Page 25 of Key Lime Kisses
As he spoke, the dog pulled away from him and shook herself off as if offended by the exam, and then turned and headed for my basement. She trotted down the steps without hesitation. Weston and I shrugged at each other, then followed.
Weston was right, she had indeed had puppies recently. Three to be exact, sleeping in a heap on a pile of laundry.
We both stood there staring as the dog climbed up next to them and started nursing.
“Well, this is unexpected…” I said.
“Oh no, Shea…” Weston began, pointing.
I tore my eyes away from the dogs to follow his finger; a tree branch had smashed through the window above the couch. That explained how the dog had gotten in. It also explained why the room didn’t stink as much as I would have expected, but I did also smell something musty and suspected there was water damage to deal with.
I walked over to the couch and inspected the branch sticking through the window. “Well, isn't this lovely?” I muttered.
It took a bit of climbing and balancing – careful of the broken glass – and I was able to see the branch was attached to an entire tree, which had taken out my fence as well. And that solved how the dog had gotten in.
“I wonder if that came down during the same storm that hit the lake,” Weston said. “Poor girl probably came in, trying to get to get away from the storm, and wasn’t able to get back up the wall. Then, well, puppies.”
“What now?” I asked.
Weston shrugged. “Same plan. If mama is chipped, then the puppies are her owner’s problem. Although I’ll have some words about spaying. But I’ll bring the puppies too and give everyone a good checkup.” He knelt down next to them. “Hey Mama, can I look at your puppies?” he said softly.
As if she understood, the dog’s tail began to wag. Weston pet her gently as he briefly examined her puppies.
“They’re pretty young,” he said. “I think they were born here. Which is good because that means we probably don't have to go looking for a missing one.”
“I’m glad you’re a vet,” I said.
“Me too.”
“And I don't think you have to feel guilty about imposing on me now,” I joked. “At least you didn't break my window, invite yourself in, and have puppies in my laundry.”
“No kidding.”
I sighed and looked around at the mess.
“Let’s get this cleaned up,” said Weston. “I’ll handle the feces and any other dog mess, if you want to get the kitchen and some of the laundry.”
“I can't make you clean up dog poop,” I protested. “You're my guest!”
“Technically, I’m your boyfriend. And dog poop comes with my job; I don’t mind. Besides, I don't know where any of your stuff goes, so if I’m going to help, I might as well stick to what I know.”
I had to admit, I really didn't expect an alpha to pitch in quite so much, but in no time at all the two of us had everything cleaned up and looking sharper than it had been when I left last Sunday.
Once we were done, we gathered up mama and puppies and I drove Weston to the clinic. He explained the situation to the guy at the front desk and in a matter of minutes, mama and puppies were undergoing a quick health exam, while I sat nervously in the waiting room.
I kept thinking back to a dog I'd had in college. It was kind of nice to almost have a dog again. I wondered if the puppies would be put up for adoption… maybe I'd keep one, assuming the dog didn't have an owner who wanted them all.
As it turned out, mama dog didn’t have an owner at all.
“There's no microchip,” Weston told me. “I haven't been able to find any reports of a missing dog matching her description either. Nobody here recognizes her at all. I just think it's safe to say she doesn't have an owner.”
“What happens to her now?” I asked.
“Well, with puppies this young I hate to send her to a shelter, so we'll probably try to find a foster home and then once the puppies are old enough, we'll go forward with adoption and all that stuff,” Weston said. I must have looked concerned because Weston smiled gently at me and added, “she'll be well taken care of, don't worry.”
I nodded slowly and suddenly, I wanted her. I don't know, maybe it was having a pregnancy scare and thinking about becoming a father. Or maybe I was just hormonal after missing a week's worth of pills. But suddenly I wanted this dog.
“CouldIadopt her? And the puppies.”
