Page 11 of Chasing Dreams at Wagging Tails Dogs' Home

‘Do you want to say your goodbyes before I take him out?’

‘My goodbyes?’

He’d said he had a good chance of survival. Well, a chance anyway.

Mack cleared his throat. ‘Sorry, your see-you-laters.’

‘Right. Yes.’ Leaning over the small cockapoo, Poppy whispered, ‘You be strong, and I’ll come and pick you up as soon as possible. You’ve got a lovely life waiting for you. Just be strong.’

She sniffed back the tears.

As soon as she’d stepped back, Mack scooped Dougal into his arms. ‘I’ll take good care of him.’

‘Yes, I know. Thank you.’

And he would. She was sure of that.

With her hand on the door handle, she turned back to face him and cleared her throat. ‘I know you were reluctant to offer a discount, but I have to ask again. Wagging Tails needs to support so many dogs. Is there any way you can give us some money off or come to some understanding similar to the one Gavin had with the charity?’

Mack looked down at the floor, his cheeks ashen, before glancing back up at her. ‘I’m so sorry, I just can’t.’

‘Of course.’ She nodded before leaving.

7

‘And he just won’t play. I’ve tried everything, wool, tinkly balls, a toy mouse…’

Poppy watched as the man in the queue ahead of her tapped the cat carrier he was balancing on the counter. It must have been at least ten minutes since she’d watched Mack carry Dougal away and all she wanted to do was to go and hide in Aunt Flora’s car and cry. Instead, she was still standing here as the man tried to get Kerry the receptionist to agree to let him skip the queue in order for his cat to be seen fifteen minutes earlier than his allotted time.

‘As I’ve already said, we have another patient waiting. I cannot just move your appointment up.’ Kerry shook her head. ‘Now, if you could take a seat, I can deal with our other customers.’

‘But he normally loves his toy mouse,’ the man muttered as the cat meowed loudly, either appalled at being asked to wait or simply disgusted at being trapped inside the small plastic box.

‘Can I help you?’ Kerry signalled to Poppy as the man reluctantly took a seat.

‘Dougal. I’ve come to pay for Dougal’s care.’ She pulled the card her aunt had given her from her purse. But as she looked at it closely now, Poppy frowned. It wasn’t the purple charity debit card; it was Aunt Flora’s own credit card. She must have given her the wrong one by mistake.

‘That will be three hundred and fifty pounds, please.’ Kerry turned the card reader towards Poppy.

‘Phew, that’s not as bad as I thought.’ She breathed a sigh of relief. She’d expected it to be a lot more. Maybe Mack had given them a discount after all.

‘That’s for the X-ray. Charges for treatment and board will need to be paid tomorrow on the collection of Dougal.’

Poppy closed her eyes momentarily. If the X-ray alone was three hundred and fifty pounds, how much would the treatment and him staying in for the night cost? She put the card in the reader as a teenage boy skateboarded into the surgery, causing her to step aside quickly. She watched as he flicked his skateboard into his hand and opened the door to the examining room.

‘Oi! You can’t allow that?’ The man with the cat stood up. ‘He’s just skipped the queue. And he doesn’t even have a pet!’

‘The vet is still running on time.’ Glancing at the man, Kerry pointed to the clock. ‘Just enter your PIN when you’re ready.’

Poppy raised her eyebrows, the man had a point. She shook her head before focusing on the card machine again as the door to the examining room slammed shut. For all she and the man with the cat knew, the boy might be popping in to see his poorly pet or be on work experience here or something. It was none of their business.

* * *

As Poppy scrubbed her hands in the sink, she watched the soap bubble on her skin for a moment before plunging her hands into the water. The last thing she wanted was to pass the lungworm on to any of the other dogs in their care. She’d never forgive herself. She slumped her shoulders. She was being daft; she knew she was. She knew the disease couldn’t be passed on by her touching Dougal and then another dog, but just seeing him the way he had been, watching Mack carry him out of the examining room, his tired eyes looking back at her… She shuddered. She wouldn’t forget that in a hurry.

‘Poppy, lovely. How did it go at the vet’s? Is Dougal in his kennel already?’ Flora walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

‘He… umm… He has lungworm, a bad infection, and Mack is worried it may have caused pneumonia.’

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