“She behave if you let her out?”
“Yeah, but she’s fine in the truck.”His concern was more for Ron’s dog.The setter’s ears were back as it warily watched Dakota, not a friendly gesture.
“You retired?”Ron asked.
“No, just on medical leave for a couple of months.”
“What are you doing to keep busy until you can go back?”
Jack shrugged.“Besides going to therapy three days a week, not much.”And that was starting to get to him.It hadn’t at first, because he was hurting too much to even think of doing anything, but now...he was restless.
“Hmm,” Ron said.
What did that mean?
Ron pointed to the small house.“That’s our office.I have a part-time assistant who keeps up with the paperwork and stuff.Back here are the kennels.We have fifteen dogs we’re working with right now.This is my operation, and I have two full-time trainers and three part-timers on the payroll.We also have volunteers who spend whatever time they can here.”
That caught Jack’s interest.“Doing what?”
“Cleaning kennels, keeping the dogs groomed, playing with them.Things like that.”
“Could you use another volunteer?”It would certainly help keep him from climbing the walls, which he was about ready to do.
“Sure, especially someone like you who has the training to work with dogs.”
“Who are you training them for?”Jack asked.
“Civilians.We specialize in service dogs, you know, for people who are wheelchair bound or can’t do things for themselves.”
“So that’s different from a therapy dog?”A friend of Jack’s who suffered from PTSD had been given a therapy dog.Wade had admitted to Jack that he’d been close to eating his gun when he got the dog, and he credited his dog with saving his life.
Jack got that.He was in a better frame of mind having Dakota with him.She was good company, gave him a reason to get up in the mornings, and calmed him after his nightmares.And she wasn’t even a trained therapy dog.
“Why don’t you come back tomorrow?Spend some time here seeing what we do and if you think you’d like it?”
Jack glanced at Ron.“I have therapy in the afternoon, but I could come in the morning.”
“See you in the morning then, Jack Daniels.We get started at nine.”
“I’ll be here.”He grinned as he walked back to his truck.An afternoon ride had turned into a volunteer job.The only negative was that he’d be leaving Dakota alone more than he liked.Maybe he could eventually bring her with him.
“You’re not going to believe this, my friend,” he said when he got in the truck.On the way home, he told Dakota about his new job.When she looked at him, her grin gone, he sighed.“No reason to be jealous.You’ll always be my number one girl.”
She made a sound that he interpreted ashumphin dog speak, then gave him the cold shoulder as she stuck her head back out the window.
“Be that way,” he said, then turned his thoughts to what to feed Nichole for dinner.
