Kent ate and watched Marvin as he puttered around the kitchen. He finally cleared his throat, and when the older man looked at him, he only raised a brow at him.
“I want to talk to you.”
“Okay, you didn’t have to butter me up with a meal, but I thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Marvin drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “What are your feelings for my daughter?”
“I like her.” Kent didn’t hesitate in his response. “Before we went out looking for that missing hiker, we had already been on one date, and were making plans for a second one.”
“Okay, then what I have to propose to you might work out better than I planned.”
“Which is?”
“I can go back to CSAR and continue training you and the others. I’ll have Julie and Scott’s help. I’m not being heartless, but just because my daughter is in the hospital, it doesn’t mean the training class has to suffer.” He shook his head at the younger man. “If you recall, I ran CSAR for decades before retiring earlier this year. I know what I’m doing.”
“I agree. I was going to see when it would continue.”
“Scott and Julie did it yesterday, and I’ll take back over starting tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good, now this next part is harder.”
“Okay.” Kent drew the word out, and only sipped his coffee as he looked at the older man. He could tell he was struggling with what he wanted to say, but Kent remained silent.
“As much as I love Zeke, I don’t think it would be wise to bring him home from the vet’s office and take him to my place.”
Kent remained silent and let the man finish his thought. “If you wouldn’t mind, I was wondering if you and Tate could move into Rita’s house while she’s in the hospital to take care of Zeke and her house.
Kent cocked his head to the side and scowled, but the longer he thought about it, the more he thought that was a good idea.It would give the dog a better chance of healing faster if he was surrounded by his things.
“Before I answer, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I don’t know if you know this or not, but I was in the military for twenty years.” At Marvin’s scowl, Kent grinned. “Air Force. I was in a Special Warfare division. Anyway, my team didn’t have a K-9 or a handler, but we had worked with them in the past. On two different occasions, I witnessed the handler getting killed in the line of duty.” Kent nodded when Marvin said he was sorry, but shook his head. “The first time it happened, the teammates of the handler immediately removed the dog, and wouldn’t let him near the dead body. I later found out the dog was decommissioned because he couldn’t perform his duties after his handler’s death.”
“Okay, what was the second occasion?”
“On the second occasion, when the handler was killed, the team allowed that dog to ride with his master’s dead body back to base. The dog was fine to work with another handler, and continued his career for another three years before he was retired.”
“What’s your question?”
“Why was that first dog unable to continue, while the second one could?”
“It’s easy really. Dogs know when their handlers, in your case, or owners in Zeke and Rita’s case, are dead. They smell it, and I don’t know how a dog’s mind works, but they seem to be able to process it better if they see the dead body. That first team you described thought they were helping the dog by not allowing him to grieve over his handler’s death. In the long run, it hurt him when he couldn’t perform any longer. While on the other hand, the second team you described was able to let that doggrieve, so when the new handler arrived, he was ready to move on.”
“Okay, that’s what I thought. Now, what do you think if we brought Zeke to the hospital to see Rita?”
Kent thought Marvin would veto that idea immediately, but the longer he took to respond, the clearer his expression became. “I think that might work. If you agree to move into Rita’s house, then we could continue with his routine. You could bring him and Tate to the center for training. Zeke can stay up front with me and Tank, while you and Tate train. Afterward, if you want, I can take Tate home with me, while you take Zeke to the hospital. I don’t think it should be an everyday experience, but maybe a couple times a week.” He paused and studied the other man hard. “I’m assuming you’ll be at the hospital every day?”
“Until she comes home, yes.” Kent nodded as he rose and took his dishes to the sink. “I only see one problem with me moving into Rita’s house.”
“And that is?”
“I’ll have to talk to Spencer Barnes first.”
“Who is that, and why?”
