Another Door Opens

14 - Hades

“I doubt Nell and Mase would mind. But worst case scenario, you keep them at our place, Medusa helps socialise them, and I’ll take them onto the job sites with me like I do Medusa while you’re working to train them until you find your own place,” Wolfe said, standing up and coaxing me towards the stall. “Come on. I think this could be the best thing for you right now.”

We walked towards the stall and were greeted by a woman who I assumed was the organiser of this event considering her level of enthusiasm and conviction speaking with everyone, especially me.

“Hello, future pet owner,” she said confidently, predicting that there was no chance of me not taking someone with me to the home I don’t actually have right now. “How can I help you both today?”

I stumbled, second guessing myself and losing my ability to speak apparently, and Wolfe faithfully stepped in for me. “My friend here is going through a bit of a rough time, and we’re currently driving our way north from Melbourne to Bryon to get her a fresh start on life, and she seems to be drawn to the idea of having a puppy of her own. Do you have anyone here that you could introduce her to that might fit the criteria of ‘companion beast to a sad girl starting a-new in her forever place’?”

I rolled my eyes at Wolfe as the lady laughed at him. Apparently she finds his oversharing of my life amusing. “You know, I think I just might have the perfect creature for you. Come with me,” she said, directing me towards the cage right next to the table topped with papers and an eftpos machine where I imagine most of the adoptions were finalised.

Inside the cage was what looked like a young border collie puppy, mostly black but with a white underbelly and tail. He was curled up in the back corner of the cage, seemingly wary of all the action and movement that was going on around him, but his eyes were alert and focussed on everything at once, like he needed to be hyper aware of his surroundings at all times. I can only imagine what happened to this poor baby to cause him to be this worried about what might happen to him, and I knew almost instantly that he was making the drive back to Bryon with me. 

“I’ve been fostering this one myself,” the lady said, bending down to unlatch the cage and pull the nervous dog out. “We haven’t given him a name actually, because we couldn’t find one that fit him. He’s an eight month old border collie,” she said, patting him in her arms. He really didn’t look to be that old given he was still so small. Maybe he was crossed with something else. “I believe he was the runt of the litter given he’s a lot smaller than the others were when we rescued them from a farm nearby. The owner had abandoned them when he sold and moved out of the property and the new owners called us to come collect them. We’re not sure how long they were out there on their own, and there was no mother to be found so we assume the owner took her with him.”

If I thought my heart was broken before just looking at them all, it was nothing compared to now, watching this little thing being passed over to me, nervous as all heck. I took him in my arms and held him to my chest, rubbing his back slowly and reassuring him quietly that he was okay, and he slowly began to relax into me, his tail wagging ever so slightly, and a quick lick was bestowed upon my collarbone where his head lay. 

I looked back at Wolfe, who already had his phone camera out and was snapping photos of my first moments meeting my son, sealing the deal on my decision to take this precious baby with me. I pulled him away from me to look at his face, and saw a healed scar across his right eye which happened to be a piercing blue where the left was a golden brown. 

“We believe he was picked on a little by his siblings before we got there,” she said, rubbing his head near his scarred eye. “He’s a little nervous, but so affectionate and goofy when he feels safe. My dogs have been doing a great job at socialising him and he’s starting to get more confidence to play with them. Needs a lot of love, and someone gentle and patient who will let him come out of his shell in his own time.”