Page 74 of Vetted for Vengeance
Right now it's dark for Figgy; the only light in her kennel is from the heat lamp above her bed and the light of my tablet as I digitalize all the facts I'm holding in my brain. One hand working. The other hand stroking.
I don’t have to check over my shoulder here.
Not with Rhys in the building.
Nothing gets past him.
Nothing.
The tablet still feels strange in my hand after eight years of keeping everything in my head.
Every feeding time. Every weight. Every warning sign.
No more paper records; now it's digital, and everyone in the practice can access the information.
If I forgot before, something suffered.
Now…
I can write it.
And someone else will see it.
Someone else will help.
It feels like finally having permission to exhale.
Now I don’t just help; I track, manage, check. I can keep the practice running and still make sure Figgy’s smallest pups are feeding properly.
At some point I have to leave her so I can bring the other mothers over. I still need to fit in their settling-in sessions.
But Figgy stands up when I do. She leaves her puppies and follows me to the door.
“No, Figgy. You need to stay with your puppies.”
The poor girl has never been anywhere but the kennels. Even when she moved rooms, it was the same floor, the same smell of bleach.
Now everything is different.
“Just a little longer.” I return to the room. I'm the only familiar thing she has left. Toffee, Honey, Pumpkin and the other moms are still waiting to stretch their legs and have room to move around.
But I am busy getting Figgy settled back on her bed with her pups.
Then the door opens. Honey walks in with Tree, her puppies whimpering from inside a cat carrier.
“How's she doing?” Tree whispers as they walk past.
“Fine while I'm here,” I reply.
“Take all the time you need.” Tree disappears into the next kennel, and I turn back to Figgy. “Maybe smelling your friends will help.”
She wags her tail and rests her head on my knee.
A minute later, Martha enters with Pumpkin and her puppies in a basket. She waves at me on her way past.
Finally, Chloe enters with Toffee.
My little families are getting their comfort without me needing to abandon Figgy.
