Page 77 of When Annika Met Thom

Percival crawled onto Tessa’s lap, still cautious but definitely curious. She stroked him and he slithered around her hand. “What is he, about three?”

“Yes, just over that.”

“I love when people go for rescues,” Tessa said. “It’s always nice to give a pet a second chance, and he’s really healthy. Look at those eyes,” she said to Percival and his tail flicked. “You’re just bursting with curiosity.”

He dove into the sleeve of her sweater then and Tessa laughed, making a face at him when he popped out her collar. Percival disappeared again, then emerged into her lap.

“His favorite game,” Annika said as Tessa patted the ferret.

“Hide and seek,” Tessa agreed. “Good thing you’ve got him on the harness. It’s impressive what small spaces they can fit into.” Cerberus made a little growl of complaint then dropped her chin to Tessa’s lap. “Jealous, are you?” Tessa asked, then patted the ferret with one hand and the dog with the other. They sniffed each other as she did so.

“Do you see a lot of rescues in your practice?”

“I work with a couple of rescue agencies, providing consultations and care at a discounted price. I can offer some of my time free, and charge them cost on drugs and procedures.”

“That’s a nice thing to do.”

“It feels like giving back. I like that.” Tessa looked up. “And it’s how we got Cerberus, in a way.”

“She’s a rescue?”

“Yes and no.” Tessa frowned. “There’s an affluent neighborhood near my offices and I get some clients who don’t really understand that pets are obligations. They choose a dog because they like the look of it, or the way they look with it, not with any understanding of the dog’s needs or the breed’s inclinations. Cerberus first came to me as a puppy with some people who struck me as being that way. I tried to gently give advice but sometimes that isn’t heard.”

“I bet she was cute.”

“She was adorable. Enormous feet and jet black, always wagging.” Tessa bent down to Cerberus, almost touching noses with her. “Such a friendly girl, right from the beginning.” The dog wagged her tail hard and wiggled a little closer to Tessa. “But a funny thing happened. When she came to the office for her shots or check-up, she didn’t want to leave. That’s not so common for me. Dogs often associate the vet with pain or shots and are reluctant to come in. Not Cerberus. She didn’t want to go home. Even after she was spayed and knew that I could cut her, they had to forcibly take her home.”

“She got more attention at the vet than at home?”

Tessa nodded. “I started to think so. She was well-fed, could have used a bit more exercise, and they brought her for her check-ups, so I hoped for the best.” She frowned. “Then they showed up one day. It was a Saturday afternoon. They said the dog was in the car and there was something wrong. I went out to the car and immediately realized that she had bloat.”

“Bloat?”

“It’s also called torsion. It can happen to dogs with deep chests, like Great Danes and standard poodles. Their stomach twists, sealing it off from the esophagus and then as it begins to fill with gas from the digestion process, it swells. It can happen very quickly and unless there’s surgical intervention, the dog will die.”

“What causes it?”

“There are lots of theories. Eating too fast, playing too hard after a meal, genetic predisposition. But time is the key to treating it. Cerberus was in very bad shape. She wouldn’t get up or move, her eyes were dull and her torso was round. We managed to intubate her and release some of the air from her stomach, but she needed surgery fast.” She stopped and frowned. She glanced up at Annika. “In my experience, most owners just order me to do it, but these people wanted to know the potential cost. It’s not cheap surgery, but I knew they were affluent. It’s not guaranteed that the dog will survive either, so I didn’t want to waste time chatting. Every moment counts.” She fell silent again, stroking the dog’s head.

“They chose not to pay for the surgery,” Annika guessed.

Tessa shook her head. “They told me to put her down. She wasn’t even two years old, a beautiful dog in good health with an excellent prospect of recovery. I was more upset than they were, frankly, and after they left, I just couldn’t do it. I had to try to save her. We took her into surgery immediately and everything was textbook. It was the best and quickest torsion operation I’d ever done. There was no other damage to her internal organs. By Sunday morning, she was on her feet again.”

“Oh!” Annika said. “That’s wonderful.”

“When we do this surgery, we also secure the stomach to the abdominal muscles to make sure it can’t happen again. I’d also found a toy in Cerberus’ stomach, one that was too small for her to have. It could have caused the incident. On Monday, I called the family to tell them the good news. Before I could do so, the man informed me that he wouldn’t pay the bill for the disposal of Cerberus’ remains and that he blamed me for her having torsion in the first place. I was a bit angry at that, because no one can predict this illness, and told him about the toy. He went nuts, telling me I’d had no right to do an autopsy on his dog. I told him she wasn’t dead but that we’d saved her. He assured me that if I was calling for money, I could forget it. He told me to keep the dog instead. He then informed me they’d already arranged to get a puppy of a different breed. By this time, I was really mad so I suggested that he find a different vet, since he was sure of my incompetence. I was shaking when I hung up the phone.” Tessa took a deep breath. “But in a way, it worked out, because she didn’t have to go back there.”

“What happened to the new puppy?”

“I’m kind of glad I don’t know.” Tessa nodded. “That was Christmas three years ago and Thom had come for a visit. He was moping around, kind of at loose ends after a break-up. He’s not as solitary as he thinks he is. He needs someone to drag him out of his shell. So, I’d asked him to help out at the clinic, to keep him from being blue alone. He loved it. He was great at it.” She patted Cerberus. “And this one adored him.”

Annika smiled because she’d noticed that. “They’re good together.”

“They’re perfect together. I felt so much better when he brought her back to the city with him. She gives him a routine and purpose, and he gives her all the love and attention that she deserves.”

“That’s a nice story,” Annika said.

“You know, that would mean they’re both about the same age,” Tessa said, looking between Percival and Cerberus. She shook her head. “And then, of course, he took up with Rebound Rhea, a partnership that was never going to work out.”

---