dr. Montgomery. Three or four people who must have lived nearby stood to the side, watching and filming with their phones.
The lawn, the trees, and the bushes were dead. You could see heat scintillating over the barren landscape around the many, many kennels. The air was filled with incessant barking and black flies. The odor of feces and decomposition hung like a thick fog.
“It’s bad.” Jeanie met me as soon as I got out of the car.
“Is the owner ill?” I nodded toward the ambulance. The other possibility—the much worse possibility—was predation by hungry, desperate dogs. Jeanie and I had seen both.
Jeanie nodded. “Woman in her seventies. Her forty-year-old son lives here, but it looks like he’s got some emotional problems. She’s been ill for some time, and we think she believed he was caring for the animals. Apparently they had a confrontation this morning. A postal worker called it in to the local PD. Said he heard her screaming from the box at the curb.”
“Good thing, probably.”
We walked toward the kennels while she pulled on nitrile gloves. “Police came and found her unresponsive. They’re taking the son into custody. Animal control needs help triaging the dogs.”
“How many dogs are we talking about?” The kennels were full of listless, emaciated animals. I saw mostly Siberian huskies with matted fur. Some had mange.
“We think about forty mature animals and an unknown number of puppies.”
“How the hell has she been getting away with this?” asked Travis.
“Big properties. The houses are well apart and set back off the street.” She looked beyond him at the screen of eucalyptus trees and chain link fence that hid the property from neighbors. “She was probably keeping up with the needs of her animals until she became ill, and then she trusted the wrong person to help her.”
“Where do you need me?” April, who’d remained silent while putting on protective gear, asked.
Jeanie took charge. “I’ll talk to animal control and see if we can start bringing the animals out. I’ve got a call in to a Siberian husky rescue organization. If they can, they’ll help. Better get ready.”
“I’ll get the supplies.” Travis got the duffle bags out one by one and then hauled out the crates, which needed setting up.
“It’s going to be a long day.” Jeanie squared her shoulders.
“No lie.” April and I followed her lead.
