They ended up with two different teams working different sections of the barn. The healthy puppies were all sorts of ages, from newborn to weeks old and already weaned. With the bitches that were in good enough shape, Josiah made sure to move carefully, letting them sniff him and feel his gentle touch before he moved them or their puppies.
Fifty percent of the time, he could shift them into one of the blanket-lined crates that had been brought forward. Lisa would offer some of the high concentrated liquid packs—kind of like an energy drink for dogs. Meanwhile, Josiah would concentrate on the puppies, separating out the ones that were too weak to survive from those that had a fighting chance.
He passed over the healthy ones, working side-by-side with Lisa. Her soft voice wrapped around him as she spoke quietly to the animals, calming them before placing them beside their moms.
The gentleness in her tone helped him stay calm and in control as he dealt with the sorry task of easing dying pups on their way.
Inside, though, he was swearing, furious at the people who had set up this horrific situation. This wasn’t why he’d become a veterinarian. He hated putting animals down, but it was better than letting them suffer.
Every time he had to push the plunger, it was as if another rope tightened around him. He grew colder, and it was hard to breathe. So many innocent creatures were suffering because of someone’s greed and stupidity.
The chaotic noises in the barn faded as the healthy animals were carried out the door and taken to Sonora’s ranch.
The hands from Silver Stone had brought a truck, the back bed lined with a heavy tarp. They would bury the poor beasts that hadn’t made it where they could use a backhoe to dig a hole in the frozen ground.
Lisa returned from handing over the last of the puppies that would never bark again. The building was finally empty.
She settled beside him, and Josiah paused, leaning their bodies together. “You didn’t have to stay,” he said softly. “I know this was hard.”
“I’ve had to do it before,” she said, sadness clinging to her words like icicles. “Not to this degree, but everyone who grows up in the country has dealt with death at some time.”
He put an arm around her and pulled her close. They both stunk, their bodies were tight with anger and sorrow, but it had been easier because she was there. “Thank you.”
She looked up, her lashes wet with held-back tears. She didn’t say anything. Just tipped her chin briefly, swallowing hard.
They sat there for a moment, holding each other, using the wall at their backs to stay vertical.
Suddenly, a scratching noise behind them interrupted the near quiet. And then another, followed by a soft whimper.
Lisa blinked. “There’s another dog somewhere.”
She scrambled to her knees and pushed on the wooden surface at their backs. It creaked but didn’t move.
Josiah began looking as well. It didn’t take long. “Here. Hinges.”
“It doesn’t look like a door,” Lisa complained, but her gaze darted rapidly over the surface. She pointed. “There. Someone stacked those cages in front of the doorknob.”
They moved everything out of the way as quickly as possible. With all the animals gone, the sniffing and small yipping sounds clearly declared,Don’t forget about me.
Josiah grabbed a board to wedge in front of the base of the door so he could open it carefully without the animal escaping.
Turned out he didn’t have to worry, because while the scratching and barking continued, nothing rushed out to greet them.
Lisa poked her head around the corner. “Oh my God.”
She pushed past him before he could say anything. Josiah grabbed her arm to slow her, which meant they both arrived at the same moment in front of the source of the noise.
It was a cream-coloured terrier, eyes bright, ears upright. Definitely not one of the puppy-mill animals. The animal had a collar around its neck.
As Lisa knelt and held a hand forward, the little creature sat on its hind legs and tilted its head. Looking between the two of them as if waiting.
A sharp bark rang out and then silence. As if to say,Hello, could you get me out of here a whole lot faster, please?
The dog didn’t move forward, though, and that’s when Josiah saw it. “Back leg. It’s caught in something.” He placed an arm on Lisa’s shoulder to make sure she didn’t move as he inched closer. “Seems like a good-natured creature, but if it’s in pain, there’s no telling how it might react. Give me a second.”
He pulled on his thick pair of leather gloves, squatting on his haunches as he met the creature’s eyes. He glanced over its body. Ribs were a little more pronounced than they should be, but the animal was in far better shape than a lot of what they’d just dealt with.
“Boy or girl?” Lisa asked from her position at his back.
